Jack Gantos' 'Dead End in Norvelt' wins Newbery Medal

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: January 24, 2012

NEW YORK - This year's winners of the top prizes in children's literature were honored for stories of resilience over the most everyday troubles: a boy grounded by his parents, a dog that loses its favorite toy.

Jack Gantos' Dead End in Norvelt won the John Newbery Medal for the best children's book of 2011, and Chris Raschka's A Ball for Daisy won the Randolph Caldecott award for best illustration. The prizes were announced yesterday by the American Library Association during its midwinter meeting in Dallas.

No cash prizes are given, but the awards are watched closely by booksellers and librarians and often lead to increased sales and a lasting place on a school or store bookshelf. Previous winners include such favorites as Louis Sachar's Holes and Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the basis for Martin Scorsese's film "Hugo."

Within hours of the prizes' announcement, Dead End in Norvelt and A Ball for Daisy were both in the top 50 on Amazon.com and both out of stock.

Gantos and Raschka are well-established in children's publishing. Gantos, 60, has been a finalist for the Newbery and the National Book Award. Raschka, 52, won the Caldecott in 2006 for The Hello, Goodbye Window.

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