Newbery Award Winner and Honor Books!

The Newbery Award Winner and Honor Books were announced yesterday at the American Library Association's annual Midwinter meeting in Dallas, Texas. The Newbery Medal is given to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." And the winner for 2012 is....

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.




There were also two Honor books:

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.






Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs.






Congratulations to all!