| Author | Message | ||
| Ellen |
I have no problems with our first and second places. However, I do wonder if City of Ember is an appropriate 3rd place? My inclincation would be to support Olive's Ocean City of Ember is riveting, Goose Girl is delightful, but Olive's Ocean sticks with the reader! It is so very well crafted---no "fluff", just a plot, setting and characters that ring true for the intended audience. And, with heavy heart, I'll give up lobbying for A River Between Us. |
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| Rachel |
I know what you mean about a heavy heart! As was pretty clear from my posts, I LOVED Canning Season, but it's pretty clear I'm in the minority and I have to get realistic! Sigh. |
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| Roxanne |
You know how MOST Newbery Committee Members feel now -- most people always have a few of their favorites going into the process and, even though they should not have their hearts set on FORCING others to vote for their favorite, the emotional burden remains. If a few people feel that certain title is not up to snuff, then, in your next ballot, do not even include it as your 2nd or 3rd choice -- include the oddball ones, and just vote on a more likely First Choice, one that if it wins it won't completely upset you... And, see what happens. |
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| Katrina |
Rachel. I'm with you....... |
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| Susan |
This is Susan, reporting in from the West coast-where it is still Sunday morning. I apologize for holding things up, or mucking them up by a later vote. I did vote before I checked the results. So now, I jump into the discussions. I have great reluctance to support Milkweed. I do not think it is a children's book in the same way City of Ember or Olive's Ocean is. These two appeal to a range of ages, but Milkweed's audience is limited to 6th (maybe), 7th and 8th graders. I have several reasons for saying this. Misha, as the lost soul, the ignorant fool archetype IS a success because we, as older readers, understand the convention. Younger readers will be bewildered and impatient with his lack of savvy. They may laugh at him, sadly. Also, the big jump of decades (Canning Season does this, too) to a resolution is asking alot of readers, especially when most of the book concentrates on a fairly short time span. I do agree that the images are strong, the pace breathtaking. I hope this book will be widely read, but without the Newbery Medal on the cover. The Goose Girl advocates are presenting a strong case. I am going to rethink it. I am a City of Ember supporter, and am even more convinced by the postings I read this morning. I had great difficulty in deciding between Olive's Ocean and Tale of Despereaux for my top choice. Both exemplify the criteria. I am enthusiastic about both. |
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| Roxanne |
Just to clarify -- 6th - 8th graders are within the range of our criteria. So, we should not consider this a flaw of the book. |
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| Susan |
Perhaps not a flaw, but a limitation. |
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| Jenn |
RE:"You know how MOST Newbery Committee Members feel now -- most people always have a few of their favorites going into the process and, even though they should not have their hearts set on FORCING others to vote for their favorite, the emotional burden remains." Was there a title or two during the year you were on the Newbery Comittee that you were disappointed didn't make it to the final vote?? |
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| Rachel |
I strongly disagree that Milkweed's audience should be considered a limitation. The criteria: "Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen, and books for this entire age range are to be considered." I don't recall any guidelines saying that books that can be read by a broader swathe of differently aged children should be considered above books written for an narrower age group. Doing this would have the effect of unfairly punishing writers aiming their books at the older end of the spectrum. |
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| Roxanne |
Jenn., Haha. Yes, absolutely... and there were quite a few titles that year that others felt strongly which did not make the final cut. We had one winner and two honor titles and if you take a look at the 2002 Notables list, you'll see highly acclaimed works such as these: Creech, Sharon Love That Dog. (BANK STREET COLLOGE book award winner) Wiles, Deborah Love, Ruby Lavender. Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850. (THE SIBERT winner) Fleischman, Paul. Seek. Hesse, Karen. Witness Lawlor, Laurie. Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit. Mosher, Richard. Zazoo Na, An A Step from Heaven. (THE PRINTZ Winner) Taylor, Mildred. The Land. (CSK Winner) Williams, Vera B. Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart. (BANK STREET COLLEGE book award winner.) Wolff, Virginia Euwer. True Believer (NATIONAL BOOK AWARD winner) There were more titles that we mulled over, discussed, gave up, etc. I think this is the same story year after year! -- Roxanne |
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| Shirley |
I am so sorry to be holding things up here. I was out most of the day with church and a meeting after and grocery shopping, but now I'll add my thoughts. I still support City of Ember. I disagree that the dialogue is stilted. When Lina says, "Our city is at the bottom of a hole," I think she says this with amazement. It had not occurred to her that everything was underground, not just the Pipeworks, because she did not have the experience to know otherwise. I think children will think about this book a lot after they have completed reading it. I will have to say good-bye to Keeper of the Night, but I still surrport Despereaux and will swing my support to The Goose Girl--it was really a beautifully written retelling. |
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| Roxanne |
Just a note from my own experience on the Committee: Sometimes, people are not all that "honest" about which books they are going to vote for... because it IS an anonymous, democratic process. |
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| Ellen |
Voting and seeing the numbers is indeed a fascinating process---but I'm still struggling. |
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| Katrina |
All this stuff about certain books only being appropriate for a certain age group: what about the tomie DePaola that was geared only to 3rd and maybe 4th graders? |
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| Roxanne |
There really is rarely a book "for all ages" and our charges is NOT to seek out a book that appeals to all age ranges. We only have to worry about if a book is TOO old -- for example, Fat Kid Rules the World probably won't be considered as a children's book, although I can see some 7th and 8th graders reading and enjoying it. It is definitely YA. If we see that a book serves its intended audience level well, then, we can put aside the concerns for "age." I don't see any of our books on this Table as beyond our 0-14 years old range, so, we don't need to worry about it at all. Last time I ran this course, we used books from 1990 (or 91?) for discussion and Julius, Baby of the World by Henkes was a serious contender, even though it is a picture book and is intended for preschoolers. |
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| Shirley |
This is not one of the books on the table but you bring up a point, Roxanne, when you mention Fat Kid Rules the World. I thought Breakout was excellent but saw it as more of a YA title. I don't think it would work below the 7th-8th grade level. That's one reason I really didn't consider it as a top choice. Did anyone else feel the same way? |
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| Wendy |
Shirley, definitely. I thought it was a fabulously written book, but it screamed YA. |
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| Jane |
Yes, when I read Breakout I definitely felt it wasn't in the Newbery age range. Maybe not even all that meaningful to 7th and 8th graders. |