The 2011 Youth Media Awards were announced on Monday, January 10th — these are the winners of the prestigious awards for children's and teen's literature published in the past year. 

I plan to highlight each of the teen awards over the next week, but the first one is the Printz Award.

The Michael L. Printz Award
is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. 

AND THE 2011 WINNER IS…

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi In a futuristic world, teenaged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

 

Four Printz Honor Books also were named this year;  they are:

• “Stolen,” by Lucy Christopher; 
• “Please Ignore Vera Dietz,” by A.S. King; 
• “Revolver,” by Marcus Sedgwick;  and
• “Nothing,” by Janne Teller. 

I haven't read any of these yet, so I'm looking forward to some great reads!!–KD