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A little late but still got it out before the end of October and the imminent arrival of Frankenstorm.  I spent a goodly part of yesterday preparing for the hurricane by baking pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  Now you know where my priorities lie.

The year has passed like a blur and there’s an interesting consistency to the books being discussed for Newberys and Caldecotts.  Newberys anyway.  This may be an entirely Wild Card Caldecott year as far as I can tell.  There are no sure fire winners.  Only worthy contestants.  Let’s begin!

Newbery 2013

The Unfortunate Son by Constance Leeds – I stand by this one.  It was weird when I put it on my last prediction list and weirder still that I’ve not removed it.  But the fact of the matter is that when we think of the word “distinguished” and apply it to writing, Leeds’ book stands up time and time again.  If you haven’t read it yet, I think you’ll have to grab yourself a copy and take a gander.  Shield thine eyes against the brown-ness of the book jacket and enjoy the stellar writing.  Yes, it’s a wild card, but such a lovely fun one.

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin – In spite of having one of the more difficult names to remember, I think this is my current front runner.  Yep.  I think we’ve got a gold medal winner on our hands.  It isn’t just the fact that it’s better than its predecessor (which won an Honor back in the day).  It’s the fact that Lin seamlessly weaves her folktales into the narrative in such a way that you half suspect she made them up (she didn’t).  It’s the fact that the writing is cyclical, referring back to itself and to the characters both telling and listening to the story.  It’s the fact that it’s masterful.  Nuff said.

Twelve Kinds of Ice by Ellen Obed – My pet beloved, and STILL it is not out yet.  Is there any way to curse a book more than to release it in November?  Talk is minimal about it, though it has gotten starred reviews already and Travis Jonker gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up over at 100 Scope Notes.  Consider this one the stealth contestant.  Nobody will see it coming . . .

Wonder by R.J. Palacio – Normally when a book breaks as early as this one did in the year it is either forgotten or less discussed by the year’s end.  Not the case with Wonder.  This is a case of a book coming out in the right place at the right time.  It managed to simultaneously touch people on an emotional level, wow them on a literary one, and (most important of all?) it falls under the sway of the current Anti-Bullying craze sweeping the nation.  Whole schools are adopting it as their One Book reads.  I had a discussion with someone the other day about how many award winners win simply because of timing.  Could Smoky Night by David Diaz or The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein (or even Johnny Tremain for that matter) have done so well if they hadn’t be published precisely when they were?  By the same token, Wonder at least has a VERY good chance at a Newbery honor.  Note that it didn’t make it onto the National Book Award finalists, though.  That may be why I’m not so sure of its gold chances.

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker – If the book is sunk by anything at this point it may be the ending.  Not the happiness found there, mind.  I was a-okay with all of that.  Rather, the lack of attention the press takes in the story and the mildest of mild slaps on the wrist to the characters.  Still, in terms of character development this is maybe the strongest children’s novel of the year.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz – Shaking off the rather ridiculous notion that the book is boring (how much more blood would it take to be exciting exactly?) what has surprised me time and time again about this book is the reaction from patrons and librarians.  I expected to be the one lonely voice howling in the wind about its loveliness.  Instead I find myself just an average alto in a very large chorus.  Nina at Heavy Medals thinks it’s a love it or hate it title, but I have been surprised at how few folks I’ve run across dislike it or think it’s anything less than fantastic.  I recently did a Wolves of Willoughby Chase event and when asked who is akin to Joan Aiken, Ms. Schlitz’s name popped immediately to mind.  For writing alone, this should win something.

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin – Just as folks like Jonathan Hunt have their own tendencies when they talk about potential winners (he pushes YA, nonfiction, and easy/picture books) my personal bugaboo is the YA novel that wins a Newbery.  The award goes until the age of 14 so, technically, many is the book that could win.  However, I’ve always disliked it when a book meant for an older audience wins the day.  We have the Printz and though it does not receive the same press as the Newbery, I feel it covers the tween crowd quite nicely.  There are always exceptions, which is why I’m not exactly sitting down to rewrite the Newbery criteria.  Case in point, Bomb.  What I love about this is that while it does have an older audience in mind, the content is the kind of thing I’ve had many many 10, 11 and 12-year-olds asking me for over the years.  They want bomb info.  This book delivers and, amazing as it is to say, Jonathan actually agrees with me on this one.  Wowzer!

