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2010 Youth Media Awards

For me personally, the highlight of ALA Midwinter this year was the Youth Media Awards.  Relatively new to the industry, I really didn’t know what to expect.  Would I even be able to find a seat or does the 7:30 am start-time only draw the most enthusiastic early-birds?  Would people yell and whistle for their favorites books and film or would we remain in our seats quietly? 

To my surprise, the ballroom in which the awards were announced was only two-thirds full, but with enough energy to fill the convention hall.  I sat in the back so I could take-in the event as a whole and watch the audience’s reaction.  It wasn’t long before I was sharing in the excitement, applauding and “woo hoo-ing” for my favorite titles too. 

No small part of the thrill was to see so many titles from the Playaway catalog awarded medals and honors this year:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Newbery Honor
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Newbery Honor & Sibert Honor
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, Sibert Medal
In the Belly of the Bloodhound, Odyssey Award Honor
Peace, Locomotion, Odyssey Award Honor
We Are the Ship, Odyssey Award Honor
Anything But Typical, Schneider Family Book Award
My Abandonment, Alex Award Winner (available on Playaway, April 2010)

I’m already looking forward to next year!

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Posted by Caroline Duke 

Playaway Content Development Coordinator

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice 2009 National Book Award Winner

Competition is stiff for the National Book Awards.  Current classics are recognized and awarded for their literary excellence through which they achieve a certain level of immortality to their shelf life.  The 2009 finalists were impressive as usual and I can’t imagine the burden of selecting just one per category.  Still, I was pleased to hear that Claudette Colvin – Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose won for Young People’s Literature. 

The book retells the story of Claudette Colvin, the fifteen year-old African American girl who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama months before Rosa Parks kick-started the Civil Rights Movement with that same rebellious act.  The NAACP considered making Claudette the poster-child for the Movement, using her case to help take other issues of inequality up to the Supreme Court.  In the end, her teenage pregnancy and social status made her less eligible for the job and 9 months after Claudette was dragged off the bus, Rosa Parks made a stand.  The courageous acts of that teenager were lost, overshadowed by what came next, making Claudette Colvin – Twice Toward Justice news to many of us who never learned about her in school.

After extensive interviews with Ms. Colvin, Hoose wove together an intimate portrait of a girl with the tumultuous backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement.  It’s not the first time Hoose has set out to teach history to kids through examples of kids in history.  His 2001 title, We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History is a collection of true stories about kids and young adults (all 18 and under) who made an impact – a title which was, in a sense, the catalyst for his writings on Claudette. 

Channie Waites’s reading is crisp, providing a clear juxtaposition of the girl’s story and the world in which it’s set, and transitioning between a history lesson and a firsthand account of one person’s experience.  Her narration, while matter-of-fact on the details, takes on the personality of the cast when shifting into Claudette’s mind & words.  The character voices are wonderfully expressive, whisking the reader into the courthouse or the Colvins’ living room.  Rich with detail and historical fact, Claudette Colvin – Twice Toward Justice holds interest in and out of the classroom, across all ages. 

Also available on Playaway through Recorded Books, the 2009 National Book Award Winner for Fiction, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

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Posted by Caroline Duke
Playaway Content Development Coordinator

Audie Award Winner Hails Libraries

Lots of people were nervous about the Audio Publisher Association’s plans to “streamline” this year’s Audie Award ceremony.   But everyone I’ve spoken with since awards night seems to agree that this year turned out to be a big improvement over 2008.   

Last year’s ceremony lasted well over four hours, and nearly everyone found it to be a bit too much ("interminable" some would say). This year’s affair was much quicker, and at the end of the night, people were in great spirits.  Everyone’s hopes are high that 2010 will be even better. 

Gathering as we did at the beautiful New York Historical society, it was only fitting that award-winning narrator John Lee, should pay tribute to libraries and librarians.

Accepting his Audie for “Best Male Solo Narration” (for Blackstone Audio’s production of The Count of Monte Cristo) Lee fished in his wallet and then held up his library card for all to see.  He pointed out that the audiobook industry owes much of its success to public libraries.  Then he spoke about how much he personally owes to his local library and called on everyone to support their library. 

 John Lee's masterful narration of The Count of Monte Cristo (all 47 unabridged hours of it!) is available on Playaway.

Here's the AudioFile magazine profile of John, including his full "audiography."  Is it just me or does he resemble the fellow on the cover of the book?

In addition to The Count of Monte Cristo, Playaway currently has over two dozen other classic and contemporary titles narrated by John.  Here's the complete list:

