BAD Reads
It's Children's Book Award Time, So It's Time For My Annual Rant
I hate to shatter the illusions of Eden Ross Lipson. She is the former editor of the New York Times Book Review's children's books department, and the author of a very good guide to children's books.
But after hearing her being interviewed on NPR last night, I have material for my annual Caldecott/Newbery rant:
Sorry, Ms Lipson. But not all librarians "trust other librarians".
That is NOT why I buy Newbery and Caldecott award books.
I buy the award winners because people believe that awards actually MEAN something--which they don't always--and demand these books. Otherwise I wouldn't buy some of these books at all!!
As a matter of fact, personally I DON'T trust other librarians implicitly--and that includes the darling of the media, Nancy Pearl, BTW! In fact, over the (ack) 20 years I have been in the children's librarian business, I have developed a healthy DISTRUST for other librarians opinions, going all the way back to my time at the New York Public Library, where we reviewed new titles in house.
There was the librarian who not only thought that Once Upon A Potty was just DARLING, she had taken it home to her 2 year old and was reading it every night at bedtime!
Whereas I find it one of the UGLIEST books I have ever seen and cannot imagine reading a book that talks about "wee-wee" and "poo-poo" to a child ONCE, let alone night after night!
And another librarian, whose name I still frequently see as a reviewer in Booklist. Fortunately over the last 20 years he seems to have developed SOME critical skills, but I recall he always seemed to give good book reviews to EVERYTHING he read!
Don't get me wrong, there are some great librarians on the Newbery and Caldecott committees. I know some of them through listservs and they are smart, hardworking folks who have to read TONS of books to do their work.
But the Newbery committee needs to get some sort of kids advisory board so they can see if these books are truly award worthy as books FOR children. A lot of the committe people seem to be too damn far away from the trenches where the rest of us have to try to sell these books to the kids. And our goal is to turn them ON to reading, not off!
As I've said in previous Newbery/Caldecott rants, I've seen too many books given the award more for the author's body of work, or to make up for not giving the award to that author for a previous, more deserving book. I've seen too many creative, innovative illustrators passed over for an artist who is the flavor of the month, or has better marketing by their publisher.
And I've seen too many award winners that just aren't books kids will genuinely LIKE and WANT to read!
This year's Newbery book is called "Criss Cross". Apparently it is written in many styles including haiku and poems.
Here we go again. A few years ago it was books written in blank verse after "Out of the Dust" (a wonderful book) by Karen Hesse won the award. Now we'll all be up to our tuchuses in books with multiple styles!
I looked it up on Amazon. The book review magazines raved about it. The one librarian writing a review on Amazon (whom I know and respect via a listserv and whom I also know has served on the Newbery committee) gave it 5 stars.
Then there are two reviews by kids/teens. One said :"...if I didn't have to review the book I wouldn't have read past the tenth page. "
The other was equally thumbs down, saying: "By the middle of the book, I gave up. Soooo boring! "
Wonderful. All the librarians love this book. Only problem is they're supposed to be picking a book that's more than just wonderful in a literary sense. It has to be something that kids will love.
Because kids will have to read this book. Their teachers WON'T read it, but they'll pluck it off the Newbery list and assume because it's there,it's worth reading. Poor kids.
Oh, and Ms Lipson? That final line about "librarians are among the few groups that have honor in this divisive society?"
Please let me know what society you're living in.
Because it sure as hell isn't the United States in 2006..............................................................................
