Some of our readers agree that recent winners are not up to par

The Newbery Has Lost It Anita Silvey's observations about the Newbery Medal ("Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?," October 2008, pp. 39–41) motivated me to reflect on the award. It made me realize that the recent winners reinforce the stereotype of the esoteric librarian sitting in her/his hallowed realm. The books chosen the last few years have not been successful in helping to create readers and so have been poor choices. Peer review is a great motivator. Whenever possible I encourage my most avid readers to be the first to read certain titles. They give me feedback and talk up the book to their classmates. In recent years there has been no enthusiasm for the award winners. I did not purchase the winners in 2008 after the dismal response to the previous few winners. Our entire grade six still enjoys reading The Giver (Houghton, 1993) and other Lois Lowry titles as well as those by Jerry Spinelli. Grade five reads Holes (Farrar, 1998) and other books by Louis Sachar. I have a great deal of input in helping our teachers select books to teach and promote. Literary quality is essential, but so is student interest, which is self-motivating. I can no longer count on the Newbery award to be a successful choice for our school. Perhaps creating a new category celebrating a writer's first work could be instituted. The intellect or scholarship of the judges does not impress me or my readers. I simply urge the committee to select a great read that can stand the test of time. A book that can enter into the reader's psyche without their being aware is a true winner. Norma Newman, head librarian Hebrew Academy Montreal, Quebec

