Dare to Make Any Awards Predictions?

I've never tried to make any predictions before, but I'm going to give it a shot just for fun on a few of them this year. Given how I am usually completely surprised by and often unfamiliar with, most of the winners and finalists, I don't expect to get many right, if any 😉. I'd love to hear your predictions in the comments!

If there's ever a sure thing, one would think The Hate U Give could be it. It's all everyone's been talking about all year, was assigned reading in my multicultural lit class, was voted best YA Fiction book and best by a debut author on Goodreads, and has already been announced as a Morris finalist. 

It seems likely to win the Morris, but I wonder if its popularity with the masses could possibly be a turn-off to the committee and they might want to select one of the other finalists that has not already gotten a lot of attention, like the similarly themed Dear Martin by Nic Stone. Either could also be a Coretta Scott King or CSK-Steptoe finalist and I think THUG could be one of the Printz finalists as well. 

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was already a National Book Award finalist this year, and could be a strong candidate for the Pura Belpré Award, though that one seems to favor middle grade and picture books, and the Tomás Rivera Book Award. Since the main character develops severe depression, it could possibly be considered for the Schneider award as well.

This book reminded me a lot of 2015 Morris winner, Gabi: A Girl In Pieces, but darker and with the added mystery of what seemingly perfect sister Olga was up to before her death.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is one I expect to see on a lot of reading lists over the next year. Originally published in Spain by a Spanish author, I don't know if it's eligible for any awards here, but it is certainly worthy, in my opinion. 

I would love to see it as at least a finalist for the Batchelder Award, though I don't think it fits their criteria for "children's literature". The main character is 14, but I would say the intended audience is older. But then again, we did see a YA graphic novel as a Caldecott honor book not long ago, so who knows how strictly they define "children's". This is a great story, made even better when you realize it is based on real people and events.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon has been mentioned fairly frequently, on various lists and in online discussions. It is a good book that is a very enjoyable read, but being primarily a fairly typical teen romance I wouldn't normally expect it to receive a nod from any awards committees.

However, it wins points for diversity and having a strong female character going into a traditionally male-dominated field and has built up a little buzz, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it as a Printz finalist even though it is not as dark and weird is they tend to be. After all, The Sun Is Also A Star was a finalist last year, even though it is also a hopeful romance.

And now for the Newbery. Below are some of the books I think could be Newbery finalists:

You might notice that Wishtree by Katherine Applegate was not on my list of favorites from 2017. It was okay, but I think the story drags way too much in the beginning, and the writing seems really awkward in the beginning as well, though it smooths out later on. I just don't think this book would find wide appeal among kids, and that many would find the slow, awkward beginning too much of an obstacle to get through. However, this is exactly the kind of children's book that adults want kids to like and think they should read, so I do expect it to get a nod at the very least.

Refugee by Alan Grantz is one I have not actually had a chance to read yet because I was late getting my name on the waiting list, but I have heard so many people gushing about how powerful it was, and given the timeliness of the topic, I wouldn't be surprised to see it as a finalist. 

Amina's Voice by Hena Kahn appeared on several recommended reading lists, and is really good book that shows the plurality of the Islamic religion, portrays Muslims in a positive and authentic way, but is also very relatable to others, though I'm afraid being published so early in the year could cause it to be overlooked. I read this book for my multicultural youth literature class last May, and I really liked it and recommend it.

Beyond the Bright Sea by previous Newbery honoree Lauren Wolk is a beautifully written story that questions our ideas of love and family, with a bit of mystery and adventure thrown in that is just as good as her previous book, without the depressing ending. I just don't know if the committee would honor the same author two years in a row. 

All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson is another great graphic novel for middle grades and tweens, and I think even better than her previous Newbery honor book Roller Girl, but I don't know if the committee would select the same author and format again so soon. It could also be considered for a Caldecott, but I think that's a long shot. 

The War I Finally Won by by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is one I considered, but I had doubts about the committee choosing a sequel rather than an original story.

I'm sure whatever the committee actually comes up with will be quite different than my picks, and there will be at least a couple of the actual finalists that I will be unfamiliar with and completely surprised by, but I hope I got at least 1 or 2 in there!

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia is my other pick for the Coretta Scott King. I'm sure there are several other great books in this category, but this is the only one that I read that immediately comes to mind. I am a big fan of Rita Williams-Garcia's Gaither sisters trilogy, and this is just as about as good, though a little short for me personally and I wanted to slap his mother for being so childish and selfish! But this will be particularly great for reluctant readers. 

