ALA Youth Media Awards Predictions

It's that time of year again! Bright and early Monday morning, librarians will gather in a Dallas ballroom and hear the announcements about this year's book awards. Last year was my first year I was able to attend the announcements live and it was so much fun! Being in a room as the winners are unveiled and sharing in the gasps of shock and cheers of happiness adds to the fun. Of course, it's always fun to predict what books will win, so here's the titles I think we'll be hearing called out on Monday morning.
Printz-Who I Think Will Win:

Chime has been my front runner since I read it back in March (I still need to review it, I know!) Fantastic world building and rich characters and an original story that's a bit historical, a bit magical, and all around amazing. I think it's the book to beat.

Printz Dark Horse:

I have three dark horse books that I suspect we may hear announced on Monday:

and





Both Scorpio Races and Daughter of Smoke and Bone have lush, descriptive writing that I think will carry them far during the award discussions. This could be a great year for fantasy when it comes to award!

My other dark horse?

A.S. King is a YA superstar! There is so much gold in Everybody Sees the Ants-Lucky learning how to deal with bullies, discovering who people really are, dealing with the absence of his grandfather and emotionally his father, and that age old coming of age storyline that we love so much. I'm eager to see if Ms. King gets back to back honors!!

Newbery-Who I Think Will Win

This is another book that's been the front runner since I read it earlier this year. I haven't come across another book that I think stands out and Okay for Now is such a librarian favorite, there may be some revolting if this one doesn't win!


Newbery Dark Horse:

Wonderstruck is a dark horse mainly because there's been lots of discussion as to where exactly it fits into the award criteria. Will the committee deem it worthy or will they dismiss the art/text format?

With a Name Like Love is my big dark horse pick. It's a wonderful debut and feels similar to other classic Newbery winners (it reminded me a lot of Jennifer Holm or Kate DiCamillo) It's a family story as well as a mystery and the characters and storyline is all nicely developed without being campy. I'd love to see some award love for this one!

Caldecott-Who I Think Will Win

Brother Sun, Sister Moon has some impressive artwork. Each page features watercolor paper-cuts that have so much detail it's easy to pour over each page and get lost in the illustrations. It hasn't gotten much buzz, but I think it's one of the most impressive and stunning books of the year and I'm hoping the committee gives it a nod.

Caldecott Dark Horse:

OK, so maybe it's unfair to call Blackout a dark horse, because it has been getting lots of Mock Caldecott love. I loved this book though, and I think the illustrations are fantastic, especially how John Rocco makes use of the shadows during the blackout to really show how dark it is outside. There are tiny bits of light that shine through on the pages, just like the flashlights and stars and it's a book I want to look at over and over again.