Elizabeth, Alan, Alei, Grace, Gratia, Eric, Susan, Nick...I will see you at ALA in June. We can share a good meal and reminisce about the times that made up Sibert 2016.
Jennifer Sommer |
|
Since returning from not-s0-chilly Boston in January, I've had just a couple of things to finish up before feeling like I've actually finished up with the Sibert Committee. My house was still cluttered with hundreds of books that needed to be dealt with, for one thing. And I had a request from the Cincinnati chapter of SCBWI to talk at one of their meetings about the award. I was happy to talk about the award and the process. What is the award? (It is a book award given to the best informational book published that year.) How did you get on the committee? (I was appointed by ALSC - American Library Services to Children.) How many serve on the Sibert Committee? (Nine - an appointed chair, three appointed members, and five elected members.) How did you get the books? (The publishers sent them all to me. Yes, I saw the UPS delivery person nearly every day.) How did you judge them? (There is a list of set criteria we worked very hard to follow in order to rank the books.) How many books did I read? (I read every one that was sent my way, several hundred.) How did you narrow down the list of books? (We regularly suggested books within the group that we thought were of merit and everyone should spend time reading, then we had nominations - seven books per member total.) Did you have big arguments trying to decide the winner? (No. Our committee worked really well together and everyone was respectful of the opinions of the others. I think in the end, we all trusted that the process would work and the top books would naturally rise to the top, and they did.) Would you do it again? (I would, but it was very time consuming. Also, there is an ALSC limit that no one on this committee can serve on another judging committee for four years., which was established to give more ALSC members a chance to serve in this manner. Now if YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association - appoints me to a committee, that's a horse of another color. Seriously though, as much as I enjoyed it, and working with my committee, and reading all the books, and looking forward to our award ceremony and celebratory lunches, etc. I am really glad to get all the books out of my house, have my dining room table back, and having more time back in my life to work on other projects. So, the question was, what to do with the books? I knew early on that I wanted to donate my books to a local Dayton school that needed them and where kids would benefit from them. I followed through on a lead and located Fairview Pre-8, home of the mighty bulldogs. Which, coincidentally is the same mascot I had in elementary school, so it was meant to be, right? I now had all the books boxed up by category into nine boxes and coordinated a time with Tanesha Walugembe at the school to drop them off. Two 8th graders unloaded the boxes for me from the truck and we got a photo. So for now, I will say adieu to the Sibert work and keep the memories close to my heart. Elizabeth, Alan, Alei, Grace, Gratia, Eric, Susan, Nick...I will see you at ALA in June. We can share a good meal and reminisce about the times that made up Sibert 2016.
1 Comment
2/18/2016 01:08:13 pm
Thanks, Jennifer. The talk was fun and informative. Loved hearing the process and being able to look at so many of the contenders knowing the criteria for the award.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
I remember the excitement of visiting the public library as a child. The magic and suspense of reading favorites like The Velvet Room and The Secret Garden tugged at my imagination. Biographies of George Washington Carver and Betsy Ross allowed me to see the lives of those who came before me and to appreciate their accomplishments. Poetry collections like my favorite The Tall Book of Poems, which I took with me on sleepovers, introduced me to a range of poetry where I could consider how the placement and rhythm of words affected your mood – sometimes bouncy, other times melancholy. Plus, I really loved the way that book felt in my small hands. My goal in writing children’s books, I think, is an attempt to recreate those feelings, those early years of reading books where everything seemed possible.
I received an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and won the Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer Award from SCBWI. I worked as a Children's Librarian for 20 years and still prefer to read books written for young people. I have two Cavapoo dogs named Prince Albert and Daisy Wu, and a black kitten named Mortimer. I am married and split time between homes with my husband Rod in Dayton, OH and in Cadiz, KY where we enjoy our pontoon boat on Lake Barkley.
Categories
All
You can find more detailed information about me by clicking a link below:
Archives
February 2024
|