Volunteer at the Cragmont Library!

Looking for a way to get involved in your student's school and reading? Help at the Cragmont Library!

We have about 500 books go in and out every week, and every one of those books has to be put back on the shelf so other students can try them out! If you are around school and have an extra 30 minutes, I would love help shelving, straightening, labeling and pulling books out for themes. Since students are still learning where things go, shelf reading (making sure a shelf is in the right order) is an important part of making sure our library is easy to use and a nice place to be.

In helping the library, you will be making the space more user friendly and may even come upon some new books to share with your students at home!

Please stop by the library and let me know if you can be a volunteer, I would love your help!

Award Winners for the New Year!

Happy New Year Cragmont Readers!

Every January, the American Library Association (ALA) announces its Youth Media Award for the previous year. Committees of librarians read thousands of books and decide which ones fit the bill for "best of."

Last week, the winners for 2010 were announced! Below are the ALA descriptions of each award and this year's winner:

Newbery Medal: Best novel for children 12 and under, written by an American Author. 2010 winners are...

• Medal Winner: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

• Honor Books: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm (author of the Babymouse graphic novel series); Heart of the Samurai by Margi Preus; One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia (takes place in Oakland in the year 1968); and finally Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman.
  

Caldecott Medal: Best illustrations for a children's book. 2010 winners are...

• Medal Winner: A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Christian Stead
• Honor Books: Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein; and Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill
  

Coretta Scott King Award: Honors African American authors and illustrators of outstanding books for children and young adults portraying the African American experience. 2010 winners are...

• Winner for author award: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (also an Honor Newbery book)
• Winner for illustrator award: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill (also an Honor Caldecott book)

Pura Belpre Award: Honors honor Latino writers and illustrators whose work celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's literature. 2010 winners are...

• Winner for author award: The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Winner for illustrator award: Grandma's Gift by Eric Velasquez

Siebert Medal: Best informational book for children. 2010 winners are...

• Winner: Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery
• Honors: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan; and Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: Best beginning reader book. 2010 winners are...

• Winner: Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo (of Winn-Dixie and Tale of Despereaux fame)
• Honors: We are in a Book! by Mo Willems (creator of pigeon and Knuffle bunny); and Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin
  

Schneider Family Book Award: Best book that "embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences." 2010 winners are...

• Winner for ages 0-10: The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon

For more details about each award, lists of all honor books, plus information about all other ALA awards, click here and here. A complete list of all past winners can be found at the American Library Association website.