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!

On the Edge of Our Seats!

Every January since 1922, the American Library Association announces 2 of the most prestigious awards given for children's literature. These are the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Medal. The Caldecott was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator, Randolph Caldecott and is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller, John Newbery, and is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Both medals are given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. For weeks prior to the announcement, lovers of children's literature start speculating about who the winners will be. Every year I wager a little bet with myself but I have yet to guess the correct winners. If you're interested in learning more about these awards and how the voting process works go to http://www.ala.org/ and click away! The winners will be announced at a press conference on Monday January, 26 so check online sometime that day. Here are the 2008 winners:

First the Newbery

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Voices From a Medieval Village

By Laura Amy Schlitz

And the Caldecott

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

By Brian Selznick

Program Fridays: For the Week of 1/17-1/24 + a bonus

We have some exciting programs planned for all of you:

Chip Curry: Songster, Fiddler, Teller of Tales

Wednesday, January 21 at 3:30 pm at Children's Library, 1276 Harriet St.

Come hear Chip play his fiddle and sing songs about love, dreams, and the good ole times!

Click here for an e-mail reminder about this program.

Paws to Read

Saturday, January 24 at 2:30-3:30 pm at Children's Library, 1276 Harriet St.

Practice your reading skills by reading to a therapy dog at the library. First come, first served.

Click here to receive an e-mail reminder about this program.

My bonus program for you:
Annual Storytelling Festival

Sunday, January 25 at 1-5 pm at Children's Library, 1276 Harriet St.

Treat yourself to an afternoon of traditional storytelling where tellers from all over the Bay Area drop by to share their tales. Come for some or all the afternoon.

Click here to receive an e-mail reminder about this program.

Getting Ready for the Big Day-- Inauguration

An important day in our nation's history is coming up-- the inauguration of Barack Obama. I thought you'd might be interested in books surrounding the historic event:

Barack Obama by Stephen Feinstein
An elementary biography of United States senator from Illinois Barack Obama; discusses his childhood, ethnic background, family, and career in politics. For Grades 1-2. For older kids, you might want to check out Barack Obama: Working to Make a Difference. For Grades 2-3.

Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope by Nikki Grimes

When David asks his mother about the man on television, she tells him the story of Barack Obama, discussing his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, his parents' divorce, and his desire to help others.

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

When Grace discovers that there has never been a female U.S. president, she decides to run for school president. It has a simplistic explanation of the electoral college. A great book for Pre-1st graders.

If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier

Discusses the presidential election process. For Pre-1st graders.

Also don't forget that Martin Luther King Jr. day is coming up. Here are some newer books about him:

...If you lived at the time of Martin Luther King by Ellen Levine

A different time...a different place...What if you were there? If you lived at the time of Martin Luther King, you would have seen important changes brought about by the civil rights movement.

March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World by Christine King Farris

From Dr. Martin Luther King's sister, the definitive tribute to the man, the march, and the speech that changed a nation.

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel's Amazing March Toward Freedom by Richard Michelson

The story of two icons for social justice, how they formed a remarkable friendship and turned their personal experiences of discrimination into a message of love and equality for all.

Also please join us for Silicon Valley Reads 2009:

Brian Copeland, Bay Area broadcast personality and author of Not a Genuine Black Man, will appear on Wednesday, January 28 at 6:30 at the Palo Alto High School Haymarket Theater. Click here to find out more about other events in this program.

Manners and Responsibility

It is important to teach kids about manners and responsibility when they are young. I came across some new picture books that discuss manners and responsibility for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners:

Being Responsible by Mary Small
Explains many different ways that children can be responsible and show responsibility. Part of the Way to Be series. Check out her other books, Being Fair, Being a Good Citizen, and Being Trustworthy.

Emily Post; Emily's Everyday Manners by Peggy Post and Cindy Post Senning
Emily and her friend Ethan demonstrate what manners to use every day.

Ryan Respects by Virginia Kroll
Ryan thinks it is funny to call the slowest runner in his class "Doug the Slug," until his older brother teases him for having a teddy bear. A great book for kindergartners.

Nobunny's Perfect by Anna Dewdney
Bunnies, who slurp their juice, forget to say "please," and bite their friends, learn about good manners.

Please is a Good Word to Say by Barbara Joose
Harriet gives examples of polite words and expressions to use in various social situations to make them more pleasant.

Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra
When B.B. Wolf, who now lives in the Villain Villa Retirement Residence, is invited to the library for a storybook tea, he is careful to follow the advice of his crocodile friend and impresses everyone with how polite he can be. This book is a crowd-pleaser and one of my favorite books on manners.

Program Friday (Upcoming Programs for Jan. 10 - 16)

Kids' Yoga with Shyamoli

Take a break from your busy day and join us for a relaxing yoga class with your child. Shyamoli tells stories about the different poses as she instructs the children.

Date and Time: Sunday, January 11 at 2:00 p.m
Location: Children's Library, 1276 Harriet St.
Ages: For Ages 3 and up

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Palo Alto Library.

Baby Storytime is now in session! Tuesdays at 11:00 am at the College Terrace Library. This week's storytime is the second in the 8-week session.

Toddler and Preschool Storytimes continue as usual. Look at the schedule here.

Check out all of our January programs by clicking on the calendar on the sidebar. don't forget the Children's Library Annual Storytelling Festival on Sunday, Jan. 25 from 1 - 5!

New Books for the New Year

Looking for a good book to read? Here are some children's fiction titles on the Library's new book shelf that I recommend. Some are reviewed on our book review page and all of them are on my LibraryThing catalog.

Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

In North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains, a troubled boy and his mother, a happy family seeking adventure, a man and his lonely daughter, and the widow who must sell the run-down motel that has been her home for decades, meet and are transformed by their shared experiences.

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

In this tongue-in-cheek take on classic themes in children's literature, the four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous around-the-world adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

The Penderwicks on Gardham Street by Jeanne Birdsall

The four Penderwick sisters are faced with the unimaginable prospect of their widowed father dating, and they hatch a plot to stop him. This is a sequel - and the first one is fantastic, too!

Steel Trapp by Ridley Pearson

On a two-day train trip to enter his invention in the National Science Competition in Washington, D.C., fourteen-year-old Steven "Steel" Trapp, possessor of a remarkable photographic memory, becomes embroiled in an international plot of kidnapping and bribery that may have links to terrorists.

Swindle by Gordon Korman

After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the SmartPick fruit picker

Fearless by Elvira Woodruff

In late seventeenth-century England, eleven-year-old Digory, forced to leave his hometown after his father is lost at sea, becomes an apprentice to the architect Henry Winstanley, who built a lighthouse on the treacherous Eddystone Reef -- the very rocks that sank Digory's grandfather's ship years before




The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling

Of course- how could we not include this one?!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers' attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger's new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales.