mockings & scourgings, part deux
So I bet you're all just dying to know what the Oregon Library Association (or whatever they're called) (or rather, those of us who bothered to drive to our fair capital this morning in the pouring rain) chose in our mock Newbery! Yes, dying! Well, now I'm the one dying to see what the ALA will choose this year (or rather, those lucky 15 who have to look at over 400 books during a year and then be secluded for three days while they choose).
After two rounds of balloting, not quite official Newbery style, we picked Hitler Youth (by Susan Campbell Bartoletti). Which, shamefully, was one I hadn't finished reading. It was my bedtime story last night, but I put myself to bed relatively early because I had to meet my carpool at 7:30 this morning - for me, an ungodly hour. The year of nonfiction! Our honor choices were Criss Cross (Lynne Rae Perkins), Chicken Boy (Frances O'Roark Dowell), and Each Little Bird That Sings (Deborah Wiles).
There were about 30 librarians there - we were in three tables. First we covered the criteria for the Newbery, and the woman leading the workshop talked about her experiences on the real committee last year (that would be the committee that gave us...Kira-Kira. I don't know anyone who likes Kira-Kira. Anyone? She was a big fan of Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy, one of the honor books, so I suppose that redeemed her.) Then we discussed each of the fifteen books in our small groups, and had our first round of voting. Between the three groups, that gave us I think seven titles. We discussed those as a large group, and then did our next round of voting, which produced a winner.
The amazing thing to me was how people LOVED books that I couldn't even make myself finish, and how other people tore to pieces the ones that I loved.
My top five, because you're dying to know, would probably be (in no particular order):
Chicken Boy
Good Brother, Bad Brother
The Misadventures of Maude March
Each Little Bird That Sings
Hitler Youth (although I'm not quite finished with it...)
The best part was sitting there with a bunch of people and hashing it out. Pros and cons. Fiction vs nonfiction. I kept thinking of people like these and what they would contribute to the discussion. Would you slap us silly? Pat us on the back? What's the most distinguished?
After two rounds of balloting, not quite official Newbery style, we picked Hitler Youth (by Susan Campbell Bartoletti). Which, shamefully, was one I hadn't finished reading. It was my bedtime story last night, but I put myself to bed relatively early because I had to meet my carpool at 7:30 this morning - for me, an ungodly hour. The year of nonfiction! Our honor choices were Criss Cross (Lynne Rae Perkins), Chicken Boy (Frances O'Roark Dowell), and Each Little Bird That Sings (Deborah Wiles).
There were about 30 librarians there - we were in three tables. First we covered the criteria for the Newbery, and the woman leading the workshop talked about her experiences on the real committee last year (that would be the committee that gave us...Kira-Kira. I don't know anyone who likes Kira-Kira. Anyone? She was a big fan of Lizzy Bright and the Buckminster Boy, one of the honor books, so I suppose that redeemed her.) Then we discussed each of the fifteen books in our small groups, and had our first round of voting. Between the three groups, that gave us I think seven titles. We discussed those as a large group, and then did our next round of voting, which produced a winner.
The amazing thing to me was how people LOVED books that I couldn't even make myself finish, and how other people tore to pieces the ones that I loved.
My top five, because you're dying to know, would probably be (in no particular order):
Chicken Boy
Good Brother, Bad Brother
The Misadventures of Maude March
Each Little Bird That Sings
Hitler Youth (although I'm not quite finished with it...)
The best part was sitting there with a bunch of people and hashing it out. Pros and cons. Fiction vs nonfiction. I kept thinking of people like these and what they would contribute to the discussion. Would you slap us silly? Pat us on the back? What's the most distinguished?
posted by Jess at 6:11 PM
1 Comments:
there IS a nonfiction award - it's pretty new, called the Sibert Informational Book Award - but that has nowhere near the influence of the Newbery. Someone yesterday asked why the Newbery covers all genres and the ALSC president responded by saying that it's a good thing there's a lot of overlap in awards - something could win both the Newbery and the Caldecott, theoretically, or the Newbery and the Sibert and the Coretta Scott King...etc. It doesn't really answer the question about why there isn't a Newbery Fiction and a Newbery Nonfiction/Poetry. There should be.
I like your "which one made me feel like a better person for having read it" criteria.
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