Every winter, the American Library Association announces the top books for youth through its various literary awards. With over 70,000 children's and teen books published every year, you can imagine that this is a daunting task!
Preschoolers will find outstanding reads in the Randolph Caldecott Medal titles. This award honours "the year's most distinguished picturebook for children."
In 2015, the winning title was The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. The lush, atmospheric illustrations in this fantasy tale follow Beekle, the eponymous unimaginary friend, as he takes matters into his own hands and sets sail for the real world in search of his human.
Beekle finds her waiting for him in a cold, lonely big city. He and other creatures from the imaginary place pair up with their children to create the kind of magic that only true friendship brings.
Unexpectedly, there were six Caldecott honours books in 2015 and two of them had Canadian roots. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is the hysterically funny tale of two boys who are determined to unearth something spectacular with their buckets and shovels.
Winnipeg-born Jon Klassen (author of the equally hilarious award winners I Want My Hat Back and This Is Not My Hat) uses sparse text and subtle illustrations to tell the tale of the intrepid explorers.
The John Newbery Medal recognizes the best in children's literature. The 2015 winner is The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander. This novel in verse illuminates the basketball-steeped world of middle-class African American twins Josh and J.B.
Teetering on the edge of adolescence, the twins crash into the corners of anger, conflict, healing and forgiveness. This is an uplifting story of family and resilience as seen through the frame of lyric verse.
Finally, the Michael L. Printz Award recognizes the best young adult book of the year. The 2015 award winner is I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Fraternal twins Jude and Noah split the narrative in two and describe the aftermath of a family tragedy in powerful, lyric language.
The twins explore the limits of their dichotomies and begin to see redemption in the shades between grief and joy, right and wrong, and moral absolutes. They navigate the story along the fault lines of their tense sibling identities and their blindingly poignant coming of age is coloured throughout by their intense passion for their art. Each twin is complex, variegated and vulnerable, and to travel with them on their journey towards meaning is a gift.
You can access the full list of Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz winners on the American Library Association's website, or find them all at your local library.
If you're building your reading bucket list for 2015, don't overlook some additional notable awards: The National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Pacific Northwest Reader's Choice Award, the Hans Christian Anderson Awards and the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. You can find these lists online or visit your public library for personal recommendation from children's literature experts.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City Librarians that is publishd on Wednesdays. Maryn Ashdown is Community Services Librarian at the Coquitlam Public Library.
