CCBC-Net Archives
picturebook reviews -Reply
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Janice Del Negro <delnegro>
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 16:27:49 -0500 (CDT)
Just for the record, Anita and I exchanged messages about this offlist, and established that it was one of those slip of the finger things that sometimes happens with inter-office e-mail.
when I read it collected enough stars to start a new galaxy. Therefore, > I've been reading with interest how books get those stars. Do you > suppose politics ever comes into play? >
I have to go along with Susan Lempke on this one- having reviewed for Booklist and knowing Roger Sutton, I am pretty confident about saying that while these editors may be aware of the political climate, they don't give it much (if any) weight.
There are many variables that come into play when starring or boxing a review, but I'm willing to bet the rent that what it really comes down to is a reviewer being able to concretely articulate their opinion of a particular title- and that same reviewer being able to convince the editor that they're right. Of course, if the title under discussion is a great book, that helps. A lot. :-)
As for a book that makes you gag getting a galaxy of stars- on more than one occasion books that have garnered stars from other publications did not get starred (or even "R"d) by The Bulletin, and vice versa. If you happen to agree with us, we're insightful mavericks; if you don't, well, you're not alone.
For the most part, but not always.
Certainly. This is a democracy. Sort of.
passing a book on to someone who likes it? >
It wasn't passing a particular title onto someone who likes it so much as it was passing a particular type of book to the reviewer who likes/has background in that particular genre. Someone who enjoys fantasy novels and has read widely in that genre would theoretically be able to bring more to the review of a new fantasy title than someone who hates fantasy but loves history, for example.
did you think?
Gross. We loved it.
yearly Bulletin Blue Ribbon list. When we discuss books for Blue Ribbons, we read voraciously, rereading everything that was Recommended (R) or starred (R*), in order to decide what will make our list of the year's best books. You would be surprised at both the number of starred titles that *don't* make the list, as well as the number of unstarred titles that
*do*.
Titles have to stand up against everything else that was published that year. We strive for a consistently high level of quality among genres, and that can provoke some fascinating comparisons.
What makes the list? Whatever is left standing on the table after we've finished discussing everything from character development to references to illustrations to audience to longevity to source notes to binding to ....
In the early stages of discussion, there is a strong inclination toward consensus. When we get down to the actual selection, things tend to get a bit more..um...exciting.
Janice M. Del Negro
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books GSLIS/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign delnegro at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Received on Fri 18 Sep 1998 04:27:49 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 16:27:49 -0500 (CDT)
Just for the record, Anita and I exchanged messages about this offlist, and established that it was one of those slip of the finger things that sometimes happens with inter-office e-mail.
when I read it collected enough stars to start a new galaxy. Therefore, > I've been reading with interest how books get those stars. Do you > suppose politics ever comes into play? >
I have to go along with Susan Lempke on this one- having reviewed for Booklist and knowing Roger Sutton, I am pretty confident about saying that while these editors may be aware of the political climate, they don't give it much (if any) weight.
There are many variables that come into play when starring or boxing a review, but I'm willing to bet the rent that what it really comes down to is a reviewer being able to concretely articulate their opinion of a particular title- and that same reviewer being able to convince the editor that they're right. Of course, if the title under discussion is a great book, that helps. A lot. :-)
As for a book that makes you gag getting a galaxy of stars- on more than one occasion books that have garnered stars from other publications did not get starred (or even "R"d) by The Bulletin, and vice versa. If you happen to agree with us, we're insightful mavericks; if you don't, well, you're not alone.
For the most part, but not always.
Certainly. This is a democracy. Sort of.
passing a book on to someone who likes it? >
It wasn't passing a particular title onto someone who likes it so much as it was passing a particular type of book to the reviewer who likes/has background in that particular genre. Someone who enjoys fantasy novels and has read widely in that genre would theoretically be able to bring more to the review of a new fantasy title than someone who hates fantasy but loves history, for example.
did you think?
Gross. We loved it.
yearly Bulletin Blue Ribbon list. When we discuss books for Blue Ribbons, we read voraciously, rereading everything that was Recommended (R) or starred (R*), in order to decide what will make our list of the year's best books. You would be surprised at both the number of starred titles that *don't* make the list, as well as the number of unstarred titles that
*do*.
Titles have to stand up against everything else that was published that year. We strive for a consistently high level of quality among genres, and that can provoke some fascinating comparisons.
What makes the list? Whatever is left standing on the table after we've finished discussing everything from character development to references to illustrations to audience to longevity to source notes to binding to ....
In the early stages of discussion, there is a strong inclination toward consensus. When we get down to the actual selection, things tend to get a bit more..um...exciting.
Janice M. Del Negro
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books GSLIS/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign delnegro at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
Received on Fri 18 Sep 1998 04:27:49 PM CDT
