Favorites From a Newbery Judge

Brigham Young University's education professor, Michael O. Tunnell, is a member of the ALA's 2009 Newbery Medal selection committee. He served on the committee once before in 1991. 

He read hundreds of books last year for his assignment as a committee member. I wanted to share part of an article that just came out today. I would link you to it, except it's not online yet. So here's a bit of what he said, as written by Amanda Lewis.  When asked what he's looking for, he answered:

"You've got to have a good strong plot on which to hang character development, on which to hang your beautiful language. It's the tree on which you hang the other ornaments. And I think we're not getting that as consistently as we used to." He went on to say, "There's a storytelling tradition-and it's gone back to the beginning of time-that I would argue is fundamental. It's never changed, and I think the crux of a good story will never change."

He has said that while some books were disappointing, he found others that are excellent. Some of his favorites from 2008 include:

Masterpiece by Elise Broach

Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

When the Sergeant Came Marching Home by Don Lemna

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

Here is a link to a list of children's literature recommendations compiled by Michael Tunnell and James S. Jacobs, another education professor at BYU. Book List