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The wise and wonderful Nancy Dickinson has hit that nail on the head: what do the people for whom Lucky was intended--actual children--think of the book? Knowing that the Newbery committee does not pick a book by its expected popularity, we still find the most important part of the award for librarians is to see if our kids will read and love the book and be satisfied with the experience. The committee is looking for the most distinguished contribution for American literature for children--that's its mandate. As a member of the year 2000 Newbery Committee (and I just had a mini-reunion with our chair, Carolyn Brodie, at the Alaska Library Conference in Juneau, which was just gorgeous and wonderful--Hello Alaska! As of last week, I have now given children's literature workshops and speeches in every one of the 50 states!), I think we fulfilled both things--choosing a book that was the most distinguished book of the year AND that kids love. Our book was Bud, Not Buddy. I'm always gratified when I'm visiting a school and am speaking to, say, 150 kids, grades 4-6, sitting on the floor of the gym, and I mention the title. Invariably, they cheer. Does my heart good. I don't think kids will cheer for Lucky--it's not really that kind of book, and the boys will most likely avoid it--but I'm so curious to hear what they think of her. Will they understand the book? Like or love the character? Finish the book? Step #1 for every one of us librarians: Read That Book! We can't talk about it intelligently until we've read it. Sure, we should buy the book for our libraries--it's the Newbery, it's for elementary kids, and they'll be asking for it, so we need to have it, love it or not. Will it cause controversy? Oh, yeah. Look at the customer comments starting to pile up on Amazon.com to gauge people's mood. They're on all sides of the fence. It's fascinating. And it sure hasn't hurt sales--she was #121 on Amazon last night. Susan Patron has been on CNN, NPR, you name it. The publisher must be dancing in the streets (and smiling all the way to the bank). I'm in California this week for BER and can't wait to hear how the librarians here are dealing with the situation and what they think of the book. (Then it's off to Hawaii on Thursday night to speak all day Friday. Alaska & Hawaii in the space of 7 days. Can you say Jet Lag? But SUCH fun!! Snow-covered mountains; palm trees; oh, bliss.) I'm hoping Nancy will post a hit of her responses. This has been a most fascinating LM_NET thread, the saga of Lucky. The thing that we all hate is seeing the ridiculous and insulting headlines & statements--images of the hundreds of librarians throwing down their book stamps to protest Lucky and conspire to have her banned. Utter rot, all of it. We need to continue to answer every one of those charges--write to each newspaper & reporter who spreads these silly and destructive stories. Our reputation has sure taken a hit, but hey, it's gotten us lots of attention. We can capitalize on that, letting people know that we're the ones who stand up for books and the rights of kids to read them. If every article gets a response from concerned and thoughtful librarians, we'll see those letters in print, which is essential. Some of the letters I've read on LM_NET have been perfect. If we don't defend ourselves (and in beautiful California right now, the ratio of school librarians to children is 1 to 4,500!), no one else will, that's for sure. Happy reading. Judy Freeman Children's Literature Consultant Author of the all-new Books Kids Will Sit Still For 3 (Libraries Unlimited, 2005; www.lu.com/winners) 65 North Sixth Avenue Highland Park, NJ 08904 732-572-5634 / BKWSSF@aol.com www.JudyReadsBooks.com ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL 3) SET LM_NET MAIL 4) SET LM_NET DIGEST * Allow for confirmation. * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/ * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/ * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html --------------------------------------------------------------------