Sarah Molesa
10/7/09
Awards: Synthesis and Reflection
Children go to the library to pick out a book to read, and they are automatically drawn to
the books that have a shiny gold or silver medal on the cover. Librarians and teachers may
feature a whole section on books with theses shiny medal on them. When a teacher is looking
for a book to use in a lesson they think that the book with the shiny medal must be a quality
piece of literature. As a teacher myself I too thought that if a book had some sort of shiny medal
seal, then the book must be excellent no questions asked. I thought this until I completed these
first few weeks of our class. These last few weeks has opened my eyes and mind to read the
book critically even though it has a shiny medal seal on it. I have also seen how these long
standing awards have evolved over time, and I question if they have evolved enough over the
past ninety years. I also think there needs to be a distinguished place in the world of literature
awards for multicultural literature.
One characteristic I have learned about all of the major book awards given out is that the
winners are decided by a committee. Many times this committee is made up of librarians,
teachers, and board members. This committee has to collectively decide what piece of children’s
literature is the most distinguished, or what picture book contains the most distinguished
illustrations. The process is subjective and depends on the committee’s opinions, which may
vary from person to person. I know from working with many different types of people that one
person may think a book is beautifully written, while another person may have disliked the book
and thought it was boring. Through researching the Newbery award and the Caldecott award I
realized that the books that have won these awards are often times quality literature, but there
still are a few books that I might not agree with the award committee.
Not only do teachers and librarians differ in the opinion of a book, but children do as
well. One class of students that I have one year may have very different taste in books then a
class I have the next year. Therefore, when choosing a book to read to my class I have to keep
their opinions in mind. For example, this year I am teaching a team taught fourth grade class
with seven special education students that are included in my general class. Even though
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi was a awarded the Newbery award and is a piece of
distinguished literature it may not be a good choice to read to my class. When choosing a book
to read to my class even if it has some sort of shiny medal on it I need to be aware of the interests
of my students and their level of maturity.
The Newbery and the Caldecott awards are two awards that have been recognizing and
awarding children’s literature for over eight decades. The Newbery was started in the 1920s for
authors to write more children’s books because very few did. Also, the Caldecott was started to
give artists who illustrated children’s picture books recognition. During the decade that the
Newbery and Caldecott began very few children’s book were being published, and even The
Horn Magazine article stated that during this time children’s books were only published during
Christmas time. I think the purpose of each medal is very admirable, but now there are many
more children’s authors and illustrators that deserve to be recognized. Overtime more and more
children’s books are being published, and I think every decade or even year the quality of the
literature and illustrations increase. Illustrators are able to use media that did not even exist back
in the 1920s, and authors are able to write about complex issues using modern language which
was not possible in the 1920s.
With the resources available I think many authors and illustrators are able to compose
distinguished pieces of literature, but because there can only be one awarded each year many of
these books may get lost is the masses. For example we read the Newbery award winner, Secret
of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark. Even as an educator and student who has been taking
elementary literacy courses through MSU for the last six years, this semester was the first I had
ever heard of Secret of the Andes. If this book had not won the Newbery award I think that it
would have been a book that would have been lost in the masses and would go unnoticed by
many. As readers and educators we need to search out for books that represent quality literature
and it may not have a shiny medal seal on it.
One aspect of the Newbery that I struggle with is it awards “children’s literature,” but I
think children’s literature has evolved into something different than it was in the 1920s. As I had
shared before I had always thought the Newbery only awarded chapter books and not picture
books. I think many of the chapter books that have been awarded are not “children’s literature.”
Many of the books awarded the Newbery deal with complex issues that even my fourth graders
would have trouble understanding. Children’s literature is also such a broad term. There are so
many different genres of children’s literature I do not see how one set of rules and regulations
can cover all of the genres in children’s literature. I do not think a book like The Giver by Lois
Lowry (I do think it is a wonderful piece of literature) should have the same rules as Joyful
Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman. I think that both these books are great pieces
of literature, but both are so very different. How can poetry be judged by the same rules as a
fantasy? I think the Newbery should give out an award each year for each genre.
Multicultural literature is another piece that needs to be added to the Newbery award, or
more multicultural literature awards need to be recognized. Many of the different type of
awards that we studied award multicultural literature. Before this class I had not known about
many of the different type of awards. I think it is important for distinguished works of
multicultural literature to be recognized. I think it is important for multicultural literature to be
recognized because; many of the people portrayed in multicultural literature once did not have
many books that accurately and authentically portrayed their experiences. People who in the
past may not have been able to identify with characters in children’s literature now can through
multicultural literature that is accurate and authentic. Not only can people from a specific culture
identify with multicultural literature, but other people can learn about other peoples’ experiences.
I think it is important for our students to learn about each other. Through reading multicultural
literature students are able to gain knowledge about their peers and appreciate them and their
culture. Without awards that recognize multicultural literature, books may go unnoticed by
students who would miss out on an imperative and authentic learning experience.
I do think in general that many awards recognize deserving authors and illustrators who
have earned to be recognized. Although, I have also realized that even though a book has won
an award I still need to decide if the book is right for me and my class. In addition to critically
looking and award winning books, I also need to look through other books even though they
have not won an award, and seek out more authentic multicultural literature. As an educator I
hope to pass down this same skeptic’s eye to my students, so that when then go to the library or
book store they do not automatically grab the book with the shiny medal seal on it.