>Voice of the People

>I love Marla Frazee's A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (a BGHB honor book this year) but wondered about the audience. Lily Feldman clears that up for me.
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Stacy Dillon

>I think it really depends on how sophisticated the reader is. I shopped this title to my 2nd graders, and one class thought it was simply hilarious, and another class did not get it at all. They all, however, loved the penguins at the end. Hmm.

Posted : Jul 08, 2008 02:12


Monica Edinger

>Roger,I thought the same thing when I heard that comment of Lily's. But I think she and the kids I hear doing this are being perfectly sincere and earnest --- I often hear it about books my students think would be too scary for younger kids. And often they are right --- I love listening to them think back to their youth (of four and five years-old) when movies like The Wizard of Oz frighten them. Of course, the same movie terrified me in spots when I was THEIR age, but that's a different issue.

Posted : Jul 05, 2008 07:25


Roger Sutton

>"I contain multitudes," said Lily. ;-)

What I thought was most interesting was the way she talked about younger kids not getting it--it's like the way older kids say "I love this book, but I don't think fifth-graders would be mature enough for it." Kids love to feel superior to younger kids (and their own younger selves).

Posted : Jul 05, 2008 06:41


fairrosa

>Be very careful, Roger. She is only one child, not "people."

Posted : Jul 05, 2008 04:53


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