The 2009 ALA award winners are announced and with that, we go book shopping

We admit it, we're a sucker for the annual American Library Association awards which help us navigate the thousands of virtual bookstore shelves when picking out great reads for our kids. Last week the 2009 ALA winners were announced and we're excited to check out the big winners.

John Newbery Medal: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (ages 9-12). And right on the heels of his first film, Coraline, too. I can't wait til my kids are old enough for this one - I've been a Neil Gaiman fan for ages.

Randolph Caldecott Medal: The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes (ages 4-8)

Theodor Geisel Seuss Award: Are You Ready To Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems (baby-preschool)

Pura Belpré Award: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (young adult)

Belpré Illustrator Award: Just in Case: A Trickster's Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book by Yuyi Morales (ages 4-8)

-Liz


Find the complete list of 2009 ALA winners and honorees at the American Library Association website.