January 15, 2025 • 23 mins
The start of the year is a big time for awards, including the Youth Media Awards! The 2025 Newbery, Caldecott, Printz (and more!) will be announced on January 27th this year. In anticipation, Nicole, Drew, Killian, and Amanda dive into what book awards exist for what ages, genres, and more - and share their own experiences with award-winning books on the latest episode.
Want to join the conversation? Email us at distracted@btpl.org
Many thanks to BCTV for their support in recording, editing, and releasing this podcast; and to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring closed captioning on every episode.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
- [Nicole] Hey there.
Welcome to the "DistractedLibrarians" podcast.
We are your friendlyneighborhood bookworms
with a penchant forall things pop culture.
- [Drew] Picture thisas our digital campfire,
where we dive into our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
- [Killian] Whether you're amedia enthusiast, a book lover,
(00:21):
or just need a break from the daily grind,
you've come to the right spot.
- [Amanda] So kick back, relax,
and get delightfully distracted with us.
- [Nicole] Hey everybody.
Today we are going to talkabout the Youth Media Awards
and other awards that are given for books.
- Yeah.- Woo.
(00:41):
Yeah.(Drew chuckling)
So we are doing this episode specifically
because the Youth MediaAwards will be coming out,
and that is something that's done
by the American Library Association,
where they announce thetop books, digital media,
video and audio books forchildren and young adults,
(01:02):
which also include the well-known awards
like the Newbery and the Caldecott.
So these are specificallyof interest to us
because we have to know this.
(all laughing)
- [Killian] They're alsoselected by committees
of primarily librarians,if not entirely librarians.
I don't fully recall, but-
(01:22):
- [Drew] Librarians and authors. Yeah.
- [Killian] Yeah.
So it's a lot of ourcolleagues around the country
making these decisions.
- [Nicole] Yeah, definitely.
So it's important to kind of explain
what these awards are for,
because I think there'sconfusion about that sometimes.
I know I didn't understand the difference
between the Newbery and theCaldecott for a very long time,
(01:46):
but it's my job now to know these things.
- [Drew] I'm very excitedto hear what you have to say
because I'm not sure I still know.
(Drew laughing)- [Nicole] Okay. All right.
Well, so the Newbery Medal is
for the most outstanding contribution
to children's literature.
That's like, that's a pretty big award.
At least it's-That's like- - It sounds like a big award.
(02:06):
- [Drew] So does that feel likethe one as youth librarians,
if you had to pick one or...?
- [Nicole] It's really between thetwo, I think. - But it depends on what you're looking for, right?
So in terms of the Caldecott
so they just have different purposes.
- [Killian] Yeah.
The Newbery is very focused on the book
(02:29):
and when they list winners for that,
you get author, if thereis also an illustrator,
it's listed author, illustrator.
- [Drew] Okay.
- [Killian] The Caldecott isfor primarily the illustrations.
It is the most distinguishedAmerican picture book,
but it is, when the award is given,
it is listed as illustrator, author.
(02:51):
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Killian] Theillustrations play a big role
in that decision.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
So one of the winners of the Newbery Medal
as of 2024, was "TheEyes of the Impossible"
written by Dave Eggers.
And that's a pretty cool book.
I haven't read it,
but I understand the premise a little bit.
(03:12):
And it's kind of written inthe perspective of a dog.
So, which I think is kind of fun and cool.
- [Drew] Yeah, I've read alittle bit of Dave Eggers
in his adult side.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.- [Drew] He's very this, you know,
surrealist type author.- [Nicole] Okay, sure.
- [Drew] So I can seethat being interesting.
His perspective of-- [Nicole] Totally.
(03:36):
- [Killian] So with theCaldecott, like I said,
that kind of focuses moreon the illustration of it,
which is really interesting to me
because the 2024 winner,I love for the book.
- Mhm.- Nice.
- [Killian] The illustrations are great,
but the book was really important to me.
And that winner was "Big",
which was illustrated andwritten by Vashti Harrison.
(04:01):
And it's, I don't know a tonof the Caldecott winners.
Like they don't stick in my brain
the way Newbery winners tend to,
I think because Newberytends to get more attention
because it's for the writingand it's for the book.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] As a whole.
But when "Big" came out,
I read it before it was announcedas the Caldecott winner.
(04:23):
I was like, "Oh, this is really great."
So I was really excited to see it win.
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
I know a lot of staff members were excited
when that came throughas being the winner.
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Nicole] For sure.
- [Amanda] And what'sthe premise of "Big"?
- [Killian] Putting me on the spot here.
(all laughing)
- [Nicole] I have the synopsis.
Do you want want me to read it?
- [Killian] Yeah.(all laughing)
- [Nicole] Okay so it says,
"The emotional exploration of beingbig in a world that prizes small
(04:47):
is a tender portrayalof how you can stand out
and feel invisible at the same time."
And it's about this beautiful little girl
and it's very, very sweet.
It kinda gives you all the feels.
- Yeah.- Yeah.
- [Killian] It's a much bettersynopsis than I could have come up with on the spot.
- [Nicole] Oh, and technicallyI have the synopsis for
"The Eyes and the Impossible" too.
(05:07):
It's a story of a dog whounwittingly becomes a hero
to a park full of animals.
