Award lists, and behind the scenes with photographer Plaxton

This time of year thoughtful, enthusiastic "best books of the year" lists are compiled by hard-working librarians,  reviewers, and readers. Marching for Freedom has made the cut on Kirkus Best YA Books of 2009, Hornbook,  Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Books of 2009, Booklist Editor's Choice, School Library Journal, NYPL Top 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing. I am incredibly stoked and honored to be in the company of such terrific books.

Sometimes I forget how incredible the internet is, and then something like this reminds me: here's a New Yorker portfolio of portraits of world leaders, by photographer Platon, with his comments. You get to look at each photo, up close, and hear his story of taking the shot while he was set up in a hallway at the September meeting of the United Nations. Start with the photo of Platon in the lower right corner and listen to the interview of how the whole shoot went, and then click on the images to hear his specific comments. It's amazing how difficult the shoot was, how hard he worked, and how revealing the photos are.

Here's my favorite: Evo Morales, President of Bolivia. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous photograph.