From: MarnelGB at aol.com <MarnelGB>
Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 12:32:19 EDT

Kathleen asked about the effect of the Michael Printz award on potential teen readers... As a direct result of receiving the award, Skellig appeared on the suggested summer reading lists of several schools in our area. These lists are submitted to the bookstore where I work. So far I've only had one customer request the book. While I don't yet know his reaction to the story, I estimate his age at 13 or 14.

I don't believe that many "teen readers" are aware of Skellig, nor the awards it has won, nor any awards for that matter. I expect that once the book is available in soft cover that its popularity will increase.

While I thought both books were certainly worth reading, I enjoyed Kit's Wilderness more than Skellig. This week, however, a middle school teacher told me that she read Kit's aloud to her students and many of them had trouble following the "time changes."

Like many of the folks who write to this sight, I try to read as much as possible to help make good connections between readers and books. I feel that Skellig and Kit's Wilderness demand pre-reading before thrusting them into the hands of just any youngster. They could be quite disturbing to a mis-matched reader, especially one who may not have the advantage of someone with whom to discuss the story.

Martha Nelson Hawley-Cooke Booksellers Louisville, KY
Received on Thu 13 Jul 2000 11:32:19 AM CDT