Interviews with the National Book Award Finalists

On November 18th, judges will be choosing the winner of the Young People's Literature National Book Award for 2009. Here are the finalists for the award and interviews with the authors. This information was provided by the National Book Foundation.

Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Henry Holt) - Interview Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) - Interview David Small, Stitches (W. W. Norton & Co.) - Interview Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic) - Interview Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen/HarperCollins) YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE JUDGES: Kathi Appelt, Coe Booth, Carolyn Coman, Nancy Werlin, Gene Luen Yang

The National Book Award Finalists for Young People's Literature

The finalists for the 2009 National Book Awards have been announced by the National Book Foundation. For the children's literature category the finalists are:

Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Henry Holt)

Phillip Hoose, Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice (Farrar Straus and Giroux)

David Small, Stitches (W. W. Norton & Co.)

Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)

Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)

The winner will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony in New York City on Wednesday, November 18th.

You can find out more about the awards and the National Book Foundation on the NBF website.

Judy Blundell wins the 2008 National Book Award

A week before Thanksgiving it was announced that Judy Blundell's book What I saw and how I lied won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Presented by the National Book Foundation this prestigious award has been given to such books as The Penderwicks (2005), The Canning Season (2003), The House of the Scorpion (2002) and Holes (1998).

Though she has written many books under other names, this is the first book that Judy Blundell has written using her own name on the book cover. Judy Blundell has written books for middle grade, young adult, and adult readers under several pseudonyms. Her novel, Premonitions, was an ALA Reluctant Readers Best Picks and was chosen by the New York Public Library as a 2004 Best Books for the Teen Age. Judy Blundell is well known to Star Wars fans by her pseudonym, Jude Watson. Among her forthcoming projects is Book #4 in the New York Times bestselling series, The 39 Clues. Judy Blundell lives in Katonah, New York, with her husband and daughter.

Here is a synopsis of the book from the publisher:

When Evie's father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly. But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories. When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe's company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in a complicated web of lies that she only slowly recognizes. She finds herself falling for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him . . . until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.
As she begins to realize that almost everything she believed to be a truth was really a lie, Evie must get to the heart of the deceptions and choose between her loyalty to her parents and her feelings for the man she loves. Someone will have to be betrayed. The question is . . . who?

If any of you have read this book please let me know what you think of it. I hope to review it myself very soon.

The National Book Award Finalists are announced and Samantha retires

This Wednesday the National Book Award Finalists were announced. The books are:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

What I Saw and how I lied by Judy Blundell

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks By E. Lockhart

The Spectacular Now by Tom Tharp.

I have, alas, only read and reviewed one of these titles, The Underneath, which I thought was quite remarkable. If you have read any of these books please let me know what you thought of them. The winner will be announced on November 19 at the National Book Awards in New York City. For more information about the National Book Awards please visit the National Book Foundation website.

Another piece of news that I would like to share with you is that American Girl's Samantha is officially retiring. Her books will still be available but that doll that has charmed doll lovers of all ages since 1986 will no longer be for sale in the American Girl stores and on the American Girl website. American Girl has put a "Share your Samantha Memories" page on their website for everyone who has enjoyed having Samantha in their lives.

“As one of American Girl’s most beloved characters, Samantha has been a friend and role model for millions of girls since her debut in 1986,” says Ellen L. Brothers, president of American Girl. “Moving Samantha to the American Girl Archives allows us to preserve her honored place in American Girl’s history and make it possible for us to introduce new characters and product offerings for our customers to enjoy.”

"Samantha, a kindhearted girl of privilege living with her wealthy grandmother in 1904, has captured girls’ imaginations with her compelling story of compassion and friendship in turn-of-the-century America. Although Samantha will be moved to the American Girl Archives, she retains her place within American Girl’s family of historical characters—nine-year-old heroines that give girls today a glimpse of what life was like growing up during important times in America’s past."