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[CCBC-Net] Batchelder Award
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman>
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:26:52 -0600
I want to echo Tessa's appreciation for "Garmann's Summer." When I first read it I didn't know what to make of it--visually it's so unusual. But the story struck me as extraordinary, especially given its length. While it's a long text for picture book format, the depth and richness of the narrative was striking to me--I felt like I was reading a novel, full of backstory and character development. I had been dropped into the middle of Garmann's life and mind, but everything I needed for a satisfying story and literary experience was contained in the pages of that slim volume.
I thought the Batchelder winner, "Moribito," was fascinating. It works on one level as a fantasy adventure story, but I thought the author deftly examines weighty ideas along the way, most notably, the understanding that "history" is often a version of the past from the perspective of those who conquer. The setting of this story--in an imagined world meant to evoke medieval Japan--brings specificity to that idea as the future of the kingdom becomes dependent on someone remembering the stories and rituals of the indigenous people whose traditions--if they can be remembered in time--reflect the truth about the past, and hold the answer to the immediate crisis surrounding the fate of the 12-year-old prince. (Now I've made it sound heavy-handed, and it isn't at all.)
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
608/262-9503 schliesman at education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 19 Feb 2009 09:26:52 AM CST
Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:26:52 -0600
I want to echo Tessa's appreciation for "Garmann's Summer." When I first read it I didn't know what to make of it--visually it's so unusual. But the story struck me as extraordinary, especially given its length. While it's a long text for picture book format, the depth and richness of the narrative was striking to me--I felt like I was reading a novel, full of backstory and character development. I had been dropped into the middle of Garmann's life and mind, but everything I needed for a satisfying story and literary experience was contained in the pages of that slim volume.
I thought the Batchelder winner, "Moribito," was fascinating. It works on one level as a fantasy adventure story, but I thought the author deftly examines weighty ideas along the way, most notably, the understanding that "history" is often a version of the past from the perspective of those who conquer. The setting of this story--in an imagined world meant to evoke medieval Japan--brings specificity to that idea as the future of the kingdom becomes dependent on someone remembering the stories and rituals of the indigenous people whose traditions--if they can be remembered in time--reflect the truth about the past, and hold the answer to the immediate crisis surrounding the fate of the 12-year-old prince. (Now I've made it sound heavy-handed, and it isn't at all.)
Megan
Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
608/262-9503 schliesman at education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 19 Feb 2009 09:26:52 AM CST
