Annal:2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
From AwardAnnals
Results of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in the year 2009. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
Are You Ready to Play Outside?
- 2009 Geisel winner
- Score: 10.59
Winning unanimous rave reviews, Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series continues to charm readers. Featuring two lovable and funny characters, an optimistic (and sometimes reckless) pig and a cautious, pessimistic elephant, these books make reading irresistible to the beginning readers. Children who sat on their parents’ laps to have Pigeon read to them will eagerly take the plunge with these books to start reading on their own.
Each book has been vetted by an early learning specialist (and many adorable early learners).
In Are You Ready to Play Outside?, Piggie can't wait to go play in the sunshine. But will a rainy day ruin all the fun?
Judyann Ackerman Grant, Sue Truesdell
- 2009 Geisel honor
- Score: 6.59
“Shoo!” said Earl.
“Shoo! Shoo!” said Pearl.
“Cluck! Cluck! Cluck!” said Chicken.
Earl and Pearl are planting pumpkins. Chicken wants to help. But it seems like the only thing Chicken is good at is getting in the way.
Then grasshoppers invade the pumpkin patch, and Earl and Pearl can do nothing to stop them. Suddenly it’s up to Chicken to save the day!
This funny and satisfying book is a delightful treat for children just starting to read.
- 2009 Geisel honor
- Score: 6.59
A CLASSIC IN THE MAKING FROM THE 2008 CALDECOTT HONOR WINNER
ONE BOY is a perfect example of why Kirkus Reviews calls Laura Vaccaro Seeger the “emerging master of the concept book”—a die-cut book exploring counting and words-withinwords, and the power of art and imagination. At the start, readers see a sad boy surrounded by empty, lonely chairs. At his feet is a bag with paint brushes peeking out. The text reads “ONE boy” which—with a turn of the page and a look through a cleverly cut hole—turns into “all alONE.” Page after page, the book becomes populated with seals, apes, and monkeys, all examples of words-within-words. Finally, we come back to “ONE boy” who is “all dONE,” and we discover where all the characters came from.
- 2009 Geisel honor
- Score: 6.59
An honoree of the 2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association. Stinky is a monster who loves pickles and possums—but is terrified of people! When a new kid enters his swamp, this adorable little monster comes up with all sorts of crazy plans to scare him away. But Stinky quickly learns to conquer his fear, as he realizes that bats, rats, and toads aren’t the only friends you can find in the swamp. This hilarious and heart-warming story by ferociously talented newcomer Eleanor Davis proves that even monsters can make new friends…warts and all!
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator
Sarah C. Campbell, Richard Posey Campbell
- 2009 Geisel honor
- Score: 6.59
This true tale of horror begins in the leaf litter beside a quaint, tidy porch in Jackson, Mississippi. Rain trickles off the edge of a quaint, tidy porch and onto the shell of a sleeping creature. The water awakens the beast. Slowly, a slimy foot emerges from the shell, then a hideous head. The wolfsnail is on the prowl.
Big, strong, and fast (for a snail), the wolfsnail has a taste for meat. In some areas, it is called the cannibal snail. It has earned the name.
Above the wolfsnail, a smaller snail calmly eats the leaf of a garden plant. Surely, it is safe here, in the shade of the leaves, hidden from the view of snail-eating birds.
Maybe not. Below, the wolfsnail begins to climb. It knows this plant. It has fed here before. Soon, the predator finds the slime trail of the smaller snail. It turns and follows the gooey path toward its prey. When the chase ends and the dramatic feast is done, nothing remains of the smaller snail but an empty shell.