He is a free dog, a free dog, a stray dog
(all laughing)
who lives in an urban park by the sea,
and his job is to be the eyes
to see everything thathappens within the park
and report back to the park's elders,
which are three ancient bison.
So I kind of like what you were saying,
(05:29):
like it's pretty surreal.
- [Drew] Yep.- [Nicole] It's a bit weird.
I like it.
- [Nicole] Yeah. Okay.
So, what other awards do we have, Killian?
- [Killian] The one that I'mgonna actually talk about first
because it is the YA versionof the Newbery or Caldecott
or anything, is the Prince Award.
That is an award forexcellence in literature
(05:52):
written for young adults or teenagers.
And this year actually,
a collection of short stories won that,
which I thought was fascinating.
You don't really hear a lotabout short story collections
either in youth or inteen books all the time.
I don't know if it's morecommon in adult books
(06:12):
or anything like that, but"The Collectors: Stories"
was edited by A.S. King
and it has stories by a bunchof really big name YA authors,
Jason Reynolds, M.T. Anderson,
David Leviathan,
and so many more that havewritten really great books.
(06:35):
So I need to go read that one now.
(all laughing)
- [Nicole] Nice.
And then the Coretta Scott King Awards,
that is an award that recognizesAfrican American author
and illustrator of outstanding books
for children and young adults, also.
The winner in 2024 was "Nigeria Jones",
(06:58):
written by Ibi Zoboi,
that was the author book winner.
And then the illustrator book winner
was "An American Story",
which was illustrated by Dare Coulter.
So those are definitelysome books to check out
from last year's.
And we are really looking forward
(07:18):
to kind of seeing what'sgonna take those awards
this year, this coming year.
Another, a lesser known award is
the Schneider Family Book Award,
and that is for books thatembody an artistic expression
of the disability experience,
which I think is really important
to kind of have an awardfor that specifically.
(07:39):
And that, the title that won last year is
"Henry Like Always".
And that was written by Jen Bailey. Yeah.
- [Killian] One of the onesthat I'm always looking for is
the Stonewall Book Award,
which highlights booksthat relate to the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, ortransgender experience.
(08:01):
Hits home a little personally.
And it's also, those arebooks that a lot of kids
are looking for as theyfigure out their own life
and their own individual-
- [Nicole] Experience.- [Killian] Experience, yeah.
- [Killian] And so lastyear's winners were
"Cross My Heart andNever Lie" by Nora Dasnes
(08:24):
for children's, and then"Only This Beautiful Moment"
by Abdi Nazemian for teen.
- [Drew] I've been followingthe Stonewall Awards
a lot more in the last couple of years
since they've split out thechildren and young adult books,
which I think is fantastic,
(08:44):
is if it's getting enough recommendations
to merit two separate awards
and to be able to namemore books as finalists
in the process.
- [Nicole] Definitely- [Drew] Really cool to see.
- [Nicole] Yeah, for sure.
- [Killian] There'salso a bunch of awards,
we can't touch on all of them here,
but you get awards foraudio books, awards,
there's awards for a bunchof different identities,
(09:06):
not just African Americanor LGBT or disability.
There's a bunch of differentidentity based awards
that come out some everyyear, some every other year.
And we always get likethe stickers for those
and put those on the books.
If you ever have questionsabout what any of those are,
(09:28):
we're happy to share those.
We just can't put them all inthe podcast because of time.
(Drew chuckling)
- [Nicole] Yeah, definitely.
There's even an award for that crossover
that we talk about from time to time,
which is, it's an adult book,
but teens really seem to like it.
So there's an award for that.
All right. What are some ofthe awards for adult books?
(09:49):
- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Amanda] One of the biggest is, well,
maybe the biggest is National Book Award.
It started in 1950
and was presided overby Eleanor Roosevelt.
Most recent winner was"Blackouts" by Justin Torres.
- [Drew] Very good.- [Amanda] You read it?
- [Drew] Yes.- [Amanda] Okay. Nice.
- [Drew] I don't rememberanything about it.
(10:09):
- [Amanda] I remember looking at it
and it seemed like sortof an experimental format.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Amanda] Is that accurate?
Okay, cool.
I read his previous book,which was, do you remember?
- [Drew] I don't, no.- [Amanda] Okay.
I'm gonna try andremember it while I talk.
But(all laughing)
it can be for fiction,nonfiction, poetry, YA lit.
(10:34):
One of my favorite National Book Award was
"Just Kids" by Patty Smith.
- [Nicole] Oh.- [Amanda] That book had
a huge effect on me.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] I was like,
I wanna move to New York
and live in GreenwichVillage, but in the 1970s.
So I guess that time has passed.
- [Nicole] Yeah. Yeah.
It might be hard to doright now, but yeah.
- [Amanda] But very, verynostalgic and gorgeous
(10:55):
and yes, the Justin Torreswas "We Are the Animals".
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Amanda] Or "We the Animals",
which was a story abouthim and his brothers
sort of having a raucouschildhood together,
a house full of boys.- [Nicole] Nice.
- [Amanda] And theirrelationship to their mother
who had mental illness.
So he's a great writer. Ireally enjoyed that one too.
(11:19):
So the finalist for 2024for the National Book Award,
"Ghostroots" by Pemi Aguda,"Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar,
"James" by Percival Everett,"All Fours" by Miranda July,
and "My Friends" by Hisham Matar.
