by Nancy Gilson (The Columbus Dispatch)

A picture book about a favorite toy and a comedy about a boy “grounded for life” took top honors yesterday at the American Library Association Youth Media Awards:

• Chris Raschka’s A Ball for Daisy, a tale for preschool children about a puppy’s ball destroyed by another dog, won the Caldecott Medal for distinguished picture book. The book explores the joy and anguish of the young with impressionist illustrations.

• Jack Gantos’ Dead End in Norvelt won the Newbery Medal for children’s literature. In the wild story, for age 10 and older, the title character (who shares the author’s name) spends his time while grounded writing obituaries of the people who founded his town.

Raschka, 52, is a two-time Caldecott winner, having received the 2006 medal for TheHello, Goodbye Window.

Gantos — a 60-year-old known for his tales of Joey Pigza, a boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder — is a first-time winner of the Newbery, although he has won a Newbery honor award and been a National Book Award finalist.

The annual awards are considered the Oscars of children’s literature. Committees of Library Association members vote to select the winners.

More than 18 awards were announced yesterday morning at the association’s midwinter meeting in Dallas.

The Newbery honor books are Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai; and Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.

The Caldecott honor books are Blackout by John Rocco, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith and Me . . . Jane by Patrick McDonnell.

Other winners

Continue reading…