2012 Caldecott Medal Winner

The ALA Midwinter conference has concluded and the winners for all of ALA’s major awards  have been released!

The Caldecott Medal is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for  children.  This year’s medal goes to A Ball for Daisy, written and illustrated by Chris Raschka

The Newbery Medal is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children This year’s award goes to Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

The Belpre Medal is awarded annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth  This year’s medal goes to the author of Under the Mesquite,  Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and the illustrator of Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, Duncan Tonatiuh

The Odyssey Award is given annually to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults.  This year’s award goes to The True Meaning of Smekday, produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Adam Rex, narrated by Bahni Turpin.

The Batchelder Award is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.   This year’s award goes to Soldier Bear written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman and translated by Laura Watkinson.

The Carnegie Medal honors the most outstanding video productions for children released during the previous year. This year’s award goes to Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of “Children Make Terrible Pets.”

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. This year’s Printz Award goes to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

The Morris Award honors a debut book by a first-time author writing young adult literature.  This year’s Morris Award goes to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

The Margaret A. Edwards Award honors  an author, as well as a specific body of hisor her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.  This year’s Edwards Award goes to Susan Cooper, author of The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Over Sea, Under Stone; The Dark Is Rising; Greenwitch; The Grey King;and Silver on the Tree.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. This year’s award goes to The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery written by Steve Sheinkin.