Kids book awards: Top honors for steampunks, old winners go free, medieval life

John Mark sez, "A 500-page steampunk graphic novel wins the American Library Association's 2008 Caldecott award, and the 2008 Newbery award goes to a collection of dramatic monologues and dialogues from over 20 characters in an imaginary 13th century English village. Meanwhile, a bunch of the *older* Newbery awardees, including some that are long out of print, have recently been made freely available online, and we've discovered more that are eligible to go online because their copyrights weren't renewed."

The steampunk graphic novel is The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik, which tells the story of "an orphan in early-20th-century Paris living inside the walls of a train station, trying to finish an invention left by his father. The ALA Caldecott site says 'the suspenseful text and wordless double-page spreads narrate the taleâ¦ which is filled with cinematic intrigue.'" I've just ordered my copy. Link, Invention of Hugo Cabret on Amazon, Link to "Invention of Hugo Cabret" site (Thanks, John Mark!)

Discussion

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#1 posted by freebeets , January 17, 2008 1:30 AM

I've read nearly all of the Newbery Award books. Many are absolutely amazing. Where can I find the expired copyright ones online?

#2 posted by Practical Archivist

, January 17, 2008 7:08 AM

Oh, man...I can't wait to share this with my kids!

Another fabulous steampunky kids book is the Caldecott award winner _Flotsam_ by David Wiesner. No text, just gorgeous illustration. I reviewed it here.

#3 posted by Lydia9 , January 17, 2008 7:13 AM

This is a fantastic book. Another children's book I highly recommend for all or the steampunk/alt history folks is The Arrival, by Shaun Tan (see images at his website here:http://www.shauntan.net/books.html).

I know that publishy types were sad that this book was ineligible for the Caldecott, had it been, it would have been a strong contender. I bought a bunch of copies at a conference last weekend for kids in my life and have already managed to give them all away to adults...