Children’s books honored

A book about a Japanese American girl growing up in the South and another about a kitten who mistakes the moon for her bowl of milk garnered top honors on Monday from the American Library Assn.

“Kira-Kira,” by Cynthia Kadohata, received the 2005 John Newbery Medal at the ALA’s annual meeting in Boston. The award honors outstanding writing in a book for young people. A 15-member committee of librarians and children’s literature experts selected “Kira-Kira,” said committee head Susan Faust.

Another committee gave the Randolph Caldecott Medal for illustration to Kevin Henkes for “Kitten’s First Full Moon,” a book for children ages 2 to 5 about a kitten who believes the moon is her bowl of milk.

Meg Rosoff won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature for her book “How I Live Now,” a novel about a young American girl who is living in England when it is suddenly occupied by terrorists.