Ladybug Award Books

Mid-winter is an exciting time in the literary world, because it's when many annual book awards are announced. This is true even for children's books, with the American Library Association (ALA) awarding the Caldecott Medal for the best illustrations in a book for children, and the Newbery Award to the author of the best children's book of the year. We have designated shelves in the Children's Room for many of these award-winning books with the newer titles peppered throughout the children's and juvenile collections. 

My favorite awards are the NH state awards, because they are voted on by NH children. The Great Stone Face Book Award is sponsored by the Children's Librarians of New Hampshire (CLNH) and is given each year to an author whose book receives the most votes from fourth through sixth graders throughout the state. For the Ladybug Award, the state's children's librarians nominate picture book titles each spring. By fall, the list is whittled to ten books and NH children from preschoolers to third grade vote to choose the award winner in December. I'm always so excited to see which book wins.

Because this award has existed only since 2003, we have all the Ladybug Award winners at the Gordon-Nash! I spent some time this week putting ladybug spine labels on our copies so they will be easy for kids to spot on the shelves. Interestingly, six of the award-winning books were checked out! See? - they really are good books! Ask your child about the Ladybug Award!

A Brand New Year!

At our last Storytime of 2021, we read award winning books from the past year, like There Are No Bears in This Bakery, which won the NH Ladybug Award, and We Are Water Protectors, which won the American Library Associations Caldecott Award. We made headband hats to wear for New Year's Eve, with sparkly stars and the numbers for the new year - 2022 - chosen from lots and lots of different styles of 2 made with different fonts. 

Happy New Year!

2019 Caldecott Award

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This year's winner is Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackwell. I took this beautifully illustrated book to the NHCS Kindergarten this month and we read it together. 

The book tells the story of a lighthouse keeper and his mission to keep his light lit. Children were surprised and delighted to see that the lighthouse keeper lived in the lighthouse. Several liked the idea that a tender came to the lighthouse regularly to deliver food, mail, and even visitors! Kids noted that the lighthouse keeper and eventually his family took good care of the lighthouse and some were sad when they all had to leave. But everyone agreed that the ending was satisfying and happy. You will have to read Hello Lighthouse yourselves to see why!

Why Read? Celebration

Each June the Friends of the Gordon-Nash Library sponsor the Why Read/Why Write essay contest at the New Hampton Community School. Gretchen Draper, New Hampton resident, Gordon-Nash Friend, and teacher-consultant for the National Writing Project in NH, organizes the contest which is open to all fourth and fifth graders at the New Hampton Community School. The theme of the library's Summer Reading Program is the basis for the writing and drawing that the students do, and, after judging, their finished work is displayed at the library during the summer months.

This year, students wrote about why "Libraries Rock!" Books, CDs and DVDs, programs, after school program connections, and helpful staff were some of the things students wrote about in their essays. Writers also created posters to accompany their essays. Judging was very difficult this year - there were many wonderful ideas and well-worded essays.

An assembly was held at the school, where all writers received a Certificate of Participation and a Why Read Why Write bookmark. First place winners in each grade level were awarded their choice of book purchased by the Friends. Students' essays and posters will be on display upstairs at the Gordon-Nash during the Summer months. Stop in to see them!

2015 Ladybug Award

Each fall, school children in New Hampshire vote for their favorite new picture book of the year, and the chosen book is given the NH Ladybug Award by the New Hampshire State Library. This year's winner is The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, a funny story about the feelings of crayons and how they want to quit their coloring jobs! You can see the other nominated books and this year's voting results here. And of course, we do have the winning book at the Gordon-Nash!  Come on in and borrow it or call us to reserve it!

2014 Great Stone Face Winner

Last week I was at a Children's Librarian's conference with lots of other librarians from New Hampshire. One of the speakers there was M. H. Herlong, who accepted the trophy for writing the book that won this year's Great Stone Face Award. Ms. Herlong lives in New Orleans, which is also the setting of her award-winning book, called Buddy. 

