Category: Books

ALA Awards, Authors, Best Books 2012, BookNook, Books, Coretta Scott King book awards, Diversity, Pura Belpre Awards, Youth Media Awards

American Library Awards 2012

Mona Alvarado Frazier
It’s been a long time since my kids were tots or tweens but we still have favorite books like “I’ll Love You Forever,” whose cover captures a little boy playing with the toilet paper. (My sons thought it was about playing with TP so of course they wanted me to buy it). The last page still makes me cry. My boys are now young men but they still remember that book. 

If the Pulitzer Prize is the Oscar of the book world, the American Library Awards for books is up there with the Nickelodeon Awards, sans the green slime. The ALA announced their Youth Media Awards of 2012 on January 25, 2012. These books represent the best of the best. As a parent and ‘nano’ bookstore owner (BookNook) this makes my book choices easier. And I’m all for easier, saving time and money. 

The ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for children and youth. What I like about these awards is their quest for diverse protagonists and characters, settings, and cultures. They also recognize book illustrators. 

One of these books won two awards and is quite different in that it is a novel that reads like poetry-a verse novel.

The Pura Belpré Award presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Author Book Winner  
“Under the Mesquite,” written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. This author was also a finalist for the William C. Morris Award for first time author writing for teenagers. The story is about the healing power of words.
Best Illustration award given to “Diego Rivera: His World and Ours,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh.

The Association for Library Service for Children awards the Newbery Medal annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.Winner“Dead End in Norvelt,” written by Jack Gantos. Fictionalized biography of history, mystery and humor.

The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Winner “A Ball for Daisy,” illustrated and written by Chris Raschka. The joy and sadness of special toys.

Given to African American authors for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream. The award is designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.

Author Book Winner Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.” This covers the colonial days until the civil rights movement.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:“Where Things Come Back,” written by a teacher, John Corey Whaley. It’s a story about brothers, love, loss, and faith.

Another winner was announced today, (not ALA). The Amelia Bloomer Prize for “…recommended feminist literature from birth to age 18..” is Meg Medina‘s “Tia Isa Wants a Car.” 

If your library or school doesn’t carry these books, ask them to do so. Or you can accompany your kids to the library and seek out the books together. If you have any book recommendations, let’s hear them.

For a complete list of ALA awards and winners or to view the Honor Mentions please visit the ALA website. Keep on reading and instilling a love for reading in your children. 
Books, Christmas books, Cyber shopping, Family time, LA Times 2011 book list, The Night Before Christmas book

The Christmas Rush

Mona Alvarado Frazier

Have you had enough of circling the parking lot, standing in line, and walking the mall for Christmas gifts yet? The Norman Rockwell up there is from his Christmas series and was the first to feature a woman, solo on the cover. It is 1947. Yes, I know, things haven’t changed that much. Is that the gift list or family budget falling off her lap? Whether ’47 or 2011, many woman look like that around December 22th. Then they need a second or fourth wind to make Christmas cookies.

I avoid going to the mall because for me, it’s a waste of gas, precious time, there are too many germs out there and I’m slightly claustrophobic. I’m a Cyber Monday shopper, online, all the time, all the way. People on my list, that’s in my head, will receive books, jewelry, telescope, Groupon coupons, and cologne. And I didn’t get all of these at the mall. 

One of my favorite things to shop for, on and offline, are books. I  love books. It’s also the reason I took a dip starting a ‘nano-bookstore,’ in the old downtown section of my town. It’s a consignment area in a historic Colonial Revival building. A young entrepreneurial opened this old building for handmade items and made an exception for books (she is a fella book lover).
Books make the best gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, any holiday and just because. I often wished for a new book at Christmas and would take that over any piece of clothing my very thoughtful but fashionably hindered mother bought for me. 

Children’s books are a favorite because they are dual purpose. It’s a gift to a child when they read it and when you read it to them (over and over). It’s not only in the reading, but also in the readers characterization of what is read, the child’s enjoyment, and the conversations that arise out of the reading. Children’s books equal family time, snuggling, and smiles. 

A holiday favorite, “The Night Before Christmas,” is in a new paper-cut version. It’s a beautiful book with an old Victorian feel. It’s a gorgeous book and you have to be careful with the delicate pages that are paper-cut. Although my kiddos are teen/YA kids I’m purchasing just for the quality and beauty of the item. We have four books on Christmas that we put out each year: Olive, The Other Reindeer; The Legend of the Poinsettia and Night of the Posadas by Tom DePaolo and Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.       

For the teenager, think about their hobbies and passions, and find a book in that genre. Choose a business book for the young professional, the small business owner, the entrepreneur, the mid-life looking for another profession, and the soon to retire but not gone person. For the great, or not so great, but loves to cook what is better than a cookbook. For those who want to learn more about spiritual matters find a Christian/Buddhist/ (insert persuasion here) fiction or nonfiction book. Everyone on your gift list has an interest or passion and it’s up to you to find it.

A one-stop source for perusing the vast mountain of books out there is this list from the Los Angeles Times. There are books on autobiographies, coffee table, cooking, fiction, mysteries, non-fiction, poetry, quirky books, sci-fi, thrillers, unusual, and books for young adults. 

So take off your  jacket, put down your heavy purse with stuff  hanging out of it, slip off your shoes, and go hang out on the couch for fifteen minutes. Or you can go find a candle or three (yes, the ones you use for decoration that have dust on the top of them). Now run warm bath water and light the candles. Can you feel it? The kinks in your shoulders and neck will relax after five minutes. Sorry, that’s all you get if you have little kids. Seven minutes if the spouse watches them, and fifteen if they are napping.  
Now that you’re relaxed, find the ace bandage and wrap your wrist. It’s time to go cyber shopping (before December 10th for free shipping at the big online stores). Save your feet and mind to enjoy watching a holiday program, the lighting of your city’s Christmas Tree, enjoying a Peppermint Mocha with your friends or making those Christmas cookies you promised the family last year. Many happy Holidays.