Frustrated with Newbery

I am totally in agreement with Anita Silvey. I have read most of the Medal winners from the last 20 years. Each year, my fifth graders pick a Newbery book to read, whether it be a Medal winner or an Honor book. It goes without saying that the winning books from the '90s are the most popular choices. I consistently see Honor books from recent years chosen, such as Kevin Henkes's Olive's Ocean (HarperCollins, 2003), Carl Hiaasen's Hoot (Knopf, 2002), Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000), Jennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does My Shirts (Putnam, 2004), Cynthia Lord's Rules (Scholastic, 2006), and Jack Gantos's Joey Pigza Loses Control (Farrar, 2000). I have tried so often to push Kira-Kira (S & S, 2004) and have had no luck at all getting students to read and enjoy Criss Cross (HarperCollins, 2005). The Higher Power of Lucky (S & S, 2006) was not very successful, and I have not even ordered Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! (Candlewick, 2007). I am holding off as I would rather purchase other Honor books that I know will be better sellers in my library. I am frustrated because I want to booktalk the Newbery winner with enthusiasm and it's been difficult the last few years. Why can't a Newbery Medal winner have all the qualities that the committee wants but simply be a good, mainstream book? I know books like that are a hit in my library and I know they would be in most. Wendy Rosenzweig, librarian Roosevelt School River Edge, NJ '90s Anomaly Anita Silvey notes that recent Newbery winners, as compared to winners in the '90s, are not popular among children. Our research confirms this. We found that Newbery and Caldecott award winners and runners-up for 2003 and 2004 were far less likely to be checked out of Southern California public libraries than young-reader books on best-seller lists. Prize-winning books were not particularly popular before the 1990s, however. Linda Lamme, in a study published in 1976, reported that the middle school children she studied "read few Caldecott or Newbery medal winning books and few books on a standard list of good literature.... Only in the sixth grade was even 5 percent of their reading in medal winning books …." Lamme also found that those who read more "quality" books did not read any better. In 1980, researchers Nilson, Peterson, and Searfoss assembled a list of books "highly acclaimed by critics" from the years 1951 to 1975, books that were on various lists of "quality literature" as determined by adults (including the list of the Best Books of the Year compiled by School Library Journal and winners of the Newbery and Caldecott awards) and found that these books ranked near the bottom on lists of books librarians considered to be popular with children. We did a statistical analysis of this data and confirmed that prize-winners had a lower than average rank on the popularity lists for 24 of the 25 years studied. It may be the case that young readers have always tended to ignore books that adults think are "quality" literature. The popularity of a few Newbery winners in the 1990s noted by Ms. Silvey may be an anomaly. Joanne Ujiie, teacher/lecturer California State Univ., Long Beach and Stephen Krashen, professor Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles Library Linx I totally agree with your editorial in the August 2008 issue ("The Yin and Yang of SLJ," p. 7). I am the media manager at a middle school, and this is the fourth year that I have worked in direct partnership with Deschutes Public Library. The public library and our school not only collaborate, but our school has a program that started three years ago called "Library Linx." This is how it works: first off, I do a blitz to get all students and staff to get public library cards. Then I teach them all how to access the public library catalog from school or home and place items on hold. The items are delivered to our school media center and I check them out and also return items from our checkout station at the circ desk. Like a mini-branch public library. I have the teen public librarian in several times a year to do booktalks and talk to the staff about public library services. It is a phenomenal partnership. Not only has our school circulation gone up each year because of more traffic and excitement in our school library, but the students and staff are checking out more each year from the public library. It truly is a unique situation that has been very successful in bringing both institutions together. If anyone would like more info about this great program, I can give you several names instrumental in making this happen in the Bend–LaPine school district. Kudos to you and the way you handled the challenges from both audiences. JoAnn Enyart-Grant, media manager High Desert Middle School Bend, OR A Great Balance I started out as a school librarian and am now in a public library. I personally think you are doing a great job of balancing the two types of libraries. The key point, as you pointed out in your editorial, is "both work with youth." I could go on, but you already did a wonderful job of explaining it. As in any field, you can't please everyone all the time. Julie A. Criser, youth librarian New Hanover County Library Wilmington, NC Hand in Hand Well, isn't it a sad world when public librarians and school librarians can't find common ground? We should work hand in hand to provide our children with not only a love of reading but with skills that will hopefully provide a rewarding life. Yes, I want to know what issues are important to our school librarians, as that impacts what I need to provide as a public librarian. It is our job to educate each other. Debra Alt, youth librarian Homewood Public Library, IL Olathe Reads I read your August 2008 editorial with interest. As library liaison to our school district, I am keenly interested in what is important to school librarians. I look to SLJ to keep me in tune with issues and developments in the school library field because they directly affect my job as a children's librarian. I also read SLJ with an eye toward ways to adapt (or steal) ideas for our use. Thank you for saying your piece about why we must work together. We absolutely need each other, and in many ways our goals are the same—literacy, the love of books, and (lifelong) education. We need to be mindful that neither of us alone has the ability to provide all of the resources needed and desired to successfully meet those goals. In Olathe, we are so keenly aware of this issue that we have created Olathe Reads, a partnership of the schools, the city, and the public library. Together we are consistently moving our various reading/literacy initiatives forward. Still, the more we accomplish, the more we discover must be done. We are deeply grateful to our school colleagues who help us to provide better service to our mutual patrons. Kate Capps Children's librarian and OSD liaison Olathe Indian Creek Branch Library, KS Pathetic Offense Dianne Daucher's letter regarding Skippyjon Jones (September 2008, p. 8) sounds like a knee-jerk reaction if I ever heard one. Did this woman do any rudimentary homework before writing her letter? First of all, Skippyjon is a cat, not a dog. Secondly, the author is a woman, not "most likely a white woman" like Dianne says. Thirdly, these books are aimed at very young readers who are not associating the book with people at all. Only adults read that into the stories; children enjoy the very physical and humorous adventures of a cat. My son is two years old and loves to have these books read to him. I doubt very much if at this point in his development he is thinking, "Hmmm, so this is what all Latinos are like." People are using the term "offensive" so much today that it has lost any effectiveness. Everyone is offended by something. I think it's pretty pathetic that this reader has decided to vent her rage on an innocent cat with millions of devoted young fans. Whenever I hear cries of racism I have to wonder about the source of the complaint. I think in this instance, the reader has enough suppressed racist tendencies that they had to come out somehow. Mike Nelson, librarian Hope Mills, NC Hypocritical Censors I found it ironic that Dianne Daucher (who had a problem with ethnic Mexican stereotypes in Skippyjon Jones) took the time to create a hypothetical version of the book with which she took exception. If she were one who wholeheartedly believed that ethnic stereotypes should not be published, she should not have passive aggressively added a reference in her letter to a hypothetical "neurotic poodle that happened to be Jewish," further perpetuating the stereotype of Jewish neuroticism. It is this type of perpetual outrage on the part of Ms. Daucher that causes an often unspoken-about form of censorship from those who hypocritically claim to be warriors against censorship. You may not always like the content of a book, and you certainly don't have to purchase it; however, censorship by any other name is still censorship. Jackie Bertalon, library media specialist Hewlett, NY Mackin.com I agree with the concerns mentioned in "When Good Books Use Bad Words" (July 2008 Letters). With budgets not growing as quickly as prices are rising, I count on SLJ's reviews to weed out books and videos that might look good but are virtually a waste of money. I find that Mackin Library Media's Web site (mackin.com) helps a great deal. Reviews by numerous sources—Publishers Weekly, Horn Book, Booklist, VOYA, and School Library Journal—are available for most titles. It's valuable to read all reviews, as some mention inappropriate language while others do not. This tactic isn't completely foolproof, but it certainly helps. Cathy Klingler, media specialist Watkins Middle School Pataskala, OH Renaissance Woman As a former student and advisee of Carolyn Brodie's, there are no adequate words to express my delight upon seeing your August 2008 cover story. She is everything you described and more—from teacher to advisor, from "Renaissance Woman" to advocate for children. I have never in my life known, nor will I likely ever know again, a person who could balance so much, do it so well, and still maintain a welcoming and easygoing manner, as if it was just all in a day's work. Perhaps my most inspiring memory of Dr. Brodie during my four years in the SLIS program at Kent State University came at the very beginning. I was a brand-new student, attending the orientation led by Dr. Brodie for prospective children's librarians. I will never forget one of the first things she said (I will paraphrase, but it's pretty close): "Unless you love children, care about children, and want to do the best for children, you don't belong here." Truer words have never been spoken. Dr. Brodie's enthusiasm, passion, and wisdom will continue to inspire me, and I will never forget how lucky I am to have been touched by her magic. Beth Rush, children's librarian Hudson Library & Historical Society, OH