Honoring Books

You could feel the excitement brewing in my classroom on Monday morning. The kids were watching the clock and kept asking, "Is it time yet?"

They weren't waiting for gym class or snack or lunch (the things that usually prompt that question).

No, they were waiting for me to say it was time to turn on the webcast for the 2011 Newbery Awards.


How cool is that?  My 4th graders were so excited to see what book had won the coveted award.


I was absorbed in something else when 10:30 hit so one of the children came over to tell me, "It's time to log on."

They promptly sat glued to the computer for the next hour and a half as one after another, the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced. They cheered when they heard a book or author's name they recognized. They commented when an unknown title caught their attention.

Some drifted away from time to time to read independently or work on some math problems as it became apparent that the BIG awards wouldn't come til the end, but a surprising number (mostly boys) hung out to the very end, even begging to eat lunch in the classroom so they wouldn't miss the Newbery Award.

We're doing a unit on award-winning books this month so the children plan on reading as many current and past award-winning books as they can. Their enthusiasm for the project was fueled by watching the webcast. That's the power of exposure.

Sadly, today I learned that not everyone shares the excitement. Forgive my rant.

This message was posted today on the YALSA blog:

Yesterday, many a fan of children’s and young adult literature tuned into Today, expecting to see a segment on ALA’s recently announced Youth Media Awards, featuring the authors of the Newbery and Caldecott, as well as a representative from ALA to discuss the awards. This year, along with the authors, YALSA’s own Sarah Debraski was pitched to lead viewers through a new year of outstanding books for children and teens, just as many ALA leaders have for the past eleven years.
Unfortunately, this year, Today turned ALA’s pitch down, citing a lack of interest and scheduling problems.
It’s a unfortunate that the YMAs weren’t able to make the cut this year, but we do appreciate the many years that Today chose to feature the awards.

I'm tempted to look at what was on Today, but that will likely only depress me more. Instead, I'll choose to celebrate that my 22 students were nourished and supported as readers by watching the webcast. If enough students learn to love literature and develop a respect and enthusiasm for books, then hopefully, in the future, shows like Today won't cite "lack of interest" as a reason for not featuring and celebrating authors.