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ALA Award Winning Books in Comic Format

Hey, That’s Comics!

The American Library Association has announced the 2014 Youth Media Award Winners. A number of the winners and honorees utilize comic or graphic novel formats. Bring the power of comics into your classroom with these award-winning books!

 

 

 

 

Winner of the Newberry Medal

floraFlora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, by Kate DiCamillo and K. G. Campbell

“It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry — and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format — a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell. ” –Candlewick Press

 

Caldecott Honor Book

wufflesMr. Wuffles, by David Wiesner

“Another comic tour de force from three-time Caldecott medalist David Wiesner. Mr. Wuffles ignores all his cat toys but one, which turns out to be a spaceship piloted by small green aliens. When Mr. Wuffles plays rough with the little ship, the aliens must venture into the cat’s territory to make emergency repairs.” –Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

 

King Author Honor Book

lewis1 lewis2March: Book One, by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell

“Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon, one of the key figures of the civil rights movement. …Now, to share his remarkable story with new generations, Lewis presents March, a graphic novel trilogy, in collaboration with co-writer Andrew Aydin and New York Times best-selling artist Nate Powell….

March is a vivid first-hand account of John Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights, meditating in the modern age on the distance traveled since the days of Jim Crow and segregation. Rooted in Lewis’ personal story, it also reflects on the highs and lows of the broader civil rights movement.

Many years ago, John Lewis and other student activists drew inspiration from the 1950s comic book ‘Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story.’ Now, his own comics bring those days to life for a new audience, testifying to a movement whose echoes will be heard for generations.” –Top Shelf Productions

 

Alex Award for the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

lucyRelish, by Lucy Knisley

“Lucy Knisley loves food. The daughter of a chef and a gourmet, this talented young cartoonist comes by her obsession honestly. In her forthright, thoughtful, and funny memoir, Lucy traces key episodes in her life thus far, framed by what she was eating at the time and lessons learned about food, cooking, and life. Each chapter is bookended with an illustrated recipe—many of them treasured family dishes, and a few of them Lucy’s original inventions.

A welcome read for anyone who ever felt more passion for a sandwich than is strictly speaking proper, Relish is a graphic novel for our time: it invites the reader to celebrate food as a connection to our bodies and a connection to the earth, rather than an enemy, a compulsion, or a consumer product.” –Macmillan

 

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

birdsLook Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, by Annette LeBlanc Cate

“You don’t have to own binoculars and know a bunch of fancy Latin names to watch birds! No matter where you live, they’re in your neighborhood — just look up.

This conversational, humorous introduction to bird-watching encourages kids to get outdoors with a sketchbook and really look around. Quirky full-color illustrations portray dozens of birds chatting about their distinctive characteristics, including color, shape, plumage, and beak and foot types, while tongue-in-cheek cartoons feature banter between birds, characters, and the reader (“Here I am, the noble spruce grouse. In a spruce grove. Eatin’ some spruce. Yep.”). Interactive and enjoyable tips bring an age-old hobby to new life for the next generation of bird-watchers.” –Random House

 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Books

ballBall, by Mary Sullivan

“A dog with a ball is one of the most relentlessly hopeful creatures on Earth. After his best little-girl pal leaves for school, this dog hits up yoga mom, baby, and even the angry cat for a quick throw. No luck. Forced to go solo, the dog begins a hilarious one-sided game of fetch until naptime’s wild, ball-centric dream sequence. The pictures speak a thousand words in this comic book-style ode to canine monomania. Ball? Ball.” –Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

otherballA Big Guy Took My Ball, by Mo Willems

“Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In A Big Guy Took My Ball! Piggie is devastated when a big guy takes her ball! Gerald is big, too…but is he big enough to help his best friend?” –Disney Publishing Worldwide

 

 

 

Pura Belpre (Illustrator) Award

ninoNino Wrestles the World, by Yuyi Morales

“Señoras y Señores, put your hands together for the fantastic, spectacular, one of a kind . . . Niño! Fwap! Slish! Bloop! Krunch! He takes down his competition in a single move! No opponent is too big a challenge for the cunning skills of Niño—popsicle eater, toy lover, somersault expert, and world champion lucha libre competitor!” –Macmillan

 

 

 

Compiled by Tracy Edmunds, Reading With Pictures Curriculum Database Manager

 

 

 

 

 

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