From: Steven Engelfried <sengelfried>
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 21:24:46 -0800 (PST)

When I was on the Caldecott committee (2002) it seemed pretty much impossible that an advertisement, review, or author reputation had any effect on the result. When you get down to the discussion, those are irrelevant and also just not at all useful. You have to look at the books and focus everything on what you see there. If you make a comment, it better be backed up on the page or it won't convince anyone. Yes, we did pick a known author (David Wiesner), but it was those pigs and their paper airplane and all the rest that we had to talk about and decide upon, not the author's repuation or how many starred reviews the book got. And when you're comparing those pigs to a dinosaur showman, a stray dog, and Martin Luther King Jr., all presented in unique and original ways, not to mention all of the other fine books of the year....well, the pigs, like this year's Nanna and Poppy, have to make it on distinguished picture book artistry and nothing else.
   
  - Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library
    12375 SW 5th Avenue


  


                
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Received on Fri 27 Jan 2006 11:24:46 PM CST