Prizes worth considering

The major event of Monday's award ceremony at the ALA conference was the awarding of the Caldecott and Newbery medals, but librarians are not content with two prizes. There are too many good books published each year for us to limit ourselves. One of the most important awards is the Coretta Scott King award and this year the author award went to "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia published by Armistad. It was a crowd favorite and cheers erupted when the award was announced. If you don't have it in your library yet, be sure to order soon. The Coretta Scott King illustrator's award went to "Dave the Potter: Artist,Poet, Slave" written by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier (Little Brown). The unusual glimpse of a 19th century African American who put his talent to good use will make many children dream of possibilities for themselves. Teachers as well as children will love this one. And speaking of teachers, we mustn't forget one of the newest of the ALSC awards--the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for an easy reading book. This year it went to "Bink and Gollie" by Kate DiCamillo, published by Candlewick. Even the title will bring a smile to the face of a young child struggling with reading, and the story will win over the most reluctant learner. Almost all libraries have standing orders for the Newbery and Caldecott winners, but these aren't the only ones that should be automatically bought when the awards come out. This year's crop of winners presents a strong field of varied books--something for every child who comes to your library. Don't forget to promote them them at storyhours and during school visits. These are books that adults should see to understand the face of children's publishing today.