ALA announced its youth media award winners today at the midwinter conference in Denver. I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, so I was very happy to see that it had won the Newbery Medal. Of course, Gaiman has posted about how he learned the big news in a hilarious fashion over at his own blog.

There is always a lot of talk about whether the Newbery Medal is awarded to books only librarians could love (as opposed to books that actual children could love), but this year, at least, the committee hit the sweet spot with a book that will appeal to both audiences. :)

I was also very pleased to see After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson receive a Newbery Honor. Woodson is the sort of author who tends to be on librarians’ radar, but this is a good one: a quiet story about the transformative friendship of three girls set during the era of Tupac’s rise and fall.

As for the Printz Award, I have to confess that I have never heard of the winner (Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta), but I have put a hold on it at the library.