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

January 12, 2013 by Nina Lindsay

To Work!

January 12, 2013 by Nina Lindsay   1 comments

ALSC is hosting Facebook Forums with Caldecott medal and honor-winning illustrators, as a part of the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Caldecott Medal.  This past Thursday morning, Melissa Sweet was at the ALSC Facebook site to chat with whoever showed up.  A couple of her responses to the “how does the medal change your life” question:

  • That a group of people agreed your book rose to the top makes all the nights I woke up in the middle of the night wondering how to solve some design problem worth it…
  •  I see it [the medal and a photo of the committee] a trillion times a day and I never take it for granted. It’s more like: Get back to work!

I appreciate hearing this because this is exactly what I hope the Newbery and Caldecott Medals do for the children’s book industry.  They are about recognizing the effort of the book creators, yes.  To me, the recognition is only half the point and maybe (sorry Melissa) the lesser half.  To me, the recognition is in service of inspiring more work: creating a drive to  meet and exceed that standard that’s been set.    I’d never expect writers or illustrators to best themselves every time.  But I like to think that they try to, each time.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I think that this is my favorite point in a Newbery year…we’ve seen much of the best, considered and reconsidered it.  This weekend, in Oakland CA, Heavy Medalers will work hard through an afternoon to select our Mock Winner.  Over this week and next, we hope other Mock Newberies will share their results with us too….until that morning when we get to the “real” ones.  I put “real” in quotes because right now, while we have no idea what those will be….we do know what our own favorites are, and have a pretty darn good sense of how hard their authors worked on them.   Makes me feel rich to imagine medals on all of them.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Nina Lindsay

Nina Lindsay is the Children's Services Coordinator at the Oakland Public Library, CA. She chaired the 2008 Newbery Committee, and served on the 2004 and 1998 committees. You can reach her at ninalindsay@gmail.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Nina Lindsay

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Webcast Results

by Nina Lindsay

December 2022

Calling all Mock Newbery Enthusiasts: Join the 2023 Heavy Medal Award Committee

by Nina Lindsay

October 2022

Two More Titles: November Nomination Time

by Nina Lindsay

September 2022

85 Books to Consider: Mock Newbery Suggestions Updated

by Nina Lindsay

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Poems As Picture Books: Zetta Elliott Discusses the Upcoming A Song for Juneteenth

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Conversation with Kendare Blake about BUFFY, THE NEXT GENERATION

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

2021 Youth Media Awards Winners

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

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

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

A Grateful Michaela Goade Makes Caldecott History

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jonathan Hunt says

    January 15, 2013 at 10:47 am

    Not sure where to stick this comment, but since this post doesn’t have any comments, I’ll put it here. 😉

    The National Book Awards just announced they will announce a long list of ten titles, then five finalists, and eventually the winner. The judging panel may now also include critics, librarians, and booksellers.

    http://www.nationalbook.org/2013_01_15_nba_changes.html?utm_source=January+2013+eNewsletter+FINAL&utm_campaign=January+2013+eNews&utm_medium=email

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 © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023