I'm gonna just-
(11:39):
- [Drew] We're doing our absolute best-
- [Amanda] Butcher all of those.
But I think if it'ssomething that is a finalist
or shortlisted for any of these,
you're gonna have agood book on your hands.
So as a librarian, it's important for me
to take a look at these and say,
"Okay, make sure we havethese in the collection."
Maybe it's something I wanna recommend
for someone or read myself.
(12:01):
- [Nicole] Cool.
- [Drew] Another really popularone is the Booker Prize.
It's been around since thesixties. It started in the UK.
At first it was only booksthat were written in English
and published in the UK and Ireland.
It has since expanded for asecond international prize
(12:22):
of books that were translatedand sold in the UK.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
- [Drew] That's only beenin the last 20 years or so.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] The most recent winnerwas called "Prophet Song"
by Paul Lynch.
I cannot claim to know that one,
but I did read the 2022 winner.
That was the "SevenMoons of Maali Almeida"
by Shehan Karunatilaka.
(12:44):
It was phenomenal.
It is a war photographer
who uncovers this massivething that he's realized
and in the midst of tryingto release the story,
he is killed.
And in the culture thatit's being written in,
I think it's Sri Lanka,but don't quote me on that.
(13:07):
He has seven days in the afterlife
to process his life andbefore he is ready to move on.
So he is spending these seven days
frantically trying toreach back to the world
to share his findings beforehand.
- [Nicole] Whoa.- [Drew] It is really, really cool.
(13:29):
Really intricate. I hada great time with it.
- [Amanda] Sounds good.- [Nicole] That sounds really epic.
(all laughing)
- [Amanda] Another one for adultis the Women's Prize for Fiction,
also based in the UK.
It's like the Booker Prize,
but it's awarded tobooks written in English
and published in the UK.
Most recent winner was "Brotherless Night"
(13:50):
by V.V. Ganeshananthan.
Oh my, the pronunciations.
And we don't know what thenext one for 2025 is gonna be,
but they will be coming out shortly.
- [Drew] And much likeKillian was talking about,
there are awards for literally everything.
(14:11):
Every genre, every identity,every format of book,
you can find an award for.
Some of the ones that we as librarians
tend to follow more are theEdgar Prize for mystery books,
the Hugo Award for science fiction,
the Bram Stoker for horror.
- [Nicole] Yay.- [Drew] Yes.
(14:31):
(all chuckling)
All of which put out fantastic books.
I remember for the Hugo Award,
the "Fifth Season" by N.K.Jemisin, phenomenal book.
And I think the only full trilogy
that's ever won for all three books.
- [Nicole] Oh wow.- [Drew] Just three years in a row
she took it.- [Nicole] Yeah. Oh my goodness.
(14:51):
- [Drew] And she should have taken it.
- [Nicole] Amazing.- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Killian] In addition to thesekind of big national awards
or international awards,
a lot of different states
also do their own statewide awards.
Not necessarily for all ages,
but I think it's fun to knowthat those are out there.
Nicole and I have both been on committees
(15:13):
for some of the Michigan State Awards.
We've both been on YouPer,which is middle grade fiction.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] Nicole much more recently
than me.- Yes.
And even before I was on YouPer,
I was on the Thumbs Upcommittee for a year or two,
which is teen books.
So that's always a wild experience
'cause you're tryingto read so many things.
(15:34):
And especially with teen and middle grade,
it's impossible to read all of the books
that come in as possibilities.
- [Nicole] But I think it has been,
being on the YouPer work committee
has been such a great way
because it motivates me tolike really read a lot of books
that would not usually be in my wheelhouse
of interest at all.
(15:56):
And so I feel like my abilityto recommend books to kids
is like next level now,
because I've read all of these books
and I can say, "Oh, you wantthis one really bizarre thing.
Well, this is the book for you."
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Nicole] So it's been really great.
I enjoy it.
- [Drew] Amanda, you were on oneof those committees too, right?
- [Amanda] Yeah. Forthe Great Michigan Read.
(16:17):
So that is something where,sponsored by Library of Michigan,
they have a book thatthey select every year
and will provide sponsorship, if you will,
in the form of eithersending libraries books
for book clubs or programming.
And that was a really fun experience
'cause it was sort of like sitting in
(16:38):
on everyone's book reviews
and just being able to hearwhy they think these books
are awesome or not awesome.
And for the Great MichiganRead specifically it is,
the criteria is that it has to center
on Michigan, the location.
(16:59):
- [Drew] Oh, nice.- [Amanda] Which is really cool.
- [Nicole] Oh, that is cool.
- [Amanda] So it takes place in Michigan.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] For at least part
of the book.
Maybe you'll get someMichigan history in there
a lot of the time,
but just makes you appreciate the state
for whatever reason throughlandscape or history.
Of course, the GreatLakes are always present.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] Very cool.
- [Nicole] That's very fun.
(17:20):
All right, well let's dive into
some of the previous award winners.
Let's see, did you guys have to read
some of these when you were kids?
- [Drew] Yes.- [Killian] Yes.
- [Killian] So many Newbery winners
are books that were assigned in school.
(17:40):
For me personally, I rememberreading "Number of the Stars",
"Sarah, Plain and Tall","Julie of the Wolves",
"Dear Mr. Henshaw", and "Rollof Thunder, Hear My Cry",
as books that I had to read for school.
