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[CCBC-Net] Five Initial Reactions to the Awards
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From: Hunt, Jonathan <Hunt.Jo>
Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2006 10:38:57 -0800
As a member of the 2006 Newbery committee, I wanted to jump in with a couple of quick comments before the discussion shifts to the Geisel award.
REVIEWS . . . While I know that many committee members make an effort to avoid any kind of response to a book until they have read the book themselves, I am not among them. I dilligently sought out and read reviews both before and after I read the books. Many of them were not very helpful, but some were quite helpful indeed. I thought, for instance, that Deborah Stevenson's review of CRISS CROSS in the Bulletin was particularly inspired. (It's a pity that the book did not make their Blue Ribbon list.) Also, the sample note-taking form in the Newbery manual includes a checklist of journal reviews, so I think the decision about whether or not to consult reviews (or rather how to consult them) is a personal one, rather than something dictated by ALSC.
JOHN LENNON . . . As I talked about this book with various friends and colleagues this year, particularly about its suitability as a Newbery candidate, an odd response came up more often than not: Oh, it's too old for the Newbery, but it would make a great Sibert book. I say odd, of course, because the age parameters for both awards are exactly identical, and what's good for the goose should be good for the gander. I'm not sure what this says. Does it say that the Sibert is perceived as being older, perhaps because the committees have consistently chosen books for the high end of their range? Or does it say that kids won't read informational books anyway so it really doesn't matter what gets that award? Or does it say something else? I'm not sure. It's a headscratcher.
AGE LIMITS . . . I work in a pair of K-6 elementary schools and I found enthusiastic readers for every single book that we recognized, so had the Newbery been for ages 0-12, rather than 0-14, my opinion about their suitability as Newbery books for children would remain unchanged.
CRISS CROSS . . . I look forward to a fuller discussion of this in a couple weeks, but you'll have to pardon me if I bristle slightly at the eagerness to label CRISS CROSS exclusively as a young adult book. After all, the consensus of reviews seems to indicate that the core audience for the book is middle school, with interest for both younger and older readers. Keeping in mind that 9th graders spend at least part of the year being fourteen-year olds (if you abide by the letter of the law) or that some of them are still children (if you abide by the spirit of the law), here are the age recommendations. Greenwillow: Ages 10 and up. Publishers Weekly: Ages 10 and up. Bulletin: grades 5-8. SLJ: Grades 6-9. Booklist: Grades 6-9. Kirkus: Ages 12-16. My experience has borne this out. I've had a pair of 6th graders read this book for me, and while they weren't as passionate or articulate as the fifteen-year old that singlehandedly turned the BBYA vote in the book's favor, they did cast their third place votes for the book in my mock Newbery. I currently have a fourth grader reading it for me now. Are these young readers typical? Probably not. I do think the audience is smallish, but that audience will worship it, and as we all know the Newbery is not a popularity contest.
I'll shut up now.
Jonathan
Received on Wed 01 Feb 2006 12:38:57 PM CST
Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2006 10:38:57 -0800
As a member of the 2006 Newbery committee, I wanted to jump in with a couple of quick comments before the discussion shifts to the Geisel award.
REVIEWS . . . While I know that many committee members make an effort to avoid any kind of response to a book until they have read the book themselves, I am not among them. I dilligently sought out and read reviews both before and after I read the books. Many of them were not very helpful, but some were quite helpful indeed. I thought, for instance, that Deborah Stevenson's review of CRISS CROSS in the Bulletin was particularly inspired. (It's a pity that the book did not make their Blue Ribbon list.) Also, the sample note-taking form in the Newbery manual includes a checklist of journal reviews, so I think the decision about whether or not to consult reviews (or rather how to consult them) is a personal one, rather than something dictated by ALSC.
JOHN LENNON . . . As I talked about this book with various friends and colleagues this year, particularly about its suitability as a Newbery candidate, an odd response came up more often than not: Oh, it's too old for the Newbery, but it would make a great Sibert book. I say odd, of course, because the age parameters for both awards are exactly identical, and what's good for the goose should be good for the gander. I'm not sure what this says. Does it say that the Sibert is perceived as being older, perhaps because the committees have consistently chosen books for the high end of their range? Or does it say that kids won't read informational books anyway so it really doesn't matter what gets that award? Or does it say something else? I'm not sure. It's a headscratcher.
AGE LIMITS . . . I work in a pair of K-6 elementary schools and I found enthusiastic readers for every single book that we recognized, so had the Newbery been for ages 0-12, rather than 0-14, my opinion about their suitability as Newbery books for children would remain unchanged.
CRISS CROSS . . . I look forward to a fuller discussion of this in a couple weeks, but you'll have to pardon me if I bristle slightly at the eagerness to label CRISS CROSS exclusively as a young adult book. After all, the consensus of reviews seems to indicate that the core audience for the book is middle school, with interest for both younger and older readers. Keeping in mind that 9th graders spend at least part of the year being fourteen-year olds (if you abide by the letter of the law) or that some of them are still children (if you abide by the spirit of the law), here are the age recommendations. Greenwillow: Ages 10 and up. Publishers Weekly: Ages 10 and up. Bulletin: grades 5-8. SLJ: Grades 6-9. Booklist: Grades 6-9. Kirkus: Ages 12-16. My experience has borne this out. I've had a pair of 6th graders read this book for me, and while they weren't as passionate or articulate as the fifteen-year old that singlehandedly turned the BBYA vote in the book's favor, they did cast their third place votes for the book in my mock Newbery. I currently have a fourth grader reading it for me now. Are these young readers typical? Probably not. I do think the audience is smallish, but that audience will worship it, and as we all know the Newbery is not a popularity contest.
I'll shut up now.
Jonathan
Received on Wed 01 Feb 2006 12:38:57 PM CST
