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

September 17, 2015 by Jonathan Hunt

George and the Question of Didactic Intent

September 17, 2015 by Jonathan Hunt   6 comments

9780545812542_p0_v1_s192x300Given our conversations so far, I think GEORGE is the perfect next book to discuss because (a) it is indeed serious work, and (b) it is also didactic (an issue we’ve been exploring in our discussion of ECHO).

Now the Newbery Medal is expressly NOT given for didactic intent.  Throwing the D-word at a book, however, isn’t necessarily grounds for disqualification.  It’s akin to labeling a book as YA, and thinking you’ve said enough to disqualify it.  A book can be didactic and win; the didactic intent just cannot be the reason that it earns the award.  It earns the award because it fulfills the enumerated criteria.  The D-word is further complicated because in addition to the pejorative connotation, it means different things to different people.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I’ve quoted Brock Cole on this issue before on this blog, and I’ll do so again to help you understand where I’m coming from.  If you want to articulate a different meaning of didacticism then please do so in the comments below.

There’s a great deal of pressure in young people’s literature to produce works that are tailored to meet certain ends that have nothing to do with literature. They’re political ends; they have to do with cultural values.  I don’t feel that literature for young people should shape the reader in any particular way, any more than it should for an adult. That’s propaganda.  I don’t want to write that. If you’re skilled you can express any ideas you want, but I think it’s a mistake for a writer to try to shape people or teach them lessons. Writing means being concerned with particular incidents in particular people’s lives. I want to write books where no one can generalize, no one can tell me what the moral is. I don’t want to be preachy or educational, but I want my books to ring bells with readers.

I think of literature as a kind of meditation on the nature of life and what people confront. I want people to be thoughtful when they finish a book of mine. I want them to have experienced, in some faint way, what other people have gone through in life. You can’t learn how to act from that experience, necessarily, but you can learn how to think.

GEORGE is doing both things, of course.  It is a reflection on the nature of life and what people confront, but it is also trying to shape young readers in a way that feels heavy-handed at times.  To my mind, this is a flaw, but not a fatal one.  It can be overcome if the strengths of the book are strong enough.  I should also add another caveat before we start our discussion of the book.  While it probably appeals to a broad range of readers, it is a book that is crafted with the needs of a child who is ages 8-10 (we said the same thing of ECHO).  Some of my complaints about the book are probably mitigated by the needs of this younger audience.

The third person narrator refers to George as she; the characters in the book refer to George as he.  This was an inspired choice that really communicates the dissonance between George’s reality and everybody else’s perception.  George cringed every time this happened, and as the book wore on these bits became much less effective for me because I felt they were too contrived.  I also felt like many of the characters were stock, and that they didn’t necessarily feel, think, and act as real people would.  Rather, they were chess pieces moved around the board to make various points throughout the novel.

And yet.  And yet there is still something that gives me pause about throwing in the towel completely here, and it is this: the audience.  The transgender kid who reads this book and sees a mirror of themselves, who may not get any support or affirmation on their journey.  I get that Gino is writing for this kid, and is equipping them with a paradigm for understanding something about themselves.  I also get this is a great windows book, too.  That it takes a challenging, but timely topic and presents it in a very kid-friendly way that generates empathy.  While GEORGE seems like a significant milestone in transgender children’s literature, it doesn’t seem like a Newbery book to me.  Would you care to disagree?

 

 

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Jonathan Hunt

Jonathan Hunt is the Coordinator of Library Media Services at the San Diego County Office of Education. He served on the 2006 Newbery committee, and has also judged the Caldecott Medal, the Printz Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. You can reach him at hunt_yellow@yahoo.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

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

by Jonathan Hunt

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Webcast Results

by Jonathan Hunt

December 2022

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

by Jonathan Hunt

October 2022

Two More Titles: November Nomination Time

by Jonathan Hunt

September 2022

85 Books to Consider: Mock Newbery Suggestions Updated

by Jonathan Hunt

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

U.S. Gov: ‘All Books Must Have Round Corners’

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day – Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories by Jarvis

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Swim Team

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Write What You Know. Read What You Don’t, a guest post by Lauren Thoman

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey Try Something New

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Finalists

SLJ’s Reviews of the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Longlisters

SLJ Reviews of the 2022 Youth Media Awards

"In the Margins" Committee Announces 2020 Book Awards Honoring Marginalized & BIPOC Youth

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jonathan Hunt says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:54 pm

    Oops. I accidentally published this early–and for some reason I thought GEORGE was a spring title. Apologies to those who haven’t been able to get their hands on it yet. Circle back here when you’ve read it.

  2. DaNae says

    September 17, 2015 at 11:41 pm

    I do agree with you. While GEORGE is excellent at showing the little girl’s emotional struggle, it is heavy handed. It is for younger readers but her voice is inconsistent with what I know of most fourth graders. There is a little too much cleverness and cuteness in the turns of phrase of her inner dialogue that I find nine-year-olds completely lacking in. (When I get our copy back, I can find examples) If I were to compare it to another viable book aimed at the same age bracket, Completely Clementine, it does not hold a candle to her spot-on and consistent voice. Your chess piece analogy is exactly how I felt about the supporting cast.

    That being said, I tried to have this literary discussion with my school psychologist husband, after we had both read the book, and he would have none of it. He found GEORGE to be so important for both students who may be trans and as an introduction for those with no foundation that he resented the slightest disparaging remarks. (Wendy’s, school counselor fiction at full force.)

  3. Hannah Mermelstein says

    September 18, 2015 at 9:16 am

    I agree that this is a really great and important book. I especially like that George faces some struggles but also has support and an “it’s no big deal” attitude from her best friend.

    I also agree that it’s not necessarily distinguished in the particular areas that the Newbery honors (with the exception of theme). I’m keeping it in my Mock Newbery collection because I do think the theme is well done and could be useful for some kids, and because I think it has a good chance of winning a Stonewall, and it’s always fun when our kids are familiar with award winners.
    But ultimately, I think it has very little chance of taking home an actual Newbery medal or honor.

  4. Sharon Verbeten says

    September 18, 2015 at 12:50 pm

    I haven’t read the book yet, Jonathan, but your comments are well said!

  5. Kim B. says

    September 18, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    I just read this book today and my thoughts pretty much line up with everyone else who’s commented. It’s an important book, one that’s going to help a lot of kids who read it in a lot of ways. I’d recommend it without hesitation, but the Newbery bell wasn’t ringing in my head while I was reading it. (I would love to hear from someone in favor of it, though–I think there’s a lot worth discussing here.)

  6. Elaine says

    September 22, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    I cannot put words to why I feel as I do – I definitely think GEORGE is a very important book, one I took pleasure in reading and am recommending to others, but I really don’t see it as a contender for the Newbery. Maybe I feel this way because it is a bit heavy-handed, as DaNae says. I really look forward to more comments!

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