- [Nicole] Mhm.
- [Killian] Also "Bridge to Terabithia".
- [Nicole] That was one for me wherethe teacher read it aloud to us.
(18:01):
- [Drew] Oh my God.- [Nicole] In class.
And it was like, I justremember it being traumatizing.
- [Drew] That devastating.- [Nicole] It's so sad.
It's such a sad story.- [Drew] On mass like that.
- [Nicole] Yeah. So, butalso it's a great book.
It was just when you're akid and you're not expecting,
you know?- [Killian] Sometimes that becomes
(18:21):
your first exposure to anything like that.
And that is a very bizarre experience
to put someone into in a classroom.
- [Drew] Mhm. Yeah.
- [Nicole] Definitely.
There was also "TheIsland of Blue Dolphins"
was another one that waslike read to me in school.
(Drew laughing)
So, but that one's notquite as traumatizing.
(18:41):
- [Amanda] Oh, I loved TheIsland of Blue Dolphin".
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] That was very important
to me. Yeah.
- [Drew] I think I had "Bud, Not Buddy"-
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] That got read to me that way.
- [Nicole] Okay. Yeah. And likein terms of, like I have realized,
and I was just sayingthis a little bit earlier,
but it's like I'm going throughthese list of award winners
and realizing that I am woefully behind
(19:06):
on reading a lot of these books.
I mean, it seems like theones that have come out
more recently, I'mdefinitely aware of those.
But when you start getting back,
because you know what, Caldecott goes back
to like-- [Drew] The thirties, I think.
- [Nicole] Yeah. It goes way, way back.
And I wasn't alive until the eighties.
So for me, I'm that,
(19:26):
a lot of that stuff iscompletely off my radar.
- [Killian] With the Caldecott,the two for me that I remember
from my childhood, bothwon well before I was born.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] It was
"Where the Wild ThingsAre" and "Snowy Day".
- [Nicole] Oh, I love those books so much.
- [Killian] They're just such staplesof school read-alouds and stuff.
- [Nicole] Totally.
Yeah. "Snowy Day" makes me so happy.
(19:48):
When I do story time andit's wintry, that's my book.
I gotta read it.
I don't know, there'ssomething just so wonderful
about him thinking he'sgonna take this snowball
inside with him and thenit melts in his pocket.
Another one, "Kitten's First Full Moon".
That's like Kevin Henkee'sbook. That one is super cute.
And I love that one too.
(20:09):
It's all in black and white.
And the kitten looks up at the moon
and thinks it's a saucer of milk.
And so he keeps jumping,
trying to get to the saucer of milk.
And then when he gets back to his house
after a very frustrating however long,
there is a saucer of milk waiting for him.
It's very cute.
- [Drew] Will you putthis book in my hands
when we get back to the library?
(all laughing)- [Nicole] Yes, I will.
(20:30):
I will do that.
- [Killian] If you ever need areminder that the Caldecott is
for the illustrations in a book,
one of my favorite winners was
"The Lion and The Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney.
- [Nicole] Oh, so good.
- [Killian] And that is acompletely wordless picture book.
It is just the fable of the mouse
helping remove the thornfrom the lion's paw.
But the artwork is simply stunning.
(20:52):
Totally understand whyit would win an award
for the art that's in it.
- [Nicole] Definitely.
Another one that I love is"A Sick Day for Amos McGee".
That one is by Philip C.Stead. The story is so sweet.
It's about a man who takescare of all of these animals
at the zoo, and then he gets sick
(21:15):
and the animals come to himand they take care of him.
It's like-- [Drew] Stop.
- [Nicole] I swear! I swear!
It's so sweet.
- [Killian] Anyway, the episode whereNicole accidentally breaks through
with cute picture books.(all laughing)
- [Drew] We're in realtime. That's happening.
- [Nicole] And you know,these are picture books
and they have like thesereally wonderful, I don't know,
(21:39):
they have a message that's important.
I think that's great.
As for the Newbery winners,
did you ever read "TheGirl Who Drank the Moon"?
No, you didn't read that one?
It sounds like somethingyou would really like.
- [Killian] I haven't read alot of the more recent winners-
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] Of the Newbery.
(22:01):
The newer Newbery winnersfor me are just the reminder
that like these awardsare chosen by adults.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] So they're the things
that adults think kids should be reading.
- [Drew] Yes.- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Killian] And not necessarilyalways what kids are gonna pick up
for themselves and enjoy the most.
- [Nicole] It's true.- [Killian] And I think that's important
to keep in mind
(22:22):
because we do wanna make surekids are also reading things
that they enjoy and want to read.
- [Nicole] Definitely.- [Killian] So there's a fine line
to walk there.
- [Nicole] Yeah, for sure.
Well, if you are interestedin any of these award winners,
you can come to the library.
We have collections where you can look at
each one of them in chronological order,
(22:44):
and they usually have thesebeautiful little golden seals
on them so that you can distinguish
that they're award winners.
But definitely come to the library
or go to your local library
and check out some award winners.
Thanks everybody. We'll see you next time.
Thank you for joining us for this episode
of "Distracted Librarians".
(23:06):
- [Drew] Many thanks to BCTVfor their support in recording,
editing and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closedcaptioning on every episode.
- [Killian] If you have anyquestions or suggestions,
feel free to reach out tous at distracted@btpl.org.
