Children’s book awards revealed

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Clare Vanderpool’s “Moon Over Manifest,” a young girl’s magical adventures in a small town in 1936, won the John Newbery Medal for the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

“A Sick Day for Amos McGee,” the story of an old man and the animals who visit when he’s too unwell to go to the zoo, received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children’s picture book. It was illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead.

The awards, the highest honors in children’s literature, were announced Monday by the American Library Association. The books are the debuts of both Vanderpool and Stead.

Tomie dePaolo, whose many books include such favorites as “Strega Nona” and “26 Fairmont Avenue,” received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his “substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” Another lifetime achievement prize, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, was given to British fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett.

“The Dreamer,” by Pam Munoz Ryan, won the Pura Belpre Author Award for the writer “whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.” The Belpre prize for illustration went to Eric Velasquez for “Grandma’s Gift,” which he wrote.

Paolo Bacigalup’s “Ship Breaker” won the Michael L. Printz Award for “excellence in literature written for young adults.” The Coretta Scott King award, given to a black author of “outstanding books for children and young adults,” went to Rita Williams-Garcia’s “One Crazy Summer.” “Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave,” illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Laban Carrick Hill, won the King prize for best illustrated work.