Books on CD	Newberry
Caldecott Medal Winner	Maude Hart Lovelace
Gryphon Award for easy reading	Theodor Seuss Geisel
New Books	Reading Rainbow List
Magazines	Favorite Authors

Caldecott Medal Winner

2008 Medal WinnerThe 2008 Caldecott Medal winner is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)

From an opening shot of the full moon setting over an awakening Paris in 1931, this tale casts a new light on the picture book form. Hugo is a young orphan secretly living in the walls of a train station where he labors to complete a mysterious invention left by his father. In a work of more than 500 pages, the suspenseful text and wordless double-page spreads narrate the tale in turns. Neither words nor pictures alone tell this story, which is filled with cinematic intrigue. Black & white pencil illustrations evoke the flickering images of the silent films to which the book pays homage.

2008 Honor Books

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railrod by illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic)

Inspired by an antique lithograph, Kadir Nelson has created dramatically luminous illustrations that portray Henry “Box” Brown's ingenious design to ship himself in a box from slavery to freedom.

First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)

Laura Vaccaro Seeger's innovative concept book on transformations, First the Egg uses strategically placed die-cuts to provide an astonishing visual explication of the word “then.” Her richly textured brushstrokes creatively reveal the process of metamorphosis for young readers.

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, written and illustrated by Peter Sís (Farrar/Frances Foster)

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, a graphic memoir of Sís's youth in Prague, brilliantly weds artistic and design choices to content: tight little panels with officious lines and red punctuation; full-bleed line-and-watercolor spreads of nightmares and dreams; color and absence of color.

Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, written and illustrated Mo Willems (Hyperion)

Willems sets the stage for one of the most dramatic double-paged spreads in picture-book history in Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Masterful photo collages take Trixie and her daddy through their now-familiar Brooklyn neighborhood to the Pre-K class where Trixie discovers that her beloved Knuffle Bunny is not “so one-of-a-kind anymore.”

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Newberry Medal Winner

2008 Medal Winner

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies book cover image The 2008 Newbery Medal winner is Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Robert Byrd, and published by Candlewick.

In “Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village,” thirteenth-century England springs to life using 21 dramatic individual narratives that introduce young inhabitants of village and manor; from Hugo, the lord's nephew, to Nelly, the sniggler. Schlitz's elegant monologues and dialogues draw back the curtain on the period, revealing character and relationships, hinting at stories untold. Explanatory interludes add information and round out this historical and theatrical presentation.

“Schlitz adds a new dimension to books for young readers - performance,” said Committee Chair Nina Lindsay. “Varied poetic forms and styles offer humor, pathos and true insight into the human condition. Each entry is superb in itself, and together the pieces create a pageant that transports readers to a different time and place.”

2008 Honor Books

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis (Scholastic)

In Elijah of Buxton, Elijah is the first free-born child in Buxton, a Canadian community of escaped slaves, in 1860. With masterful storytelling, vibrant humor, and poignant insight into the realities of slavery and the meaning of freedom, Curtis takes readers on a journey that transforms a “fra-gile” 11-year-old boy into a courageous hero.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion)

In The Wednesday Wars, seventh-grader, Holling Hoodhood, is convinced his teacher hates him. Through their Wednesday afternoon Shakespeare sessions she helps him cope with events both wildly funny and deadly serious. “To thine own self be true” is just one of the life lessons he learns.

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam)

Feathers tells the story of how a new boy's arrival in a sixth-grade classroom helps Frannie recognize the barriers that separate people, and the importance of hope as a bridge. Transcendent imagery and lyrical prose deftly capture a girl learning to navigate the world through words.

For a list of the past award winners click on:
Caldecott
Newberry

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Maude Hart Lovelace

Division I (Grades 3-5)

1^st Place

Escaping the Giant Wave by Peg Kehret

When an earthquake creates a tsunami while thirteen-year-old Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at a Pacific Coast resort, he tries to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years.

2^nd Place

The World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney

Sent to live in Room 26, Humphrey, the class hamster, begins to learn a lot about humans through simple observation from his cage, in an amusing tale about a curious creature who takes full advantage of his educational opportunities.

3^rd Place

Good Dog by Avi

McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack

Division II (Grades 6-8)

1st Place

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and can’t see himself in the mirror. Bobby is just plain invisible. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby's new condition; even his dad the physicist can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, and no life. He's a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She's blind, and Bobby can’t resist talking to her, trusting her. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again before it's too late.

