A Look at Award-Winning Children's Picture Books

Seeking a good book?

Then welcome once again to Lindenhurst Patch’s Library Lounge. Twice a month the Lindenhurst Memorial Library (LML) will search its extensive collection, consult the bestseller lists and provide a list of good entertainment options designed to pique your interest.

This week LML Director Peter Ward offers a look at the 2012 Caldecott Medal winner, A Ball for Daisy, as well as the 2012 Caldecott Honor books.

And if you missed his discussion of the Mock Printz Award-winning young-adult book, A Monster Calls, then visit the Library Lounge.

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It's awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The 2012 Caldecott Medal winner is A Ball for Daisy, written and illustrated by Chris Raschka. It's also published by Schwartz and Wade Books - an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Incorporated.

In a wordless book with huge children’s appeal, Raschka gives us the story of an irrepressible little dog whose most prized possession is accidently destroyed.

With brilliant economy of line and color, Raschka captures Daisy’s total - yet temporary - devastation. It's a buoyant tale of loss, recovery and friendship.

While the book captured the Caldecott Medal this year, there were a few other children's picture books that also received 2012 Caldecott Honor Books.

Those 2012 Caldecott Honor Books included:

• Blackout, written and illustrated by John Rocco: A summer’s power outage draws an urban family up to its building’s roof and then down to the street for an impromptu block party. Rocco illuminates details and characters with a playful use of light and shadow in his cartoon-style illustrations. He delivers a terrific camaraderie-filled adventure that continues even when the electricity returns.

• Grandpa Green, written and illustrated by Lane Smith: Elaborate topiary sculptures give visual form to memories in a wildly fanciful garden tended by a child and his beloved great-grandfather. Using an inspired palate Smith invites readers to tour a green lifetime of meaningful moments.

• Me…Jane, written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell: Watching the birds and squirrels in her yard, a young girl discovers the joy and wonder of nature. In delicate and precise India ink and watercolor, McDonnell depicts the awakening of a scientific spirit. A perceptive glimpse of the childhood of renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.

You can search for and reserve these books online at the LML website, and check them out at the library at One Lee Avenue.