Newbery & Caldecott 2008: Predict-o-rama
In one week’s time the flaming sword of Newbery/Caldecott righteousness shall fall upon us and only the worthy will be left standing. What better time to come out with a crazy prediction list then? The thing that I love about these awards is how random the committees are. Anything could potentially win (if they follow the rules and were sufficiently fabulous, of course). So here’s what I gather from what I have seen. They do this with the Oscars and it looked like fun. Let us see how wrong I’ll be.
NEWBERY
WHAT WILL WIN:
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
My pick. Not because I want it to win but because no one can put into words what they find wrong with it. Arguments against the book are always very vague. They tend to be along the lines of “Oh, it’s fine it just didn’t… uh… strike me.” That was sort of my take on it too. I never reviewed it because I couldn’t figure out what to say about it. And it’s got a bloody brilliant chance at the gold because it’s a compromise book. You can totally see the Newbery committee saying, “Fine. Everybody liked this one perfectly well so let’s concentrate on getting some great Honor titles and this one we’ll hand an actual award.” Thus predicteth I.
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WHAT SHOULD WIN:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
It’s got everything, man. Fiction. Non-fiction. An actual honest-to-god way to use it with kids. Humor. Pathos. History. Life. Death. The writing’s good and the pictures don’t detract so give it up.
Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
So so good. First time authors get awards sometimes (remember Rules?), so why not this? Read that first chapter and tell me it doesn’t sound like it came straight out of the How to Win a Newbery playbook (in a good way).
FRONT RUNNER HONOR BOOKS
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
I predict an honor to this puppy because it’s right now fallen victim to a great big backlash. At the beginning of 2007 people couldn’t get enough of it. Now, however, they’re questioning the Bar Mitzvah at the end (there are apparently some inaccuracies there) and the time of day that Jewish kids would actually get to leave school. I think it will get some lovin’ but not the shiny goldy kind.
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Somehow this one got conjoined to The Wednesday Wars‘ hip. You can’t separate one from the other, though there are historical accuracy questions with it too. So we’ll call it Silver again.
WHAT WON’T WIN
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Oh don’t give me those big puppy dog eyes. I liked it too, you know. But you canNOT give it an award because (altogether now) the Newbery can’t take pictures into account. Not unless they detract from the text. Now pick up your worn copy of Hugo and try to read it without acknowledging a single picture. Did you notice that the words, while fine, have gaps in them now? Sorry, darlings, but it’s a brilliant title that won’t win a darn thing.
CRAZY WILD CARD BOOKS THAT COULD SWEEP IN AND WIN IT ALL
Red Moon at Sharpsburg by Rosemary Wells
This one has me scared to death. I, personally, disliked it. And I am apparently alone in this because there are librarians all over the country that adore it. In its favor is the fact that Newbery committees are somewhat enthralled by 14-year-old (audience, not character) girl books. Kira-Kira and Criss Cross were back to back, remember. This one could suddenly sweep in from the side without alerting anyone.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
It gives me cause for concern. I don’t think it falls within the 0-14 age range required by the Newbery. It’s a wonderful and mature book. A 14-year-old might have the wherewithal to get the complicated issues swirling about here, but come on. It won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature so can’t we be content with that? Ah well.
CALDECOTT
WHAT WILL WIN:
The Wall by Peter Sis
The committee isn’t supposed to take this into account but Sis has never won a proper Caldecott Award. He has an Honor or two kicking about, but no gold. If he doesn’t get it for this I’ll be seriously surprised. Everyone seems to agree that it’s the front runner.
WHAT SHOULD WIN:
The Chicken Chasing Queen of Lamar County by Janice Harrington, illustrated by Shelley Jackson
Partly because I want to see Ms. Jackson’s acceptance speech. This is a woman who is in the process of tattooing an entire novel on more than a thousand people. Each person gets one word each. Please oh please, someone get her to speak!
Let It Shine by Ashley Bryan
I apparently believe that Caldecott winners should be given the award based entirely on how well they give a speech. Sure, the book’s very attractive too. But have you ever seen Mr. Bryan conduct himself in front of an audience? Give the man his award! Do!
WHAT WON’T WIN:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
I don’t say it to be mean! Honestly, in a perfect dream world Cabret would win the Caldecott. So why won’t it? Isn’t it the very definition of an illustrated book? Well in spite of the fact that Roger Sutton is on the committee and loves it, I can’t see the Caldecott crew getting this radical. I’ve had several very nice polite people tell me why it can’t win and I still don’t quite understand, but they’ve convinced me that I’m fighting a lost cause.
