LARS'S LIBRARY: NEIL GAIMAN WINS THE NEWBERY

If you follow children's literature, you might already know about the brouhaha stirred up over the most prestigious of the awards for children's literature--the Newbery--by Anita Silvey's critique of their relevance in the October School Library Journal.

Following right on top of that, a study by Brigham Young University concluded Newbery award winners were likely to depict white, male, two-parent children, a picture not reflective of the average American kid.

While the protagonist of this year's winner, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, is a white male, he has no parents soon after the novel begins. Nobody Owens is an orphan brought up by the dead, in a narrative that parallels The Jungle Book.

It might appear that the Newbery committee caved to the relevance issue raised by Silvey. It's indisputable that Gaiman appeals to a broad audience. The Graveyard Book has been on the New York Times bestseller list since its publication in the fall. His popular Coraline, its shelf life already extended with a graphic novel edition, is about to be released as an animated film.

But that theory would ignore the fact that The Graveyard Book is a fantastic novel. It is darkly cheerful, if such a thing is possible, and intellectually stimulating. After reading it, I'll never hear the term "danse macabre" in the same way again.

I would defend the Newbery winners I know. While there have been years where I might have chosen another book, each one of the over fifty I have read has engaged me, and has helped me in recommending books to children (even books that weren't winners).

That's what an award like this should do: recognize engaging, stimulating work, whether popular or not, to help guide children and people who care about children. You're never going to be able to confidently steer a child toward a book choice without reading the books yourself. Even then, you can't be totally successful. We all have different tastes and interests.

Of the four recent winners that Silvey says librarians call "particularly disappointing," I've only read Susan Patron's The Higher Power of Lucky. I loved it, and know that someday I'll find a kid who will, too. That makes me believe the other three are worth a look.

I would agree that the Newbery committee might be more aware of the diverse, multicultural America we live in. Sherman Alexie notes, “We...have a black president -- literature should catch up.” Of course, Alexie's wonderful The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian did win the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, another excellent award that can guide you toward excellent children's books, in 2007.