CCBC-Net Archives
[CCBC-Net] Nat'l Book Award Nominee: American Born Chinese
- Contemporary messages sorted: [ by date ] [ by subject ] [ by author ]
From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:58:26 -0600
In PW Online's "Children's Bookshelf" on Nov. 16, Diane Roback reported M.T. Anderson remarked about one of the other nominees during his acceptance speech for the 2006 NBA Young People's Literature Medal. She wrote that he "also gave a nod to another nominated book, Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese, pointing out that it was the first time that a graphic novel had been nominated for an NBA, and expressing pleasure that it had been in the Young People's category." Tobin Anderson is absolutely correct. The graphic novel "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang (First Second / Roaring Brook Press) was a bold National Book Award nomination because of its genre. An NBA contender must also measure up in terms of overall literary and artistic quality, and this one certainly does. Ultimately the author/artist interweaves a narrative beginning as three parallel stories: that of Monkey King, the Chinese folk hero; one featuring Jin Wang who is seen as an outsider midst white peers at school; and an account of the misery of Danny, a white teen ashamed of his Chinese cousin. Who knows some of the responses of young readers to "American Born Chinese?"
BTW, while I was looking on the web for the criteria for the National Book Award, I found the submission specs which might interest quite a few within the CCBC-Net community: http://www.nationalbook.org/nbaentry.html
Peace, Ginny
Received on Mon 08 Jan 2007 08:58:26 PM CST
Date: Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:58:26 -0600
In PW Online's "Children's Bookshelf" on Nov. 16, Diane Roback reported M.T. Anderson remarked about one of the other nominees during his acceptance speech for the 2006 NBA Young People's Literature Medal. She wrote that he "also gave a nod to another nominated book, Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese, pointing out that it was the first time that a graphic novel had been nominated for an NBA, and expressing pleasure that it had been in the Young People's category." Tobin Anderson is absolutely correct. The graphic novel "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang (First Second / Roaring Brook Press) was a bold National Book Award nomination because of its genre. An NBA contender must also measure up in terms of overall literary and artistic quality, and this one certainly does. Ultimately the author/artist interweaves a narrative beginning as three parallel stories: that of Monkey King, the Chinese folk hero; one featuring Jin Wang who is seen as an outsider midst white peers at school; and an account of the misery of Danny, a white teen ashamed of his Chinese cousin. Who knows some of the responses of young readers to "American Born Chinese?"
BTW, while I was looking on the web for the criteria for the National Book Award, I found the submission specs which might interest quite a few within the CCBC-Net community: http://www.nationalbook.org/nbaentry.html
Peace, Ginny
Received on Mon 08 Jan 2007 08:58:26 PM CST
