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And the winner is ...
Sachar wins Newbery; Azarian takes Caldecott
Web posted on: Monday, February 01, 1999 2:28:47 PM
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Louis Sachar awoke Monday to word that his book "Holes" had garnered a second major award in three months as the American Library Association announced it winner of the 1999 Newbery Medal for outstanding writing. Mary Azarian won the Caldecott Medal, which is given for outstanding illustration, for her woodcut illustrations in the book "Snowflake Bentley".
Sachar, 44, received the good news by early morning phone call at his Austin, Texas, home. "(My wife and I) were both still in bed," he says. "They called at seven o'clock, and we were very excited. I have a daughter -- she's 12. I woke her up and told her the news. She said, 'Can I tell people?' I said, 'Sure.'"
"Holes" -- which won the 1998 National Book Award for young people's literature -- tells the tale of Stanley Yelnats, a boy who is wrongly accused of stealing a famous baseball player's sneakers and is sentenced to a hellish term digging holes every day at a juvenile detention center. Ultimately, Stanley overcomes a family curse and discovers a new sense of self.
Excitement aside, Sachar is now facing in the after-effects of winning the Newbery: his phone won't stop ringing, and he's flying to New York to be on NBC's "Today" show on Tuesday.
"I tend to freeze up on camera, so I'm kinda nervous about going on the 'Today' show," Sachar admits. "My feeling is, even if I freeze up, it's better if I haven't been on at all."
'Sturdy characters and timeless landscapes'
In announcing Azarian's award for "Snowflake Bentley", Barbara Barstow, chair of the ALA Caldecott award committee, said the artist "has created strong and skillfully carved woodcuts that portray sensible, sturdy characters and a timeless rural landscape."
"Snowflake Bentley" introduces Wilson Bentley, a boy who loves snow more than anything in the world and is determined that one day his camera will capture the extraordinary and unique beauty of snowflakes.
The Newbery and Caldecott medals are perhaps the most coveted prize in children's literature. The Newbery was established by the ALA in 1922 to encourage creative work in the field of children's literature. The Caldecott, meanwhile, was established in 1937 when the ALA became concerned that artists creating picture books for children weren't receiving as much attention as their literary counterparts.
The winner of either award is lifted to the upper echelon of children's literature, as the book is immediately deemed a classic in it's category, and libraries and bookstores clamor to stock the book as the title heads to just about every summer reading list.
Just ask Karen Hesse, last year's Newbery winner for "Out of the Dust," a moving tale of how a 14-year-old girl deals with her mother's death. Hesse says she's still enjoying the afterglow from her win. "When I walk down the street in my hometown people give me the thumbs-up sign through their car windshields, children follow me through the library, the phone rings often and everyone, it seems, wants to talk about children's literature," she said in an interview with CNN Interactive last week.The ALA announced the winners at its annual mid-winter conference, held this year on Philadelphia.
Several other awards were also handed out, including the Coretta Scott King Award, which honors African-American authors and illustrators for outstanding contributions to children's and young adult literature.
Angela Johnson won this year's Coretta Scott King Author Award for "Heaven", while Michele Wood won illustrator honors for "I See the Rhythm".
The Coretta Scott King Award, named after the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is currently in its 30th year.
Related news:
- Industry awaits word of coveted Caldecott, Newbery awards
- McDermott, Ball win National Book Awards - November 18, 1998
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