January 27, 2009 — The American Library Association (ALA) Monday announced the top books, videos, and audiobooks for children and young adults—including the Caldecott, King, Newbery, Schneider Family, and Batchelder awards—at its Midwinter Meeting in Denver.

Among the selections for award winners and honor books were two books from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company:

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant, was chosen as one of three honor books for the Randolph Caldecott Medal—an award given to the most distinguished American picture book for children. (Beth Krommes, illustrator of The House in the Night, written by Susan Marie Swanson and published by Houghton Mifflin Company, is the 2009 Caldecott Medal Winner.)

Garmann’s Summer, originally published in Norwegian, written and illustrated by Stian Hole, translated by Don Barlett, was chosen as one of two honor books for the Mildred L. Batchelder Award—an award given for the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. (Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, originally published in Japanese, written by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano, is the winner of the 2009 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. The book is published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic.)

Each year the American Library Association (ALA) honors books and media for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the ALA Youth Media Awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.

For more information about the American Library Association, visit www.ala.org.

Click here to view the press release with information about this year’s Caldecott Medal winner and honor books from the ALA media relations department.

Click here to view the Batchelder Award press release from the ALA media relations department.

Click here to view the entire list of the 2009 ALA Youth Media Award winners and honor books.