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Historical Overview
Undoubtedly, of all the awards associated with children's literature, the Newbery Medal is not only the oldest, but also one of the most prestigious. Proposed in 1921 by Frederic G. Mercher and approved by the American Library Association in 1922, the medal is awarded annually "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published in English in the United States during the preceding year" (ALA Newbery Terms & Criteria).1 Since its inception, eighty-eight medals have been issued with hundreds of honor books announced. This award does not only add "prestige [to] children's literature," as noted by Anita Silvey (2002) , but also prolongs the shelf life of a book (Kidd, 2007). 2
The Newbery, however, has not existed without some controversy. First, it is said to have perpetuated what some refer to as "an institutionalized racism . . . [which in a way was] in keeping with social practices of segregation" (Kidd, 2007, 178). Second, other critics feel that there's "an anxious insistence on the universality of human experience" (Kidd, 2007, 179). These complaints continue to pose challenges to the Medal Committee, which in turn revises the award criteria so the terms are not only clear, but also maintain a semblance of objectivity. Therefore, while emphasizing the aesthetic merit of a book, other components that enhance the overall literary quality are accentuated. The criteria do not, however, overtly address the issue of cultural merit. "Why does this matter," some may ask? It matters because there are studies that have demonstrated that there exist some Newbery Medal books with cultural content that may be inaccurate or might have been distorted (Kidd, 2007). For example, Kidd (2007) draws our attention to Elizabeth Yates's 1951 award-winning historical fiction novel, Amos Fortune, Free Man, "a compelling tale, which unfortunately downplays the horror of slavery" (179). Taxel (1986) raises similar concerns about two other historical fiction novels: Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer and Quida Sebestyen's Words by Heart.
The Newbery Award: Book Selection Criteria
Like many educators, I have oftentimes wondered how the selection process works. For one thing, if we are to recommend these books to our students and/or their parents, it becomes necessary to understand how excellence is defined by the...