Crow by Barbara Wright – I have a co-worker with a near supernatural sense of ALA Award winners.  A year ago she kept harkening back to A Ball for Daisy.  Kept saying how worthy it was and how the wordless sequences really put it over the top.  This year she’s been getting the same feeling about Crow.  I will admit to you that it took a long time for me to pick this Reconstruction-era tale up but when I finished I was glad that I did.  It is worthy?  No question.  What may sink it is the question of kid-friendly reading.  Technically this is not a serious consideration on the part of the Newbery committee, but it’s still something they take into account.  Then again, my co-worker is so rarely wrong . . .

Not Mentioned (and why!):

• The One and Only Ivan by Katharine Applegate – I was very fond of this one but I’m not sure if I’m ready to stick my flag into it and declare it a whole new world. It does some great things and like Wonder is very timely (the real Ivan died this year). Trouble is, it relies on a plot point that I’ve heard contested in more than one circle, so I’m not sure if it will get all that far.
• The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine – I was actually a big fan of this one. Really well done. Just didn’t quite have that little extra something to make it a Newbery.
• No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson – Too YA.  Though if we consider the sheer lack of multiculturalism this year I’d be more than happy to have it seriously considered.
• Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead – Love the book but I’m not sure of its long term staying power. A good one to be aware of in any case.
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage – I adore it but this has turned out to be a hugely divisive book. Please, oh please, dear sweet committee, prove me wrong!

Caldecott

(this kind of thing is so much easier to do when the New York Times Best Illustrated List has already come out)

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead – In a year that could conceivably be considered Stead vs. Stead vs. Stead (this, Phil’s A Home for Bird, and the duo’s Bear Has a Story to Tell) of all the Steadifying of 2012 this book remains my favorite.  It’s not just Fogliano’s delightful but careful and subdued writing.  It’s how Ms. Stead has chosen to portray the sheer swaths of time left waiting for something to grow in the spring.  This is a book about restraint (a notion foreign to most small children).  Let us hope the committee is not the least bit restrained and gives is a glorious little award.

Step Gently Out by Helen Frost, photographs by Rick Lieder – As a woman who spent her young adult life certain that she would become a professional photographer (ah, crazed youth) my heart is still firmly in the court of photography.  There is, naturally, the question of whether or not a book complemented by photographs constitutes “illustration”.  In the fine art world photography has always been pooh-poohed as a lesser art, and some of that prejudice slips down even to the world of children’s literature.  Indeed, no work of pure photography has ever won a Caldecott (the only near exception being Knuffle Bunny’s mix of photos and images).  Certainly I always thought that if any photographer got such an award it would have to be Nic Bishop.  If it happened to go to Rick Lieder instead, however, I would not mind a jot.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen – The last time I mentioned my predictions I failed to include this little gem.  The response from the artists out there was a universal cry of support.  Mr. Klassen is very big amongst his fellows.  That being said, there is some concern that the heroine of this book does not hold her knitting needles correctly. I can’t seem to find my copy but if true then this could potentially disqualify the book.  FYI.

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger – I refer you now to Lolly Robinson’s discussion at Calling Caldecott where she waxes rhapsodic about the various traits worth celebrating in the title.  To my horror, however, she pointed out a small mistake.  It sounds like a mild design issue and hopefully not a dealbreaker.  Just the same, it could well reduce what I once thought of as the Caldecott frontrunner to an Honor.  Or maybe not!    I’m still counting on getting a green Newbery/Caldecott dress out of this.

Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff – A smart mix of tribute and original storytelling/art.  One of the younger Caldecott contenders seen here, and I think that’s important.  It is restrained in its text, but to just the right degree.  Hopefully the committee will see it for the smart little book that it is.

Not Mentioned (and why!):

• Z is for Moose by Kelly A. Bingham, ill. Paul O. Zelinsky – Hugely popular it is. Lots of fun as well. I’m just not certain it outshines the other potential candidates this year, that’s all. Still a stellar piece of work, no matter how you slice it.

• This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen – No, I’m afraid his work on Extra Yarn has a better chance. This one is a visual stunner, but not quite there on the writing side.

• Oh No! by Candace Ransom, ill. Eric Rohmann – Great book but alas someone showed me a perspective problem near the end that may sink it for the committee. Doggone it.

And your thoughts?

As I write this I don’t know what the election results are and I shall refuse to think about them all the livelong day.  Lalalalalala!  No images today, by the way.  I apparently hit my limit and need to beg SLJ for a little more space.  I’m good for it!  Honest!

