Picture This: Little Roja Riding Hood

Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Susan Guevara

I think you all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Susan Middleton Elya has written a modernized one with fun rhyming and rhythm, the incorporation of Spanish words, Hispanic cultural references, and a gutsy Red Riding Hood that doesn't need anyone else to save her. Susan Guevara, who just won a well-deserved Pura Belpre illustrator honor, has created fun, lively illustrations to match. Red Riding wears a patterned cape and cowboy boots, while her mother watches telenovelas in the background. That house has a satellite dish on top and a Jesus figure inside.Three blind mice follow Red Riding through the story, as do trouble-making duendas, or trickster elves. Lots of fun.

ALA Youth Media Awards 2015

CALDECOTT
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art, illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant
This One Summer, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki

What were they smoking? First, 6 honors? Wow. And then, This One Summer. I'm sorry but I think This One Summer has absolutely no business in the Caldecott category. It’s neither for children nor a picture book. It contains mature content including language and sexual topics. I think it’s about time ALA considered creating awards for graphic novels and changing the cap age for children’s awards to 13 instead of 14, because there is some mature stuff that can slip in with that number 14.

As for the other honors, they were mostly pretty good. You know how I feel about Viva Frida (blah) and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole. Nana in the City is a nice book (though I like Castillo's Melvin and the Boy more).

I'm most happy about the The Right Word and Beekle--what a surprise! Beekle is a real crowd-pleaser and the more I think about it, the more wonderful I think it is. There's real depth and application to life beyond the imaginary friend. And, of course, the illustrations are beautiful! Very happy about that one.

NEWBERY
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

El Deafo!!! Yay!!! I am so happy about the choices here. The Crossover was excellent. And I was thrilled to see El Deafo on the list. It could have easily been overlooked because it’s a graphic novel. Shocked though that it wasn’t even on the list for the Schneider (books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience). I haven’t read Brown Girl Dreaming—I started it a couple times, had a hard time getting into it.

PRINTZ
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson 
And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard 
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

I've only read This One Summer and I think the recognition is well deserved in this category. Interesting that We Were Liars is nowhere to be seen. I've given up a little on the Printz because I just lose my patience with the overworked and pretentious, so...

GEISEL
You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang, illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Arthur Howard
Waiting Is Not Easy! by Mo Willems

I had the winner on my to read list, but it’s not available at any library in LA. (but it came out in August. ?) Mr Putter…eh, blah, boring. Waiting is by Mo Willems, so of course it’s good.

YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen

Uh, what? The finalists included Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin and The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming. How this beat them is baffling to me. Popular is good; it's...nice. A 13-year-old's diary edited and given some perspective. And then you have the masterful telling of a complex story of the Romanovs in the context of Russia at the turn of the century. And you have a little-known story of civil rights, told with the excitement of a courtroom drama. Baffling.

SIBERT
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell
Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

There's Candace Fleming. At least someone saw sense. And Neighborhood Sharks!!! So happy!! Surprised not to see Port Chicago 50.

Also worth noting are Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, for which Frank Morrison received a Coretta Scott King illustrator honor (great illustrations full of movement, and, seemingly, rhythm) and Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya, for which Susan Guevara received a Pura Bepre illustrator honor (fun and clever writing and illustration).

I hope this year will convince ALA to get with the program and create graphic novel categories. They are not picture books; they are not novels. They are their own medium and deserve to be recognized as such. Plus, there is such a wealth of quality graphic novels for children and teens out there.

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.