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CCBC Batchelder Award Discussion
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From: Ginny Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 17:36:00 -600
Although our numbers were smaller than expected due to winter weather & personal emergencies, participants in the CCBC Batchelder Award Discussion on Friday afternoon, January 24, engaged in lively discussion of six translated books of substantial length.
We brought a wide range of life experience to the discussion. One of our participants lived in Japan as a child, and another lived in Holland for one year as an adult - both are widely traveled as well as being experienced readers. Other participants are also experienced readers: a school librarian, a public librarian, and CCBC staff members, and two UW-Madison graduate library school students.
We concur with Eliza Dresang's observations about the translated books published in the USA during 1996 for children. (Go back to her CCBC-NET message on 1/23/97: Favorite Books - Batchelder Award)
After discussing books for close to two hours, we arrived at the following consensus: Co-winners - in alphabetical order...
- Bruises by Anke De Vries. (Translated from the Dutch by Stacey Knecht. U.S. edition: Front Street) older children, Y.A.
- The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto. (Translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) older children. Honor Books - in alphabetical order...
- The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. (Translated from the Norwegian by Elizabeth Rokkan. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) family reading to children age seven and older, independent reading for children who read well - we recommend reading a chapter a day in December!
- Something Very Sorry by Arno Bohlmeier. (Translated from the Dutch by the author. U.S. edition: Houghton Mifflin) older children.
If you have access to any of the four books listed above as winners or honor books from the CCBC Batchelder Discussion, try to read them. Each is excellent for very different reasons. Very few translated books of substantial length published in the U.S.A. annually. It's so important to know each one and then to consider ways to encourage your colleagues as well as young readers to read them, too. Although the outcomes above are listed by title and author, the actual Batchelder Award is won by a book's publisher. Acquiring books for translation into English, publishing them, hoping that informed reviewers will comment on them, and selling them in this nation are very risky matters, not apt to make money for the publisher, more apt to lose money on the considerable investment.
(See editor Marc Aronson's extremely informative comments this process in terms of editing the award winning book Damned Strong Love for Henry Holt in CCBC-NET messages during 2/96.)
We discussed two other books yesterday: 1) Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom by Feng Jicai. (Translated from the Chinese by Christopher Smith. U.S. edition: Viking) This book seems to have been translated into English in Great Britain and co-published in other nations, including the U.S.A. As amazing as it is to read a novel originating China, we determined that the narrative voice is adult. There is little if any child appeal, even though it was published in this nation by the children's book division of Viking. All readers were appreciative of the opportunity to read this 106 page book which might be useful for some middle and high school libraries (depending upon the curriculum), or for certain large public library adult collections, or certain academic library collections. 2) The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. (Translated from the Nowegian by Sarah Jane Hails. Illustrated by Hilda Kramer. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Like The Christmas Mystery, the book The Solitaire Mystery was published in the U.S. by Farrar's adult trade book division. We agreed that this is a book for adults. Like The Christmas Mystery, this book has an extremely elegant design. However, unlike The Christmas Mystery bearing Wells' beautiful full-color paintings and much other child appeal, The Solitaire Mystery takes readers into a playful adult realm with an adult narrative voice.
You can find out the winners of the actual ALA/ALSC Mildred Batchelder Award on Monday, February 17. On that day CCBC-NET will carry an announcement of the 1997 ALA/ALSC Awards and the 1997 ALA Coretta Scott King Awards. After these awards are announced, the CCBC-NET community will hold its annual discussion of the winning books. We'll begin with the ALA/ALSC Caldecott Award and move to the other award books, including those named as Batchelder winners.
Sincerely, Ginny
********************************************************* Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison 4290 Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park St. Madison, WI 53706 USA
Received on Sat 25 Jan 1997 05:36:00 PM CST
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 1997 17:36:00 -600
Although our numbers were smaller than expected due to winter weather & personal emergencies, participants in the CCBC Batchelder Award Discussion on Friday afternoon, January 24, engaged in lively discussion of six translated books of substantial length.
We brought a wide range of life experience to the discussion. One of our participants lived in Japan as a child, and another lived in Holland for one year as an adult - both are widely traveled as well as being experienced readers. Other participants are also experienced readers: a school librarian, a public librarian, and CCBC staff members, and two UW-Madison graduate library school students.
We concur with Eliza Dresang's observations about the translated books published in the USA during 1996 for children. (Go back to her CCBC-NET message on 1/23/97: Favorite Books - Batchelder Award)
After discussing books for close to two hours, we arrived at the following consensus: Co-winners - in alphabetical order...
- Bruises by Anke De Vries. (Translated from the Dutch by Stacey Knecht. U.S. edition: Front Street) older children, Y.A.
- The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto. (Translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) older children. Honor Books - in alphabetical order...
- The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. (Translated from the Norwegian by Elizabeth Rokkan. Illustrated by Rosemary Wells. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) family reading to children age seven and older, independent reading for children who read well - we recommend reading a chapter a day in December!
- Something Very Sorry by Arno Bohlmeier. (Translated from the Dutch by the author. U.S. edition: Houghton Mifflin) older children.
If you have access to any of the four books listed above as winners or honor books from the CCBC Batchelder Discussion, try to read them. Each is excellent for very different reasons. Very few translated books of substantial length published in the U.S.A. annually. It's so important to know each one and then to consider ways to encourage your colleagues as well as young readers to read them, too. Although the outcomes above are listed by title and author, the actual Batchelder Award is won by a book's publisher. Acquiring books for translation into English, publishing them, hoping that informed reviewers will comment on them, and selling them in this nation are very risky matters, not apt to make money for the publisher, more apt to lose money on the considerable investment.
(See editor Marc Aronson's extremely informative comments this process in terms of editing the award winning book Damned Strong Love for Henry Holt in CCBC-NET messages during 2/96.)
We discussed two other books yesterday: 1) Let One Hundred Flowers Bloom by Feng Jicai. (Translated from the Chinese by Christopher Smith. U.S. edition: Viking) This book seems to have been translated into English in Great Britain and co-published in other nations, including the U.S.A. As amazing as it is to read a novel originating China, we determined that the narrative voice is adult. There is little if any child appeal, even though it was published in this nation by the children's book division of Viking. All readers were appreciative of the opportunity to read this 106 page book which might be useful for some middle and high school libraries (depending upon the curriculum), or for certain large public library adult collections, or certain academic library collections. 2) The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder. (Translated from the Nowegian by Sarah Jane Hails. Illustrated by Hilda Kramer. U.S. edition: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Like The Christmas Mystery, the book The Solitaire Mystery was published in the U.S. by Farrar's adult trade book division. We agreed that this is a book for adults. Like The Christmas Mystery, this book has an extremely elegant design. However, unlike The Christmas Mystery bearing Wells' beautiful full-color paintings and much other child appeal, The Solitaire Mystery takes readers into a playful adult realm with an adult narrative voice.
You can find out the winners of the actual ALA/ALSC Mildred Batchelder Award on Monday, February 17. On that day CCBC-NET will carry an announcement of the 1997 ALA/ALSC Awards and the 1997 ALA Coretta Scott King Awards. After these awards are announced, the CCBC-NET community will hold its annual discussion of the winning books. We'll begin with the ALA/ALSC Caldecott Award and move to the other award books, including those named as Batchelder winners.
Sincerely, Ginny
********************************************************* Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education University of Wisconsin - Madison 4290 Helen C. White Hall, 600 N. Park St. Madison, WI 53706 USA
Received on Sat 25 Jan 1997 05:36:00 PM CST
