Comments on: Caldecott 2013 post mortem

By: Joanne

Joanne — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:35:03 +0000

Ay, where is the edit function? There, not their.

By: Joanne

Joanne — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:34:06 +0000

That explains it.
Signed,
Not an optimist

One thing I like about the little fish getting eaten ( and their were some staunch disbelievers amongst the children) was that the kids were absolutely gleeful at the thought of a “bad” ending. They live such a whitewashed, everyone is friends life.

By: Robin Smith

Robin Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:16:04 +0000

That was not my review–but I can totally see a child thinking like this.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:12:10 +0000

Joanne,
I guess I am an optimist, I did read one reviewer who thought it was a game the 2 fish were playing, and it kept going in a cycle, little fish steals the hat big fish finds him and they begin again.

By: Robin Smith

Robin Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:40:15 +0000

And, as I was closing down my computer, I see the new topics for the CCBC-NET discussion is posted by Megan S. Here it is…

“Latino Picture Books: Where Have They Gone? The number of Latino picture books from U.S. trade book publishers has never been vast, but in 2012 the output was notably grim. We first noticed it at the CCBC as we’d look for books to include in our monthly discussions and later as we read and selected titles for CCBC Choices, our annual best-of-the-year list. So when the 2013 Pure Belpré Award Illustrator Award had no honor books, we know we were not the only ones unsurprised. It’s hard to find a body of outstanding new books to honor when the overall number is so low. What’s happening here? Why isn’t there a constant and steady stream of new Latino picture books to not only respond to the changing demographics of our nation but the needs and interests of all children? We invite your thoughts during the first part of February.”

I look forward to reading what they have to say…

By: Robin Smith

Robin Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:36:31 +0000

Yes, Brian. I sit corrected. Digitally created is the term I should have used.

Sorry.

By: Robin Smith

Robin Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:34:57 +0000

Dear Debbie and all,
ALSC strives for diversity on all committees. Every committee I have served on (Geisel, Caldecott for ALSC) has had at least one person of color on the committee. There have been men and women. From scanning the faces at the award ceremonies and making assumptions about the names, many committees have Latino and Asian Americans. After that, I could not say.

I am currently serving (just start on February 1!) on the Nominating Committee and our charge includes trying to put people on the ballot from all over the country (not just the East coast), from all kinds of libraries and from all ages and ethnic groups. Given the makeup of ALA (lots and lots of women, many older), I imagine this is going to be a challenge, but one I am looking forward to! Not being a librarian, I find every committee a learning experience and being on the nominating committee will be a great way to see how things work. It certainly makes me appreciate the work that goes into these committees from the get-go.

I have never been on a committee with a person who is American Indian (to my knowledge) and I have no idea what percentage of ALSC identifies as American Indian, but I would imagine it is a small percentage.

One way that ALA encourages diversity is through its Spectrum Scholarships for underrepresented groups and I know many of those graduates. They tend to be very active and enthusiastic. Here is a link, which may or may not be live. (I don’t really know how to do that sort of thing.)

http://www.ala.org/offices/diversity/spectrum

There are lots of ways to get involved in ALSC (the group that administers the Newbery, Caldecott, Sibert, Geisel, Notables, Belpre, etc) and YALSA (Printz, Morris, Non Fiction, etc) and CSK (part of EMEIRT, actually) and I encourage anyone with a passion for children and books to get involved.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:15:57 +0000

Jumping back to the term “computer generated,” used a few comments back: I think that wording gives a misimpression. Digital work isn’t generated by a computer, it’s generated by an artist, for whom the computer is simply a tool, and likely not the only one, used to create an image. One might instead say that a piece of work was created digitally, or that an artist works digitally, just as we say that an artist works in oils, pencils, acrylics, collage, etc.

By: Debbie Reese

Debbie Reese — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:42:03 +0000

Hi Robin,

Like you, I’ve got to do sleuthing to find books of interest to the work I do on American Indians in Children’s Literature. One very good thing about reviewing for HB all those years ago was that I’d get books sent to me. When I see bloggers writing about being inundated with books, I wonder how they get all those boxes. Maybe its my limited scope of work.

Just a quick note–I didn’t think it was you who pointed out inconsistencies in the illustration.

And, I hope you can answer this question as someone who has served on several award committees… What is the demographic of the award committees? Have there been committee members who are African American, or Latino, Asian American, or American Indian? I’d assume that there’s been an African American and perhaps an Asian American on a committee at some point, but what about Latino, and what about American Indian?

By: Robin Smith

Robin Smith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:27:20 +0000

Debbie–
I am sorry there is not a “reply” button under every comment so it is clear who is replying to whom. Just so you know, I did not find inconsistencies, someone in the discussion did.
As someone who has been a part of many of these committees, I can say without hesitation that the race of the artists is never considered. I am lucky if I remember the name of the author/illustrator/publisher/whatever because it is all about the book.
I can think of some books my year that were mentioned in the many prediction lists. They were on everyone’s list. But, around the table, we found problems, not quibbles, but real problems. There are many places where illustrations can fall down or rise above. A few books I championed loudly on the committee were exposed for one reason or the other.

So, though (as a member of the CSK Committee and former member of the jury) I am very concerned at the whiteness of the many honored books, I know nothing was passed over for any reason except that something else rose to the top.

What I am especially concerned with is the lack of a John Steptoe Award for New Talent from the CSK. Does this mean that there was not one new African American novelist or illustrator elegible? Does the lack of honor books for Belpre mean there were not enough books published by Latinos/Latinas this year? I overheard someone in Seattle saying that the criteria is limiting. That I do not know, but I am troubled if books are not being published. (again, I would need to look at the CCBC statistics to say such a thing)
THe CCBC at the University of Wisconsin (where I met you, Debbie, about a million years ago!) keeps track of these important statistics.

On the brighter side, I am already gearing up for the 2013 books and I have four very good books on my stack of potential Caldecott titles that would also be eligible for CSK. Nothing for Belpre yet, but Betsy Bird said she has some. (since I am not a librarian, I have to do a lot more sleuthing in catalogs and bookstores and I tend to be a bit late to the game)

THAT got a bit long.