From: Susan I Greenberg <sigst+>
Date: Sun, 10 May 1998 00:15:10 -0400 (EDT)

The works of Jon Scieszka/Lane Smith, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Sied Fleischman are "award-level" writers, to me. I suppose downplaying the importance of awards would be a disservice to the authors, realizing the added exposure and focus an award-winner receives, ultimately affecting the tastes and buying habits of the consuming public.

I wouldn't make the distinction between a book's intended focus
(i.e., a book of humor) and the book's style (a humorous book). Humor can be defined a number of ways, and all could fit comfortably under that same 'umbrella'. While children's tastes may differ at different ages and stages, they probably would favor a humorous book over a so?lled serious book in most instances.
  What I personally appreciate about the use of humor in books is how the author uses it within the context of a story or theme as a device to teach a concept or make a point. Scieszka's "Math Curse" was just great! It had me thumbing through my old math notes to refresh my memory about what
"fibonacci numbers" were. And of course the art work is so important to the success of the storyline--from cover to cover. I actually can't remember if "Math Curse" won any awards, but it certainly should have!

Susan Greenberg Graduate Student in Language and Literacy U. of Pittsburgh, School of Education
Received on Sat 09 May 1998 11:15:10 PM CDT