Susan Patron weighs in on the value of Newbery books.
I heard Susan speak at SCBWI LA last year and she and I are not looking at the world from the same set of glasses. But after reading about her experience with Charlotte’s Web and other Newbery books, I think it’s utterly cool that she grew up and won the award.
What strikes me as totally unfair about the Newbery criticism is that on the one hand the committee is being taken to task for picking books that are too serious and depressing (“Of the 25 winners and runners-up chosen from 2000 to 2005, four of the books deal with death, six with the absence of one or both parents and four with such mental challenges as autism. Most of the rest deal with tough social issues”) and on the other hand they are getting hit for not having books with more single-parent families (“Newbery Medal winners also depict disproportionately fewer characters living in single-parent households than the norm, the study found. About a quarter of all U.S. children now live with one parent, compared with 7 percent of the Newbery protagonists in the past 27 years.”)
“I think it’s utterly cool that she grew up and won the award.”
Yeah, but you haven’t read her book.
Noels last blog post..Write Back Soon
I haven’t, you’re right.
I know from her speech at SCBWI that she and I are not on the same wavelength. Way, way, way different world view. It was a little depressing, yes it was. I cannot lie.
I knew you would have put a caveat after “it’s cool” if you had! ;)
Noels last blog post..Write Back Soon
That is a really interesting observation; thanks for sharing!
beths last blog post..Status
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