What kids want
John Beach, associate professor of literacy education at St. John's University in New York, studied 30 years of book lists chosen by children and adults. He found that less than 5% are on both the list of Children's Choice Awards -- named every year by the International Reading Assn. -- and the library association's annual Notable Children's Books list, which includes many Newbery and Caldecott winners.
Books prized by children had stories and characters "accessible" to their lives, Beach's report concluded. "The Newbery has probably done far more to turn kids off to reading than any other book award in children's publishing," he said.
Richard Allington, an education professor at the University of Tennessee and a literacy expert, wonders why adults seem to identify literature with books that are sad and difficult. So does Temuulen Uranbayar, 11, a fifth-grader at Long Branch Elementary School in Arlington, Va.
He says he loves to read -- but not always the books his teachers want him to. "I love funny chapter books, when I get to pick," said Temuulen.
He is part of a project in 12 Arlington schools that anecdotally bears out the contention that kids select different books than adults.
Kristi Jemtegaard, coordinator for youth services for the Arlington Public Library and a former member of a Newbery selection committee, has recruited youngsters at 12 public schools to review books. At Long Branch, about 15 fifth-graders volunteer to skip lunch and recess once a week during the fall to evaluate books that she believes have a chance to win the Caldecott Medal, the picture-book award. They will vote soon -- and learn next month whether they agreed with the real Caldecott committee.
Last year, after reviewing about a dozen books, only one of the school committees chose the Caldecott winner: "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," by Brian Selznick.
There was some controversy over that selection too, with critics noting that it was more a storybook with illustrations than a book driven by pictures.
Jemtegaard said that the Newbery selection process, though "not perfect," is valuable because it raises the profile of children's literature -- and because "it makes us think harder about what we do."
