Every year, the American Library Association/ honors artists and writers/ of books for children. One of these honors/ is the Newbery award. It was named/ for a book seller/ in England/ in the eighteenth century, John Newbery.

The Newbery Medal winner/ for two thousand six/ is Lynne Rae Perkins/ for writing "Criss Cross." Her book/ is about four teenagers/ in a small town. They are trying to find the meaning/ of life and love. They are fourteen years old.

"Criss Cross"/ is written/ in several different ways. Sometimes/ it is like a song. Sometimes/ it is like a poem:

She wished
something
would happen.
Something good.
To her.
Looking at the bright, fuzzy picture in the
magazine, she thought, Something like that.

Lynne Rae Perkins/ is a writer/ and artist. "Criss Cross"/ is her sixth book.

Another award, the Caldecott, honors the best American picture book/ of the year. It is named/ for an artist/ from England, Randolph Caldecott. The Caldecott Medal winner/ this year/ is Chris Raschka/ for "The Hello, Goodbye Window," written by Norton Juster.

In the book, a little girl/ tells about visiting the home/ of her grandparents. The committee/ that chose Chris Raschka/ for the award/ praised how he captures the natural way/ children draw. It says/ the pictures express the emotional warmth/ of connections/ between older family members/ and children. Chris Raschka/ also won the award/ in nineteen ninety-four.

In addition to the winners, four Caldecott Honor Books/ and four Newbery Honor books/ were named last month.

Another honor/ from the American Library Association/ is the Margaret L. Batchelder Award. It goes to the company/ that publishes the best translation/ of a children’s book/ into English. The winner/ for two thousand six/ is Arthur A. Levine Books/ for "An Innocent Soldier"/ by Josef Holub. Michael Hoffman translated it/ from German.

Awards/ are chosen/ by committees of people/ who work with children’s books. But in some schools, children/ vote unofficially/ for their own Newbery and Caldecott winners. This year, schoolchildren/ could watch the award ceremony/ live on the Internet. A teacher/ in Wisconsin/ says her students cheered/ as each winner/ was announced.