Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews: The 2012 Golden Kite Awards

Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The 2012 Golden Kite Award Winners have been announced!

From the announcement released on the SCBWI website today:

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS AND HONOREES OF THE 2012 GOLDEN KITE AWARDS & SID FLEISCHMAN AWARD

The 2012 awards are presented for excellence in books for young readers published in the 2011 calendar year.

Golden Kite Award Winners

Fiction:

BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAYBy Ruta Sepetys

Philomel (Penguin Group USA)

Between Shades of Gray tells the harrowing story of Lina, a young Lithuanian girl fighting for her life and the honor of her family during the Soviet cleansing of the Baltic region in 1941. The daughter of a Lithuanian refugee herself, Sepetys wrote this book in hopes of shedding light on the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their lives during this tragic time. Readers will be inspired by Lina’s strength of spirit and devotion to her family and moved by Sepetys’ heartfelt gift for storytelling.

Nonfiction:

AMELIA LOST: THE LIFE AND DISAPPEARANCE OF AMELIA EARHARTBy Candace Fleming

Schwartz & Wade (Random House)

Alternating chapters between Amelia’s childhood and her life as a flyer, Fleming captures the drama and detail (Amelia liked to eat tomato soup while flying) of Earhart’s life with suspense and enthusiasm. Maps, handwritten notes and photos further highlight the remarkable journey of one of America’s most celebrated women.

Picture Book Text:

OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW

By Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

Chronicle Books

Exploring the enchanted lives of animals that survive winter underground, Kate Messner’s Over and Under the Snow is this year’s winner for Picture Book Text. Messner’s vivid imageries and delicate prose glide us along a whimsical journey of a father and son as they ski through the forest and discover the hidden, sometimes secret existence of the animals that inhabit the cold season.

Picture Book Illustration:

BALLOONS OVER BROADWAYBy Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin

Melissa Sweet’s imaginative use of art and illustration in Balloons over Broadway makes it the winner of this year’s Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration. Using handmade toys and puppets, watercolor illustrations, and collages made from old books, found objects and fabrics, Caldecott Honoree Sweet’s charming images are fluently united to help tell the story of Tony Sarg, the original puppeteer of the Macy’s Day Parade.

Golden Kite Honor Recipients

Fiction:

WORDS IN THE DUST

By Trent Reedy

Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic)

Nonfiction:

MYSTERIOUS BONES: THE STORY OF KENNEWICK MAN

By Katherine Kirkpatrick, illustrated by Emma Stevenson

Holiday House

Picture Book Text:

THESE HANDS

By Margaret H. Mason, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Picture Book Illustration:

FOLLOW ME

By Tricia Tusa

Harcourt Children’s Books

2012 Sid Fleischman Award for Humor

THE FOURTH STALL

By Chris Rylander

HarperCollins

Imagination and quirk lend itself to this hilarious story of friendship and adventure as we follow two middle school boys who will stop at nothing to fix your problem and learn a few lessons along the way.

The Golden Kite Awards and Honors are given each year to the most outstanding children’s books published during the previous year, and written or illustrated by members of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Four panels of three judges each (one panel for each category, consisting of author or illustrator members of SCBWI whose own works are that of the category being judged), award the titles they feel exhibit excellence in writing or illustration, and that genuinely appeal to the interests and concerns of children.

A list of previous Golden Kite Award winners and honor books is available here.

The Sid Fleischman Award for Humor

Named for the late Newbery-winner Sid Fleischman the SCBWI is pleased to offer this eponymous award for authors whose work exemplifies excellence in the genre of humor, a category so often overlooked by other award committees in children’s literature.

The Golden Kite Awards and the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor are presented at the Golden Kite Luncheon, the centerpiece event of SCBWI’s 41st Annual Conference on Writing and Illustrating for Children, taking place in Los Angeles, California from August 3-6, 2012., will be presented to the winners on Sunday, August 5.

More information about the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators HERE