Award Winners
2009 Newbery Medal Winner
The 2009 Newbery Medal winner is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean, and published by HarperCollins Children's Books.
A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens.
"A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising," said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
2009 Caldecott Medal Winner
The 2009 Caldecott Medal winner is The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson (Houghton Mifflin Company)
Richly detailed black-and-white scratchboard illustrations expand this timeless bedtime verse, offering reassurance to young children that there is always light in the darkness. Krommes' elegant line, illuminated with touches of golden watercolor, evoke the warmth and comfort of home and family, as well as the joys of exploring the wider world.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Batchelder Award
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Pull of the Ocean, by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Batchelder Honor Books
Delacorte Press, publisher of The Killer's Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux
Hyperion/Miramax, publisher of The Last Dragon, by Silvana De Mari
Carnegie Medal
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly of Weston Woods Studios, producers of March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World are the 2009 recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video. The video is Dr. Christine King Farris’ memory of the historic march on Washington, which took place on Aug. 23, 1963.
Geisel Award
Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group)
Geisel Honor Books
Chicken Said, ‘Cluck!’ by Judyann Ackerman Grant, illustrated by Sue Truesdell
One Boy, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Stinky, written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell, photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Sibert Medal
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh
Sibert Honor Book
Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum
Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea, written by Sy Montgomery, photos by Nic Bishop
To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel, written by Siena Cherson Siegel, illustrated by Mark Siegel
Wilder Medal