Youth Book Award predictions

I like trying to guess the books that will win the Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz awards. It lets me take a look at some of the titles from the year and be a little snarky. Snarky because of my feelings on the awards lately, and that like many others, I don't think they actually have much connection to what youth want to read. Back in May I talked about some of my feelings on the subject.

So my picks for the 2008 winners:
Caldecott: Always a tough category to call, especially for me. My favorites so far this year are Dinosaur vs. Bedtime by Bob Shea, Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex, and Katie Loves the Kittens by John Himmelman. In the case of Dinosaur... and Katie Loves... I think the text and pictures match perfectly, which is the goal. Otherwise, I'm guessing it will be a title that's on SLJ's Best Books of 2008 list.

Newbery: I'm still going with The Underneath by Kathi Applet, which I admit I haven't read yet. I like her Bubba and Beau picture books, so I'll give Underneath a try.
I'd love to see a book like Diary of a Wimpy Kid win, something that is pure comedy. Or the new books by two of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett could make the honor list for Newbery or Printz. Probably won't happen, but they are both making other lists at least.

Printz: Gotta say Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, which I haven't read yet, but is getting lots of buzz lately. Other ones I think are likely: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Paper Towns by John Green, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, or Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Pratchett's Nation has a chance for an honor at least I hope. The winner will probably be something no one would have guessed, if the last two years are anything to judge by.

What titles are you predicting? We'll find out in about a month. I'll be breaking in the new children's librarian at that point, so it'll be interesting to hear her views on the winners, and we'll have to try and find time to read them.

Teen Craft Resources online

While there's not a lot targeted at teen librarians, there are a tons of good craft websites on the net, some general and some specifically teen geared. Here's some of my favorite to sift through:
-Instructables - How to make cool DIY project. Instructions on how to make almost anything you can think of and lots that you never would. Some of it is pretty impractical for most library programs, i.e. too complicated and expensive.
-Not Martha - Not the sort of projects Martha Stewart would generally make. Not a ton of stuff, but fun, and has good links. Someday I will knit myself this wig.
-Cut Out + Keep - Sort of like a less tech heavy version of Instructables. Slightly more practical for library programs. Sadly, not all the projects actually have instructions. If you work with teens that sew, there's a good variety here to choose from
- Craftster - Crafting Community & Forums: Crafts, Patterns, Projects & Craft Ideas. Less instructions than I'd like, but lots of cool things to look at.
- Diary of a Crafty Chica - Blog and website with some really cool stuff. Some of it is way more complex than I'd get into with my teens, but there's some workable/adaptable ideas. She's also got a line of books and craft supplies. I really like her Crafty Diva books, and have used them with my teens.

Next time, some crafts and a book list.

Printz and Newbery award books

I just finished listening to "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary Schmidt. It is the winner of both the Printz Award and a Newbery Honor, which is a pretty big honor. Now this is also tells you some things about the book with having even seen it.
-The main character will be between 11 and 14 years old
-It will very likely be historical fiction
-It will almost certainly be realistic fiction
-There will be some sort of death
-There will be issues
-It will be depressing in at least some parts
-It will likely not circ great at my library

Now I haven't read all the Newbery books or even all the Printz ones. I'm certainly making some generalizations here, but there are definite trends to be observed in the winners and honorees. Of the 2008 Newbery books, all four are historical and realistic fiction, and all deal with race, religion, or class issues. The 2007 batch brought us two of historical and two contemporary, with the issues of families and disablities thrown in. Only about 12 fantasy or sci-fi books have won the Newbery Medal going book all the way to 1922. And that is including the ones that are fantastical because they are about and told through the point of view of animals.

As my father said when I spoke to him about this the other day, the depressing nature of the books and the issues like racism, classism, and religion are things that real youth are experiencing and helps them connect them to the book.

The Printz Award is definitely edgier, but still it is fond of historical fiction, issues, and depressing bits. But they at least chose winner and honor books with good amounts of humor and interesting characters and narrators like Death, demons, the Monkey King, and ghosts.

My current bet for a Newbery this year is The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. It appears to have all the requirements, other than historical. Looks like it has some strong fantastical elements at least.

In the case of the Printz, I haven't a clue. It seems to be the book no one predicted in the past couple of years.