Awards season

This year's Newbery Medal winner was just announced: Kate DiCamillo's Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, from Candlewick Press. In addition, Publishers Weekly posted a helpful round-up of all the recent awards in children's literature, and (for once) we have reviewed TWO of the featured titles: Elizabeth Ross's Belle Epoque, a finalist for the William C. Morris Award, and Matt de la Peña's The Living, a Pura Belpré Author Honor Book. Admittedly, we had complaints about both of those novels (particularly Belle Epoque), but it was still a vicarious thrill. Congratulations to both authors!