"Bud, Not Buddy," published by Delacorte Press, is the story of Bud Caldwell, a 10-year-old who runs away from a foster home in search of his father. His only clues are old flyers left by his dead mother that point to a legendary jazz bandleader.

During an exclusive CNN.com interview in September, Curtis admitted that he wasn't a voracious reader as a child -- mainly because there were no books that spoke directly to him.

	MESSAGE BOARD
Share your thoughts about this year's award winners!

"The reason I think I wasn't a big book person is because there were no books for, by, or about African-Americans," he says. "Even today that's true. There are not a lot of books by us, about us, for us. And I hope 'Watsons' and now 'Bud, Not Buddy' can fill that niche."

The ALA believed it did more than that. "Bud, Not Buddy," says Carolyn S. Brodie, chair of the Newbery Award Selection Committee, "resonates with both zest and tenderness as it entertains questions about racism, belonging, love, and hope."

The Caldecott Award winner received similar praise. Speaking of "Joseph Had a Little Overcoat," Barbara Z. Kiefer, chair of the Caldecott Award Selection Committee, said "vibrant rich colors, playful details, and skillfully-placed die cuts contribute to the book's raucous merriment that takes this Yiddish folk song far beyond the simple words. The patchwork layout of the pages, the two-dimensional paintings and the exaggerated perspectives, reminiscent of the folk art tradition, are the very fabric that turn this overcoat into a story."

The Newbery and Caldecott honors are considered the top prizes in children's literature.

"It's increased sales of my book probably at least three-fold, maybe more," says Louis Sachar, who won the 1999 Newbery for his book, "Holes." "It's given me new prestige. In the past I was recognized in the field as a popular children's author, but I think there was a percentage of literary critics who didn't take my work that seriously. But I can sense a change of attitude now."

Three Newbery Honor Books were named: "Getting Near to Baby," by Audrey Couloumbis; "26 Fairmount Avenue," written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola; and "Our Only May Amelia," by Jennifer L. Holm.

Four Caldecott Honor Books were named: "Sector 7," illustrated and written by David Weisner; "The Ugly Duckling," adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen; "When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry," illustrated and written by Molly Bang; and "A Child's Calendar," illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, with text by John Updike.