- [Amanda] Until then,keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
(23:27):
We'll catch you in the next episode.
- The views and opinions expressed
in the "Distracted Librarians" podcast
do not necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township, BloomfieldTownship Public Library,
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area Cable Board,
or its producers or production staff.
- [Nicole] Hey there.
Welcome to the "DistractedLibrarians" podcast.
We are your friendlyneighborhood bookworms
with a penchant forall things pop culture.
- [Drew] Picture thisas our digital campfire,
where we dive into our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
- [Killian] Whether you're amedia enthusiast, a book lover,
(00:21):
or just need a break from the daily grind,
you've come to the right spot.
- [Amanda] So kick back, relax,
and get delightfully distracted with us.
- [Nicole] Hey everybody.
Today we are going to talkabout the Youth Media Awards
and other awards that are given for books.
- Yeah.- Woo.
(00:41):
Yeah.(Drew chuckling)
So we are doing this episode specifically
because the Youth MediaAwards will be coming out,
and that is something that's done
by the American Library Association,
where they announce thetop books, digital media,
video and audio books forchildren and young adults,
(01:02):
which also include the well-known awards
like the Newbery and the Caldecott.
So these are specificallyof interest to us
because we have to know this.
(all laughing)
- [Killian] They're alsoselected by committees
of primarily librarians,if not entirely librarians.
I don't fully recall, but-
(01:22):
- [Drew] Librarians and authors. Yeah.
- [Killian] Yeah.
So it's a lot of ourcolleagues around the country
making these decisions.
- [Nicole] Yeah, definitely.
So it's important to kind of explain
what these awards are for,
because I think there'sconfusion about that sometimes.
I know I didn't understand the difference
between the Newbery and theCaldecott for a very long time,
(01:46):
but it's my job now to know these things.
- [Drew] I'm very excitedto hear what you have to say
because I'm not sure I still know.
(Drew laughing)- [Nicole] Okay. All right.
Well, so the Newbery Medal is
for the most outstanding contribution
to children's literature.
That's like, that's a pretty big award.
At least it's-That's like- - It sounds like a big award.
(02:06):
- [Drew] So does that feel likethe one as youth librarians,
if you had to pick one or...?
- [Nicole] It's really between thetwo, I think. - But it depends on what you're looking for, right?
So in terms of the Caldecott
so they just have different purposes.
- [Killian] Yeah.
The Newbery is very focused on the book
(02:29):
and when they list winners for that,
you get author, if thereis also an illustrator,
it's listed author, illustrator.
- [Drew] Okay.
- [Killian] The Caldecott isfor primarily the illustrations.
It is the most distinguishedAmerican picture book,
but it is, when the award is given,
it is listed as illustrator, author.
(02:51):
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Killian] Theillustrations play a big role
in that decision.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
So one of the winners of the Newbery Medal
as of 2024, was "TheEyes of the Impossible"
written by Dave Eggers.
And that's a pretty cool book.
I haven't read it,
but I understand the premise a little bit.
(03:12):
And it's kind of written inthe perspective of a dog.
So, which I think is kind of fun and cool.
- [Drew] Yeah, I've read alittle bit of Dave Eggers
in his adult side.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.- [Drew] He's very this, you know,
surrealist type author.- [Nicole] Okay, sure.
- [Drew] So I can seethat being interesting.
His perspective of-- [Nicole] Totally.
(03:36):
- [Killian] So with theCaldecott, like I said,
that kind of focuses moreon the illustration of it,
which is really interesting to me
because the 2024 winner,I love for the book.
- Mhm.- Nice.
- [Killian] The illustrations are great,
but the book was really important to me.
And that winner was "Big",
which was illustrated andwritten by Vashti Harrison.
(04:01):
And it's, I don't know a tonof the Caldecott winners.
Like they don't stick in my brain
the way Newbery winners tend to,
I think because Newberytends to get more attention
because it's for the writingand it's for the book.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] As a whole.
But when "Big" came out,
I read it before it was announcedas the Caldecott winner.
(04:23):
I was like, "Oh, this is really great."
So I was really excited to see it win.
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
I know a lot of staff members were excited
when that came throughas being the winner.
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Nicole] For sure.
- [Amanda] And what'sthe premise of "Big"?
- [Killian] Putting me on the spot here.
(all laughing)
- [Nicole] I have the synopsis.
Do you want want me to read it?
- [Killian] Yeah.(all laughing)
- [Nicole] Okay so it says,
"The emotional exploration of beingbig in a world that prizes small
(04:47):
is a tender portrayalof how you can stand out
and feel invisible at the same time."
And it's about this beautiful little girl
and it's very, very sweet.
It kinda gives you all the feels.
- Yeah.- Yeah.
- [Killian] It's a much bettersynopsis than I could have come up with on the spot.
- [Nicole] Oh, and technicallyI have the synopsis for
"The Eyes and the Impossible" too.
(05:07):
It's a story of a dog whounwittingly becomes a hero
to a park full of animals.
He is a free dog, a free dog, a stray dog
(all laughing)
who lives in an urban park by the sea,
and his job is to be the eyes
to see everything thathappens within the park
and report back to the park's elders,
which are three ancient bison.
So I kind of like what you were saying,
(05:29):
like it's pretty surreal.
- [Drew] Yep.- [Nicole] It's a bit weird.
