Children/Young Adult Book Awards: 1990-1999

From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. "Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied." -- Wilson Bentley.

When author and artist David Shannon was five years old, he wrote a semi-autobiographical story of a little kid who broke all his mother's rules. He chewed with his mouth open, jumped on the furniture, and he broke his mother's vase. As a result, all David ever heard his mother say was "No, David!"

Another stunning picture book biography of a prominent twentieth-century African-American in the arts, from the creative team behind Alvin Ailey.

No one thinks one or two snowflakes will amount to anything. Not the man with the hat or the lady with the umbrella. Not even the television or the radio forecasters. But one boy and his dog have faith that the snow will amount to something spectacular, and when flakes start to swirl down on the city, they are also the only ones who know how to truly enjoy it. This playful depiction of a snowy day and the transformation of a city is perfectly captured in simple, poetic text and lively watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations.

A father's diary, an artist's memoir

Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel reaches back beyond the Grimms to a late-seventeenth-century French tale by Mlle. la Force, who based hers on the Neapolitan tale Petrosinella in a collection popular at the time. The artist understands the story's fundamentals to be about possessiveness, confinement, and separation, rather than about punishment and deprivation. Thus the tower the sorceress gives Rapunzel here is not a desolate, barren structure of denial but one of esoteric beauty on the outside and physical luxury within. And the world the artist creates through the elements in his paintings the palette, control of light, landscape, characters, architecture, interiors, costumes speaks to us not of an ugly witch who cruelly imprisons a beautiful young girl, but of a mother figure who powerfully resists her child's inevitable growth, and of a young woman and man who must struggle in the wilderness for the self-reliance that is the true beginning of their adulthood.

These fifty-four poems, all in different voices but written by one hand, do sing. They make a joyful noise as the author honors the people-the nurses, students, soldiers, and ministers-of his beloved hometown, Harlem. Worship with Deacon Allen, who loves "a shouting church," and study with Lois Smith, who wants "a school named after me." Don't get taken by Sweet Sam DuPree, who "conned a shark right outta his fin." And never turn your back on Delia Pierce, who claims she "ain't the kind to talk behind nobody's back" while doing precisely that-with panache. Inspired by Edgar Lee Masters's classic Spoon River Anthology, Walter Dean Myers celebrates the voices and aspirations of the residents of another American town, one that lies between two rivers on the north side of an island called Manhattan.

An old favorite as you've never seen it before!
Everyone knows the song about the old lady who swallowed a fly, a spider, a bird, and even worse, but who's ever seen what's going on inside the old lady's stomach? With this inventive die-cut artwork, Simms Tabak gives us a rollicking, eye-popping version of the well-loved poem.

Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing smiles to customers' faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece -- an ambitious rooftop garden -- which she hopes will make even Uncle Jim smile. Sarah Stewart introduces readers to an engaging and determined young heroine, whose story is told through letters written home, while David Small's illustrations beautifully evoke the Depression-era setting.

Retold from traditional sources and accompanied by David Wisniewski's unique cut-paper illustrations, Golem is a dramatic tale of supernatural forces invoked to save an oppressed people. It also offers a thought-provoking look at the consequences of unleashing power beyond human control. The afterword discusses the legend of the golem and its roots in the history of the Jews.

This elegant alphabet is for those who long ago mastered their ABCs but never outgrew their passion for discovering beauty in unexpected places.

The beautifully illustrated story of a boy and his dog, who rise early one morning before anyone else is awake to deliver newspapers; when his family wakes, the boy and his dog head back to bed.

In an endearing lullaby, a mother asks a lizard, a monkey, and a water buffalo to be quiet and not disturb her sleeping baby.

In this amazing new book, Peter Sís employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sís tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth.

"Besides the beguiling story, the affable illustrations of the smiling Gloria, the accidental mayhem in the background, and the myriad safety tips -- such as always pull the toothpick out of your sandwhich and never lick a stop sign in the winter -- add to the enjoyment.

Hare solves his family’s problems by tricking rich and lazy Bear in this funny, energetic version of an old slave story. With roots in American slave tales,Tops & Bottomscelebrates the trickster tradition of using one’s wits to overcome hardship.

The urban landscape will never look the same again. As Stephen T. Johnson demonstrates in a series of strikingly realistic pastels and watercolors, a simple sawhorse can contain the letter "A"--while lampposts alongside a highway can form a row of elegant, soaring Ys.

With mournful moan and silken tone, itself alone comes ONE TROMBONE...
Then a trumpet joins in to become a duet; add a French horn and voila! you have a trio -- and on it goes until an entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Lloyd Moss's iresistible rhymes and Marjorie Pricemans's energetic illustrations make beautiful music together -- a masterpiece that is the perfect introduction to musical instruments and musical groups, and a counting book that redefines the genre.

On the lush tropical island of Martinique live Clement and Hippolyte, two inseparable friends. When Clement falls in love with the beautiful Pauline, Hippolyte agrees to join his best friend on his journey to propose marriage. But when Pauline accepts Clement’s proposal, it enrages her uncle Monsieur Zabocat—reputed to be a quimboiseur, a wizard. To prevent the wedding, the old wizard lures Hippolyte into a deadly trap, forcing him to choose between his friend’s safety and his own.

In a night of rioting, Daniel and his mother are forced to leave their apartment for the safety of a shelter. Diaz has not been afraid to take risks in illustrating the story with thickly textured paintings against a background of torn-paper and found-object collage.

Nothing can stop John Henry-no boulder, no mountain, and definitely no steam drill. Newbery Honor winner Julius Lester writes with such power that this African-American folk hero becomes as awesome as a natural phenomenon.

