Three years ago, an 8-year-old boy named Luke asked Kate DiCamillo to write a story. "It's about an unlikely hero with extremely large ears," he told her. The author says the idea was "a seed that grew into a tiny little tree." On January 12, that "tree"--The Tale of Despereaux--won the Newbery medal, the grand prize of children's literature.
The Newbery is one of several annual awards the American Library Association announced last week. The top prize for illustration, the Caldecott, went to Mordicai Gerstein. His picture book tells the true story of a man who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers in 1974.
How in the world do librarians decide which books are worthy of the shiny gold stickers? Each prize is awarded by its own group of judges, most of whom are librarians. As the head of the 15-member Newbery group, Eliza Dresang read nearly 600 books. "Our job is rereading books that we have found particularly distinguished," she explains.
In early January, the group meets to choose a winner and the runners-up. The judges discuss their choices and vote by secret ballot. To win, a book needs the majority of the first-place votes.
No kids are judges, but their opinions count. Ashira Morris, 12, was part of a Newbery group at a school in Florida. She read 23 books! When the group first voted, Despereaux tied for first place. Dresang shared the students' opinions with her committee. Ashira was pleased with the winner. "It was one of the best books that we read," she told TFK.
That doesn't mean other 2003 books aren't worth reading. "Like the Academy Awards, something is chosen as best," notes Dresang, "but lots of others are good."