National Book Award Young People's Literature: The Finalists (and who made the longlist)

(from the National Book foundation website) YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE:

FINALISTS:

• Eliot Schrefer, Threatened (Scholastic Press)
• Steve Sheinkin, The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
  (Roaring Brook Press/ Macmillan Publishers)
• John Corey Whaley, Noggin (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster)
• Deborah Wiles, Revolution: The Sixties Trilogy, Book Two (Scholastic Press)
• Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming (Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Group (USA))

LONGLIST:

- Laurie Halse Anderson, The Impossible Knife of Memory (Viking/ Penguin Group (USA))
- Gail Giles, Girls Like Us (Candlewick Press)
- Carl Hiaasen, Skink—No Surrender (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers/ Random House)
- Kate Milford, Greenglass House (Clarion Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Andrew Smith, 100 Sideways Miles (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster)

YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE JUDGES

Sharon M. Draper, Starr LaTronica, Dave Shallenberger, Sherri L. Smith, Rebecca Stead

Plopping, Zooming, Slashing and Other Horrendous Happenings in THE TUMBLEWEED CAME BACK

THE TUMBLEWEED CAMEBACK by Carmela LaVigna Coyle (illustrated by Kevin Rechin) (Rico Chico Books for Children, release September 2013) is a charming tall-tale story of two determined kids and one Granny matched against the antagonist—the pesky tumbleweed. Those plopping, zooming and slashing tumbleweed double and triple on every page turn, ruining pools and farmland. And no matter if the kids send them away down the Rio Grande or by time machine, the tumbleweed come back. But not to worry—the kids in this story have grit. They rely on problem solving and ingenuity to rid themselves and their Granny of the multiplying nuisance. 

The fun word choices in this story make it a delight to read aloud, and further enhance the tall-tale storytelling and the western setting. The colorful and comical illustrations by Kevin Rechin both punctuate the yarn as well as open the door for the child’s imagination to go wild. Parents, grandparents, and teachers alike will enjoy the pluck and resourcefulness of Carmela LaVigna Coyle’s characters.

THE TUMBLEWEED CAMEBACK was this year's winner of the Colorado Book Award for Children's Literature. It is fresh and original, and it’s funny while also showing kids that imagination and determination can payoff.