From: Brenda_Bowen at prenhall.com <Brenda_Bowen>
Date: 08 Feb 1999 12:40:06 -0500

Like Walter, I am a big admirer of this book, but unlike Walter, I had
     faith that it would come through as a Caldecott Honor. God bless the
     committee on this choice!
     
     To answer KT's query, which I quote here:
     
     "So I'm wondering how the committee arrived at this decision, using
     the criteria they must consider:
     
     1) Excellence of execution in the artistic technique employed.
     2) Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept;
     of appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme, or
     concept; of delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood, or
     information through the pictures.
     
     Can someone please speak to these terms, as they relate to "No,
     David?" I'm not trying to second-guess the committee or play devil's
     advocate; I'm just trying to understand how people make a case for a
     faux-naive style and visual humor as distinguished illustration."
      
     
     I would say this:
     
     "Faux naive" is an artstyle often mis-employed in children's books.
     The resulting books -- and you can think of them in your head -- are
     patronizing to children and coy. When a naive style is used well --
     think HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON, GOODNIGHT MOON, Maira Kalman,
     early Lane Smith, and even Eric Carle -- the results can be dazzling.
     Naive art is as appropriate to children's books as naive storytelling
     -- but only when it's done well.
     
     The deceptive nature of naive artwork and storytelling makes them
     unlikely candidates for literary awards. Margaret Wise Brown didn't
     win anything, as far as I know, but look how her works endure. Eric
     Carle is another case in point. It may not look hard to do, or
     particularly distinguished, but it is extremely hard to do and
     extraordinarily distinguished -- when it works.
     
     What David Shannon does so *very* well in NO, DAVID! is capture a
     child's imagination through an adult's intellect. He removes all the
     "illegibles" that might be in an actual child's drawing and simplifies
     down to the very essence of the character he is creating. The book
     bursts with humor because he has boiled every episode down to
     essentials, which allows both children and adults to recognize
     themselves on a day when nothing goes right.
     
     Not to be too high-blown here, but what the naive painters of the
     early 20th century showed the world was that powerful emotions can be
     evoked by *simple* painting. David Shannon uses naivete to get at an
     experience that we all share. And this is why NO, DAVID! richly
     deserves its Caldecott Honor.
     
     Brenda Bowen
     Simon & Schuster
Received on Mon 08 Feb 1999 11:40:06 AM CST