I like it.
- [Nicole] Yeah. Okay.
So, what other awards do we have, Killian?
- [Killian] The one that I'mgonna actually talk about first
because it is the YA versionof the Newbery or Caldecott
or anything, is the Prince Award.
That is an award forexcellence in literature
(05:52):
written for young adults or teenagers.
And this year actually,
a collection of short stories won that,
which I thought was fascinating.
You don't really hear a lotabout short story collections
either in youth or inteen books all the time.
I don't know if it's morecommon in adult books
(06:12):
or anything like that, but"The Collectors: Stories"
was edited by A.S. King
and it has stories by a bunchof really big name YA authors,
Jason Reynolds, M.T. Anderson,
David Leviathan,
and so many more that havewritten really great books.
(06:35):
So I need to go read that one now.
(all laughing)
- [Nicole] Nice.
And then the Coretta Scott King Awards,
that is an award that recognizesAfrican American author
and illustrator of outstanding books
for children and young adults, also.
The winner in 2024 was "Nigeria Jones",
(06:58):
written by Ibi Zoboi,
that was the author book winner.
And then the illustrator book winner
was "An American Story",
which was illustrated by Dare Coulter.
So those are definitelysome books to check out
from last year's.
And we are really looking forward
(07:18):
to kind of seeing what'sgonna take those awards
this year, this coming year.
Another, a lesser known award is
the Schneider Family Book Award,
and that is for books thatembody an artistic expression
of the disability experience,
which I think is really important
to kind of have an awardfor that specifically.
(07:39):
And that, the title that won last year is
"Henry Like Always".
And that was written by Jen Bailey. Yeah.
- [Killian] One of the onesthat I'm always looking for is
the Stonewall Book Award,
which highlights booksthat relate to the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, ortransgender experience.
(08:01):
Hits home a little personally.
And it's also, those arebooks that a lot of kids
are looking for as theyfigure out their own life
and their own individual-
- [Nicole] Experience.- [Killian] Experience, yeah.
- [Killian] And so lastyear's winners were
"Cross My Heart andNever Lie" by Nora Dasnes
(08:24):
for children's, and then"Only This Beautiful Moment"
by Abdi Nazemian for teen.
- [Drew] I've been followingthe Stonewall Awards
a lot more in the last couple of years
since they've split out thechildren and young adult books,
which I think is fantastic,
(08:44):
is if it's getting enough recommendations
to merit two separate awards
and to be able to namemore books as finalists
in the process.
- [Nicole] Definitely- [Drew] Really cool to see.
- [Nicole] Yeah, for sure.
- [Killian] There'salso a bunch of awards,
we can't touch on all of them here,
but you get awards foraudio books, awards,
there's awards for a bunchof different identities,
(09:06):
not just African Americanor LGBT or disability.
There's a bunch of differentidentity based awards
that come out some everyyear, some every other year.
And we always get likethe stickers for those
and put those on the books.
If you ever have questionsabout what any of those are,
(09:28):
we're happy to share those.
We just can't put them all inthe podcast because of time.
(Drew chuckling)
- [Nicole] Yeah, definitely.
There's even an award for that crossover
that we talk about from time to time,
which is, it's an adult book,
but teens really seem to like it.
So there's an award for that.
All right. What are some ofthe awards for adult books?
(09:49):
- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Amanda] One of the biggest is, well,
maybe the biggest is National Book Award.
It started in 1950
and was presided overby Eleanor Roosevelt.
Most recent winner was"Blackouts" by Justin Torres.
- [Drew] Very good.- [Amanda] You read it?
- [Drew] Yes.- [Amanda] Okay. Nice.
- [Drew] I don't rememberanything about it.
(10:09):
- [Amanda] I remember looking at it
and it seemed like sortof an experimental format.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Amanda] Is that accurate?
Okay, cool.
I read his previous book,which was, do you remember?
- [Drew] I don't, no.- [Amanda] Okay.
I'm gonna try andremember it while I talk.
But(all laughing)
it can be for fiction,nonfiction, poetry, YA lit.
(10:34):
One of my favorite National Book Award was
"Just Kids" by Patty Smith.
- [Nicole] Oh.- [Amanda] That book had
a huge effect on me.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] I was like,
I wanna move to New York
and live in GreenwichVillage, but in the 1970s.
So I guess that time has passed.
- [Nicole] Yeah. Yeah.
It might be hard to doright now, but yeah.
- [Amanda] But very, verynostalgic and gorgeous
(10:55):
and yes, the Justin Torreswas "We Are the Animals".
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Amanda] Or "We the Animals",
which was a story abouthim and his brothers
sort of having a raucouschildhood together,
a house full of boys.- [Nicole] Nice.
- [Amanda] And theirrelationship to their mother
who had mental illness.
So he's a great writer. Ireally enjoyed that one too.
(11:19):
So the finalist for 2024for the National Book Award,
"Ghostroots" by Pemi Aguda,"Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar,
"James" by Percival Everett,"All Fours" by Miranda July,
and "My Friends" by Hisham Matar.
I'm gonna just-
(11:39):
- [Drew] We're doing our absolute best-
- [Amanda] Butcher all of those.
But I think if it'ssomething that is a finalist
or shortlisted for any of these,
you're gonna have agood book on your hands.
So as a librarian, it's important for me
to take a look at these and say,
"Okay, make sure we havethese in the collection."
