And the winners are...

The winners of the 2009 American Library Association (ALA) awards have been announced:

The winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal is author Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Neil Gaiman is having a great start to 2009. In addition to winning the Newbery, the movie version of his 2002 book Coraline is being released in theaters on February 6th.

Some of you may have been fortunate enough to hear Mr. Gaiman read from The Graveyard Book when he was in Palo Alto a few months ago. Check it out to read the story of Nobody Owens, who is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard. Spooky!

We also have this book available in audiobook format.

The winner of the 2009 Caldecott Medal is illustrator Beth Krommes' The House in the Night, written by Susan Marie Swanson. Ms. Krommes has illustrated several other books, including Grandmother Winter and Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow.

The House in the Night features soothing black, white and yellow illustrations that depict the light that makes the house in the night a home filled with light.

In addition to the Newbery and Caldecott Medals each year, the ALA also awards several Newbery and Caldecott Honor Books and numerous other awards. Here's a link to the ALSC's (Association for Library Service to Children, a section of the ALA) complete list of 2009 winners: Award List. Check out some of these fantastic books today!