• So there’s lots of post-Sandy news and ways that you can help the libraries that got hit hard in the gut this past week.  First let’s start with something (relatively) cheery.  PW did a great series of interviews with folks in the publishing industry hit by Sandy.  There you can read how Lois Lowry and Laura Vaccaro Seeger dodged death (fairly literally) and why folks like Eric Berlin and Rebecca Stead are being namechecked in Hoboken.  They also did a piece on how folks like Kate Messner (with Kid Lit Cares) and Urban Librarians Unite have been coming together to collect books and money for hard hit systems.  Author/illustrator Peter Brown alerted me to this fantastic and continually updated list of what the various shelters and organizations in the community need desperately at this time.  Meanwhile I wanted to help out Hoboken in some way but it’s still too soon to find out how.  In the meantime, there’s a good site dedicated to Rebuilding New Jersey’s Libraries for those of you who want to help.

• There are some interesting posts ah-brewing over at the Forum of the American Journal of Education.  Steven Herb, a fellow who has served on more than a few committees during his time looks at Caldecott Awards and Honors past and present with some interesting insights. I never knew the beef folks had with Marcia Brown’s Shadow until now, but I definitely get the grumbles.  Then he goes on to answer all your questions about how the darn Caldecotts are given out anyway.  Thanks to Vic Sensenig for the links!

• One request: When I die, could someone please write a catchy song using my name that sounds as fun as this one made for picture book author/illustrator Bill Peet by the kids at The Calhoun School?  It’s all I’ve ever wanted.  Honest.  Thanks to Karen Walsh for the link.

• Suppose I should mention some of the serious news out there.  This broke just before the hurricane did but even strong winds couldn’t distract us from the fact that Penguin and Random House are set to become as one.  Naturally the response over the blogosphere is to come up with a name for this new company.  The Random Penguin House is the most repeated, so why don’t we just simplify things and just call it Odd Ice Floe instead?  Has a ring to it, it does.

You may have missed it, and you’d be forgiven if you had, but the New York Times Best Illustrated list of 2012 is out and boy is it a doozy!  The winners include:

• Bear Despair written and illustrated by Gaëtan Dorémus (Enchanted Lion)

• The Beetle Book written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins (Houghton)

• House Held Up by Trees written by Ted Kooser; illustrated by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)

• The Hueys in the New Sweater written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (Philomel)

• Infinity and Me written by Kate Hosford; illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (Carolrhoda)

• Little Bird written by Germano Zullo; illustrated by Albertine (Enchanted Lion)

• One Times Square: A Century of Change at the Crossroads of the World written and illustrated by Joe McKendry (Godine)

• Red Knit Cap Girl written and illustrated by Naoko Stoop (Tingley/Little)

• Stephen and the Beetle written by Jorge Luján; illustrated by Chiara Carrer (Groundwood)

• Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad written and illustrated by Henry Cole (Scholastic)

I’ve read each and every last one of these and what strikes me is how international it is this year.  French, Irish, Japanese, Canadian, and more author/illustrators grace the list.  A special shout out to Claudia over at Enchanting Lion Books for getting two titles on there, but it’s just as nice to see little guys like Groundwood and Lerner having their day in the sun.  I haven’t reviewed a single one of these, but now I’m thinking maybe it would be a good idea.  Dunno.  They’re all rather . . . rather tasteful, wouldn’t you say?

• Hobbit to star in the silver screen adaptation of Molly Moon.  Okay . . . that’s not exactly how they’re pitching it, but that’s how I see it.  We would also have accepted “Back-up Driveshaft guitarist” as a description as well.  Thanks to PW Children’s Bookshelf for the link.

• Hey!  Travis Jonker over at 100 Scope Notes went and had a baby on us!  Well, congrats to you, Travis!  Little bugger is one good looking dude.  Woo-hoo!

• You know how college kids are always creating elaborate, relatively clever pranks in their Senior years?  Well, when I attended Earlham College back in the day I walked into our cafeteria (called, like every other cafeteria in the nation, Saga) to find that someone had managed to paint a huge image on the ceiling .  We’re talking a good 40 feet off the ground, there were some beloved character’s from the school newspaper, Plato’s Republic, as penned by Alexis Fajardo.  They were reenacting Michelangelo’s God touching Adam’s finger moment.  It was beautiful.  Fast forward some 20 odd years later (doing the math . . . not quite right but close enough) and that same Alexis Fajardo has started a Kickstarter page for his graphic novel series Kid Beowulf.  Seems that his publisher up and died on him as he was producing the third volume, so he needs a bit of a kick.  Check out the site and see what you think.  I guarantee you won’t find another comic starring Beowulf and his twin brother Grendel having adventures.

