Awards

The American Library Association has announced the awards for books and media for children and young adults.  The most well-known of the awards are the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, considered to be the Academy Awards of children’s literature.

The Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for children was awarded to Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, in which twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses. The Newbery Committee chose two Honor Books:  Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai and Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

This year’s Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book went to A Ball for Daisy illustrated by Chris Raschka, a tender and colorful wordless book about losing a special toy and finding a new friend. Three Honor Books were named: Blackout, illustrated and written by John Rocco, Grandpa Green, illustrated and written by Lane Smith; and Me…Jane, illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell.

Click here for more information about these and all of the Youth Media Awards.

Christmas came early to the Troy Public Library this year, in the form of a $2,300 donation from southeast Michigan businesswomen representing Meritor, Henry Ford Health Systems, GM and Inforum. These women are part of a leadership class that included a community service project.

This donation will enhance the Library’s Special Needs collection, and be used for materials and equipment for children with reading disabilities associated with visual impairments such as albinism, dyslexia, ADHD, traveling eye, an inability to see color, and more.

The Library will purchase large print materials, with emphasis on novels for ages 8-12; non-fiction books on visual impairments; and magnifiers to assist in reading. The Friends of the Troy Public Library have contributed an additional $300 towards this project, to purchase kits with special reading materials and magnifiers that children can use at home.

Join us for a special story time, at 11:15 am, on Saturday, January 21, to introduce the community to our new collection. This event is especially for children ages pre-school through 2nd grade. Afterw the event, there will be a demonstration on how to download ebooks to ereaders, and a tour of the enhanced Special Needs Collection.

Ahhh...summer! Time for some rest and relaxation, iced tea and a good summer read! What better time to join the Troy Public Library's Adult Summer Reading Program: Novel Destinations - World Culture-World Travel.

The summer reading program runs for five weeks, from June 22 to July 27. Register online from home or the library to participate. Once you register, read and log books into your account, so you can earn chances to win gift cards from The Somerset Collection.

Need a suggestion on what to read? On the display to the left of the Adult reference desk you will find titles of wide interest: from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze to Jack Hitt's Off the Road: A Modern Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route to Spain to novelist Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible. If you need assistance ask a staff member in the Adult area of the Library.

Get on board and start reading this summer! 

Are you planning on watching the Academy Awards on Sunday, February 27? If so, you might be trying to correctly pick the winners in each category. The problem is, you may not have seen every movie nominated.

Have no fear. The Troy Public Library has many of the Academy Award nominated films for you to view before Hollywood's big night. Take a look at the list of films. If there are some that you have not seen yet, place a hold and we will notify you when they are ready for pick up.

Now that's entertainment!

(Photo by: NMCIL ortiz domney)

Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool, has won the 2011 Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Set in the Great Depression, Moon over Manifest is about Abilene Tucker, a 12-year old whose father sends her for the summer to Manifest, Kansas, a town populated by bootleggers and coal-mining immigrants. There she solves a longtime mystery.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead, won the 2011 Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book.

Amos a zookeeper loves the animals at his zoo, running races with the tortoise, making friends with a shy penguin, and reading an owl a bedtime story. One day Amos is sick and can't come to the zoo so the animals decide to go to him. 

The 2010-2011 Troybery Award nominee books have arrived at the Troy Public Library. There are multiple copies of each title. Read them all and vote on your favorite book. You can check out a book for seven days.

The Troybery Award was started by Troy School District Media Specialists. This award gives students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades a chance to voice their opinion and vote for the best young adult book of the year. Ten books are nominated by Troy teaching staff. Students read them and vote for their favorites. One Troybery winner and two honor books are selected each year.

Winning titles will be announced on this website in 2011, so stay tuned.