Tyrone "Li'l T" Roberts meets Buddy when his family's car accidentally hits the stray dog on their way to church. Buddy turns out to be the dog Li'l T's always wished for--until Hurricane Katrina comes to New Orleans and he must leave Buddy behind. After the storm, Li'l T and his father return home to find a community struggling to rebuild their lives--and Buddy gone. But Li'l T refuses to give up his quest to find his best friend... This is a powerful story of hope, courage, and knowing when to let go.

Ms. Herlong spoke about her family's experiences during Hurricane Katrina, when they were told to leave their home and move to safety for just two days. But the two days became many months because the hurricane was so bad. She said lots of people in New Orleans left their pets behind because they thought they would be gone only for a very short time. This is one of events that inspired Ms. Herlong to write Buddy.

The Great Stone Face Award is voted on by 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in schools in New Hampshire. We did not have this book at our library, so I bought it for you. When I asked Ms. Herlong to autograph it, she wanted to know if New Hampton kids like to read. I said "YES!!!" - and she wrote this:

The 2014 NH Ladybug Award

Each year, a team of NH librarians choose ten of the best recently-published picture books as nominees for the annual NH Ladybug Award. This award is voted on by NH children from preschool to third grade. This year, we have all the nominated books at the Gordon-Nash! You can find them on the far bookcase in the picture book section - unless they've been checked out, that is!

Here are the nominated books:

Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett and Kevin Cornell
Frazzle Family Finds a Way by Ann Bonwill and Stephen Gammell
Ben Rides On by Matt Davies
How to Train a Train by Jason Carter Eaton and John Rocco
Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg by Lori Mortenson and Michael Allen Austin
Maya Was Grumpy by Courtney Pippin-Mathur
The Very Inappropriate Word by Jim Tobin and Dave Coverly
Outfoxed by Mike Twohy
If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
Baby Bear Counts One by Ashley Wolff

I'd love to have comments from kids and adults who have read some of these! Click on the speech bubble, above!

One More Award!

We have a brand new book that just arrived the week before the awards were announced - and it won the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children! It's called Parrots Over Puerto Rico, written by Susan Roth and Cindy Trumbore. The book's cover is beautiful! Just look at those parrots!

2014 Winners!

National book awards were announced today!! I love this day! Every January, the American Library Association names the best children's and young adult books of the year and bookstores immediately sell out of those titles. That's how well-known the awards are! Fortunately for you, our library already has many of the books that won awards today - and you won't have to buy them to read them!

As you read about each award-winning book, click on the book's title for book trailers or reviews.

The Newbery Award is given to the best children's book published the year before and usually goes to a "chapter book". This years award winner is Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, written by Kate DiCamillo (who also wrote Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Marvelous Adventures of Edward Tulane - you know who she is, right?) What an unusual book this is - part chapter book, part graphic novel! You can find Flora and Ulysses in the juvenile section of the Children's Room!

Runners-up for the Newbery Award are called Newbery Honor books. This year, four books were named Honor books and our library has two of them: Doll Bones written by Holly Black and Paperboy by Vince Vawter. They are also in the juvenile section of the library. 

The Prinz Award is for literature for Young Adults. We have this year's winner - Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick, as well as two of the Honor books: Eleanor & Park, a love story written by Rainbow Rowell, and Navigating Early written by Clare Vanderpool, who won the Newbery Award a few years ago. These books are in the Young Adult section of the library.

Finally, my favorite award is the Caldecott Medal - given for illustrations in a children's book! This year's winning book has been standing up on top of a shelf in the Children's Room for months! It's called Locomotive, illustrated by Brian Floca. Two Caldecott Honor books are also in the picture book section of the library: Journey written and beautifully illustrated by Aaron Becker and Mr. Wuffles! written and illustrated by David Wiesner, who already has three Caldecott Medals!  

So grab your card and get a ride to the Gordon-Nash, where we have great taste in books!