From: Steven Engelfried <sengelfried>
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2002 13:12:35 -0800

I'm not sure how publishers view it, but from my one time on the Caldecott committee, I felt the publication date was completely irrelevant. We looked at books all year, of course, but the intense comparisons of the year's best books really started in late fall (when committee members made written recommendations of 6 titles each). And even those had limited impace in the end. It was really at the Midwinter meetings when it all happened. We looked at those books so closely and discussed them thoroughly, from the overall collective unity of each book to minute details of illustration and artistic choice. Publication date, author reputation, and personal style preferences all went out the window...once you're examining and comparing the actual books so carefully, that tangential stuff just disappears. Of our four final choices, two were fall and two were spring, but I believe we looked at each (and many others) with the equally fresh eyes and the same rigourous attention, and I think other committees certainly do the same...

Steven Engelfried, Children's Division Librarian Beaverton City Library 12375 SW 5th Street Beaverton, OR 97005 503R6%99 sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
Received on Sat 14 Dec 2002 03:12:35 PM CST