Book Awards have been announced!

The winners of the 2009 Caldecott, Newbery, and Prinz awards have been announced!

Caldecott Award (awarded for illustration):
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson

Caldecott Honor:
A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee
How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant

Newbery Award (awarded for Kids' Fiction)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Newbery Honor:
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

Printz Award (awarded for Teen Fiction)
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Printz Honor:
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanahan
Nation by Terry Pratchett
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Vol. II: Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson

Click on any of the titles to request the book!

Have you heard of Preschool Pioneer Library?

Preschool Pioneer Library is a FREE Internet resource designed to help children 3 to 6 years old get ready for school. It's packed with games, activities, and other materials to make learning fun and rewarding. There is a lot of great information for grown-ups, too!

You can find it online at http://preschool.uen.org

The UEN (Utah Education Network) is looking for volunteers to help with a study to evaluate Preschool Pioneer. Families participating will attend two 20-minute meetings in Salt Lake City to assess the kindergarten readiness of their 4-year olds before and after using Preschool Pioneer. If you have a 4-year old (as of September 1, 2008) and want to help with this study, please sign up at your Salt Lake County Library before February 1. A UEN staff member will contact you to set up an appointment.

Even if you don't want to participate in the study, the website is available at no charge.

Beehive Books Voting

Beehive Bingo has returned!

Come into the library to pick up your Beehive Bingo reading records and nominated books. This year we have added a special category for preschoolers, which has fewer required books (and most of them are picture books). You'll get a prize for each Bingo, and a free book when you "blackout" your card.

Remember to vote for your favorites and turn in your ballots at the children's desk and help select Utah's favorite children's books for 2009!

For more information about the Children's Literature Association of Utah and the Beehive Book awards, visit their website at www.CLAU.org.