Posts Tagged ‘Caldecott’

Take a minute to proofread

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

duck frontMy sister and brother-in-law sent this adorable postcard to my 7- and 5-year-old. They always think of the kids when they’re traveling, and often bring them back fun souvenirs. We got this in the mail last week while Aunt J and Uncle K were in Boston.

“Make Way for Ducklings,” by Robert McCloskey, published in 1941, tells the story of a family of ducks who decide to make their home on an island in the lagoon at Boston Public Garden. The statue is a tribute to the ducklings featured in the book, as is aptly described on the back of the postcard.

But there’s one glaring problem …

duck back

What is a dukling? It’s not that hard to catch a typo, especially in the title.

Awards announced in January

Monday, February 8th, 2010

whenNewbery Medal winner – “When You Reach Me,” by Rebecca Stead

lionCaldecott Medal winner – “The Lion & the Mouse,” illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney

The Association for Library Service to Children announced the winners of its book and media awards during the American Library Association midwinter meeting in January. Among those named were the winners of the Newbery and Caldecott medals.

I remember my elementary school librarian explaining the significance of the awards. She showed us the beautiful artwork in the Caldecott books and shared rich stories with us from the Newbery winners. It wasn’t long before I was searching out those books with an award seal when I went to the library. They were “guaranteed to be good.”

The ALSC has lists of past winners on its web site (Newbery and Caldecott), and I enjoyed browsing through them while looking up the most recent winners.

Some of my favorite Newbery books that I read as a kid included “Sarah Plain and Tall,” “Dicey’s Song,” “Bridge to Terabithia” and “A Wrinkle in Time.”

What are some of your favorites?