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Are Caldecott Winners The Best?
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From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 18:45:00 -600
Nina, you raised some interesting philosophical questions about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards. The fact that you are still a library school student and have already figured out that the award winners are chosen by fifteen ordinary people puts you way ahead in the game already! Whenever I have an opportunity to speak about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards to groups of children or adults, I always make a point of stressing this fact, and people often seem amazed that the awards are conferred by mere mortals.
Speaking as one of these mere mortals, however, I have to say that when you serve on the Newbery or Caldecott committee, you learn to trust the process these committees use every year. You learn that all of your fellow committee members take their charge very seriously and you also understand what it's like to read -- really, really READ
-- everything that's eligible for the award that year. You experience a level of discussion that cannot be fully replicated because, where else are you going to find 15 people from all over the country who have all read the same books and who have devoted an entire year to preparation for two days of intense discussion and deliberation? After having experienced this myself, I have learned to trust and respect the process by which these books are chosen, even when I have not personally agreed with the choices the committees have made.
And while I agree with Nina that these two awards in particular should not be viewed as the last word in excellence in literature for children, I confess a secret happiness that our profession and children's books have an award that matters so much as to inspire passion. Now that's something we can take pride in!
KT Horning, CCBC UW-Madison
Received on Mon 12 Feb 1996 06:45:00 PM CST
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 18:45:00 -600
Nina, you raised some interesting philosophical questions about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards. The fact that you are still a library school student and have already figured out that the award winners are chosen by fifteen ordinary people puts you way ahead in the game already! Whenever I have an opportunity to speak about the Newbery and Caldecott Awards to groups of children or adults, I always make a point of stressing this fact, and people often seem amazed that the awards are conferred by mere mortals.
Speaking as one of these mere mortals, however, I have to say that when you serve on the Newbery or Caldecott committee, you learn to trust the process these committees use every year. You learn that all of your fellow committee members take their charge very seriously and you also understand what it's like to read -- really, really READ
-- everything that's eligible for the award that year. You experience a level of discussion that cannot be fully replicated because, where else are you going to find 15 people from all over the country who have all read the same books and who have devoted an entire year to preparation for two days of intense discussion and deliberation? After having experienced this myself, I have learned to trust and respect the process by which these books are chosen, even when I have not personally agreed with the choices the committees have made.
And while I agree with Nina that these two awards in particular should not be viewed as the last word in excellence in literature for children, I confess a secret happiness that our profession and children's books have an award that matters so much as to inspire passion. Now that's something we can take pride in!
KT Horning, CCBC UW-Madison
Received on Mon 12 Feb 1996 06:45:00 PM CST
