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The Children's Literature Association Proudly Announces the 2009 Phoenix Award recipient: Weetzie Bat Francesca Lia Block (HarperCollins, 1989) “I wish for a Duck for Dirk, and My Secret Agent Lover Man for me, and a beautiful little house for us to live in happily ever after.” From the moment Weetzie Bat tells the genie her wish, life changes. She and her gay friend Dirk have been falling for the wrong guys. Now Dirk finds Duck, My Secret Agent Lover Man drops into Weetzie’s life, armed with a movie camera, and they inherit Grandma Fifi’s fairy tale cottage. Happily ever after, however, is only the beginning because, as Dirk says, love is a dangerous angel; it can lead to break-ups, abandoned babies, drug abuse, suicide, AIDS, and run-ins with a witch coven called the Jayne Mansfield Fan Club. Amid the grit and glitter of Los Angeles, Weetzie’s slinkster-cool, nontraditional family allows love to overcome grief and fear in this magnificently original and magical novel. Honor Book for 2009 Lucie Babbidge's House Sylvia Cassedy (Crowell, 1989) Phoenix Award The Children's Literature Association, an organization of teachers, scholars, librarians, editors, writers, illustrators, and parents interested in encouraging the serious study of children's literature, created the Phoenix Award as an outgrowth of the Association's Touchstones Committee. The award, given to a book originally published in the English language, is intended to recognize books of high literary merit. The Phoenix Award is named after the fabled bird who rose from its ashes with renewed life and beauty. Phoenix books also rise from the ashes of neglect and obscurity and once again touch the imaginations and enrich the lives of those who read them. The recipient of the Phoenix Award has been chosen each year since 1985 by an elected committee of ChLA members that considers nominations made by members and others interested in promoting high critical standards in literature for children. Honor books were instituted in 1989 but have not been named every year The Phoenix Award was designed by Caldecott-winning illustrator Trina Schart Hyman. The magical Phoenix on the award statue was specifically drawn for ChLA. The design was sculpted by Diane Davis, who was trained at the Johnson Atelier and Technical Institute of Sculpture, Princeton. Each brass statue is individually cast and inscribed with the year's winner. In 2003, the ChLA launched an annual electronic journal, The Phoenix Award Papers. Each issue includes conference papers on the year's Phoenix Award book and Honor book, and the acceptance speech (when available) by the award winner. The Phoenix Papers are available exclusively online through the Phoenix Papers page. Phoenix Award Brochure (lists current and past award recipients) Previous Award and Honor Books Recipients Phoenix Award Recipient Speeches
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