How The Cybils Could Help With Newbery Quibbles
Posted by meredith on 01-07-2009
As I browsed through my kid lit blogs this past week, alternating between commentary on the ongoing hubbub sparked by the Newbery Medal (to recap: some say the winning books are too challenging, others say they're not diverse enough and others still are speaking out against both accusations) and the emphatic announcements of the shortlist for the Cybils (the childrens & young adult bloggers literary awards), I got to thinking about the value of both prizes and how the latter could actually enhance the former.
On the one hand, you have the Newbery, "the gold standard in children's literature" recognized the world over as the highest honor in the field. Objectively speaking. Pat Scales, president of the Association for Library Service to Children, makes this point crystal clear in The Washington Post article when she said, "The criterion has never been popularity. It is about literary quality. We don't expect every child to like every book." Fair enough. The populist choice isn't always the quality choice and there should be some secluded committee somewhere to recognize the difference. And no, the selection process won't be perfect or unanimously accepted, but then again what prestigious award is?
Rather than tear down the Newbery, why not just create secondary, more subjective committees to sort through the selections and help young readers find the book that they will like: Enter the Cybils. Or rather, the concept behind the Cybils: a group of committed educators, librarians and other YA enthusiasts (in this case bloggers) who simply enjoy recommending good books for kids. Regardless of whether they could qualify for a prestigious award like the Newbery (see Cybil nominee Jellicoe Road) or not (see Cybil nominee Audrey, Wait.) The key here is not to get hung up on the first step. Because at the end of the day a gold embossed medal on a cover doesn't compare to a parent, teacher or librarian taking any given book off the shelf and saying, "I LOVED this. I think you will, too."
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Categorized under: Books & Print
January 7th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I have to disagree somewhat with the following statement:
"Because at the end of the day a gold embossed medal on a cover doesn't compare to a parent, teacher or librarian taking any given book off the shelf and saying, "I LOVED this. I think you will, too."
See, too many underfunded libraries (especially school libraries) with limited resources have to be selective in choosing titles, and far too often books ARE recommended by librarians and teachers because of those gold and silver medals simply because it's what they have to offer and not necessarily the best book out there. Boy readers, in particular, aren't exactly best served by the Newbery awards, but that's a whole different can of worms.
I also worked in a children's book store and there are parents who, despite any gushing over a particular book, will opt in favor of one with an award. Those medals do make a difference.
This is why I blog about books for teen boys as part of Guys Lit Wire and why I blog about books and why I am on one of the Cybils committees: because I believe that MORE awards equals more choices and more voices for more books.
To that end, we agree.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I get what you're saying, that the awards for both literary and popular books can coexist, but there are several problems in this post.
First, this: "Regardless of whether they could qualify for a prestigious award like the Newbery (see Cybil nominee Jellicoe Road) or not (see Cybil nominee Audrey, Wait.)" Those titles are not a fair comparison to each other or to Newbery winners. JELLICOE ROAD can't win the Newbery because it's not written by an American. AUDREY, WAIT! is definitely eligible for the Newbery: It's published for children (the Newbery goes up to 14 and AW is published for ages 12+), the author is American, the book is published in English, etc. The thing is, because the Newbery committee changes every year, every year the committee will answer the question of "Which book published in the past year best fits the Newbery criteria?" Maybe they'll decide that AW DOES fit the criteria. There have been surprises in the past, especially with the Printz.
Second, on the idea of the Newbery committee being "secluded:" Physically, yes, the Newbery committee is secluded in a room during the selection process at ALA Midwinter. Professionally, though, the Newbery committee consists of some of the least secluded librarians you'll ever meet. Those who get elected to the Newbery are known for doing great work with kids; they're representatives of the best the profession has to offer. The Newbery doesn't make for seclusion. To serve on the Newbery, you must have enough experience and knowledge and professionalism to know what distinguishes literary excellence from popularity (not that the two are mutually exclusive, of course).
Third, what would a "more subjective" committee look like? The whole point of the Printz and the Newbery is that half the challenge comes from the fact that nine people in a meeting room have nine different opinions as to what constitutes literary excellence. Popularity is less subjective only by the virtue of the fact that we can measure how many copies a book sells.
On a personal level, I don't understand the need for the Cybils. Popular books get honored by selling more copies. Going back to your want for a "more subjective" award, I see the Cybils as much more subjective than the Newbery or the Printz because they have so many more criteria on which to judge the book. And if the Cybils judges are "a group of committed educators, librarians and other YA enthusiasts (in this case bloggers) who simply enjoy recommending good books for kids," then what are the Newbery and Printz committees? They give awards for a different purpose, sure, but those same people fit that description.