The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Besides the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park in south London. The models, accurately made using the latest scientific knowledge, created a sensation at the time. Hawkins was also a noted lecturer on zoological topics.
Eric Rohmann is an American author and illustrator of children's books. He is a graduate of Illinois State University and Arizona State University. He won the 2003 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing My Friend Rabbit, and he was a runner-up in 1995 for Time Flies. Rohmann also won the Sibert Medal as the illustrator, for Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera.
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association.
Suzanne Collins is an American author and television writer. She is best known as the author of the young adult dystopian book series The Hunger Games. She is also the author of the children's fantasy series The Underland Chronicles.
The Paleozoic Museum was a proposed museum of natural history in Manhattan near Central Park. Planning and initial construction for the museum proceeded in 1868–1870; English sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins planned and began creation of the dioramas, and the foundations for an eventual structure were laid at Central Park West and 63rd Street. The field of paleontology was in its infancy then, but interest was high for a museum displaying the latest findings. The museum never came to fruition after a combination of political resistance and a bizarre case of vandalism in 1871 that destroyed the dinosaur models that were prepared to be displayed in the museum.
Brian Selznick is an American illustrator and author best known as the writer of The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), Wonderstruck (2011), The Marvels (2015) and Kaleidoscope (2021). He won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing The Invention of Hugo Cabret. He is also known for illustrating children's books such as the covers of Scholastic's 20th-anniversary editions of the Harry Potter series.
The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are a series of sculptures of dinosaurs and other extinct animals, inaccurate by modern standards, in the London borough of Bromley's Crystal Palace Park. Commissioned in 1852 to accompany the Crystal Palace after its move from the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, they were unveiled in 1854 as the first dinosaur sculptures in the world. The models were designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen, representing the latest scientific knowledge at the time. The models, also known as the Geological Court or Dinosaur Court, were classed as Grade II listed buildings from 1973, extensively restored in 2002, and upgraded to Grade I listed in 2007.
Dinosaurs Don't Die is a 1970 British children's book by Ann Coates and illustrated by John Vernon Lord. It tells the story of a young boy, Daniel, who lives opposite the Sydenham Hill park in South London where the Crystal Palace was moved after the Great Exhibition. At night the boy notices that some of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, models created by sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, come to life. He befriends an Iguanodon he names "Rock".
Robert Donald Graham, better known as Bob Graham, is an Australian author and illustrator of picture books, primarily for very young children.
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, or Batchelder Award, is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the publisher of the year's "most outstanding" children's book translated into English and published in the U.S.
The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video was named in honor of nineteenth-century American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It honored the producer of the most outstanding video production for children. The Medal was supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and was administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), through a Carnegie endowment.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is a literary award by the American Library Association (ALA) that annually recognizes the "author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year." The winner(s) receive a bronze medal at the ALA Annual Conference, presented by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) division of ALA.
American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists which are part of the larger ALA awards structure.
Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's picture books. He won a Caldecott Honor in 2013 for his illustration of Creepy Carrots!
Byron Barton was an American writer and illustrator of children's picture books. His works received six ALA Notable Book Awards, five SLJ Best Books of the Year selections, and two Reading Rainbow picks.
Extra Yarn is a 2012 picture book written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. The book tells the story of a girl named Annabelle who knits for everyone in her town with a supply of yarn, until an archduke wants the yarn for himself. The book was a recipient of the 2013 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. It received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.
Me... Jane is a 2011 children's picture book written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell. The book tells the story of a young Jane Goodall and her toy chimpanzee, Jubilee, as they explore the world. The book was a recipient of a 2012 Caldecott Honor for its illustrations. In 2014, an animated adaptation, narrated by Katherine Kellgren and animated by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, was released by Weston Woods. In 2015, it won the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video.
Stephen Wilkins Jenkins was an American children's book author. He illustrated, wrote, and art-directed over 80 books.
