"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

2014 Printz Award winners...a little editorial comment

The American Library Association announced its book awards yesterday. After a long and tense Fall the Printz awards were finally revealed.

Award winner:
  • Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick 
Honor books:
  • Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 
  • Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner 
  • Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susan Cokal
  • Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
My thoughts:
     I was thrilled that three of our Mock Printz reading list selections were chosen, including the winner: Midwinterblood, Eleanor & Park, and Maggot Moon. Every year I worry that I will lead my students through reading books that are not even considered for the real Printz Award. In addition, several of my readers identified these three books as potential winners and fought for them valiantly. Midwinterblood wasn't anyone's favorite book but several students recognized its literary excellence.
     I was also thrilled that Eleanor and Park won an honor. In the weeks leading up to the Printz announcement yesterday the blogosphere was abuzz with chatter about books that were worthy and those that were not worthy of the big prize. Know-it-alls kept saying that they didn't think that E and P was good enough, that it wasn't perfect. I am so relieved that the committee didn't listen to all that chatter. After my deep disappointment over The Fault in Our Stars being passed over last year, I was really worried. Whew!
     Maggot Moon, which won the Carnegie Medal in UK back in June, was a very deserving book that didn't get the love I think it deserved during the period of chatter this past month. Students, especially my male readers, recognized it as superior writing, though many confessed that they weren't completely clear about all the action in it.
      The books I was sad/disappointed/dismayed that didn't receive any award were Boxers/Saints by Yang, and Far Far Away by McNeal. I am a fan of the latter book and thought it deserved something but one of the winners is a fairy tale, so it is understandable.  But Boxers and Saints were so, so excellent.  My only thought as to why the books didn't win is because alone each book was only half the story and the committee would have had to award two spots for the set or leave them both off. I'm guessing that is what they decided, two or none.
      By and large, however, I am quite pleased with this year's list of Printz winners. Congratulations to all the winning authors. What do you think of the list?

1 comment:

  1. I was pleased that Eleanor and Park got an honor. I haven't read the others so cannot pass judgment (yet). I definitely want to read Boxers and Saints as I keep hearing wonderful things about it and it's a subject of which I don't know a ton.

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