Maybe it's something I wanna recommend
for someone or read myself.
(12:01):
- [Nicole] Cool.
- [Drew] Another really popularone is the Booker Prize.
It's been around since thesixties. It started in the UK.
At first it was only booksthat were written in English
and published in the UK and Ireland.
It has since expanded for asecond international prize
(12:22):
of books that were translatedand sold in the UK.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
- [Drew] That's only beenin the last 20 years or so.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] The most recent winnerwas called "Prophet Song"
by Paul Lynch.
I cannot claim to know that one,
but I did read the 2022 winner.
That was the "SevenMoons of Maali Almeida"
by Shehan Karunatilaka.
(12:44):
It was phenomenal.
It is a war photographer
who uncovers this massivething that he's realized
and in the midst of tryingto release the story,
he is killed.
And in the culture thatit's being written in,
I think it's Sri Lanka,but don't quote me on that.
(13:07):
He has seven days in the afterlife
to process his life andbefore he is ready to move on.
So he is spending these seven days
frantically trying toreach back to the world
to share his findings beforehand.
- [Nicole] Whoa.- [Drew] It is really, really cool.
(13:29):
Really intricate. I hada great time with it.
- [Amanda] Sounds good.- [Nicole] That sounds really epic.
(all laughing)
- [Amanda] Another one for adultis the Women's Prize for Fiction,
also based in the UK.
It's like the Booker Prize,
but it's awarded tobooks written in English
and published in the UK.
Most recent winner was "Brotherless Night"
(13:50):
by V.V. Ganeshananthan.
Oh my, the pronunciations.
And we don't know what thenext one for 2025 is gonna be,
but they will be coming out shortly.
- [Drew] And much likeKillian was talking about,
there are awards for literally everything.
(14:11):
Every genre, every identity,every format of book,
you can find an award for.
Some of the ones that we as librarians
tend to follow more are theEdgar Prize for mystery books,
the Hugo Award for science fiction,
the Bram Stoker for horror.
- [Nicole] Yay.- [Drew] Yes.
(14:31):
(all chuckling)
All of which put out fantastic books.
I remember for the Hugo Award,
the "Fifth Season" by N.K.Jemisin, phenomenal book.
And I think the only full trilogy
that's ever won for all three books.
- [Nicole] Oh wow.- [Drew] Just three years in a row
she took it.- [Nicole] Yeah. Oh my goodness.
(14:51):
- [Drew] And she should have taken it.
- [Nicole] Amazing.- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Killian] In addition to thesekind of big national awards
or international awards,
a lot of different states
also do their own statewide awards.
Not necessarily for all ages,
but I think it's fun to knowthat those are out there.
Nicole and I have both been on committees
(15:13):
for some of the Michigan State Awards.
We've both been on YouPer,which is middle grade fiction.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] Nicole much more recently
than me.- Yes.
And even before I was on YouPer,
I was on the Thumbs Upcommittee for a year or two,
which is teen books.
So that's always a wild experience
'cause you're tryingto read so many things.
(15:34):
And especially with teen and middle grade,
it's impossible to read all of the books
that come in as possibilities.
- [Nicole] But I think it has been,
being on the YouPer work committee
has been such a great way
because it motivates me tolike really read a lot of books
that would not usually be in my wheelhouse
of interest at all.
(15:56):
And so I feel like my abilityto recommend books to kids
is like next level now,
because I've read all of these books
and I can say, "Oh, you wantthis one really bizarre thing.
Well, this is the book for you."
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Nicole] So it's been really great.
I enjoy it.
- [Drew] Amanda, you were on oneof those committees too, right?
- [Amanda] Yeah. Forthe Great Michigan Read.
(16:17):
So that is something where,sponsored by Library of Michigan,
they have a book thatthey select every year
and will provide sponsorship, if you will,
in the form of eithersending libraries books
for book clubs or programming.
And that was a really fun experience
'cause it was sort of like sitting in
(16:38):
on everyone's book reviews
and just being able to hearwhy they think these books
are awesome or not awesome.
And for the Great MichiganRead specifically it is,
the criteria is that it has to center
on Michigan, the location.
(16:59):
- [Drew] Oh, nice.- [Amanda] Which is really cool.
- [Nicole] Oh, that is cool.
- [Amanda] So it takes place in Michigan.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] For at least part
of the book.
Maybe you'll get someMichigan history in there
a lot of the time,
but just makes you appreciate the state
for whatever reason throughlandscape or history.
Of course, the GreatLakes are always present.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] Very cool.
- [Nicole] That's very fun.
(17:20):
All right, well let's dive into
some of the previous award winners.
Let's see, did you guys have to read
some of these when you were kids?
- [Drew] Yes.- [Killian] Yes.
- [Killian] So many Newbery winners
are books that were assigned in school.
(17:40):
For me personally, I rememberreading "Number of the Stars",
"Sarah, Plain and Tall","Julie of the Wolves",
"Dear Mr. Henshaw", and "Rollof Thunder, Hear My Cry",
as books that I had to read for school.
- [Nicole] Mhm.
- [Killian] Also "Bridge to Terabithia".
- [Nicole] That was one for me wherethe teacher read it aloud to us.
(18:01):
- [Drew] Oh my God.- [Nicole] In class.
And it was like, I justremember it being traumatizing.
