The writer of a series of rural Depression-era vignettes and the illustrator of a book about presidential history were named respective winners of the American Library Association’s Newbery and Caldecott medals honoring children’s literature. The announcement came January 15 at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Richard Peck garnered the John Newbery medal for crafting the stories of small-town life experienced by a 15-year-old girl from Chicago in A Year Down Yonder, published by Penguin Putnam. David Small took the Randolph Caldecott prize for his imaginative watercolor, ink, and pastel illustrations in So You Want To Be President? written by Judith St. George and also published by Penguin.
Jacqueline Woodson, author of Miracle’s Boys, and Bryan Collier, illustrator for Uptown, earned Coretta Scott King awards recognizing African-American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults. Woodson’s book, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, tells the story of three modern-day Harlem boys struggling after the death of their parents. Collier’s illustrations combine photographs and paint to portray an urban landscape in Uptown, published by Henry Holt and edited by Laura Godwin.
ALA’s first Robert F. Sibert Award went to Marc Aronson, author of Sir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El Dorado, published by Clarion Books. The story of an adventurer’s quest for a legendary city captured the new award for most distinguished informational book for children, which is sponsored by Bound to Stay Bound Books of Jacksonville, Illinois, and named after the firm’s longtime president.
The ALA Public Information Office offers a complete list of children’s authors honored for books published during 2000.
Posted January 22, 2001.