CRAZY WILD CARD BOOKS THAT COULD SWEEP IN AND WIN IT ALL
At Night by Jonathan Bean
I really want The Apple Pie That Papa Baked to win but nobody in the entire world seems to feel the same way about it that I do. The world tends to like At Night more, which is fine with me. It really is quite lovely.
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Toy Boat by Loren Long
I like buzz. I like to hear it form around certain titles. Toy Boat has buzz. Soft, almost impossible to make out, but still very clear buzz. Could be the sleeper hit of the year.
Jabberwocky by Christopher Myers
It did well at the Society of Illustrators award ceremony and more than one person has come up to me to compliment it. Clearly who knows?
Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson by Sue Stauffacher
A wild card indeed, but a truly exceptional and beautiful book. At this point I’m probably floating about in my own happy dream land, but I really hope this gets some attention. It has been shockingly lacking from the Mock Caldecott lists I’ve been looking at.
The best part of all of this? The winners could be books that I haven’t even mentioned. So much fun!
Just don’t ask me to predict the Siebert. Whoo, mama. If you’ve predictions of your own, lemme have ’em. I want to hear what everybody thinks.
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About Betsy Bird
Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.
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Seems like the year of the graphic novel. OR the graphically-assisted Novel (Smekday, Hugo, Part-time Indian) I predict… SMEKDAY! Come on, Newbery committee – take a chance!
That would work except that Smekday suffers the same problem as Cabret. Important plot details are included in the cartoon, leaving gaps in the narrative. Part-time Indian fares better in this respect, so it has more of a shot.
So upset reading your assessment of “Feathers”, particularly because I sense truth in what you speak. Gah! How can that be a reason to give a book THE award?!
Just because your committee compromised on an undistinguished book, Betsy, does not necessarily mean that others will follow suit. Elijah of Buxton and The Wednesday Wars are both formidable contenders and, to my way of thinking, are way ahead of the pack. I would be shocked if one of them doesn’t win, nitpicking and henpecking notwithstanding.
I agree that The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian is a darkhorse contender, and that it will make many uncomfortable (indeed, if chosen it might be the book that forces ALSC to serve children up to and including 12 rather than 14 as it currently does), but I do think that there is a sizable middle school audience for this book (not to mention, high school freshmen–which also fall under the scope of the Newbery).
Ouch! Dem’s fightin’ words!
I followed your example, Betsy, and posted my own predictions at P&P. Thanks for the lively and fun Monday morning!
I’m always terrible at these predictions. Last year I hadn’t read a single one of the Newbery honor/award winners before they were announced! Not one! How red was my face? I agree that Elijah of Buxton and The Wednesday Wars will likely be top contenders this year, but Feathers? Really? I hope not, even taking into consideration committee compromise. It’s an okay book, very well written, decent story, etc., but where’s the real appeal lie? If it wins it’s going to be another one of “those” Newbery winners that kids will wrinkle their noses at.
Reading your list gives me hope that I’m not that far off… because these are the titles I’ve been focusing on too. I posted my predictions at Wizards Wireless. And I will be heartbroken if Hugo doesn’t win… but I suspect you might be right on that score.
-Susan
I agree about THE APPLE PIE THAT PAPA BAKED. It’s my favorite pb of the year.
Oh my Newbery year was an extraordinary one, dear Dick. Distinguished and then some. And none of this is to say that this year’s Newbery won’t also pick an amazing title. I predict the path of least resistance with the hope that I am very very wrong. It’s just easier to guess when you go the easy route.
Not that Mr. Sis doesn’t deserve recognition, but I see this as a Sibert title. It doesn’t really have enough of the warm fuzziness required of a Caldecott.
Watch me be totally wrong. I often am.
Who’s to say that it is undistinguished, Dick H.? I think Fuse #8 did an amazing job with her committee picking the honors and the medal.
Love predictions! Curious as to the historical inaccuracies of Elijah of Buxton. Over at the Brown Book shelf we’re doing Coretta Scott King predictions and I have Elijah taking it. Elizabeth would love to hear you weigh in on those, as well.
I’d love to see:
Gold: Elijah of Buxton
Silver: Crooked Kind of Perfect
Silver: Emma Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree
Silver:Book of a Thousand Days
Silver: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
Maybe this comment didn’t go in before. But I’m with Dick. I can’t say how infuriating it is to have a former member of the committee call the awards “random.” thanks a lot. what did your committee do, flip a coin?