2^nd Place

Soldier X by Don Wulffson

In 1943 sixteen-year-old Erik experiences the horrors of war when he is drafted into the German army and sent to fight on the Russian front. After the first battle, Erik makes the life-altering decision to take the uniform of a dead Russian soldier and pretends to be Russian for most of his remaining time as a soldier, surviving serious wounds and finding the love of his life while he recuperates in a war hospital. There he pretends to have amnesia and takes the moniker "Soldier X." When the hospital is attacked, Erik and his girlfriend escape. After a harrowing journey filled with enemy encounters, they find a safe house in Czechoslovakia and eventually make their way to Berlin.

Airborn

3^rd Place

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

Matt, 15, only feels alive when he's aloft working as a cabin boy aboard the Aurora, a luxury airship that is part dirigible, part passenger cruise ship. When wealthy Kate and her chaperone come aboard, Matt soon discovers that she is determined to prove her grandfather's claims that he saw strange creatures flying in the sky in that area the year before. The man's diary describes them as huge, furry beasts with batlike wings and sharp claws. Soon after Kate arrives, pirates attack the ship and rob the wealthy passengers. A storm forces the damaged Aurora to set down on a seemingly deserted island. Kate and Matt discover the skeletal remains of one of the creatures, and, later, a live but deformed one that lives among the treetops. In their attempts to photograph "the cloud cat," they stumble upon the pirates' hideout and are captured. Can they escape in time to stop the brigands from stealing the Aurora? Will Kate prove the existence of this undiscovered

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Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Medal Winner

2008 Medal Winner

There Is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

In this humorous account of Elephant Gerald and Piggie's ongoing friendship, Gerald learns that there is something worse than having a bird on your head - having two birds on your head! Trying to help her friend, the always-playful Piggie ends up with a problem of her own.

Willems' balanced design of color-coordinated speech bubbles, expressive cartoon art and familiar vocabulary create an engaging, laugh-out-loud experience for young readers. The charming characters, whimsical tone and accessible language come together in this fresh and memorable celebration of friendship.

2008 Honor Books:

First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)

Simple words and paintings create a jewel-like package in a stylish yet unpretentious book in First the Egg, inviting the new reader in again and again. Lush, textured paint combined with die cuts in a trim size just right for deep thinkers, introduces the age-old chicken-and-egg riddle for the youngest reader.

Hello, Bumblebee Bat, written by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne (Charlesbridge)

Nine questions and answers introduce the world's smallest bat in Hello, Bumblebee Bat, an informational book for emerging readers. Straightforward text pops out of a sparse background allowing this little mammal to describe its habitat and characteristics in an intriguing and accessible way.

Jazz Baby, written by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Harcourt)

Bebop rhyme and repeated stanzas are just the right rhythm for young readers in Jazz Baby, a nostalgic celebration of dancing, singing and playing music. New words are effortlessly repeated as they bounce into the text and become part of the joyful gouache paintings that swing high and low with the movement of one lucky baby at the center of this loving family.

Vulture View, written by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Steve Jenkins (Holt)

In Vulture View, rhyming lyrical text, juxtaposed with dramatic textured collage come together in an innovative combination of science and poetry for new readers. Spare text placed on vivid backgrounds introduces new readers to a day in the life of turkey vultures.

Gryphon Award For Children’s Literature

The Gryphon Award is given annually in recognition of an English language work of fiction or non-fiction for which the primary audience is children in Kindergarten through Grade 4. The title chosen best exemplifies those qualities that successfully bridge the gap in difficulty between books for reading aloud to children and books for practiced readers

Medal Winner

2008 Gryphon Award Book:

Billy Tartle in Say Cheese! by Michael Townsend (Knopf, 2007)

2008 Honor Books:

Spiders by Nic Bishop (Scholastic, 2007)

Rufus the Scrub Does Not Wear a Tutu by Jamie McEwan, illustrated by John Margeson (Darby Creek, 2007)

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Books on CD

Check the NWRL catalog for books on CD

To find books on CD:

In the NWRL catalog click on advanced search
Select subject in the any field box.
Type juvenile in the box following.
Limit to: select the branch library or Northwest Regional Library
Material Type: select books on cassette or books on CD
Hit submit.
If the book on CD is not available in your library, press the “request” button to request it from another library. Don’t forget to ask your parent(s) for help.