I have seen several others mention Jason Reynolds' Patina for both the CSK and the Newbery; I thought the first book in the series, Ghost, was better, yet it was not a finalist for either award last year, but Jason Reynolds is very hot right now. I also want to give a quick plug for an upcoming book by a debut author that I hope gets enough attention to be considered for the CSK next year, Like Vanessa, by Tami Charles.

I don't think I'm even going to attempt to make any Caldecott predictions, because I know I won't be even close. It seems the committee and I are just never on the same wavelength. I firmly believe appeal to children should be part of the consideration for all awards, and in my opinion, most Caldecott winners and honorees appeal to adults far more than children. 

I have been very underwhelmed by most of the recent Caldecott winners and honorees, and I'm still bitter that Ida, Always was given the cold shoulder by the committee last year. I think the only book that I liked this year that has a remote chance is Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown. I really think we need an award for picture books that considers the whole book, the illustration and the text, in the context of appeal to children.

I haven't read enough to really to have picks for the other awards and categories. So, what do you think? Am I in the ballpark on any of these?

What are some of your picks? I'd love to discuss!

And The Winner Is...

How do you feel when it's time for the Youth Media Awards? Or when you read any of the award and "Best Books" types of lists?

I know some librarians get excited about it and look forward to seeing if their picks won, but I'm always left feeling a mixture of frustration, inadequacy, and WTF?? when I see these lists. I always find that even though I read quite a bit (never as much as I'd like!), I've only read about 3-4 of all the winners and honorees, and I'm only familiar with probably another half-dozen or so. This is what makes me feel frustrated and inadequate. As an almost children's librarian, I feel like I should be more "in the know" and in sync with what others in the profession think are the best books. While I do try to read books if several people mention it, usually I just grab what interests me off the "New" shelf when we get them. Clearly, the people on these awards committees and I have very different tastes! 

So for the next couple of months, I'm playing catch up and trying to read (or at least flip through) as many of the winners and honorees as I can. Some of them I find I really like a lot and see why they were chosen, but then many others I look at and and I'm completely underwhelmed and baffled why it was chosen. I often wonder what am I missing here? Am I out of touch? Or am I just more focused on what kids would like while the committees are more interested in prioritizing diversity, promoting alternate formats (free verse, graphic novels, wordless books, etc.), and leaning more towards what appeals to adults??

This is often particularly true of the Caldecott winners and honor books. I rarely like them! I can sometimes appreciate the artwork and the story and find it appealing to adults, but usually I can't imagine them appealing to a child. I haven't even seen the winner (Radiant Child) because my system doesn't even own it because it was felt it wouldn't circulate (and I'm sure it won't after all the librarians and teachers have seen it). They All Saw A Cat was okay, but seemed like a good idea that could have been executed much better. I found the text dull and awkward, and the artwork sloppy. 

Du Is Tak? was cute at first, but went on too long, and I feel like this kind of thing has been done before. Plus the illustrations were very small. I wouldn't use either of these in storytime. Freedom In Congo Square is one I don't know would particularly appeal to kids, though something a teacher might select. I know storytime use certainly isn't the only purpose for picture books, but it does tend to be the metric I'm interested in, and I don't think I've ever been excited to use a recent Caldecott book in storytime. I am also very disappointed that Ida Always was not at least an honoree!

I tend to fare a bit better with the Newbery's, though sometimes I still think they are just ok, and nothing special. I did like all of last year's honorees, and though fantasy and magical realism aren't my thing, I did find The Girl Who Drank The Moon to be a very well-written and beautifully told story and I enjoyed it quite a bit, and think it will appeal to some kids, but not others. 

I haven't had a chance to read the honor books yet except for Freedom Over Me (also a Coretta Scott King honor book), which I thought was ok, but I'd rather know real stories of slaves, rather than fictitious ones, and I wasn't impressed with the artwork. As Brave As You (Coretta Scott King honor book & Schneider winner) was pretty good, reminded me a bit of Gone Crazy In Alabama.

I was pleased to see Girl Mans Up as a finalist for the Morris award for first-time teen lit authors, though disappointed it wasn't in the finalists for the Stonewall award for LGTBQ literature. I did think the Stonewall winner for YA LGBTQ literature, If I Was Your Girl was also a very good book. It was a very well-told story, and while it might be a little unrealistic in a couple of points (which the author addresses in the endnotes) I think it sends a needed positive and hopeful message to transgender teens, though I think it's a good story for anyone to read. I was, however, a bit surprised that the Hammer of Thor was the middle-grade winner. 

