And the Winners Really Are...

On January 15th the Association for Library Services to Children announced their winners for the 2010 Newberry Medal for excellence in literature for children.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the one everyone is talking about, and you don't want to miss it. Miranda is getting mysterious messages from someone. He knows what's going to happen, and he knows all about her. She's just a girl trying to get by in middle school and missing her best friend. How can she decide who to trust, and what's going to happen when the mysterious man arrives?

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See the full list of winners here.

The Caldecott Medal for excellence in illustration goes to:
The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the striking cover showing nothing but the lion's perplexed face, to the nearly wordless pages, that tell an old and well loved story, this book well deserves the Caldecott Medal.

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Check here for a full list of winners.

Caldecott Pick

The Caldecott Award is given for quality and innovation in illustration, so I'm looking for some really good pictures. There are so many to choose from, but my favorite this year is...
Waiting for Winter by Sebastian Meschenmoser


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Three friends wait for the first signs of winter with excitement and wonder. Squirrel, Hedgehog and Bear are usually sleeping when the first snow comes, so they decide to stay up this year and see what all the fuss is about. The illustrations are beautiful, soft and have just the right tone for a crisp fall woods and drifting snowflakes. The friends confusion about what exactly the snow will look like adds humor and fun to the story.

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And the Winner Will Be...

Next week many of us will be waiting not so patiently for word from Boston as the American Library Association and the Association for Library Service to Children will announce their picks for the Newbery and Caldecott Medal. The Newbery is awarded each year for excellence in writing for children, the Caldecott for excellence in illustration. Many librarians enjoy predicting which books will win, and we are usually way off, but, in the interest of fun, here is my pick for the Newbery.:
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Minli lives with her parents in a tiny house in a tiny village, and her mother wants a better life. Minli listens to her father's tales and sets out on a journey to change the family's fortune. With the help of a goldfish, a dragon, and many other magical meetings, she learns about true happiness. I loved this book. All the different tales went well with the main story, and kept me interested in what was happening. However, Minli spent the whole story learning that she didn't need a fortune to be happy, but in the end, got a fortune anyway. Doesn't that seem wrong? Still, a wonderful book to read and share.

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Tomorrow I'll reveal my pick for the Caldecott Medal.

The Buckeye Children's Book Award

The winners and nominees of this award are chosen by the children of Ohio. This years winners include:

The Chicken of the Family by Mary Amato

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Cracker by Cythia Kadohata

All these books are available through the Newton Falls Public Library. Check one out today! Check out the BCBA website for more information about how these books are chosen and how you can nominate your favorite book next year.

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Muscle Man McGinty is a liar, but no one else on the block seems to notice. Tamara, however, is not fooled. She's had enough of Muscle Man's whoppers, and it's time to show everyone just what kind of kid he is. During one lonely summer in 1969 Tamara comes to terms with the loss of her best friend, and the rotten liar who took her place in the foster home across the street, as well as the consequences of a faraway war, and an even further away moon mission.

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Choose Your Own Mystery

Read our story so far and vote to the right. Check back here weekly, for more installments and help us write a mystery.





They were coming for me. I could just see the dark shapes stumbling over the hill, their hair and cloaks whipping in the wind. The storm was rising, and would be good cover for my escape. I turned and fled into the night. Stumbling downhill and splashing across the creek, icy fear crept up my spine, and cold rain poured down on my head. I must find shelter. Downhill to the right I spied an abandoned barn. “Better to avoid people altogether,” I thought, and turned toward the ramshackle barn. It looked rather run down, but was dry and smelled only of old straw. I climbed into the loft, curled up in the hay, and slept until dawn. When the sound of birds singing awoke me, I was stiff with damp and cold, but relieved that it was once again light. Climbing down to the barn floor I noticed an old nag munching hay in the corner. She easily let me saddle her, and I climbed on her back and headed for the open road, but which direction? Back toward town, where the police might believe my story, and help, or into the forest where I could hide until a better plan came to mind.

Vote to the right.

My Team Baseball

Team	Score	Rank
Bald Guy and the Blonde	863	4
Smithtown Sliders	726	7
Presley's Way	710	8
The Ghost	1098	1
The Bambino's	844	6
The Thunder Kats	672	9
Seattle Devils	962	3
Mighty Monsters	857	5
Bald Guy and the Brunette	1077	2