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Olive's Ocean and child readers
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From: Lindsay, Nina <nlindsay>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 12:30:23 -0800
I think Olive's Ocean is for a certain kind of reader--someone who likes the interior landscape. Otherwise it is "boring." I used several kids at my library as readers all last year for my work on the Newbery committee. Olive's Ocean was the top pick from my two strongest readers--a 5th and a 6th grade girl...the kind of girls who have lots of friends, and read TONS of books. They found a depth in this story they didn't find in others; at least, that's how I interpret their reactions. One girl wrote me notes for each book she read, and the notes for Olive's Ocean were LONG, and got smaller and smaller and went round corners at the bottom of the page: there were so many "good parts" she wanted to tell me about. The other girl held this up as her best book by comparing everything else to it: "This was good, but it wasn't like OLIVE'S OCEAN" [title expressed in breathy exuberant tones, her arms wrapped around herself and head tilted back].
Nina
Nina Lindsay, Librarian Children's Room Oakland Public Library 125 14th Street Oakland CA 94612
(510) 238615 fax (510) 238h65 nlindsay at oaklandlibrary.org
Message----From: Steven Engelfried [mailto:sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us] Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 8:38 AM To: ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu Subject: RE: [ccbc-net] Olive's Ocean and child readers
It's great to read that so many kids are appreciating "Olive's Ocean," though surprising to me. It's an excellent book and deserves wide readership, which of course the Newbery Honor will help with. But our Mock Newbery Club at my library, grades 5-8, pretty much detested it. "Boring" was the main complaint, and they didn't seem to appreciate any of the rich subtleties of the writing. Those emotion packed moments that I thought were totally involving, like when the girl learns the truth about the bet, didn't mean much to them. This group was mostly boys, but even the girls, who liked "Spitting Image," could not get into "Olive's Ocean" at all. I don't see that as a flaw in the book, and the Newbery Honor is well deserved. Obviously Henkes is trying to reach a different kind of reader than the group I had (who loved "City of Ember," "Milkweed," and "Despereaux"), and his book will be perfect for the right readers.
- Steven Engelfried, Head of Youth Services
Beaverton City Library
12375 SW 5th Street
Beaverton, OR 97005
503R6%99
sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
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Received on Fri 06 Feb 2004 02:30:23 PM CST
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2004 12:30:23 -0800
I think Olive's Ocean is for a certain kind of reader--someone who likes the interior landscape. Otherwise it is "boring." I used several kids at my library as readers all last year for my work on the Newbery committee. Olive's Ocean was the top pick from my two strongest readers--a 5th and a 6th grade girl...the kind of girls who have lots of friends, and read TONS of books. They found a depth in this story they didn't find in others; at least, that's how I interpret their reactions. One girl wrote me notes for each book she read, and the notes for Olive's Ocean were LONG, and got smaller and smaller and went round corners at the bottom of the page: there were so many "good parts" she wanted to tell me about. The other girl held this up as her best book by comparing everything else to it: "This was good, but it wasn't like OLIVE'S OCEAN" [title expressed in breathy exuberant tones, her arms wrapped around herself and head tilted back].
Nina
Nina Lindsay, Librarian Children's Room Oakland Public Library 125 14th Street Oakland CA 94612
(510) 238615 fax (510) 238h65 nlindsay at oaklandlibrary.org
Message----From: Steven Engelfried [mailto:sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us] Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 8:38 AM To: ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu Subject: RE: [ccbc-net] Olive's Ocean and child readers
It's great to read that so many kids are appreciating "Olive's Ocean," though surprising to me. It's an excellent book and deserves wide readership, which of course the Newbery Honor will help with. But our Mock Newbery Club at my library, grades 5-8, pretty much detested it. "Boring" was the main complaint, and they didn't seem to appreciate any of the rich subtleties of the writing. Those emotion packed moments that I thought were totally involving, like when the girl learns the truth about the bet, didn't mean much to them. This group was mostly boys, but even the girls, who liked "Spitting Image," could not get into "Olive's Ocean" at all. I don't see that as a flaw in the book, and the Newbery Honor is well deserved. Obviously Henkes is trying to reach a different kind of reader than the group I had (who loved "City of Ember," "Milkweed," and "Despereaux"), and his book will be perfect for the right readers.
- Steven Engelfried, Head of Youth Services
Beaverton City Library
12375 SW 5th Street
Beaverton, OR 97005
503R6%99
sengelfried at ci.beaverton.or.us
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Received on Fri 06 Feb 2004 02:30:23 PM CST
