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Re: Caldecott and diversity
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From: Lynn Rutan <lynnrutan_at_charter.net>
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 11:56:19 -0400
Thank you all for such a fascinating discussion!
I found Sharron and Nina’s points especially important. It has never been my privilege to serve on the Caldecott but I have served on other award committees and I truly felt that we were focused entirely on what was inside the book. Issues of gender, race, publishing house, or whether the author will give a great speech aren’t a factor - there simply isn’t time for that. So many books arrive and there are so many to be read that committee members are awash in books and that forces you to focus on the content to the exclusion of anything else.
I think what IS a factor is what we perceive as great literature or great art and that perception and understanding comes from many places - our experiences, our training, our cultures, our exposures and our own internal development of what that definition is. As adults, will that definition be one step behind the dynamic nature of artistic expression or the changing nature of our country’s cultural expansion? Are children more open to different styles or standards? I don’t know the answers here but I think about it a lot.
There is so much more, of course, to the way Caldecott members or even reviewers like myself evaluate picture books than the perception of artistic excellence and those factors must be considered in this discussion - although separating those factors is a more elusive task than amassing statistics. Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept; Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept; and Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures; are major criteria as well.
Nevertheless, I know that my internal definition of what is artistically excellent, is at work when I read and evaluate illustrated books and that it is important for me to remember that there is a subjective element to this. Our discussion here has reinforced my feeling that it is with children that our solution lies - in providing them with as wide an experience as possible as they develop their own definitions and appreciations. Easier said than done in this time of horrifying school budgets and even more restricted opportunities for all children to experience artistic explorations that are truly world wide.
Lynn Rutan Bookends - Booklist Online Youth Blog lynnrutan_at_charter.net
Received on Fri 17 May 2013 11:56:19 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 11:56:19 -0400
Thank you all for such a fascinating discussion!
I found Sharron and Nina’s points especially important. It has never been my privilege to serve on the Caldecott but I have served on other award committees and I truly felt that we were focused entirely on what was inside the book. Issues of gender, race, publishing house, or whether the author will give a great speech aren’t a factor - there simply isn’t time for that. So many books arrive and there are so many to be read that committee members are awash in books and that forces you to focus on the content to the exclusion of anything else.
I think what IS a factor is what we perceive as great literature or great art and that perception and understanding comes from many places - our experiences, our training, our cultures, our exposures and our own internal development of what that definition is. As adults, will that definition be one step behind the dynamic nature of artistic expression or the changing nature of our country’s cultural expansion? Are children more open to different styles or standards? I don’t know the answers here but I think about it a lot.
There is so much more, of course, to the way Caldecott members or even reviewers like myself evaluate picture books than the perception of artistic excellence and those factors must be considered in this discussion - although separating those factors is a more elusive task than amassing statistics. Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept; Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept; and Delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures; are major criteria as well.
Nevertheless, I know that my internal definition of what is artistically excellent, is at work when I read and evaluate illustrated books and that it is important for me to remember that there is a subjective element to this. Our discussion here has reinforced my feeling that it is with children that our solution lies - in providing them with as wide an experience as possible as they develop their own definitions and appreciations. Easier said than done in this time of horrifying school budgets and even more restricted opportunities for all children to experience artistic explorations that are truly world wide.
Lynn Rutan Bookends - Booklist Online Youth Blog lynnrutan_at_charter.net
Received on Fri 17 May 2013 11:56:19 AM CDT
