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2003 Prize Winners and Favorites
This'll blow your mind: 8,200 children's books were published last year alone. When I did the math, I found you'd have to read about 158 books a week to get through them all, 22 to 23 a day. I don't know about you but those numbers are pretty daunting, even for this bibliophile. Thankfully summer's just around the corner, so swing by the library on your way to the beach - here's a bunch you shouldn't miss.
Let's start with last year's award winners
Linda Sue Park's A Shingle Shard won the 2002 Newbery Award; and even if I didn't know her, I'd tell you to read this book. Set in 12th century Korea, a young orphan boy searches for his place in the world by pursuing his dream of becoming a potter. The language is pure poetry and though you'll be transported to another world, Tree Ear's hopes and dreams transcend his time and culture. It's absolutely wonderful. And be sure not to overlook the Newbery Honor books. Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath is a fun romp through the eyes of Primrose Squarp as she spends her time awaiting her parents' return in a town full of quirky characters. It's a quick, humorous read with several insightful moments about human nature. Marilyn Street approaches the biography genre in a unique way with her book Carver: a Life in Poems. George Washington Carver's life is told from the point of view of different people who knew him. The poems themselves are incredible, but the story they weave is truly amazing.
The Printz Award for 2002 also had its share of outstanding books. Geared for older teens, these are what I
use most often in my classroom. A Step from Heaven by An Na won the award and it's clear why. In a series of chapters
- nearly prose poems themselves - the story of Young Ju is told as she grows up a toddler in Korea and winds up graduating
from a high school in California. Her struggle to find her place in a new culture while maintaining her old is riveting.
The honor books included Freewill by Chris Lynch and Virginia Euwer Wolff's True Believer. I used
Freewill in my sophomore class this year to show an example of 2nd person point of view. It's well crafted
and intriguing as the main character struggles to come to terms with his guilt over his parents' death while copycat
suicides rock his small town. True Believer is the second in Wolff's trilogy; if you've read Make Lemonade,
this is your next stop. Wonderful poetry and a moving story. The last two honor books include The Ropemaker by Peter
Dickinson and Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by 20th Century Art. I haven't read these yet but don't
even try to make me feel guilty - for goodness' sake, there are over 8,000 new books out there!
And here's the buzz for 2003
These winners were just announced at the end of January, so I've only gotten to a couple. A Printz Honor
book by Jack Gantos entitled Hole in My Life is powerful stuff. The cover shows the repeating image of his prison
photograph with one piece missing, mirroring a life that is no longer whole due
to a period of incarceration. His
autobiography is a stark and stunning portrait of a good kid making a bad choice and having to survive the consequence.
Absolutely loved it. And Patricia Reilly Giff's Newbery Honor book Pictures of Hollis Woods is the kind of book
you savor, lingering over certain passages and closing your eyes every once in a while. The kind you know has to end, but
desperately wish it didn't.
There were also a couple of books I read that turned out to be National Book Award finalists this year: Jacqueline Woodson's Hush and Feed, by M.T. Anderson. Woodson has a gift for saying so much in so few words. Her story is about much more than an African American family entering the witness protection program. It's about the importance of identity and one's past and how a family changes during times of adversity. You'll love it. And if you haven't stumbled upon M.T. Anderson yet, what are you waiting for? Feed is a futuristic satire about teens with computer-wired brains. It will make you and your students look more closely at our culture's dependence on technology, the power of advertising and the lack of true silence in our lives. Totally wild.
Other National Book Award winners ‚ past and present ‚ can be found at www.nationalbook.org/nba.html while the Newbery and Printz award winners can be found at the American Library Association's web site: www.ala.org. Publishing information, summaries and cover art will help you narrow your search to match your interests and that of your students.
More new books your kids will love
The authors of these next books might not have had to prepare acceptance speeches, but the fact that I
can't keep them on my shelf speaks for the strength of the books themselves. Alex Flinn's Breathing Underwater is probably
my kids' top choice right now; I have two copies and both are dog eared already. 
Nick is not your ordinary protagonist: he's heading to court on a restraining order for beating his girlfriend. What's so
captivating about the story is its structure. The present issue with court coupled with its aftermath - having to attend
anger management classes while coping with the wedge that now exists between him and his friends - is supplemented by a
handwritten journal the judge requires him to keep, explaining his side of the story. Gritty and real, the reader gets a
glimpse of the 'why' behind the abuse but, more importantly, because the reader identifies with Nick, comes to realize
(along with him) the true pain and fear he caused. This book has generated a lot of discussion in my classes.
Born Blue by Han Nolan, Terry Trueman's Stuck in Neutral, Joyce McDonald's Swallowing Stones, Shattering Glass by Gail Giles, Dreamland by Sarah Dessen and Stoner and Spaz by Ron Koertge are also hard to keep track of. Tough issues pervade their pages: abandonment, physical and sexual abuse, the struggle for peer acceptance, drug addiction, first love, the impact of disabilities, even murder. Each of these authors has a gift for constructing a powerful story with characters you won't soon forget.
The last word
The primary similarity between all of the books I've talked about is they're much more real than the YA books of my day. Sometimes there isn't a happy ending, the loose ends aren't always neatly tied, and sometimes bad people get away with things they shouldn't. But that mirrors life. And that's why I think teens -- especially those at-risk -- are finding themselves more easily in these pages. They see they're not alone and admire the fact that someone has the guts to come out and say how tough life can be. But our kids are also looking for answers and guidance. Despite some edgy topics, these books do not glorify the negative. Just the opposite: they put before the reader an unflinching mirror, forcing him to confront the whole picture by placing him in that situation and then granting him the ultimate power - to decide for himself what the right choice should be.
And the coolest part?
There'll be another 8,200 to pick from next year.
Alternative Network Journal May 2003 Page 24-25,35
All speeches and articles are copyrighted by, and are the property of, Laurie Thurston, and may not be reprinted without permission of the author.