The American Library association has announced the award-winning books for kids for 2008. To see a list of winners, as well as explanations of the criteria for various awards, go this this ALA link.

Interestingly, the Caldecott medal--the award for the best illustrated book-- this year was awarded to a chapter book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik. This book is a one-of-a-kind suspenseful reading experience about a young boy who lives secretly on his own after his clockwinder uncle disappears. Set around the era of the silent film, the pages of this thick book are as full of detailed pencil illustrations--giving a feel of film frames---as print pages.

The format of this book really stretches the boundaries between picture and chapter book, as the art is truly integral to the story in a way that is unusual for a book for this intended audience. I would highly recommend this book to elementary through adult age readers. Aside from the interesting story, this novel gives a fascinating glimpse at the history of the film and entertainment industry.