• Finally, the following notice was sent by author Kathi Appelt.  I met Laura myself, so I know how important this can be.  In lieu of a Daily Image today, please read the following:

Emerson 2nd graders have **loved** reading and thinking about which picture book they would award with the 2013 Caldecott Medal. This project is really deepening their ability to articulate how pictures contribute to an overall story. In library language, we call this "visual literacy" - the ability to interpret and make meaning from illustrations. Here are four more of our favorite picture books from 2012.

Extra Yarn
by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jon Klassen
Balzar + Bray, 2012
ages 4 - 8
reviewed here
available at your local library and on Amazon

Little Dog Lost
by Mônica Carnesi
Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012
ages 4-8
reviewed at Calling Caldecott
available at your local library or on Amazon

Green
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Roaring Brook Press, 2012
ages 3 - 8
reviewed at Fuse #8
available at your local library or on Amazon

And Then It's Spring
by Julie Fogliano
illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Roaring Brook Press, 2012
ages 3 - 8
reviewed here
available at your local library or on Amazon

This post is a day late. I was having difficulty with blogger last night. It wouldn't let me post at all. So today, you get the last two installments of Eric Rohmann.


My Friend Rabbit
Written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Roaring Brook Press, 2002

This book won the Caldecott Medal in 2003. I remember buying this book and thinking: WOW. The illustrations are so bold and so toddler-minded. The text is simple and has a wonderful cadence to it. Rabbit’s toy airplane is stuck in the tree. He tries to come up with an inventive way to get it out, so he gathers, pushes, and shoves his animal friends on top of one another until they form a tall tower. This of course comes crashing down!

I love his use of perspective in the illustrations. On one spread rabbit is in the far corner of the page pulling on an elephant’s tale. Everything looks so small and the spread is rather bare. Then the next page explodes with a giant elephant taking over the entire spread. When all of the animals are piled on top of one another, you must turn the book vertically to view it correctly. Then they all come crashing down and we see wild animal eyes of every sort as they looked surprised, shocked, and flabbergasted. Then we see those same animal eyes all glaring at rabbit. Every spread is full of surprises and delight. The illustrations are appealing to a very young audience. In fact, a non-reader could figure out what is going on in the story even without the text.

A romping fun read and so well-deserving of the Caldecott Award.

I just emailed Adaptive Blue last week and asked for new widgets for this year's Newbery and Caldecott winners and the obliged so kindly!!! So I put them in my side bar and I'm sharing them with you all!! Thank you Adaptive Blue - you are AMAZING!!!

Newbery
Caldecott

The winners have just been announced and they are....TA DA!

It is the BIG day - when SO many great awards are announced:
Newberry Award - pleased to say I've read all but ONE!!!  (That always makes me proud!)  The winner was:  When you Reach Me  by Rebecca Stead - a story I enjoyed - although certainly not one of my all-time favorites for the year - but they do this to me almost every year - I'm not surprised!

Caldecott Award - this one I fell short - but they are now all on order for our library! I had not seen the winner - The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney - but it looks fabulous!

I am writing this post today around 9 p.m. on Sunday.  As such, many of you will read this, knowing full well who the Newbery and Caldecott winners are.  I will be a little behind you in this respect.  Amusingly, I realized too late that I scheduled my latest sonogram for the PRECISE moment the ALA Media Awards will be announced.  I blame time zones.  Or, rather, my apparent lack of understanding about time zones.  So just picture me on the doctor’s table, Android phone in hand, watching the Twitter updates scroll past.  That’s priorities for you, eh?

• Speaking of Caldecotts and Newberys (I always come this close to writing “Newberies”), Elizabeth Bluemle over at ShelfTalker recently figured out how many men vs. women win those two awards.  In short, boys get lots of Caldecotts, girls get lots of Newberys.  Harold Underdown points out in the comments that when he did similar research ten years ago he pretty much got the same results.  The more things change, the more things stay the same.  For her part, Kyra Hicks at Black Threads in Kid’s Lit calculated similar stats a year ago for male to female winners of the Coretta Scott King Award.  She’ll have to update those stats after today, of course.  Fingers crossed for Rita Williams-Garcia (I want her to win everything).

