Comments on Read Roger: The 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

I like having it fall on a different cycle than th...

2010-06-09T22:33:06.942-04:00

I like having it fall on a different cycle than the other awards, but one change that would be nice is closing the nominations a full month before the meeting date. Scrambling to read the last-minute books instead of re-reading the top contenders was a problem for me.

I think it would get more lost than it already is....

2010-06-09T12:24:57.373-04:00

I think it would get more lost than it already is. Even now, I can't find any sign of the announcement outside the Horn Book.

I take it that if the pub date changes from May to June, the book is eligible the following year, correct? "Frustrating for the judges" means that they had hoped to consider a certain book, but it isn't going to be on their watch after all? Maybe they have to scramble at the last minute to replace something on the list because it isn't eligible after all? Has that happened?

The BGHB is more about selecting from submitted books, isn't it, even though any eligible book might win? If so, I would leave the onus on the publisher to get their book placed in the best light. Even though I can see that you want the best books to have the best chance.

I can't really see the upside of making a change. Being a stick in the mud, I'd leave it the way it is.

Eric, I'll have to go back and see where BGHB ...

2010-06-09T09:44:05.612-04:00

Eric, I'll have to go back and see where BGHB anticipated the Newbery and where it confirmed it--because our award's calendar year runs from June to May, it can go either way.

There's some discussion here about making BGHB a calendar year award--what do you all think? Back in the '60s when the Awards were conceived, children's trade publishing was more likely to have two distinct seasons, fall and spring, and BGHB was designed to reflect that. But that is no longer true, even though I think we still see "prestige" books more often published in the fall, in anticipation of prizes as well as gift-giving. Right now, the BGHB calendar allows us our own little pocket of publicity time, where it might get lost as an annual award. On the other hand, it's confusing and can be fraught with peril--a publisher is more likely to change a pub date from May to June than from December to January and it can be frustrating for the judges.

I'll have to give When You Reach Me a s...

2010-06-09T08:56:49.064-04:00

I'll have to give When You Reach Me a second reading. While I found it well written, I didn't really care about the characters, the way I did with those in One Crazy Summer for example. The time travel elements seemed disjointed (but I know several science fiction writers, so I'm pickier about that kind of thing than perhaps I would be otherwise). It just didn't move me. I'll try it again, see if it improves.

Congratulations to Rebecca Stead and the wonderful...

2010-06-09T01:19:34.652-04:00

Congratulations to Rebecca Stead and the wonderful When You reach Me.

Also props to John Burningham for It's A Secret. This book is a real charmer and a tribute to the artist's enduring creativity.

Smile is so great! I'm glad it got reco...

2010-06-08T19:42:28.267-04:00

Smile is so great! I'm glad it got recognized. Awesome list!

When You Reach Me joins only Holes, Maniac Magee, ...

2010-06-08T16:06:38.178-04:00

When You Reach Me joins only Holes, Maniac Magee, The Westing Game and M.C. Higgins, The Great as winners of both the Newbery Medal and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

What a FABULOUS list!! Robin

2010-06-08T14:49:28.994-04:00

What a FABULOUS list!!

Robin

Bravo for It's a Secret!

2010-06-08T13:11:40.587-04:00

Bravo for It's a Secret!