2011 Medal Winner
The 2011 Newbery Medal winner is Moon over Manifest by Clare
Vanderpool, published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House
Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
The town of Manifest is based on Frontenac, Kan., the home of debut
author Clare Vanderpool’s maternal grandparents. Vanderpool was inspired
to write about what the idea of “home” might look like to a girl who
had grown up riding the rails. She lives in Wichita with her husband and
four children.
“Vanderpool illustrates the importance of stories as a way for
children to understand the past, inform the present and provide hope for
the future,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Cynthia K. Richey.
2011 Honor Books
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm, published by Random House Children's Books, a div. of Random House, Inc.
Sassy eleven-year-old Turtle finds her life turned on end when she is
sent to live with her aunt in Depression-era Key West. With vivid
details, witty dialogue and outrageous escapades, Jennifer Holm
successfully explores the meaning of family and home… and lost treasures
found.
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams.
Shipwrecks, whaling, a
search for home and a delightful exploration of cultures create a
swashbuckling adventure. This historical novel is based on the true
story of Manjiro (later John Mung), the young fisherman believed to be
the first Japanese person to visit America, who against all odds, becomes a samurai.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen, published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Welcoming
her readers into the “wild, enchanted park” that is the night, Joyce
Sidman has elegantly crafted twelve poems rich in content and varied in
format. Companion prose pieces about nocturnal flora and fauna are as
tuneful and graceful as the poems. This collection is “a feast of sound
and spark.”
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
The
voices of sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern sing in three-part harmony
in this wonderfully nuanced, humorous novel set in 1968 Oakland, Calif.
One crazy summer, the three girls find adventure when they are sent to
meet their estranged poet-mother Cecile, who prints flyers for the Black
Panthers.
Advice for young authors...
"As you write your own stories, I would keep three things in mind:
1. Don't ever bore your reader.
2. Don't worry if you don't have the whole story worked out in your head before you start. The story will grow as you write if you use your imagination.
3. Give yourself enough time to write. Work on your story at home. Lie in bed and think about how your story could develop.
Good ideas are very hard to come by. I couldn't write anything worth reading in an hour or class period."
~ ROALD DAHL