Some friends of mine in college (not me) were applying for a well-known, prestigious, and competitive nationwide scholarship. Their academic advisor let them know that it was like a sort of very selective lottery. You needed a certain set of credentials to get yourself a ticket, but beyond that, who could say? The point being that all awards like this are to some degree random. The race is not always to the swift, etc. Get over it.
When I say “random” I’m referring to the personalities and preferences of each committee member. Every committee is different. Some will have strong feelings for non-fiction. Others will enjoy 500 page fantasy novels. The joy of these committees is not that the choices are random but that the different combinations of people who serve always end up picking remarkable books based on their own interpretations of what is “distinguished”. As such, anything and everything is up for contention and THAT is why I love them so much. Heavens above, why on earth would I say that the choices were random? That doesn’t make a lick of sense, m’dear.
Now that we’ve got that settled, the objection to “Elijah of Buxton”, as I understand it, is that near the end of the book he encounters some recaptured slaves. One of them doesn’t speak much English because he was originally from Africa. Yet if we consider that the story takes place in 1859, slaves hadn’t been brought into the country from Africa in quite some time. That’s the objection as I understand it. There are some quibbles with phrases here and there and whether they would have entered the English lexicon at that time as well. What the Newbery committee has to consider is whether or not questions like these override the great writing in the book or if they are small objections and that the quality of “Elijah” trumps all.
Good golly, I sure hope that the quality of Elijah trumps quibbles. I loved that book.
The complaints seems kind of superficial, but the more I look at it, the more I wonder. There was an article in the paper the other day about the anniversary of the decree that ended the British transport of slaves to the New World. It’s a big deal in Britain (I’m not going back to check the article, I’m sorry), and not significant at all here, evidently. The article made me think. There was a lot of information in it that I hadn’t seen before, the affect of the end of transport on the slave industry in the Americas, and the economy. The fact that the transport ended before the slave trade, the fact that Britain stopped before the United States, I haven’t seen these things in a children’s book on the subject anywhere but in Octavian Nothing (for much older readers). Maybe we should be looking for an expansion of facts and history in historical fiction, or maybe we should say that we want a powerful story most, and we don’t want historical fiction to tilt toward the dry and didactic. Whichever way, the award will drive the industry. So maybe we should be spoiled and demand both at the same time. I don’t know. The award has to be given, and only a book from the available field can win.
I’m sorry if I was rude, Fuse, but one unfortunate side-effect of your blog is that I have grown overly familiar. I apologize. You and I have never met in person and I’d like to think that your “little-old-me-I-haven’t-ta-brain-at-tall” persona is just part of blogging, but it seems to me that many of your reviews are so thoroughly from the viewpoint of the child reader (and that’s invaluable, and I appreciate it) that they are without any of the intellectual rigor of an adult. I have to hope that that the child like viewpoint was not all you brought to the committee.
I think the awards are random, and I can’t just take it as business as usual. And I don’t, as the anon just below my first comment does, think that there’s some line drawn and beyond that it’s just random. I think it is random from the bottom up. I think it’s random because the process is flawed. I think we sometimes have a good committee with a strong chair and sometimes we have scattershot committee and a weak chair and that’s what makes it a crapshoot. I think people get elected because they are nice. And if those nice people go for the yummy-lovely sweetie books about white, middle-class-values, or the powerful moving story that focuses only on personal drama, and no one demands historical or scientific accuracy, then all we’re ever going to see is middle of the road, shallow, pap.
I haven’t read Elijah, by the way, that wasn’t a slap at the book. I’ve read other books by Curtis and I have a lot of faith that, if this one detail is inaccurate, it is an exception. And I apologize again for being rude and now worse, for lecturing.
Oh, fooey. I’m pulling for The Wednesday Wars. I was thinking Part-Time Indian for the Printz-perhaps it’s too young for the Printz?
I’m reading Revolution is Not a Dinner Party-haven’t seen that mentioned.
I’m awful at making predictions. I thought Penny From Heaven had a shot last year, and was pleased that it won an Honor citation.
I made a wild guess on my blog several weeks ago and named Jabberwocky for my Caldecott prediction. I’d be happy, however, if The Wall won.
Yeah, the hokey down home quality of my blogging voice does sometimes jar with my own opinions. I don’t mind a little criticism, though. If you can’t take constructive criticism, you shouldn’t be blogging. Great thoughts on Elijah and the nature of factual information in a Newbery winner. The balance of the factual and fictional in any given work seems to me to affect how we critique the writing itself. Is it fair to dismiss a book if there’s a single error? So many things to take into account. This year’s Newbery is going to have to tackle all these ideas themselves. I bet they’ll have magnificent debates. A pity no one will ever get to hear them. Good point, Jennifer, on Revolution is Not a Dinner Party. I should have put that into my Dark Horse category. I can certainly see it winning something too.
