From: Miriam Budin <miriam>
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:21:29 -0500

Are they fun? YOU BET THEY ARE! And they're stimulating and heartening (because the committees take their work so seriously) and mind-expanding. I've served on a Newbery and a Caldecott Committee and count the experiences as high points in my professional career. If you are ever offered the opportunity, don't think about the time or expense--just say YES.

As to the question of reading and/or responding to reviews and advertisements, I would say that I always ignore advertisements, but I find reviews interesting and use them to ensure I consider every book that has been well-regarded by someone in the year I am considering. It could be that I am lucky to have pretty strong opinions myself. Maybe I am not as easily swayed as someone less judgmental. By the same token, I think it's especially important for me to consider other people's points of view. I agree with Lisa Van Drasek that more evaluative information is--in these cases--more...

Miriam

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Miriam Lang Budin
Children's Librarian
Chappaqua Library, NY
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Received on Fri 27 Jan 2006 03:21:29 PM CST