Title	Author	Publisher
Absolution Gap	Reynolds, Alastair	Tantor Audio
Cochrane	Cordingly, David	Tantor Audio
Count of Monte Cristo, The	Dumas, Alexandre	Blackstone Audio
Dark Volume, The	Dahlquist, Gordon	Tantor Audio
Dracula	Stoker, Bram	Tantor Audio
Dreaming Void, The	Hamilton, Peter F.	Tantor Audio
Dust	Grimes, Martha	Penguin Audiobooks
Empires of the Sea	Crowley, Roger	Tantor Audio
Even	Grant, Andrew	Blackstone Audio
Far from the Madding Crowd	Hardy, Thomas	Tantor Audio
Glister, The	Burnside, John	Blackstone Audio
House of Suns	Reynolds, Alastair	Tantor Audio
Invisible Wall, The	Bernstein, Harry	Blackstone Audio
Judas Unchained	Hamilton, Peter F.	Tantor Audio
Old Wine Shades, The	Grimes, Martha	Penguin Audiobooks
Pandora's Star	Hamilton, Peter F.	Tantor Audio
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, A	Joyce, James	Tantor Audio
Redemption Ark	Reynolds, Alastair	Tantor Audio
Revelation Space	Reynolds, Alastair	Tantor Audio
Robinson Crusoe	Defoe, Daniel	Blackstone Audio
Secret History of the World, The	Booth, Mark	Tantor Audio
Sherlock Holmes Was Wrong	Bayard, Pierre	Tantor Audio
Spartans, The	Cartledge, Paul	Blackstone Audio
Temporal Void, The	Hamilton, Peter F.	Tantor Audio
Thermopylae	Cartledge, Paul	Blackstone Audio
Three Musketeers, The	Dumas, Alexandre	Tantor Audio
Under the Volcano	Lowry, Malcolm	Blackstone Audio
White Fang and The Call of the Wild	London, Jack	Blackstone Audio
White Tiger, The	Adiga, Aravind	Tantor Audio
Worlds At War	Pagden, Anthony	Tantor Audio

2009 Award-winner from Down Under

Jellicoe Road, the 2009 Printz Award winner, launches on Playaway April 1st. 

The Michael J. Printz Award honors excellence in Young Adult literature.  Only one title per year is chosen for the top award. 

Hailed for the authenticity of her characters, Australian author Melina Marchetta weaves a complex dual narrative that tells the story of a teenage girl trying to fit together the pieces of her own mysterious past.

The audio version comes to us from Bolinda Audio, an Australian  publisher that's been getting rave reviews for the quality of its productions and its catalog of Aussie writers who are gaining recognition and developing substantial followings around the English-speaking world.

Throughout the rest of 2009, look for a fresh crop of 20 or more Bolinda titles per month on Playaway, including offerings from Kate Morton, Tim Winton, and Matthew Reilly.  

And see my earlier post for more 2009 award-winners available on Playaway.  

ALA Award Winners on Playaway

The major ALA literary awards were all announced at the Midwinter Meeting in Denver.  Quite a few of the winning titles are available on Playaway.  Here’s a partially annotated list in alphabetical order by title:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie

2009 Odyssey Award winner
2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Narrated by the author.

Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

Bloody Jack, Book 2: Curse of the Blue Tattoo
Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady
by L.A. Meyer

2009 Odyssey Award honor book
2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Books One and Two in the Bloody Jack series are available now.
Available on Playaway.

Bloody Jack, Book 3: Under the Jolly Roger
Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber
by L.A. Meyer

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Books Three and Four in this series launch on Playaway April 1, 2009.  Book Four will be called In the Belly of the Bloodhound. Book Five (Mississippi Jack) and Book Six (My Bonny Light Horseman) will be coming to Playaway later this year.
Available on Playaway.

The Burn Journals
by Brent Runyon

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Nonfiction

Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

City of Thieves
by David Benioff

2009 Alex Award winner (one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

Available on Playaway from Blackstone Audio, exclusively until 8/1/2009.

A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

The book that inspired the movie – as was often the case with Kubrick, his brilliant movie was based on a brilliant book in this case one by the prolific and far-ranging Anthony Burgess.  So few students are even familiar with the film (which they consider dated) – even fewer know the book.  Perhaps Tom Hollander’s skillful reading will engage students who find Burgess’s made-up Russian-English slang confusing.
Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

The Compound
by S.A. Bodeen

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

A very fresh first novel from S.A. Bodeen.  Suspenseful, thought-provoking, and highly accessible.  Christopher Lane gives a top-notch reading.

Available on Playaway.


The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart

2009 Michael L. Printz honor book

Available on Playaway.

Elijah of Buxton
By Christopher Paul Curtis

2009 Odyssey Honor audiobook
2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Available on Playaway.

Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Available on Playaway.

 

Finding Nouf
by Zoe Ferraris

2009 Alex Award winner (one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman

Newbery Medal winner
2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

The touching story of a boy raised by dead people.  
Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

 

Just After Sunset
by Stephen King

2009 Alex Award winner (one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

 


Mudbound
by Hillary Jordan

2009 Alex Award winner (one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.



Skybreaker
by Kenneth Oppel

2009 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - Fiction

Available on Playaway. 

 

Three Girls and Their Brother
by Theresa Rebeck

2009 Alex Award winner (one of the 10 best adult books that appeal to teens)

Available on Playaway.

 

The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt

2009 Newbery Honor book

Available on Playaway. 

 

Waiting for Normal
by Leslie Connor

2009 Schneider Family Book Award winner - middle-school category

The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for books portraying the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Available on Playaway exclusively from Recorded Books.

We are the Ship
The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award winner - Author
2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award honors - Illustrator
2009 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner - most distinguished informational book for children

Kadir Nelson has a well-deserved reputation as a super-talented artist and illustrator.  His illustrations earned him Caldecott Honors for Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad  (2008) and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (2007).

For this book, in addition to creating stunningly beautiful oil paintings for every page spread, Nelson steps into the role of author, telling the story of the Negro Leagues and the little-known history of African American baseball before Jackie Robinson. In addition to winning the Coretta Scott King author award, he also received honors for his role as illustrator.

Obviously, no audio-only version can stand in for Nelson's fabulous illustrations, but this is a great American story that absolutely should be made accessible to the widest possible audience, and audio can play a role.  But definitely buy the print too!

Available on Playaway.