A look at what might win Caldecott, Newbery awards

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Children's-book lovers are eagerly trying to guess which books will win the prestigious Caldecott and Newbery medals.Scheduled to be announced on Jan. 14 at the American Library Association's midwinter conference, the Caldecott Medal designates the best-illustrated children's book, while the Newbery Medal is given to the best-written children's book.Although the awards committees operate under strict rules of secrecy, it's usually possible to pinpoint some of the most likely contenders.The following list of possibilities is drawn from a number of sources, including such experts as Anita Silvey, author of "500 Great Books for Teens," Amy Kellman, a children's-literature consultant and former head of the children's-book department at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and Julie Cummins, the former coordinator of children's services at the New York Public Library and a children's-book reviewer and author.Caldecott Contenders:-- "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" (Scholastic, $22.99), written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, would be a controversial but interesting choice for the Caldecott. Unlike the usual Caldecott winner, which is a picture book, "Hugo Cabret" is a type of graphic novel with 500-plus pages -- more than half of them full-page illustrations. This combination of words and pictures allows "Hugo Cabret" to qualify under the criteria for the Caldecott, which is awarded to books for readers through age 14. The New York Times chose "Hugo Cabret" as one of its best-illustrated books of the year, and young readers rave about the book, which details the adventures of a Parisian orphan. (Ages 8-12.)-- "The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18), written and illustrated by Peter Sis, is a possibility for both the Caldecott and Newbery medals, with its fascinating mix of words and pictures, history and autobiography. (Ages 9-12.)-- Author-illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger has two possible Caldecott contenders: "First the Egg" (Roaring Brook Press, $14.95), chosen by The New York Times as one of the best-illustrated books, and "Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories" (Roaring Brook, $12.95), which won the 2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book award for best picture book. Both books feature Seeger's brightly colored artwork paired with simple but compelling text. (Ages 4-8.)-- In "Henry's Freedom Box" (Scholastic, $16.99), author Ellen Levine tells the amazing but true story of a slave named Henry Brown who mailed himself to freedom. The exquisite illustrations by Kadir Nelson further heighten the story's natural drama. (Ages 5-10.)-- 2005 Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes has another possible winner in the cheerful "A Good Day" (Greenwillow, $16.99, ages 3-7).-- Newbery Medalist Lynne Rae Perkins also is an accomplished illustrator, as she demonstrates in her latest picture book, "Pictures from Our Vacation" (Greenwillow, $16.99, ages 4-8).Other Caldecott possibilities include: "Old Penn Station" (Henry Holt, $16.95, ages 8-12), written and illustrated by William Low; "The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16, ages 4-8), written by Janice Harrington and illustrated by Shelley Jackson; and "Jazz On a Saturday Night" (Blue Sky/Scholastic, $16.99, ages 4-10), written and illustrated by Caldecott Medalists Leo and Diane Dillon.Newbery Contenders-- In his latest book, "Elijah of Buxton" (Scholastic, $16.99), Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis mixes humor and drama in an unusual look at slavery. (Ages 9-12.)-- Gary Schmidt looks at the upheaval of the 1960s through the eyes of a bookish seventh-grader in "The Wednesday Wars" (Clarion, $16, ages 11-14).-- A controversial contender for the Newbery is "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" (Little, Brown, $16.99) by Sherman Alexie. Winner of the National Book Award for Young-Adult Literature, this story of a boy who leaves the reservation to save his future is wonderful, but mature content makes it more for teens, ages 14 and up. Like the Caldecott, however, the Newbery can be given to a book for readers through age 14.-- In "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!" (Candlewick Press, $18.99), author Laura Amy Schlitz vividly describes life in a medieval village. (Ages 8-12.)-- "Feathers" (Putnam, $15.99) by Jacqueline Woodson is a beautifully written look at racism and faith during the Vietnam War. (Ages 8-12.)-- "The Talented Clementine" (Hyperion, $14.99) is the second in Sara Pennypacker's series about an irrepressible third-grader. (Ages 7-10.)-- A few other possibilities: "Book of a Thousand Days" by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, $17.95, ages 12 up); "Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller" (Atheneum, $16.95, ages 10-14) by Sarah Miller; "Red Moon at Sharpsburg" (Viking, $16.99, ages 12 up) by Rosemary Wells; "Bone By Bone By Bone" (Roaring Brook, $16.95, ages 10-14) by Tony Johnston; "Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree" (Dial, $16.99, ages 10-14) by Lauren Tarshis; and "Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood" (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, $16, ages 12 up) by Ibtisam Barakat.(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.macpherson(at)gmail.com.)\(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)