The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin is the 2012 winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, ages 12 to 18. YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, is a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Citing the book as "an illuminating biography," Jennifer Hubert the YALSA Nonfiction Award Chair, praised the author for not only examining Benedict Arnold's life in terms of what happened but also in terms of why it happened. To learn more about the award winner, see teen librarian Jennifer Kendall's review of The Notorious Benedict Arnold.

(Cover art courtesy of Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, An Imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)

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The talented Chris Raschka is the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner for picture book illustration for A Ball for Daisy. This is Raschka's second Caldecott Medal. He won the 2006 Caldecott Medal for Norton Juster's The Hello, Goodbye Window. Raschka's illustrations for A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems and A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms are among my favorites. Two of the three 2012 Caldecott Honor Books, Me...Jane and Blackout, are also on my personal Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011 list. Are you more apt to buy a book for your child/teen if it's an award winner? Please let me know by posting a comment at Readers Respond.

(Cover art courtesy of Random House)

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Wow! Hugo, the movie version of Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, has been nominated for 11 Oscars, including Best Picture! The other nominations for Hugo announced by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects and Adapted Screenplay. Brian Selznick, who received the 2008 Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret also wrote The Hugo Movie Companion, which provides a fascinating detailed look at the making of Hugo.

Related Resources
Hugo Movie Review for Parents (About.com: Kids' Movies & TV)
Hugo Movie Trailer, Clips and Information (About.com: Kids' Movies & TV)
Hugo Behind the Scenes Video (About.com: Hollywood Movies)

(Cover art courtesy of Scholastic Press, An Imprint of Scholastic)

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Happy Chinese New Year! I've added still another picture book to my list of recommended Children's Books About the Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year. It's Crouching Tiger, and it's a book children will enjoy any time of year because, while it includes the Chinese New Year celebration, the focus is more on how a Chinese-American boy comes to appreciate his Chinese grandfather who is visiting for the New Year. Young kids who are fascinated with martial arts will particularly enjoy the book. Read over my list, and if you have other books about the Chinese New Year to recommend, please click on "Comments" below and share your recommendations.

Related Resources for Chinese New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year (About.com: Family Crafts)
Chinese New Year: History, Legends and Food (About.com: Chinese Food)

(Cover art courtesy of Candlewick Press)