"Quality and popularity are not mutually exclusive concepts," said Silvey, editor of several books, including "Children's Books and Their Creators," an overview of 20th century children's books. "They can be found in the same book. . . . If you don't think of children at all in the equation, what you get are books that work for adults."
Yet Johnson said she was reluctant to criticize the quality of recent Newbery winners: "To choose books that people feel are going to stretch a young person's mind is not a bad thing."
86 years young
The Newbery Medal was launched in 1922 -- the first children's literary award in the world -- to promote the publishing industry by choosing "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." There are now numerous awards given for young people's literature by Scales' organization and others -- some even selected by children -- but the Newbery remains the most prestigious.
A 15-member committee of librarians and other literary experts is chosen each year to select the Newbery winner and the runner-up "honor" books.
Eligible books -- fiction, nonfiction and poetry -- must be by an author who is a citizen or resident of the United States and written for "ages up to and including 14." Librarians have said some parents and teachers mistakenly think the Newbery is aimed for children ages 8 to 12 and give children developmentally inappropriate books.
Past must-reads
Some Newbery winners have become classics, including Louis Sachar's "Holes" in 1999, Lois Lowry's "The Giver" in 1994 and Ellen Raskin's "The Westing Game" in 1979. Some runners-up have too, including "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White in 1953; that year, the medal was given to "Secret of the Andes" by Ann Nolan Clark.
Winning books become instant bestsellers. Many bookstores and libraries have Newbery sections, and popular television shows interview the winners each year. Textbooks given to prospective teachers and librarians include lists of Newbery winners, and many master's and doctoral theses are written about them.
A book's appeal to students is important in literacy acquisition, according to experts -- and kids.
"If you force someone to read a book, the less likely you are to like it," said Elias Feldman, 13, an eighth-grader at private Landon School in Bethesda, Md. Teachers, he said, like to select books ripe for analysis rather than for a gripping narrative. He said he understands that motivation but thinks kids would read more if their assigned books engaged them.
