Awards

Press Here by Herve Tullet did not win the Caldecott; did not even get mentioned.  But is Tullet an American illustrator?  That is a prerequisite, I think. A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka is the 2012 Caldecott winner.  Tres cute!

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos won the Newbery Award.  That is a fine book indeed.  I would have argued for Matthew Kirby's Icefall,  myself, because of the storytelling angle. 

Gantos' book has a couple of things going for it in an American market;  The book takes place in Pennsylvania, a very American Commonwealth, home to the US's first capital.  There is a great sense of time and place in Dead End in Norvelt.  There is not one single touch of fantasy in the book and that is a breath of fresh air.  (I argue that there was little to no fantasy in Icefall, but I'm not sure people agree with me.)  And Jack's voice as narrator is pitch perfect.

To read what other books won the American Library Association's annual carnival of book awards, click here.