Fairrosa Press

I had fun help putting the first set of Newbery seals on the four 2013 titles.

Read all about the 2013 Newbery and many other youth media awards on this press release.

(evidence of hard work — photo taken on my phone at the

meeting room after we chose the winner and honor books.)

Got up, washed up, brushed up, got dressed, and headed toward the Press Room where the committee’s phone calls to the authors will be made shortly. Yes, I am excited.

I have not posted for a long long while… spending most moments reading and re-reading all the officially nominated titles. Can’t tell you exactly how many books are “on the table” but it’s definitely more than 7 (if we ALL have nominated the same titles) and quite a bit fewer than 105 (if we ALL have nominated different titles.) The great news is that because there are so many wonderful children’s books in 2012, I have no single “top choice” title in mind. Rather, there are more than top 20s for me! I’ll be so pleased if any of these gets recognized as the 2013 Newbery winner or honor book! The slightly sad reality, though, is that many of these deserving books will not be in the press release come Monday morning. I hope to be able to talk a little more about my favorite 2012 books once the 2013 Newbery titles are determined and known throughout the world! I’m excited!!!! I hope many others are, too!

This is IT… somewhat… we have submitted ALL the suggestions by now.  Two more nominated titles in two weeks and then it’s the final sprint: re-reading and re-evaluating and re-thinking.

I spent the last few weeks trying to find titles worthy of suggesting and nominating — and am happy to report that I found two outstanding books that gave me tremendous pleasure to read and made me consider seriously to suggest/nominate.  One of them made to my final Suggestion to the chair today.  It’s a fresh book that feels very different from all the other books I encountered this year which, at this late in the year after reading so many wonderful books, speaks for its uniqueness and distinguishing quality.  I am still unsure, though, whether I will nominate it.  Time to agonize again!!!

I have been thinking about the Newbery criteria day and night for quite some time now… as I read and think about books, and as I read about others’ thoughts on 2012 children’s books.  Over the years, many have tried to unpack what truly marks the “most distinguished” literary contribution to the American children’s literature.  Just yesterday, Nina Lindsay wrote about her thoughts on “The Art of Writing” at Heavy Medal.

Many of her thoughts coincide with my own reactions to literature — for children and adults alike.  Here’s my own attempt at explaining my own set of criteria beyond what’s displayed on the official Newbery manual document.

But first, let’s see what literary elements are highlighted in the official Newbery Manual:

These criteria are purposefully vague to leave room for interpretation by each year’s committee and to allow for flexibility of different kinds of books to be considered fully and on equal footing.  Note that the document does not call for “A group of fully developed characters that are three dimensional and have gained insights and grown by the end of the story” — instead, it just implies that the committee members should consider how successfully (appropriate to the book at hand) the author has “delineated” the characters; it also does not call for “A strong plot that follows the successful formula of storytelling, containing clear exposition, exciting rising actions, meaningful and gripping conflicts, a satisfying climax, and a solid denouement.”  Because, yes, perhaps, most books (be they fiction or nonfiction) will succeed by having this kind of structure, some other books simply don’t rely on following the conventional definitions of “a good plot” to make them Great or Distinguished.

The set of criteria also allows for different kinds of books to be considered: nonfiction, fiction, poetry, easy readers, picture books, etc.  And the six entries serve as a solid foundation as we read and consider books for their distinguishing qualities.

I have discovered that, for myself, the consideration of plot, setting, character development, clarity, accuracy, and organization serves best when determining whether a books gets an “above average” rating and warrants a spot on my monthly suggestions list.  However, these elements are not all that I consider and especially not when I start putting together arguments for “most distinguished” titles of the year.  Indeed, if these are the only aspects we focus on during our deliberation come January 2013 in Seattle, the discussion hours will become tedious quite quickly and will never rise above mundane exchanges.  To reach the level of exhilaration and enrichment, we will have to delve into the more elusive, and possibly more subjective aspects of literary works. This is when the whole business of “interpretation of the theme or concept” and the “appropriateness of style” comes into significant play.  I already expressed my thoughts on the Thematic Presentation in another post, so my focus here will be on Style.

I am grateful for our charge to consider the “Appropriateness of style”  because the word “style” allows for such wide and diverse interpretations.  Due to its vague nature, Style has always been something messy to convey or explain and it encompasses many many literary aspects: from mood, to tone, to employment of specific devices, to word choices, to rhythm and word sound, to pacing, to the use of/or lack of figurative language, etc.  I sincerely hope that when we sit around the conference table as a team of 15, we will be talking a lot about each book’s style and how that distinguishes some books from others.

That is when I can present sentences or scenes from beloved books to showcase the craft of a skilled author: the ability to find fresh turns of phrase; the dexterity in writing a sentence that paints an image vividly or conveys the internal struggle of a character without spelling blatantly out for the readers; the expert and consistent use of a particular narrative device; the talent in crafting a satisfying but not too-predictable ending; the successful employment of humor, or irony, or pathos; and many many other literary aspects that are not plot, character, setting, facts, or organization.

As I continue reading and re-reading nominated books, the most wonderful challenge will be to find concrete examples from the texts to illustrate the more conceptual aspects of the authors’ literary achievements. Thanks to the non-prescriptive and non-rigid nature of the criteria, the Newbery Award deliberation will maintain its vigor and freshness year after year.

A week ago, we all received the compilation of the second round of nominations. Almost 1/2 of the titles from October were re-nominated, receiving more supports this month. Some newly added titles also received multiple nominations — showing how some minds function the same way. About half of the titles on the list only receive one nomination each while some have much higher nomination counts. However, I don’t want to analyze too much based on total nominations received since I simply don’t believe that these numbers tell the whole story or are solid indicators of any book’s winning chances.

There are some great additions and I’m so pleased to see that someone else has nominated particular titles so I don’t need to — there are at least half a dozen of them that I also love dearly. Now they are on the table — and I feel greatly relieved! Was I surprised at some of the nominated titles? Sure I was! But that just shows how drastically different our reading tastes or judgments could be from each other. Which — I guess, should come as no surprise at all. I am sure that at least one if not two or three or all of my nominations have not made it to the top of someone else’s list. The few books that are so low on my rating ladder obviously have been sitting comfortably on someone else’s top spots. Now, my job is to make sure that I re-read these books via the lenses of my fellow committee members, taking into consideration what they have said in their nominating paragraphs and do my best to understand the positive aspects of these books. At the same time, if I continue to find these books not on par with my definitions of outstanding or distinguished, I must find ample textual evidences that support my reservations and present them clearly and succinctly during our deliberation process. In the end, no matter how I personally feel about any specific title, I must consider the whole picture and vote according to the majority will of the committee.

These are the challenges that I find most enriching and that is why serving on the Newbery is such a valuable professional and personal experience. It not only offers me the opportunity to intensely examine a slice of children’s literature but also the chances to hone my skills as a community member under a structured democracy.