As a member of the 2015 Sibert Award committee, I spent most of the conference deliberating with eight supercool librarians about the most distinguished informational books for children. For those who might have missed the Youth Media Award announcements, we chose The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus, by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet as our medal book, and the following five titles as our honor books: Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson; The Family Romanov, by Candace Fleming; Josephine, by Patricia Hruby Powell, and illustrated by Christian Robinson; Neighborhood Sharks, by Katherine Roy; and Separate is Never Equal, by Duncan Tonatiuh. (All owned by North Country libraries! Yes!)
What an amazing experience. Being on a book award committee is not unlike being in the most intense book club ever. You read, you re-read, you take multiple rounds of notes, and then you discuss at length with a savvy group of readers who offer diverse insights and perspectives. As Abby the Librarian (who served on this year's Newbery Award committee) said: "I think it has forever changed how I read; although I no longer have to take detailed notes on each book, I think I will always read more deeply than I used to."
True story, Miss Abby.
Keeping the secret until Monday morning once we'd decided on our winners was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I sequestered myself in my hotel room with Chex Mix*, PBS**, and the latest Flavia de Luce*** until I fell into a restless sleep, waking up every hour that I might not oversleep for the Youth Media Awards ceremony.
The event itself was a joy to attend, especially when the chair of my committee, Deb Taylor, was honored with the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement! Not a dry eye within my line of sight, and I've never seen so many people up on their feet so fast for a standing ovation.
I'm so proud of the work we did on the Sibert committee, and I'm looking forward to meeting all the authors and illustrators in San Francisco this summer. For now, there is laundry, grocery shopping, shoveling, and catching up on my (non-eligible) reading.
*Taking me right back to high school.
**James Norton, you're adorable.
***Not my favorite in the series, sad to say.
You were on the Sibert comittee? Whuh? How did I not know that?
ReplyDeleteHa! You're a pretty funny lady, Rebecca Donnelly.
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