• I was talking with an author the other day about the books that I’m working on.  Infinitely lucky, I’m publishing books with two of my favorite companies/imprints: Greenwillow of Harper Collins and Candlewick.  When I mentioned this and that I was trying to get all my favorites under my belt (I’m eyeing you hungrily, Chronicle) they replied, “Ah.  How about Abrams?”  Well, I’ve been very impressed with Abrams over the last two to three years, and not just because they know how to raise a Wimpy Kid.  They just do good work.  So it was with great pleasure that I learned that one of my husband’s fellow screenwriters, Jonathan Auxier, has a book with Abrams due later this year in the fall called Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes.  Keep that title in your brain for a while and check out Jonathan’s new blog The Scop if you’ve a chance to do so.

• Yes my husband Matt is a screenwriter and he sports a jaunty blog of his own called Cockeyed Caravan.  From time to time he’ll allow friends and folks in the field to write posts there with their own cinematic recommendations.  Not too long ago our best buddy Geoff went on with his own, and danged if one of films he came up with wasn’t Sounder, based on the 1970 Newbery Award winning novel by William H. Armstrong.  I swear he didn’t do that film for me, as (I’m ashamed to admit) I’ve never seen it.  I want to now, though.  A nice continuation of our Newbery themed day, eh?

• Hey, do you remember a couple months ago when I asked you guys to mention any books about Afr
  7 Comments on Fusenews: As one does, last added: 1/11/2011
  Display Comments
  Jennifer Schultz said, on 1/10/2011 6:46:00 AM
  

  Betsy’s OB: Congratulations, Mrs. Bird. You’re having twins.

  Betsy: WHAT?! Oh, my God. Tell me you’re joking. For the love of God, tell me you’re joking. I cannot believe this. They picked THAT BOOK?

  I’m sorry, did you say something? My mind was just totally blown.

  rams said, on 1/10/2011 8:09:00 AM
  

  Ahem. I actually MET Bob Graham, who has the most spontaneous teeth this side of Austin Powers (or me) and is as charming as his books, which is saying a VERY great deal. Our pick at the bookstore was always Let’s Get a Pup! Said Kate.

  And ah, Dick King-Smith. His guinea pig book (maybe I Love Guinea Pigs?) illustrated by Anita Jeram, the woman who can do Cute while maintaining little beady eyes (on her critters) almost made me love guinea pigs. Almost.

  Jennifer Schultz said, on 1/10/2011 10:25:00 AM
  

  FYI…the link to your older entries does not work. I wanted to reread your Newbery/Caldecott predictions, which I knew were in a recent post. Newcomers to your blog will miss out on your excellent older posts! However, I was able to search for the post. Looking forward to your thoughts on the winners. I ordered Moon Over Manifest several months ago for our library, but haven’t read it yet. That will be corrected ASAP!

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 1/10/2011 10:39:00 AM
  

  Actually, it does but it’s annoying. What you have to do is to reload my blog’s page with a / at the end of the web address. Once that’s there you can click on the “Older Entries” message and be taken to earlier posts. Failing that, just type “Newbery” into my Search box on the right and it comes right up.

  Post on the winners shall go up tomorrow!

  Jonathan Auxier said, on 1/10/2011 12:07:00 PM
  

  Thanks so much for the kind words, Betsy! You were missed at ALA.

  Kristin McIlhagga said, on 1/10/2011 7:32:00 PM
  

  Interesting news about Candlewick and NetGalley, I’m fascinated to see how all of that will play out and what things will look like.
  LOVE the comic too!

  Carl in Charlotte said, on 1/11/2011 12:27:00 PM
  

  Why don’t you check out Netflix and find Sounder? I remember it being a good movie. Better do it soon, though–speaking from experience, you won’t have much time for movies in about eight months.

  Add a Comment

Didn’t I TELL you it was a Wild Card Year?  And the truth?  I adore Wild Card Years.  They’re my favorites, and not just because my Newbery year’s committee picked The Higher Power of Lucky either.  The whole reason I like the ALA Media Awards is because right until the last minute anybody can win and everybody’s fair game (always assuming they meet the right criteria).  So here’s my round-up of the winners!  And for the record, if you want to see the full list of winners (which I will not put here because I am lazy) head on over to Heavy Medal.  That’s where they lay.

