My Vote: ALA Youth Media Awards 2015

MY PICKS

Caldecott
I would be happy if any book in my top ten won.

Newbery
El Deafo by Cece Bell
of all the titles, this is the one I'm routing for the most.

Geisel
Is The Princess in Black too old?

Printz
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

Seibert
Neighborhood Sharks by Katherine Roy

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming or Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

Best Picture Books of 2014

(There could be edits or additions once I'm finally able to read some of the late orders.)

1. The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat

2. Three Bears in a Boat by Dave Soman

3. Extraordinary Jane by Hannah E. Harrison

4. Weasels by Elys Dolan

5. Neighborhood Sharks by Katherine Roy

6. The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee

7. The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

8. Tiny Creatures by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Emily Sutton

9. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

10. Blue on Blue by Dianne White, illustrated by Beth Krommes

Honorable Mention

Remy and Lulu by Kevin Hawkes, with miniatures by Hannah E. Harrison
Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine by Gloria Whelan, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
Princess Sparkle Heart Gets a Makeover by Josh Schneider
Big Bug by Henry Cole
Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas by Lynne Cox, illustrated by Brian Floca

Picture This: The Adventures of Beekle

The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

On a far away island, imaginary friends are born and then wait to be imagined by a real child. One such imaginary friend waits and waits, but his time doesn't come. So he decides to go out into the world in search of his friend.

Beekle is a rather funny-looking imaginary friend--shapeless and colorless, but always expressive in his face. He goes to the playground and climbs trees, but still nothing. One day a girl named Alice calls to him, and they realize they’re perfect together.

Dan Santat’s illustrations are bursting with color, life and imagination. The endpages alone reveal the amount of thought that went into the creation of the various imaginary friends (a cloud for the kite-flyer, an octopus for the beach-goer, a rabbit for the would-be magician, etc). I'm guessing Beekle is a sort of blank canvas friend, because he and Alice bond through art and drawings. Santat portrays the real, drab world in grays, while the world of play and imagination is depicted in vibrant colors. The poignant story may refer to the imaginary, but that lengthy journey into the unknown is not unlike the real one that many children and adults must take in order to find the people they most cherish.

Picture This: Shh! We Have a Plan

Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton

Nets in hand, four friends spot a lovely bird in the forest. When the littlest of them waves, saying "Hello, birdie," the others quickly shush him, explaining, as the title suggests, "We have a plan." They tip toe, count and on "GO" they pounce, but the bird easily slips away, leaving them in a heap. Time and time again this pattern repeats itself, each time leaving the group a mess. Let's just say that one of them has a better plan...

I loved Chris Haughton's No George, in which a well-intentioned dog doesn't quite succeed at obeying the rules. Shh! We Have a Plan displays Haughton's storytelling talent once again. The circular narrative is funny and well-paced. Haughton illustrates the story almost entirely in blues, except for the animals in brilliant reds and purples, with the occasional yellow/green. Entertaining through and through, this is one kids will love.

Picture This: Remy and Lulu

Remy and Lulu by Kevin Hawkes, with miniatures by Hannah E. Harrison


Lulu the dog and Remy the painter travel the French countryside painting portraits. His eyesight isn't so great, but, as he says, his “vision is clear” and he paints from the heart. His large, abstract paintings are appreciated little at first, but soon customers are paying lots of money to have their portraits painted. What Remy doesn’t realize is that Lulu is painting a perfectly realistic miniature portrait of his customer’s pet on each canvas, and it is those that are drawing attention and acclaim. When an optometrist (appropriately named Doctor Lunette) gifts him a pair of new glasses, Remy sees the tiny portrait for the first time. Hurt and discouraged, will Remy ever paint again?

Spoiler alert—yes, he does. The ending is as charming and funny as the rest of the book.

Remy, now with 20/20 vision, goes into a funk. He refuses to paint, he doesn’t speak to Lulu. But when he receives a letter from gallery owner Madame Renard, inviting him to paint for her, he gets out his materials and, in a good will gesture, gives Lulu her own set of materials. Once at Madame Renard's, he finds he has trouble painting with his new glasses. It is only when he puts on his old, unfocused glasses that he is once again able to focus on the heart instead of the visual details. Madame Renard loves both of their paintings individually, exclaiming as Remy always has, “My eyesight is poor, you know, but my vision has always been clear!”

