The staff at the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB) has announced the 2011 Blue Ribbons, their choices for the best of children's and YA literature for the previous year. Blue Ribbons are chosen annually by the Bulletin reviewers and represent what they believe to be outstanding examples of fiction, nonfiction, and picture books for youth.
Over thirty titles received Blue Ribbons in 2011, and the full list is available on the Bulletin's website.
BCCB editor Deborah Stevenson said, "Like last year, we had a strong showing for younger children’s books this year, rather than the YA-dominant lists we’ve often encountered of yore, so we’re happy that readers will find much to delight them even before middle school. In excellent news for the just-post-toddler crowd, the picture book list is also rich for the young end of their audience. Our fiction list is an intriguing mix, with history, fantasy, and realism all represented, each in several very different ways (albeit with an oddly generous helping of the death-related). The nonfiction category has a certain old-school flair, breathing new life into iterations of actual classics and classic topics for results that will immeasurably enhance several curricular units as well as bring joy to recreational readers."
Archived lists of Blue Ribbon winners dating back to 1990 are also available.
The Bulletin, founded in 1945, is one of the nation's leading children's book review journals for school and public librarians.