We also get to play a little game I like to call How Many of These Did Fuse #8 Actually Read/Review.  I’ve never tallied my previous years before, so let’s start now!  From the top:

Newbery Award Winner:

Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool – I love you, Ms. Vanderpool.  Yes, I had a different winner picked out since (checks date of review) this time last year, but that’s okay.  If it had to go to anyone, I’m glad it went to a book that came so far out of left field that it left all the folks who had made predictions panting in the dust (including myself, of course).  It has three starred reviews to its name, which in some circles is considered the magic number for any Newbery winner.  Did I Review It: No.  Did I Even Read It: No.  Random House book.  You understand.  And that makes two years in a row for them!

Newbery Honors:

Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm – Woo-hoo!  Go, Jenni, go go go!  Loved that book, I did.  I just hope she gets an actually shiny gold award soon.  All these Honors are cool, but I wanna see her make a dive for the medal proper and soon.  Did I Review It: No.  Did  I Even Read It: Yes! 

Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus – Wow!  The book I thought would get a Scott O’Dell Award got a Newbery Honor instead!  Well played, Ms. Preus.  I’m not all that surprised, of course.  It’s a rip-roaring adventure tale with some fabulous writing.  I was a big fan.  Did I Review It: You bet!  I did a podcast review of it over at the Katie Davis site.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen – Silly me.  I read and reviewed the OTHER Joyce Sidman book this year (Ubiquitous) and left this one, the actual award winner, out in the cold.  Honestly, that was because I preferred the art in Ubiquitous to the art in this title.  But since I always assume Newbery committees won’t give props to poetry, I missed this one’s great Honor win.  Did I Review It: Nope.  Did I Even Read It: Nope and nope.

One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia – Ahhh.  Well at least it has an Honor and enough buzz around it that folks will remember it for years and years.  My initial review of this title came out on February 2, 2010, almost one year ago.  It’s always a kind of relief to know that a book you loved and adored for that long had other fans as well.  That silver sticker will look awful pretty on th

Oh sure, it may seem like everyone’s all smiles and happiness after the recent announcements of the ALA Media awards, but don’t be fooled.  There’s definitely a deep discord of discontent out there.  Funny thing is, it has nothing to do with the books and everything to do with the day after the awards.  For the past eleven years the winners of the Newbery and the Caldecott Awards have gone on The Today Show to speak with the folks there for roughly 15 seconds.  It’s not a big spot, but it’s the only time the nation gets to really hear about these books and it’s important.  This year . . . well, you may have seen the headlines.  Monica Edingers’ Did Snooki Bump Children’s Book Award Winners From the Today Show?
was my personal favorite.  Since that post the details have been released.  According to the SLJ article ‘Today Show’ Snubs 2011 Caldecott, Newbery Winners, The Today Show gave the excuse that they were all booked up for the week thanks to the aforementioned Snooki.  Said their publicist, ” ‘The Internet rumors insinuating that we ‘bumped’ the Newbery and Caldecott winners for a segment with Snooki, that we ‘passed up’ the winners for Snooki, or that there was a ‘lack of interest’ in the winners, are totally false,” says Megan Kopf, publicist for the Today Show, in an email. ‘Snooki was booked on Today before the winners were even pitched to us’.”  If by “pitched” they mean “were told” then that’s really no excuse since for the past eleven years none of this was a surprise to The Today Show.

I’ve seen folks on Twitter questioning why anyone’s upset since it’s not like other TV networks do anything for children’s literature.  All true, but The Today Show really is one of the few networks to give books for kids some cred.  Al’s Book Club for Kids may have its flaws, but Mr. Roker does an awesome job of showing new books and kids reading.  One would think there’d be some spillover into other aspects of the show like, say, a mere 30 seconds dedicated to the most highly regarded award for children’s books and their writing and art.  Instead, bupkiss.

• SCBWI had an excellent response of its own, printing the letter it sent to NBC as well as various news outlets.  It even mentioned the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival, which was good timing.   Seriously though, when all is said and done I think YA author and 90-Second Newbery creator James Kennedy put it best when he commented, “You are all going to be so embarrassed when next year’s Newbery goes to Snooki.”

• That was gossipy.  Let’s scale it back a notch then.  There were some delightful wrap-ups of the Newbery winners, but to my (perhaps biased but nonetheless accurate) mind none really can compare with those produced by my fellow bloggers/co-writers.  First off, Peter at 12 Comments on Fusenews: Newbery Fallout, last added: 1/14/2011