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Twenty years ago, I picked up a blank book and began tracking seasonal events in our neighborhood. I ve never stopped.
In late winter, I document the first time a sunrise is accompanied by cardinal song and the first afternoon punctuated by a steady drip of meltwater. I await the green haze of new leaves across the landscape in spring, and the flicker of bats feeding on insects at dusk. Summer brings fledgling birds begging at the feeder and muskrats zigzagging through the wetland. Before I know it, the yard is buried in dry leaves. Ice has spread across the lake, and owls are hooting their mating duets from leaf-bare branches.
Top books, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults revealed at ALA Midwinter Virtual January 25, 2021
On January 25, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards at its Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits taking place virtually from Chicago.
A list of all the 2021 award winners follows:
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:
When You Trap a Tiger, written by Tae Keller, is the 2021 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
The 2020 Caldecott Medal, for outstanding illustration
This year’s Caldecott Medal goes to
The Undefeated (Amazon) illustrated by the incredible Kadir Nelson, and written by Kwame Alexander. It’s on nearly every best children’s books of 2020 list, and has won numerous awards for its depiction of the strength of the Black contribution to American society. Start here for a must-have book for your collection at home, no matter how old your kids.
The 2020 Newbery Medal, for outstanding writing
I’m fascinated to see a graphic novel win the Newbery Medal this year, but the numerous awards that
New Kid (Amazon) by Jerry Craft received, make it clear that this book is something special. It’s about a middle school boy who loves to draw, but struggles to fit in at his new prestigious high school where he’s one of the few children of color in his grade.