Thundering Tarnation has a bottomless appetite for settler's grub. When word goes out about a competition to hunt this four-legged forest of stubble, a young woman, second to none in buckskin bravery, signs up. "How about baking a pie, Angel?" the other hunters taunt. "I aim to," says Swamp Angel. "A bear pie." What follows is as witty a round of roughhousing as ever jostled the ranks of Americana. Anne Isaacs' original text unfolds in a crackling combination of irony, exaggeration, and bold image-making.

Time Flies , a wordless picture book, is inspired by the theory that birds are the modern relatives of dinosaurs. This story conveys the tale of a bird trapped in a dinosaur exhibit at a natural history museum. Through Eric's use of color, readers can actually see the bird enter into a mouth of a dinosaur, and then escape unscathed.

Lyrical, breathtaking, splendid—words used to describe Allen Say’s Grandfather’s Journey when it was first published. At once deeply personal yet expressing universally held emotions, this tale of one man’s love for two countries and his constant desire to be in both places captured readers’ attention and hearts. Fifteen years later, it remains as historically relevant and emotionally engaging as ever.

Raven, the Native American trickster, feels sorry for those who must live in darkness, and he decides to help. He flies over mountains, valleys, and lakes and discovers that light is being kept hidden inside the house of the Sky Chief. Using his cleverness, Raven finds a way to bring light to the world.

Owen had a fuzzy yellow blanket. "Fuzzy goes where I go," said Owen. But Mrs. Tweezers disagreed. She thought Owen was too old for a blanket. Owen disagreed. No matter what Mrs. Tweezers came up with, Blanket Fairies or vinegar, Owen had the answer. But when school started, Owen't mother knew just what to do, and everyone -- Owen, Fuzzy, and even Mrs. Tweezers -- was happy.

An effective, unusual 34-word story of the beginnings of a friendship, accompanied by wild and wonderful illustrations. Against pastel backgrounds, in vibrant, colorful images, an African-American boy and a white boy meet on the street. [Their] one- and two-word exchanges on each spread lead to a tentative offer of friendship, sealed as both boys jump high in the air and yell Yow!" With a beautifully balanced, economical style, the book illumines the peaks and pitfalls of getting acquainted, and puts in a good word for brotherhood as well." --School Library Journal

Peppe becomes a lamplighter to help support his immigrant family in turn-of-the-century New York City, despite his papa's disapproval. But when Peppe's job helps save his little sister, he earns the respect of his entire family.

Denise Fleming's book gives young readers a frog's-eye view of life in a pond throughout the seasons.

One day, a mysterious stranger arrives at a boardinghouse of the widow Gateau- a sad-faced stranger, who keeps to himself. When the widow's daughter, Mirette, discovers him crossing the courtyard on air, she begs him to teach her how he does it.

But Mirette doesn't know that the stranger was once the Great Bellini- master wire- walker. Or that Bellini has been stopped by a terrible fear. And it is she who must teach him courage once again.

The entire book, with its unconventional page arrangement and eclectic, frenetic mix of text and picures, is a spoof on the art of book design and the art of the fairy tale. The individual tales, such as he Really Ugly Ducklingand ittle Red Running Shorts,can be extracted for telling aloud, with great success.

In this retelling of the Indian fable, seven blind mice discover different parts of an elephant and argue about its appearance.

This child’s view of the long day’s work in the cotton fields, simply expressed in a poet’s resonant language, is a fresh and stirring look at migrant family life. With its restrained poetic text and impressionist paintings, this is a picture book for older readers, too.

In this nearly wordless picture book, Wiesner again takes readers on an imaginative voyage, using everyday reality merely as a touchstone. Here, a squadron of frogs soars through the night air one Tuesday, squatting upon lilypads that they use as flying carpets. Apparently intending no harm, these mysterious visitors to a suburban development leave a minimum of disruption as evidence of their eerie flight: a few startled eyewitnesses, some scattered lilypads and a spooked dog. Wiesner's visuals are stunning: slightly surrealistic, imbued with mood and mystery, and executed with a seemingly flawless command of palette and perspective. But, perhaps because this fantasy never coalesces around a human figure, it is less accessible and less resonant than his tales that center on a child protagonist.

"Ringgold recounts the dream adventure of eight-year-old Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who flies above her apartment-building rooftop, the 'tar beach' of the title, looking down on 1939 Harlem. Part autobiographical, part fictional, this allegorical tale sparkles with symbolic and historical references central to African-American culture.

Four stories are told simultaneously, with each double-page spread divided into quadrants. The stories do not necessarily take place at the same moment in time, but are they really one story?

Three babies are caught up in the air and given loving attention by a father, grandmother, and mother.

This charming series retells classic fairy tales with bright illustrations and a clever tone. The stories in the Little Pebbles series have been adapted for children today while respecting the richness and flavor of the original versions. The small size of the books and their warm, inviting illustrations will appeal to children. In addition, children will love the game page at the end of each book, and they will want to read all the books in the series.
An enterprising cat -- with only a bag, a pair of boots, and some audacity -- arranges for his owner, a poor farmer, to marry a princess and live happily ever after.

Award-winning artist Ed Young illustrates, with characteristic flair and energy, the ancient Chinese version of the favorite fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood". Young's vibrant, yet delicate, pastels and watercolors add drama to the deftly translated story. "An extraordinary and powerful book".--Publishers Weekly. Full color. 1990 Caldecott Medal book.

Bill Peet tells his life story, including his years with Disney, with illustrations on every page.

Shapes and colors in your zoo, lots of things that you can do. Heads and ears, beaks and snouts, that's what animals are all about. I know animals and you do too; make some new ones for your zoo.

A Southern folktale in which kind Blanche, following the instructions of an old witch, gains riches, while her greedy sister makes fun of the old woman and is duly rewarded.

A traveler rids a village synagogue of goblins by outwitting them.