For some reason, the ALA website is not loading (taking forever), so I don’t have access to the Newbery page right now. How does the committee define “American author?” Is being foreign-born a disqualification? We have a booklist of the last 30 Newbery winners, but I don’t know the biographical details of all the winners. Ying Chang Compestine (author of Revolution is Not a Dinner party) was born in China, but she came to the States as a graduate student and now lives in California. Please don’t say that this disqualifies her. I just read more during my lunch break and now say that this is my favorite to win.
Ahh, Betsy thanks for clearing up the historical issue re: Elijah. FWIW, having an adult (and an insider at that) speak from the perspective of the child reader, is an invaluable asset to the pool of lit blogs. Too often the books selected for awards, while excellent, are still not necessarily what the young readers end up choosing. However, a cyber friend of mine said it best – adults may award books with honors, but the young readers often speak with their moola.
So it balances out, no?
I’m rooting for the Wednesday Wars, and I’d also be happy to see Emma Jean Lazarus get an Honor.
Fuse, what’s the controversy about? I didn’t notice anything wrong with the bar mitzvah. And as to the time the Jewish kids left for Hebrew school, that could certainly vary by region (not to mention that the temple could schedule it to be at the same time as Catholic school to make schedules easier to mesh).
As long as the author of a given children’s book is an American resident they should be good to go. That’s why Cornelia Funke is now eligible. Christopher Paul Curtis moved to Canada but I believe he retains his American citizenship, so he’s eligible as well. Ms. Compestine should be fine. As for the bar mitzvah problem, I’m unclear on the details of the potential inaccuracy. If someone who knows could write in and tell me, I’d be much obliged. Laura, do you remember?
Oh, and I am so with you on Nothing But Trouble. Those illustrations so amplify the bouncy, bitey text. This and Chicken Chasing Queen are my two favorite picture books of the year.
I’m with ya on The Apple Pie That Papa Baked, my friend. LOVED At Night, too, but they’re both nearly flawless.
It’s been a few months since I read Wednesday Wars, and I don’t have a copy at hand, but I read somewhere that the bar mitzvah put on tefillin, which is only done on weekdays, whereas the bar mitzvah supposedly took place on a Saturday. I haven’t checked this out. This, as far as I am aware, is the problem. The dismissal time problem came up on a listserv, but a number of people seemed to suggest that it was not a problem after all.
As to Feathers, I have been surprised by my students’ responses. I included it in my Mock Newbery, because I loved it a great deal, and thought it would not be a favorite. But so many of my 5th graders have loved it, I think it has a chance of a win at my school!
Thanks for clearing that up, Sue. And I’m happy to hear that “Feathers” has been a hit. Maybe I should try booktalking it sometime. It’s one of those books that I’m having a hard time sensing child reactions to. But the fact that it’s a hit in your school gives me hope.
I recently participated in a Mock Newbery event, and we reviewed the criteria. The author must be a U.S. resident or citizen. The book is to be judged primarily on the text[not solely or exclusively]. It goes on to say that other elements that distract from the text will diminish the book’s eligibility. Thus, while HUGO CABRET may not win, it should be a strong honor contender, given its innovative use of illustrations to move an excellent story forward.
As for Peter Sis, he is a longtime resident of NYC, so I believe he would be eligible.
I’ve enjoyed the lively conversation on this post!
I’m sorry, I don’t buy the idea that Elijah of Buxton is historically inaccurate because the character of Kamau would be expected to speak better English because 1859 is long after he could have recently left Africa. He DOES speak English. My reading of the book is that he chooses to hold onto his native language because of the circumstances into which he has been forced. He can clearly speak English to Chole and to Elijah, but he gives the baby an African name in addition to her English one. At any rate, given Christopher Paul Curtis’s track record and reputation, I would give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that this was a conscious effort on his part to delineate this character in a relatively few pages, not merely careless historical research. At any rate, we’ll know more when he gives his Newbery acceptance speech.
Interesting predictions. I’m not feeling qualified to make predictions this year, though I have mentioned “Let It Shine” and “Angels Watching Over Me” (illustrator, Elise Klevin). I’d also rather see the “Part-Time Indian” book in the Printz rather the Newbery. I also think that it’s pretty mature.