The Printz winners and honorees are almost always too bizarre or depressing for me, but I was pleasantly surprised to see The Sun Is Also A Star as a Printz honoree and King/Steptoe Newcomer Award winner, as I enjoyed that one quite a bit. I love how it tied up all the loose ends and had an ending that gave closure, yet was still open-ended. I hate loose ends and unfinished storylines! 

Well, that's it for what I've had a chance to read so far. I've included links to my reviews of any books mentioned that I've reviewed, and you can also go the the SLJ article to get the complete list, with covers and links to SLJ reviews for most of them.

So how did you fare with this year's winners? Were you left feeling vindicated and confident in your librarian skills, inspired to read some great books you had missed, or left feeling like you're a bit off the bubble and struggling to catch up like me?

The Non-Traditional Student

So that's what I am now, a "non-traditional student," also known as the "returning student," "adult student," "life-long learner," or other euphemisms that we all know are code for "old". Some, like my husband, took a while to grow up and didn't get around to finishing college until later, some took time off to raise a family, some are getting an advanced degree to further their careers, and some of us are starting a second career.

I'm somewhat of a combination, I suppose. I have two degrees already, and worked in a previous career for a few years, then took a number of years off to have a family, during which time I volunteered and had a small home business. When the kids were older, I got a part-time job in the library and fell in love with it. So now I'm starting an MLIS program to get my degree so I can hopefully become a professional librarian.

What's it like being back in school after 25 years? Well, it's no picnic. First of all, there are constant reminders of how much older I am than many of my classmates. Some of them are barely older than my daughter, many don't really remember what life was like pre-internet. While on the other hand, the last time I wrote a research paper (my master's thesis) was in 1991, and all research was done in the library the hard way, using printed abstracts and indices to find articles in printed and bound professional journals. I did use a computer, but only for word processing, all of my charts, graphs, tables, and figures were done by hand using stick-on graphics tape, numbers and letters, then photographed and printed. I did all the photography myself, developing my own negative and prints, and making my own slides for my defense presentation (I actually think it's kinda cool I got to do all that).

So I feel like at least initially, having to re-learn how to do that kind of research using digital resources and materials will put me at a slight disadvantage; working in children's services doesn't really require any more in-depth reference than Google 99% of the time. Also I have not done any scholarly writing since my thesis, either, so I'm quite out of practice with using a more stuffy, scholarly writing style and remembering to cite everything properly.

Physically it's different this time around as well. My poor old eyes are having a hard time with the increased amount of computer time, and trying to read the teeny-tiny print in our rather dry and dull reading assignments, and I certainly can't pull all-nighters anymore, unless I don't have to work the next day. Even when I have free time in the evenings, I find I am too tired to stay focused on reading or put a reasonably coherent thought together to write anything. School is definitely going to be a little more challenging and require much more careful time-management than the first time around!

I am not typically a vain person, but I have to confess when I went to my orientation and looked around, realizing I was probably the oldest person there (other than some of the professors), it really bothered me and made me doubt myself. Is it too late? Am I just wasting my time and money getting a library degree? Will it ever actually pay off, with all these much younger people competing with me for jobs? After all, we all know how crappy the job market is in general, but it's even worse once you're over 40. 

Oh well, at least one good thing about being in an online class is that I don't have to see people face-to-face and be confronted almost daily with their young shiny faces and reminded that I am old enough to be their mother. Online I can forget, and pretend we are all the same age. 

Until another "mature" student makes a movie reference to "Field of Dreams" and I'm the only one who gets it, that is.

Today At The Desk...

Once again I found myself returning to my roots and shelving in the Children's Department after the most recent page quit after just 4 months. Some people seem to think shelving is beneath them if they are not a page, but I actually like doing it. No, seriously!

Even though my back is very glad I no longer spend 3-4 hours a day shelving and I'm thrilled to get to do storytime and interact more directly with patrons now, I find I miss some things about shelving. First of all, the scientific/mathematical side of my brain enjoys the sorting of things, the order and structure of it all. It is all black and white; everything has it's correct spot, and it's either right or wrong. I've always said shelving is really a mathematical skill, and if you want someone who will shelve accurately, look to hiring people with a math or science background, rather than a literature background. Sorting, classifying, putting things in alphabetical or Dewey decimal order....that's all math.  

