SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Book Discussion
  • Heavy Medal Mock
  • Process

February 3, 2009 by Sharon McKellar

There’s Always a Critic

February 3, 2009 by Sharon McKellar   2 comments

Neil Gaiman pointed out, via a tweet, this comment on a New York Times blog post announcing the winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and others.

This book opens with a killer going from room-to-room, knifing a family — mother & father and a child — one-by-one while they sleep, but accidentally leaving a toddler to survive.

This book is monstrous. Those who voted it the Newberry Winner are incomprehensible or worse. Let’s just hope it’s not made into a movie to terrify a wider audience.

                                                                                                      — VR Sparkle

Is it wrong that it gives me pleasure that this commenter spelled Newbery incorrectly?  

I am pointing out this comment mostly to show that there’s always a critic in the room.  If someone is looking for a reason to dislike an award or the recepient of an award, that reason can always be found.  And in the age of the Internet, everyone has access to the information, and everyone has the chance to get their name in print (at least on a screen).  But we also have to look closer at who is criticizing and with what reason.  Mr. or Ms. Sparkle doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of the Newbery, its criteria, or how it is selected.  It makes it easy for a reader to dismiss the comment out right.  But when experts, librarians, teachers etc are the ones criticizing it becomes much more of a conversation and debate.  And it can be much harder to determine who has the knowledge, and where information is coming from.  Just like helping a student working on a project to determine the validity of a source of information, we have to get to the bottom of sources of debate too.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I am a little sick, so my brain isn’t working very well.  But just a thought I wanted to get out.

 

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Sharon McKellar

Sharon McKellar is the Supervising Librarian for Teen Services at the Oakland Public Library in California. She has served on the Rainbow List Committee, the Notable Children’s Recordings Committee, The Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Committee, and the 2015 Caldecott Committee. You can reach her at sharon@mckellar.org.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

June 2022

Mock Newbery Update - Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Sharon McKellar

January 2022

THE FINAL FIVE: Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2022 Contenders

by Sharon McKellar

December 2021

Last hours to submit your opinions and applications!

by Sharon McKellar

January 2021

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: SHOW ME A SIGN by Ann Clare LeZotte

by Sharon McKellar

January 2021

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: PRAIRIE LOTUS by Linda Sue Park

by Sharon McKellar

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

The Yarn LIVE at ALA 2022!

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Shining A Light Cover Reveal: A Talk with Author Veeda Bybee About the Trick With Collected Biographies

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #331 | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

Heavy Medal

Mock Newbery Update – Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Sunday Reflections: On being a Librarian and a Christian parent to an LGBTQ kid with a uterus in 2022

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Shark Week, Vanilla Ice Cream, and the Honda CRV: Bob Shea and Brian Won Team Up for ADURABLE

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

2021 Youth Media Awards Winners

Children’s Publishing World Reacts to Michaela Goade's History-Making Caldecott Medal, Rest of the YMA Winners

A Long Time Coming: Angeline Boulley's 'Firekeeper's Daughter' Takes 2022 Printz Award

A Grateful Michaela Goade Makes Caldecott History

Ringing in the Newbery (and Caldecott): An awards-trivia smackdown with Betsy Bird and Travis Jonker

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. a reviewer says

    February 4, 2009 at 7:16 am

    I notice VR Sparkle criticized the first chapter. What are the odds s/he read the whole book?

  2. Wendy says

    February 4, 2009 at 7:56 am

    Incomprehensible or WORSE! Now there’s an insult.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Other Mock Newbery Sites

    • Anderson’s Bookshops
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Reads Mock Newbery
    • Northport-East Northport PL
    • Rhode Island OLIS
  • Resources

    • Jen J's Starred Reviews Spreadsheet
    • Newbery Manual
    • Newbery Medal & Honor Books
    • Newbery Terms & Criteria
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022