I couldn’t quite let the issue of historical inaccuracy in Elijah of Buxton go without checking it out. Turns out that both Grolier Multimedia Encyc. and a thoroughly footnoted article in Wikipedia agree that the fact that the slave trade was illegal did not mean that it really stopped. It seems that enslaved people were brought into the US right up into the 1850s. This may need a more nuanced look, but it seems likely that Curtis was on reasonably solid historical ground.
I also do like Diana’s idea of Kamau holding onto his linguistic heritage: it fits with the character.
Please forgive the potential naivete of the following response:
Why isn’t Peck’s On the Wings of Heroes getting any recognition here? I thought it was on the ALSC reading list, and it was just a perfect book. He has just won too much? Or was I alone in my appreciation?
This is a wonderful discussion. I hope my question is not ignorant in some way: I have been surfing around all the Newbery and Caldecott predictions and not one person mentions Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears. Am I missing something?
It is such a very, very long shot, but I would LOVE to see Moxy Maxwell Does NOT Love Stuart Little get a Newbery or honor this year. It’s such a perfectly funny, light, lovely book. I left it feeling like I had a new friend and I can’t wait to meet up with Moxy again!
As for the Caldecott:
Elisa Kleven would be lovely for Angels Watching Over Me. And I’d also put my vote for Nancy Carpenter with 17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore.
Of course, I’m probably just jinxing them. I NEVER predict these!!
Andrea Beaty
http://www.ThreeSillyChicks.com
I’ve just got to say here on Monday, Jan 14th at 9:00 in the morning – WAY TO PREDICT THE NEWBERY AWARDS! Wow, Fusie, you really called it. Not in order, but still.
You know what? I LOVE BEING WRONG! BEING WRONG IS AWESOME!!!!!! I WAS WRONGDY-WRONGDY WRONG WRONG WRONG IN ALL THE BEST WAYS! WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT WOOT!!!! And, once again, woot.
Does anybody know when the Notable lists will be released? The YALSA lists (BBYA, etc)will be released on Wednesday. I’m thrilled with today’s awards, but I also look forward to the lists.
Congrats, Fuse! I am very impressed.
Umm… This is my first year in all this buzz… what are notables?
Oh! Every year the American Library Association produces a list of the most “Notable” children’s books of the year. The difference between this and every other committee is that you can sit in on the Notable discussions as they go through their nominated books. I’ll definitely be reporting on this since it’s positively fascinating. But I don’t know when the list is released, Jennifer. I’ll try to find out.
Thanks!
They also post their discussion lists on the Notables site, so you can see which books are dropped, shuffled, added, etc.
I can’t post links, but if you go to the ALSC and YALSA sites, there will be links to the literary awards.
The Notable Recordings list is up, so I’m sure the others will follow shortly. Well, they’ll be out this week, at any rate.
YALSA has several lists as well…Best Books for Young Adults is their big list, but there’s also Great Graphic Novels for Teens, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, and Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers.
You can also look at their nomination lists on their respective pages (if you’re a YALSA member, you have access to the lists with annotations).
Good stuff.
Speaking of members….if you’re an ALSC member or YALSA member (or PLA member), you can read committee reports in the committee section. Obviously, committee reports for Newbery, Printz, etc won’t have the greatest amount of detail, but other committee reports will have details. They file (or are supposed to file) reports after each convention. If you’re interested in joining a committee, reading the reports may be a useful too.
tool, that is.
BBYA’s final committee meeting (and previous committee meetings) are open to ALA members and those with guest badges. Teens (library advisory groups) are included in the audience, and there’s a place in the meeting for them to speak to the committee (and audience) about the books.
Great info, Jennifer. I appreciate it.
Thanks, Fran too!
(Oops-Fran was actually me. We have an institutional subscription to SLJ, and as our collection development librarian, her name is on our account. It looks like I was rudely correcting a poster, when I wasn’t and wouldn’t do something like that!)
Didn’t like HUGO. Glad I waited out the hype to dive into it myself.
It SHOULD NOT be an honor book. Take away the pictures and you don’t have much of a story. People are clouding their judgment because of the unique approach to the story.
When the Newbery is involved, judgment shouldn’t be clouded, and I don’t think it will.
Oh my gosh, I thought these things were in the end of February, not end of January! Shows how out of touch I am with things. Darn kids always needin’ to be taught! I usually only really keep up on Fuse #8 as far as all things kidlit are concerned, but I guess my last post shows how out of touch I am with that too. I’m kind of embarrassed . . .