Here is some news about current award-winning books for teens. Always stirring up the interest among RA providers, the awards sometimes surprise, too. For instance, the Newbery medal went to a title with great appeal for teens.
The 2009 Alex Award
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected 10 adult books that will appeal to teen readers to receive the 2009 Alex Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Margaret Edwards Trust, were announced at the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Jan. 23 - 28. The Alex Awards were created because many teens often prefer books written for adults. It's a good resource for librarians to use when recommending adult books that appeal to teens. The award is named in honor of the late Margaret Alexander Edwards--- “Alex” to her friends. Providing library services to young adults for many years, Alex worked at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. She believed adult books could broaden the experience of young adults and enrich their understanding of the world.
The winners are:
City of Thieves, by David BenioffThe Dragons of Babel, by Michael Swanwick
Finding Nouf, by Zoë Ferraris
The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti
Just After Sunset: Stories, by Stephen King
Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan
Over and Under, by Todd Tucker
The Oxford Project, by Stephen G. Bloom
Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow
Three Girls and Their Brother, by Theresa Rebeck
For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists.
For information on the Alex Awards and other ALA literary awards, go to www.ala.org/yma.
The 2009 Odyssey Award
The Odyssey Award is given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. The award is jointly administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was written and narrated by Sherman Alexie and produced by Recorded Books, LLC. "With equal doses of humor and pathos, Sherman Alexie’s lilting narration places listeners squarely in 14-year-old Spokane Indian Arnold Spirit’s shoes as he expands his world beyond the reservation to attend a predominantly white high school. Alexie’s pitch-perfect voicing and dead-on pacing capture Arnold’s struggles."
John Newbery MedalPresented for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature, the winner of the 2009 Newbery Medal is:
Neil Gaiman, for The Graveyard Book, illustrated by Dave McKean; HarperCollins Children’s Books.
Michael L. Printz Award
Presented for excellence in literature written for young adults, the 2009 award goes to:
Melina Marchetta, for Jellicoe Road, published by HarperTeen.
Printz Honor Books also were named:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves, by M.T. Anderson; Candlewick Press
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart; Hyperion Books for Children
Nation, by Terry Pratchett; HarperCollins Children’s Books
Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan; Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books
That's awards news for now-- if you need to brush up on your award winners for teens, get 'em and read 'em.
© 2008 Independent Online. 
