For the Medal

I was surprised by pretty much everything that won a Youth Media Award. And ashamed at how few I'd read. But, here are some of the winners (holy cow are there a LOT of ALA Awards) and my own regrettable record of what I've read (*read, **on my TBR pile). For the full list of awards and winners, check this out.

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Honors:
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia*

Um, I read one honor book...definitely this award surprised me - I hadn't heard of most of them, including the winner! I've put myself on the hold list for Moon over Manifest and Turtle in Paradise already.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi**
Honors:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Nothing by Janne Teller

Hey, at least I had the winner already checked out of the library, right? Some of these I had decided not to read, because they didn't interest me at all. But, I have put Nothing on hold (oh the possibilities for puns).

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia*
Honors:
Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers*
Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes* (for Cybils)
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

This is the best one for me - I've read the winner and two honor books. I'll have to work on getting that last one so I can have at least one award category all read...

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel by Alden Bell
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender
The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel by Helen Grant
The Radleys: A Novel by Matt Haig
The Lock Artist: A Novel by Steve Hamilton
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray
The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson

Best I can say? I've heard of a few. It is very apparent to me I don't read many adult books. Especially newer titles. I'm kind of thinking about finding these... [Oh, and why do so many of them feel to need to add "A Novel" to the title - do they think we'll assume their non-fiction otherwise?]

Margaret A. Edwards Award honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Sir Terry Pratchett won this one, and is well-deserving I think. I'm a fairly new Pratchett reader, and haven't read too many.

What I've read:
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (pre-blogging days)
The Wee Free Men (pre-blogging days)
Nation
What I Haven't Read (or some of them anyway):
A Hat Full of Sky
I Shall Wear Midnight**
The Color of Magic
Guards! Guards!
Equal Rites
Going Postal
Small Gods
Mort

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens

The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
Honors:
Hush by Eishes Chayil
Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber

Another giant fail. I've heard of one or two, and I really thought I'd read a lot of debuts last year! Guess not.

[addendum: lots and lots more books on the YALSA 2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults list - something for everyone!]

And so, I've learned - I don't read many winners before hand, but I can sure get to them now!