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"Kit's Wilderness"
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From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:30:16 -0600
Peter, we really appreciate your comments about the Printz Committee's appreciation for "Kit's Wilderness." We had a similar experience in our discussion of it here at the CCBC when we conducted a mock Printz Award discussion with local middle and high school teachers and librarians. People couldn't say enough about the depth of the fine writing in the book and, while it does seem like it's at the younger end of the audience, some of them thought it would be more fully accessible to high school age students (ages 15 and older), than to middle schoolers.
BTW, the Newbery Award has the same condition that the book must be able to stand on its own. That doesn't rule out all sequels, obviously, as several have won in the past. The committees can spend a lot of time debating whether a books stands alone and, luckily there are usually at least a few people on the committee who haven't read the earlier book(s) who can attest to the stand-alone requirement.
This year, I think the Peck book does stand alone (and most people I've talked to seem to think "A Year Down Yonder" is better if they HAVEN'T read "A Long Way from Chicago"), but neither the Pullman nor the Rowling would make much sense if you hadn't read the earlier books. As a librarian, I can well imagine myself giving a young readers "A Year Down Yonder" even if they hadn't read the earlier book, but I wouldn't recommend that they start out with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" or "The Amber Spyglass" as the first books in those sequences.
Kathleen T. Horning (horning at education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608&3930 FAX: 608&2I33
Received on Mon 19 Feb 2001 09:30:16 AM CST
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 09:30:16 -0600
Peter, we really appreciate your comments about the Printz Committee's appreciation for "Kit's Wilderness." We had a similar experience in our discussion of it here at the CCBC when we conducted a mock Printz Award discussion with local middle and high school teachers and librarians. People couldn't say enough about the depth of the fine writing in the book and, while it does seem like it's at the younger end of the audience, some of them thought it would be more fully accessible to high school age students (ages 15 and older), than to middle schoolers.
BTW, the Newbery Award has the same condition that the book must be able to stand on its own. That doesn't rule out all sequels, obviously, as several have won in the past. The committees can spend a lot of time debating whether a books stands alone and, luckily there are usually at least a few people on the committee who haven't read the earlier book(s) who can attest to the stand-alone requirement.
This year, I think the Peck book does stand alone (and most people I've talked to seem to think "A Year Down Yonder" is better if they HAVEN'T read "A Long Way from Chicago"), but neither the Pullman nor the Rowling would make much sense if you hadn't read the earlier books. As a librarian, I can well imagine myself giving a young readers "A Year Down Yonder" even if they hadn't read the earlier book, but I wouldn't recommend that they start out with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" or "The Amber Spyglass" as the first books in those sequences.
Kathleen T. Horning (horning at education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608&3930 FAX: 608&2I33
Received on Mon 19 Feb 2001 09:30:16 AM CST
