From: Beth Wright <bethlibrarian>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 10:21:58 -0800 (PST)

My first thought upon seeing the Newbery-winning title and the list of honor books was "these books are a lot like each other." Of the five, all are realistic fiction, and four of the five are contemporary realistic fiction at that; most if not all of the books are told in the first person; I believe all the protaganists are white.

This certainly isn't a criticism of these books (I think the ones I've read are very fine stories). And it's not a criticism of the Newbery Committee either; I'm sure this committee, like all their predecessors, worked very hard to choose what they considered the absolute best books for these awards. But isn't it interesting that these books are so similar? Or are their differences more substantial than their initial similarities?

Beth Wright Fletcher Free Library Burlington, Vermont

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Received on Wed 17 Jan 2001 12:21:58 PM CST