Writing Awards Series: The Newbery

Noel De Vries is a children’s librarian in central Illinois. Her pick for the 2007 Newbery was Katherine Sturtevant’s “A True and Faithful Narrative.” A homeschool graduate, Noel is currently studying under the likes of Dante and Shakespeare, while adding to the ever-growing novel in her desk drawer.











By Noel De Vries

Since its establishment in 1922, the Newbery Medal has sought to recognize the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children. It is the oldest children’s book award in the world, and has been presented to many familiar favorites over the years, including such modern classics as Katherine Paterson’s Jacob Have I Loved and Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins.

John Newbery was an 18th century English bookseller, one of the pioneers in establishing juvenile literature as an important branch of publishing. He felt that children need and deserve imaginative, pleasurable books, and that publishers have an obligation to provide them. His legacy inspired the fundamental purpose of the Newbery Award, as stated by Frederic Melcher at the first award presentation: “To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field.”

Each year, a division of the American Library Association elects a chair and seven members to a fifteen-member committee, the remaining seven of which are appointed to ensure diversity of experience and background. Once chosen, these public and school librarians read literally nothing but newly published children’s books. While non-fiction and poetry are eligible, medals are usually given to fiction.

For a work to be considered, copies are submitted to the Association for Library Service to Children, the award committee chair, and, optionally, to each committee member. These members contact the chair each month with titles they deem worthy of note. In October, and again in December, each member formally nominates three books they consider the strongest of the year. Hundreds of novels and hours of discussion culminate in a midwinter meeting, where one title is selected through a voting process.

Books are judged by their interpretation of theme, presentation of information, plot development, characterization, delineation of setting, and appropriateness of style. The committee focuses on literary quality and excellence of presentation for a child audience. Didactic intent and popularity are not determining factors. The ALSC defines distinguished as “marked by eminence… noted for significant achievement; marked by excellence in quality… individually distinct.”

In January 2007, the Newbery Medal was awarded to Susan Patron for The Higher Power of Lucky. According to Committee Chair Jeri Kladder, “‘Lucky’ is a perfectly nuanced blend of adventure, survival (emotional and physical) and hilarious character study... as well as a blueprint for a self-examined life.”

Because so much attention is given to Newbery recipients in the media, public and school libraries and the classroom, it is important for Christians to examine what our society calls distinguished. Ms. Patron’s characters are well drawn, and many critics see them as offering hope--hope that addictions can be broken, death can be accepted, that life, even with all its sorrow, can be good. However, the characters find their hope and “higher power” in themselves. Lucky alone holds the key to her serenity, in accepting what she cannot change, and taking control of what she can.

Christians have contributed quality writing to the field of juvenile literature. An obvious example is C.S. Lewis’s The Last Battle, which received the Carnegie Medal, Britain’s Newbery equivalent, in 1956. Unless children are supplied with quality fiction that is genuinely distinguished, traditional values planted on Sunday will continue to be uprooted in Monday’s reading assignment. This can only change by Christians who produce children’s literature that is distinctive and worthy of recognition in every aspect--literature truly deserving the Newbery Medal.