Remy and Lulu is written and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, but the beautiful little miniatures are painted by Hannah E. Harrison (Extraordinary Jane), who paints such miniatures herself. The two artists (and I mean Remy and Lulu) offset each other nicely with their contrasting styles. Remy paints large, bold, abstracted images, while Lulu’s are meticulous and dainty, interpreting pets as gentlemen and ladies of another era. Of course there are themes of art and what it is and how it is made, but even if children don't pick up on that, there is a great deal to enjoy in this unique picture book.

Independent Reading: The Princess in Black

The Princess in Black by Shannon & Dean Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Princess Magnolia is having tea with Duchess Wigtower when her monster alarm sounds! After convincing the duchess it was only a bird she heard, Princess Magnolia trades in her frills for black and heads off to save innocent goats from a giant blue monster. Can she save the goats and keep her identity secret from the prying eyes of a nosy duchess?

In the author bio, Shannon and Dean Hale say, “Sometimes our daughters wear princess dresses and play tea party, and sometimes they don capes and fight monsters. We wanted to write a character who does both, too!” And what a fun way to do that. I loved it. It’s funny and charming and tongue-in-cheek. Her trusty steed is a black pony disguised as Frimplepants, the sparkly unicorn. When Princess Magnolia fights the monster, her acrobatics are accompanied by “princess pounce!” and “twinkle twinkle little smash!” LeUyen Pham’s illustrations are half the fun, with priceless facial expressions and funny details.  The monsters eat bath tubs and pick their noses. The action sequences pack a punch. Very fun, very funny, and pitch perfect.

Books of 2014

Books read: 56

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher* ✦ Eat Brains Love by Jeff Hart* ✦ Boxers by Gene Luen Yang ✦ Saints by Gene Luen Yang ✦ Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl ✦ Tin Star by Cecil Castelucci* ✦ The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler ✦ The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier ✦ Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff ✦ Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion ✦ Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski* ✦ I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore ✦ The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner ✦ The Isobel Journal by Isobel Harrop* ✦ Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick ✦ The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen ✦ Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard ✦ The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski* ✦ Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier ✦ To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han* ✦ Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen ✦ The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan ✦ The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu* ✦ Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper* ✦ The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson ✦ In Real Life by Cory Doctorow* ✦ The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm* ✦ Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman ✦ Sisters by Raina Telgemeier* ✦ This One Summer by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki* ✦ Matched by Ally Condie ✦ The Tyrant’s Daughter by J. C. Carleson* ✦ The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han ✦ The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo ✦ Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley* ✦ Remaking the John by Francesca DiPiazza* ✦ Chernobyl’s Wild Kingdom by Rebecca L. Johnson* ✦ Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn ✦ The Crossover by Kwame Alexander* ✦ Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle ✦ Zac & Mia by A. J. Betts* ✦ Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin* ✦ Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern* ✦ The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming* ✦ The List by Siobhan Vivian ✦ Witches by Rosalyn Schanzer ✦ Wave by Sonia Deraniyagala ✦ The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier* ✦ Through the Woods by Emily Carroll* ✦ El Deafo by Cece Bell* ✦ The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde ✦ Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo ✦ The Thickety by J. A. White* ✦ Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer* ✦ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews ✦ The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale*


Favorite Books Read in 2014

1. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lived in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Jaw-dropping, fascinating, eye-opening.

1. El Deafo by Cece Bell*
A wonderful balance of funny, sad, heartwarming, and honest. Plus, her deaf experience is so well communicated.

3 & 4. Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang
So thought-provoking I was thinking about these two long after I finished reading. The stories are honest. The artistry is remarkable.

5. The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming*
A fascinating story, excellently told. It's so interesting to see all these separate people, events, and facets of Russia come together to create one massive explosion.

6. The Thickety by J. A. White*
Inventive, complex, and such a page-turner.

7. Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier
Solid fantasy--excellent world building, writing, and a story and characters I loved. Free of most of the irritating tropes of YA fantasy/romance.

8. The Princess in Black by Shannon and Deal Hale, illustrated by LeUyen Pham*
Pitch perfect and so much fun.

9. Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
Both a suspenseful murder mystery and an intriguing examination of two best  friends' relationship.

10. The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher*
This gets on the list simply for its power to completely engross me.










Honorable mention
The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm*
Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin*
The Tyrant's Daughter by J. C. Carleson*
Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander*

* indicates published in 2014