Let's Celebrate the 2014 Walden Winner!

It's time to CELEBRATE This Week with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.  Every week Ruth invites us to share our celebrations from the week and link up at her blog. What a fun way to reflect on everything there is to be thankful for. 

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This week I'm celebrating the 2014 Walden Award!

*throws confetti*

I received an e-mail recently from Kellee Moye sharing the exciting news of the winner of the 2014 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award!

 

I was ecstatic to see that the winner is:

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

(St. Martin’s Griffin)

The 2014 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists were:

Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott

(Henry Holt / Christy Ottaviano Books)

The Milk of Birds by Sylvia Whitman

(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

(Arthur A. Levine Books)

Winger by Andrew Smith

(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)

Kellee shared more information about the award: "Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit."  

"The 2014 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered nearly 300 young adult titles throughout the process.  The committee was comprised of eleven members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities." I amazed by the work people do on committees like this. It takes dedication and time and I have always been in awe of Kellee and others like her who commit to such a task.

I'm happy to see Eleanor and Park win as it is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. The award also went to one of my favorites last year: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I know that I can trust this committee to name quality books as winner and finalists.

For more information on the award, you can visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents.

What are you celebrating this week?