Today Show Interview with the Caldecott and Newbery Winners

Traditionally, the Today Show interviews the new Caldecott and Newbery winners. Here are Neil Gaiman, the Newbery Award winning author of The Graveyard Book and Beth Krommes, the Caldecott Award winning illustrator of The House in the Night in their interview with Al Roker.

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This interview originally aired on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, the day after the awards were announced at the ALA midwinter meeting in Denver.

Class Visits

Yesterday morning we had 180 kids in our department! The kids were here with their classes to hear stories, to go on tours, to receive computer instruction and to conduct research. It is not too late to schedule YOUR class visit to the Library! Your visit can be tailored to meet the needs of your students.

We are available for tours on Wednesday afternoons or all day on Thursday. We are currently scheduling for March, April & May. If you would like to schedule your visit, please give us a call at 421-1220.

A Favorite: The Cow That Went OINK

The Cow That Went OINK is an excellent read-aloud book for children of all ages. In this funny story, Bernard Most explores what would happen if I cow didn't know how to say 'Moo'.

My favorite part of the book is when the animals laugh, such as the duck laughing, "Quack-ha" and the sheep laughing, "Baa-ha". How do you think a rooster would laugh? Or a frog? Check out The Cow That Went OINK and laugh along with a variety of animals.

Reading Rocks! Goes Undercover

On Friday, January 16, the Reading Rocks! Homeschool Book Club for 3rd - 5th Graders met to discuss The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse by Bruce Hale, the first title in the Chet Gecko Mystery series. After a great discussion, we made our own detective disguises.

Join us for our next Fabulous Fridays Book Club on February 6th from 2-3pm, when our titles for discussion will be...
Early Reader Roundup (Grades K-2): Good Night, Good Knight, by Shelley Moore Thomas
Reading Rocks! (Grades 3-5): Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan

2008 Aesop Award

The Aesop Award is given annually by the American Folklore Society for excellence in children's folklore.

2008 Aesop Prize:

Ain't Nothing But a Man: My quest to find the real John Henry, by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

2008 Aesop Accolades:

Dance in a Buffalo Skull, told by Zitkala-Ša. Illustrated by S. D. Nelson.

The Adventures of Molly Whuppie and Other Appalachian Folktales, by Anne Shelby. Illustrated by Paula McArdle.

2009 American Library Association Awards

John Newbery Medal:
"The Graveyard Book" written by Neil Gaiman

Newbery Honor Books:
"The Underneath" written by Kathi Appelt
“The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom” written by Margarita Engle
"Savvy" written by Ingrid Law
"After Tupac & D Foster" written by Jacqueline Woodson

Randolph Caldecott Medal:
"The House in the Night" written by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes

Caldecott Honor Books:
"A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever" by Marla Frazee
"How I Learned Geography" by Uri Shulevitz
"A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams" by Melissa Sweet

Sibert Medal:
“We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball,” by author and illustrator Kadir Nelson

Sibert Honor Books:
“Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of The Past,” written by James M. Deem
“What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!” written by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award:
"Are You Ready to Play Outside?" by Mo Willems

Geisel Honor Books:
"Chicken Said "Cluck!' " by Judyann Ackerman Grant, illustrated by Sue Truesdell
"One Boy" by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
"Stinky" by Eleanor Davis
"Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator" by Sarah C. Campbell

Coretta Scott King Author Award:
“We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball,” written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books:
“The Blacker the Berry” by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
“Keeping the Night Watch” by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
“Becoming Billie Holiday” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award:
“The Blacker the Berry,” illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Joyce Carol Thomas

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books:
“We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball” written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
“Before John Was a Jazz Giant” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls
“The Moon Over Star” by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Pura Belpré Author Award:
“The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom” by Margarita Engle

Pura Belpré Author Honor Books:
“Just in Case” written by Yuyi Morales
“Reaching Out” written by Francisco Jiménez
“The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos,” written by Lucía González

Pure Belpré Illustrator Award:
“Just in Case” illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor Books:
“Papá and Me” illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Arthur Dorros
“The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos” illustrated by Lulu Delacre, written by Lucía González
“What Can You Do with a Rebozo?” illustrated by Amy Córdova, written by Carmen Tafolla

Andrew Carnegie Medal:
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly of Weston Woods Studios, producers of “March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World,”

Odyssey Award:
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” written/narrated by Sherman Alexie

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks:
“Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady,” written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
“Elijah of Buxton,” written by Christopher Paul Curtis, narrated by Mirron Willis
“I’m Dirty!” written by Kate & Jim McMullan, narrated by Steve Buscemi
“Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale,” written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy
“Nation,” written by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs

2009 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer:
Kathleen T. Horning, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)

Mildred L. Batchelder Award:
“Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit” originally published in Japanese, written by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu

Batchelder Honor Books:
“Garmann’s Summer,” originally published in Norwegian, written by Stian Hole, translated by Don Bartlett
“Tiger Moon,” originally published in German, written by Antonia Michaelis, translated by Anthea Bell

Get Moving!

Tired of sitting around in the house on these COLD winter days? Here are some fun titles to get you and your children a-movin' and a-shakin'!

Sock Monkeys Do the Monkey Monkey
by William B. Winburn









Bearobics: A Hip-Hop Counting Story
by Vic Parker










Or, check out some children's music CDs...Jim Gill and Greg and Steve are popular children's musicians who sing fun action songs.