Shelving also helps keep me attuned to the collection. I know what books we have and where they are. I can keep up with trends and what is popular, because if I shelve it, that means it was checked out, or at least looked at in the building. New books I may have missed when they first came in have another chance to catch my attention. Also while shelving (or shelf-reading), I come across undiscovered gems that end up making great storytime books. So many picture books come out every year that it is really hard for books that are not by well-known authors to get noticed, and sometimes very good books just simply get over-looked. I love finding these hidden treasures! Oftentimes I find inspiration for my storytime programs or books I want to read while shelving.

Another reason I like doing a bit of shelving from time to time is it keeps me busy and moving. It might seem paradoxical, but nothing is more tiring than a slow day. Days where I don't have a lot of patrons to help seem to drag on forever, leaving me so drained and tired. I always find things to work on: storytime prep and planning, straightening the shelves, filling displays, etc., but it just isn't the same as staying busy interacting with people. Busy days seem to fly by and usually make me feel energized, rather than drained. Having shelving to do keeps me moving and busy, and I still feel like I've been productive, even on a slow day.

So today I happily shelved two carts and some DVD's, helped connect several patrons with the materials they needed, pulled materials for holds and transfer, introduced a patron to our Mango language service, and tracked down the "lost" parent of an unattended child. All-in-all, it was a great afternoon. 

Today At The Desk....

Yay, it's Thursday, and I get to work the service desk in the children's department.  I do like my outreach job, of course, but after doing the same theme for 30+ groups over the last two weeks, I was eager to do something different.  After spending the morning working on collection development and planning storytimes, I headed down to the children's department where I was able to meet the person they finally hired to fill my old page position I vacated 6 weeks ago. 

They initially had a hard time getting enough qualified applicants for the page position and ended up having to re-post it (I guess I'm just irreplaceable :), but now it's finally filled.  That makes her the "third generation" of children's pages that are in the building, including myself, and the woman who had the job before me and now works in technical services.  So I guess that says a lot for the department and the branch if people stick around for a while and get promoted.  I know I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked there, and am glad I have not completely left.  I also got to meet the new manager of youth services who also just started, after the previous one retired.

As usual for the 1 to 5 shift, it started out slow and gradually ended very busy.  Since the new page had worked that morning, there wasn't nearly as much cleaning up to do, just a couple of puzzles and books.  I filled a few empty face-outs and a display, and straightened up the DVD's.  Then I withdrew a cartful of juvenile fiction the children's librarian had weeded and changed the status of a stack of books from new to normal (hereafter known as "un-new'd").  Then I took advantage of the slow spell to work on a couple of felt board activities for storytime and look for some books for storytime.  And of course, during all this I helped patrons with routine matters such as checking out, account questions, locating materials, validating parking, etc., and walked the floor.   Multi-tasking is important in any job, but especially while working at the desk.  I try to always have a couple of projects with me to work on during slow times at the desk, as I like to stay busy and pride myself on being efficient and making good use of down-time.

One patron sticks in my mind, a young woman who was checking out DVD's, and I mean a LOT of DVD's!  Fifty, to be precise; 35 on her card and 15 on her 2-year old daughter's card!  While it's good for circulation stats and freed up 50 much-needed security cases, it still makes me a little sad to see patrons max out their cards on movies and never check out books, not even for their kids.  She mentioned how hard it was to keep her daughter occupied and how much her daughter liked watching certain movies over and over.  I wanted to suggest that she try checking out some books for her, and explain that kids really benefit from looking at books and being read to, and also like hearing the same books over and over, but I was afraid that it would come across as being judgemental  and perhaps wasn't my place.   I'm going to ask the children's librarians what, if anything, they feel would be appropriate to say in a situation like that.  Any thoughts, dear readers?

After that, I took advantage of all the cases she had freed up to case and then sort the cartful of DVD's waiting for cases so they could be shelved, and did the send list.  While pulling all the books to be transferred for requests, I discovered three books by one author that were missing.  One of them had NEVER even circulated, and had just been added to the collection a year ago, right after the last time the other two circulated.  So I'm guessing someone came in right after that and stole them all.  I will never understand why people steal from a library when they can check things out for free.  I. Just. Don't. Get. It.  I sure hope they at least read them and either gave or sold them to someone else so they get used somehow.  By the time I got all the requests pulled, checked in and sorted, it was time to hand-off to the next person.  I am always amazed how fast the shift goes by, especially when it's busy!

Then I was off to gather up all my stuff for the next Storytime Bus theme and load it into my van to take to the bus on Monday!