We celebrated the start of the Year of the Ox. 恭喜發財, Gong hei fat choi, "Congratulations and be prosperous!" The Lunar New Year is a multi-day celebration so you still have time to join in the festivities! A great way to celebrate would be to have a Chinese meal or fortune cookies. The library also has several Chinese folktales, books about the Lunar New Year and books by Chinese and Chinese-American authors like Grace Lin. So, congratulations and be prosperous!
Also yesterday, the American Library Association announced several awards for children's books.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was named the Newbery Medal winner. Newbery Honor books are The Underneath by Kathi Applet, The Surrender Tree: poems of Cuba's Struggle for freedom by Margarita Engle, Savvy by Ingrid Law and After Tupac and D. Foster by Jacqueline Woodson.
The Caldecott Medal winner is The House in the Night illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson. Caldecott Honor books are A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever written and illustrated by Marla Frazee, How I Learned Geography written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz, and River of Words: the story of William Carlos Williams illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant.
The Theodore Seuss Geisel Award is given for the best book for beginning readers. This year's winner is Are You Ready To Play Outside? by Mo Willems. The Geisel Honor books are Chicken said 'Cluck!' by Judyann Ackerman Grant, One Boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Stinky by Eleanor Davis and Wolfsnail: a backyard predator by Sarah C. Campbell.
There are many, many more award winners. Be sure to check out the entire list and then check the library catalog. Interested in past years winners? Look at the ALA website.
Celebration is in the air. Join in!!
