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[CCBC-Net] Absolutely True Diary
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From: Roxanne Feldman <roxannefeldman>
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:47:55 -0500
How interesting -- and my take on this year's awards is the opposite: I thought that both the Caldecott and the Newbery are two titles that will enjoy longevity in the field of children's literature. I also thought that each Committee did an excellent job. Good Masters might not be a book that young readers gravitate to by themselves but I can totally see how, once they open the book, they will enjoy the scenes, the characters, the cadence of the monologues, the informative tidbits, and the whole performance opportunity offered by this volume. (Although it is definitely not my favorite book of the year, I can still see this as a perfect Newbery choice.)
As to White Darkness and Absolute True Diary -- the VOICE of the young girl in White Darkness is so authentic and so different from anyone else I've
"met" in YA lit: that alone is a feat. Some people think that Junior in the Alexie's book has a strong voice -- but, if you really examine him and what he "says" in his "diary," you'll realize that he does not quite have an authentic life as an integral character in this novel. (For example: Junior is SO bad at using words that he always expresses himself with pictures -- and yet, out of 229 pages, we "read" mostly his very insightful, witty, and finely crafted internal monologues, like a stand-up comedian, not a comic artist. -- and although Junior proclaims that pictures are the "universal language," every cartoon in this book has to have textual labels in order to convey the meaning of the author/artist.) I imagine that the Printz Committee had examined these two titles along with many others very carefully and made decisions based on literary merits.
-- Roxanne/fairrosa
On Jan 21, 2008 1:26 PM, Cassie Wilson <catstaff1 at verizon.net> wrote:
> A librarian friend of mine looked at this year's winners of all three
> biggies (Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz) and commented, "These must be
> examples of those cases when no one can really agree on the best, so
> they pick compromises." I couldn't really argue with her. Thank
> goodness for the Notables and Best Books lists. I am half afraid that
> the major awards are going to lose stature with the general population
> if they don't start choosing books with more general appeal that at
> least someone is really enthusiastic about.
>
> Cassie Wilson
>
>
Roxanne Hsu Feldman Middle School Library (4th-8th Gr.) The Dalton School, New York City http://www.dalton.org/program/libraries/middle/
Received on Mon 21 Jan 2008 02:47:55 PM CST
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:47:55 -0500
How interesting -- and my take on this year's awards is the opposite: I thought that both the Caldecott and the Newbery are two titles that will enjoy longevity in the field of children's literature. I also thought that each Committee did an excellent job. Good Masters might not be a book that young readers gravitate to by themselves but I can totally see how, once they open the book, they will enjoy the scenes, the characters, the cadence of the monologues, the informative tidbits, and the whole performance opportunity offered by this volume. (Although it is definitely not my favorite book of the year, I can still see this as a perfect Newbery choice.)
As to White Darkness and Absolute True Diary -- the VOICE of the young girl in White Darkness is so authentic and so different from anyone else I've
"met" in YA lit: that alone is a feat. Some people think that Junior in the Alexie's book has a strong voice -- but, if you really examine him and what he "says" in his "diary," you'll realize that he does not quite have an authentic life as an integral character in this novel. (For example: Junior is SO bad at using words that he always expresses himself with pictures -- and yet, out of 229 pages, we "read" mostly his very insightful, witty, and finely crafted internal monologues, like a stand-up comedian, not a comic artist. -- and although Junior proclaims that pictures are the "universal language," every cartoon in this book has to have textual labels in order to convey the meaning of the author/artist.) I imagine that the Printz Committee had examined these two titles along with many others very carefully and made decisions based on literary merits.
-- Roxanne/fairrosa
On Jan 21, 2008 1:26 PM, Cassie Wilson <catstaff1 at verizon.net> wrote:
> A librarian friend of mine looked at this year's winners of all three
> biggies (Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz) and commented, "These must be
> examples of those cases when no one can really agree on the best, so
> they pick compromises." I couldn't really argue with her. Thank
> goodness for the Notables and Best Books lists. I am half afraid that
> the major awards are going to lose stature with the general population
> if they don't start choosing books with more general appeal that at
> least someone is really enthusiastic about.
>
> Cassie Wilson
>
>
Roxanne Hsu Feldman Middle School Library (4th-8th Gr.) The Dalton School, New York City http://www.dalton.org/program/libraries/middle/
Received on Mon 21 Jan 2008 02:47:55 PM CST
