ALA Youth Media Awards

Tomorrow is the big day when the Youth Media Awards are announced. I hope to watch them live, but that means I will have to get to school extra extra early. Or take the morning off. You can watch them live here.

There are many books I hope to see honored at the ALA YMA and I think today is a good day to share a few of  them with you, in no particular order.

 The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

 Poisoned Apples  by Christine Heppernan

 The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus by Jen Bryant

 The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

 El Deafo by Cece Bell

 Gaston  written by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christine Robinson

 I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

 Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

 Going Over  by Beth Kephart

 The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee

 Nuts to You  by Lynne Rae Perkins

 Audrey (Cow)  by Dan Bar-El (this can;t win a Newbery because Bar-El is Canadian)

 Gabi A Girl in Pieces  by Isabel Quintero

 Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Wilbur, Ivan, and now, Audrey

Wilbur is perhaps the most famous farm animal to escape the slaughterhouse. Ivan was not destined for the slaughterhouse, but he faced a grim future. And now we have Audrey.

From the publisher: Audrey is a cow with poetry in her blood, who yearns for the greener pastures beyond Bittersweet Farms. But when Roy the horse tells this bovine dreamer that she is headed for Abbot’s War, the slaughter house, Audrey knows that she must leave her home and friends sooner than she ever imagined. With the help of a whole crew of animals and humans alike, Audrey attempts to escape the farm she lives on–and certain death. Cleverly written as an oral account, this unique illustrated tale of an animal on the run, told “to camera”, uses over thirty narrative voices, including six humans, four cows, three sheep, two sheep dogs, one pig and a very silly rooster. Full of heart and humor, Audrey (cow) is ultimately a very human story about life and death, friendship, and holding on to one’s dreams–based more or less on a true story.

This is great book for taking to kids about voice. With so many characters, it is hard to believe that each one has a unique voice, but they do! Dan Bar-El is an artist with words. One cow’s grief over losing her son is compared to “a mist like we’d get on gray, foggy mornings that made the farm seem as if it were fading away along its edges”. Humor, realism, sadness, adventure and a lot heart make this a wonderful book, and an excellent read aloud. It would also be fun to create a class writing project trying to emulate this style in different setting, depending on what you are studying.

I highly recommend Audrey (cow). It would make a great gift for an elementary school student if you are still looking for books to give during this holiday season.