Wonderfully Wordless Picture Books

Over the weekend I came across a really great list of picture books without words. The My Little Bookcase Blog sums up the people who can benefit from exploring wordless picture books with this list:

• Babies who are learning the concepts of books (turning pages etc.).
• Toddlers who enjoy telling their own stories and looking at pictures for clues.
• Early readers who are beginning to understand the sequence and structure of stories, and who are developing a confidence in reading.
• Independent readers who can be offered challenges in how they use a wordless book to develop their reflection and vocabulary.
• Readers with learning or language difficulties. Because there are no language hurdles for them in the book, they can understand the story line and build their confidence in reading.

Read up on different activities to do with wordless picture books on the blog post.

Wordless Picture Books to try:

• Truck by Donald Crews
• The Boy and the Airplane by Mark Pett
• Bee and Bird by Craig Frazier
• Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
• Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu
• A Boy, A Dog, A Frog, and a Friend by Mercer Mayer
• Rainstorm by Barbara Lehman
• Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Books About Inventions & Inventors

This week our kids’ after school club, the S.T.E.A.M.punks, explores the T in STEAM - Technology, that is. We’re looking at some inventions that helped humans communicate with each other throughout (fairly recent) history. To celebrate our look at technology and inventions, let’s take a look at some great books for grown-ups that highlight inventions - famous and not-so famous - that we have here in Arrowhead Library System. The titles in bold are in the Eager Free Public Library collection, but you can order any of these titles through RockCat, the library’s catalog.

• The Turk: the life and times of the famous eighteenth century chess playing machine by Tom Standage (New York: Walker & Co, 2002)
• Before we went wireless: David Edward Hughes, FRS: his life, inventions, and discoveries (1829 - 1900) by Ivor Hughes and David Ellis Evans (Bennington, VT: Images from the Past, 2011)
• Mr. Lincoln’s T-mails: the untold story of how Abraham Lincoln used the telegraph to win the Civil War by Tom Wheeler (New York: Collins, 2006)
• The Telephone Gambit: chasing Alexander Graham Bell’s secret by Seth Shulman (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 2008)
• The Apple Revolution: the real story of how Steve Jobs and the crazy ones took over the world by Luke Dormehl (London: Virgin Books, 2013)
• Gadget Nation: a journey through the eccentric world of invention by Steve Greenberg (New York: Sterling, 2007)
• The Spirit of Invention: the story of the thinkers, creators, and dreamers who formed our nation by Julie M. Fenster (New York: HarperCollins, 2009)
• Splendidly Unreasonable Inventors: the lives, loves and deaths of 30 pioneers who changed the world by Jeremy Coller with Christine Chamberlain (New York: Overlook Press, 2009)

Enjoy one of these thought-provoking and inspiring histories today! 

Youth Media Award Winners (for Young Adults)

Two weeks ago the 2014 Youth Media Awards were announced at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in Philadelphia. These prestigious awards are chosen by committee and awarded to the best new titles in children's and young adult literature.

We've listed the award winners and honor recipients for young adult titles below (check out last week’s post for the children’s and juvenile titles) - all of the titles held by Eager Free Public Library are in bold. Check out one of these wonderful books today!

Alex Award

Awarded to ten adult books that have special appeal for young adults, ages 12-18.

Brewster by Mark Slouka

The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell

Golden Boy: a novel by Abigail Tarttelin

Help for the Haunted by John Searles

Lexicon: a novel by Max Barry

Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu

Mother, mother: a novel by Koren Zailckas

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

The Sea of Tranquility: a novel by Katja Millay

The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Edwards Award

Honors an author and specific works by that author for significant and lasting contribution for writing to teens.

This year’s honored author is Markus Zusak (The Book Thief, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl, and I Am the Messenger)

Morris Award

Honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.

Winner

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

Finalists

Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos

Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Odyssey Award

This annual award will be given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.

Winner

Scowler by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Haybourne

Honor Recordings

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle, narrated by Tim Federle

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, narrated by James Naughton

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra

Matilda by Roald Dahl, narrated by Kate Winslet

Non-fiction Award

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.

Winner

The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi by Neal Bascomb

Honor Titles

Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design by Chip Kidd

Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War II by Martin W. Sandler

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickels, America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone

The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James Swanson

Printz Award

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Winner

Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick

Honor Titles

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

Youth Media Award Winners (for Kids)

A week ago the 2014 Youth Media Awards were announced at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in Philadelphia. These prestigious awards are chosen by committee and awarded to the best new titles in children's and young adult literature.

We've listed the award winners and honor recipients below - all of the titles held by Eager Free Public Library are in bold. Check out one of these wonderful books today!

Newbery Medal
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

Newbery Medal Honor Books
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Caldecott Medal
Locomotive illustrated and written by Brian Floca

Caldecott Medal Honor Books
Journey illustrated and written by Aaron Becker
Flora and the Flamingo illustrated and written by Molly Idle
Mr. Wuffles illustrated and written by David Weisner

Batchelder Award
Mister Orange by Truus Matti, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson

Batchelder Award Honor Books
The Bathing Costume, or, the Worst Vacation of My Life written by Charlotte Mound, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
My Father's Arms are a Boat written by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter, translated by Kari Dickson
The War Within These Walls written by Aline Sax, illustrated by Cary Strzelecki, translated by Laura Watkinson

Belpre Author Award
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Belpre Author Honor Books
The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba's Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle
The Living written by Matt de la Peña 
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Belpre Illustrator Award
Niño Wrestles the World illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales

Belpre Illustrated Honor Books
Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía una Llamita Pequeña illustrated and written by Angela Dominguez
Tito Puente: Mambo King / Rey del Mambo illustrated by Rafael López, written by Monica Brown
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Carnegie Medal
Bink and Gollie: Two for One by Kate DiCamillo

Geisel Medal
The Watermelon Seed written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

Geisel Honor Books
Ball written and illustrated by Mary Sullivan
A Big Guy Took My Ball! written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Penny and Her Marble written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes 

Odyssey Award
Scowler produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Daniel Kraus and narrated by Kirby Heyborne

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks
Better Nate Than Ever produced by Simon and Schuster Audio, written and narrated by Tim Federle
Creepy Carrots! produced by Weston Woods Studios, Inc., and written by Aaron Reynolds
Eleanor & Park produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Rainbow Rowell, and narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra
Matilda produced by Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., written by Roald Dahl, and narrated by Kate Winslet

Sibert Medal
Parrots over Puerto Rico written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth

Sibert Honor Books
A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard written and illustrated by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Locomotive written and illustrated by Brian Floca
The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

For more information about the Association for Library Service to Children and the ALSC Awards, please visit the ALSC website.

Check back next week when we feature the 2014 award-winning young adult titles!