- [Drew] That devastating.- [Nicole] It's so sad.
It's such a sad story.- [Drew] On mass like that.
- [Nicole] Yeah. So, butalso it's a great book.
It was just when you're akid and you're not expecting,
you know?- [Killian] Sometimes that becomes
(18:21):
your first exposure to anything like that.
And that is a very bizarre experience
to put someone into in a classroom.
- [Drew] Mhm. Yeah.
- [Nicole] Definitely.
There was also "TheIsland of Blue Dolphins"
was another one that waslike read to me in school.
(Drew laughing)
So, but that one's notquite as traumatizing.
(18:41):
- [Amanda] Oh, I loved TheIsland of Blue Dolphin".
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Amanda] That was very important
to me. Yeah.
- [Drew] I think I had "Bud, Not Buddy"-
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] That got read to me that way.
- [Nicole] Okay. Yeah. And likein terms of, like I have realized,
and I was just sayingthis a little bit earlier,
but it's like I'm going throughthese list of award winners
and realizing that I am woefully behind
(19:06):
on reading a lot of these books.
I mean, it seems like theones that have come out
more recently, I'mdefinitely aware of those.
But when you start getting back,
because you know what, Caldecott goes back
to like-- [Drew] The thirties, I think.
- [Nicole] Yeah. It goes way, way back.
And I wasn't alive until the eighties.
So for me, I'm that,
(19:26):
a lot of that stuff iscompletely off my radar.
- [Killian] With the Caldecott,the two for me that I remember
from my childhood, bothwon well before I was born.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] It was
"Where the Wild ThingsAre" and "Snowy Day".
- [Nicole] Oh, I love those books so much.
- [Killian] They're just such staplesof school read-alouds and stuff.
- [Nicole] Totally.
Yeah. "Snowy Day" makes me so happy.
(19:48):
When I do story time andit's wintry, that's my book.
I gotta read it.
I don't know, there'ssomething just so wonderful
about him thinking he'sgonna take this snowball
inside with him and thenit melts in his pocket.
Another one, "Kitten's First Full Moon".
That's like Kevin Henkee'sbook. That one is super cute.
And I love that one too.
(20:09):
It's all in black and white.
And the kitten looks up at the moon
and thinks it's a saucer of milk.
And so he keeps jumping,
trying to get to the saucer of milk.
And then when he gets back to his house
after a very frustrating however long,
there is a saucer of milk waiting for him.
It's very cute.
- [Drew] Will you putthis book in my hands
when we get back to the library?
(all laughing)- [Nicole] Yes, I will.
(20:30):
I will do that.
- [Killian] If you ever need areminder that the Caldecott is
for the illustrations in a book,
one of my favorite winners was
"The Lion and The Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney.
- [Nicole] Oh, so good.
- [Killian] And that is acompletely wordless picture book.
It is just the fable of the mouse
helping remove the thornfrom the lion's paw.
But the artwork is simply stunning.
(20:52):
Totally understand whyit would win an award
for the art that's in it.
- [Nicole] Definitely.
Another one that I love is"A Sick Day for Amos McGee".
That one is by Philip C.Stead. The story is so sweet.
It's about a man who takescare of all of these animals
at the zoo, and then he gets sick
(21:15):
and the animals come to himand they take care of him.
It's like-- [Drew] Stop.
- [Nicole] I swear! I swear!
It's so sweet.
- [Killian] Anyway, the episode whereNicole accidentally breaks through
with cute picture books.(all laughing)
- [Drew] We're in realtime. That's happening.
- [Nicole] And you know,these are picture books
and they have like thesereally wonderful, I don't know,
(21:39):
they have a message that's important.
I think that's great.
As for the Newbery winners,
did you ever read "TheGirl Who Drank the Moon"?
No, you didn't read that one?
It sounds like somethingyou would really like.
- [Killian] I haven't read alot of the more recent winners-
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] Of the Newbery.
(22:01):
The newer Newbery winnersfor me are just the reminder
that like these awardsare chosen by adults.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] So they're the things
that adults think kids should be reading.
- [Drew] Yes.- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Killian] And not necessarilyalways what kids are gonna pick up
for themselves and enjoy the most.
- [Nicole] It's true.- [Killian] And I think that's important
to keep in mind
(22:22):
because we do wanna make surekids are also reading things
that they enjoy and want to read.
- [Nicole] Definitely.- [Killian] So there's a fine line
to walk there.
- [Nicole] Yeah, for sure.
Well, if you are interestedin any of these award winners,
you can come to the library.
We have collections where you can look at
each one of them in chronological order,
(22:44):
and they usually have thesebeautiful little golden seals
on them so that you can distinguish
that they're award winners.
But definitely come to the library
or go to your local library
and check out some award winners.
Thanks everybody. We'll see you next time.
Thank you for joining us for this episode
of "Distracted Librarians".
(23:06):
- [Drew] Many thanks to BCTVfor their support in recording,
editing and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closedcaptioning on every episode.
- [Killian] If you have anyquestions or suggestions,
feel free to reach out tous at distracted@btpl.org.
- [Amanda] Until then,keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
(23:27):
We'll catch you in the next episode.
- The views and opinions expressed
in the "Distracted Librarians" podcast
do not necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township, BloomfieldTownship Public Library,
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area Cable Board,
or its producers or production staff.
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