Up for Discussion-"If Only…!"

There is no such thing as the perfect book. Each reader comes to each book with a different set of needs and expectations, and this is what makes the creation and consumption of literature so exciting. Even Newbery- or Caldecott-winning titles might exhibit flaws on close scrutiny. But this is what happens on award committees: books are examined inside, outside, through, and underneath in the search for the "most distinguished contribution." And who hasn't, in reviewing a book or examining it for a library collection, thought, "if only the author had…!"

This past January, the Association of Library Service to Children named the first-ever medal-and honor-winning authors of the Robert F. Sibert Information Book Award. I was a member of the committee that made those selections. Susan Faust, chair, describes the qualities of "truly distinguished" information books in "In Quest of Excellence" (SLJ, June, p. 42). The books below all fit this category. They also are all flawed. These titles stand out from others published in the year 2000 for the stimulating way they present their information, but in holding them against the criteria for the Sibert Award, I found problems with them that I couldn't overlook in my quest for the "most distinguished."

Two points are worth stressing here. Firstly, the ALSC award committee deliberations are entirely confidential; the comments expressed here reflect only my individual opinion of these titles. Secondly, these books will all engage, stimulate, and inform readers, and are ones I recommend daily to the patrons in my library. I point them out here to alert readers to their strengths as well as their weaknesses. In evaluating books we measure the one against the other. When we've decided to recommend a title, we might feel less inclined to point out the problems we had with it, in order to support our positive opinion and avoid sounding nitpicky. But don't those problems still bear pointing out somewhere?

Arnosky, Jim. Beaver Pond, Moose Pond. National Geographic.

Arnosky's "habitat" book is designed with just a few lines of text per spread of full-bleed acrylics in rich colors suffused with light. Covering a period from morning to night, he creates a narrative arc in word and picture that manages to communicate the many animal lives intertwined in a beaver pond, and does so in a way that appeals to a very young audience without anthropomorphizing. His illustrations give detail but have a soft stroke and set a mood. Unfortunately, in his many uses of close-ups, distance and proportion seem to go awry, undermining the effort of "scientific" illustration!

Bishop, Nic. Digging for Bird-Dinosaurs: An Expedition to Madagascar.Houghton.

This excellent title in the "Scientists in the Field" series brings the paleontological process to life. It's a prime example of how a photo-essay should work. Unfortunately, in the effort to include the "whole" story of what happens on a dig, Bishop's short digressions into the lives of the locals come off as almost shallow travelogue, and send the narrative wandering.

Fradin, Dennis & Judith Fradin. Ida B. Wells: Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Clarion.

Dramatically and clearly written, this biography includes an extensive bibliography, picture credits, and index. In their telling, the Fradins make wonderful use of quotations from Wells's diary, but they also make use of dialogue that is undocumented and unexplained. When, for instance, Susan B. Anthony "snapped" her reply at a guest, how did it get recorded? Or how and why did the Fradins suggest it? Young readers are just coming to an understanding of what history is and why we have it. This kind of lack of documentation won't help them.

George, Jean Craighead. How to Talk to Your Dog. HarperCollins.

Inspired, informative, and hilarious in word and picture, this short and appealingly designed book will teach young dog owners volumes. The entire book is composed of a single narrative, appropriately encouraging readers to dive in. Most librarians need little introduction to George as an authority, but she provides none here for new readers who might be stymied by the lack of a bibliography or sources. And dedicated readers will flounder trying to relocate something they read earlier, or to check on what George has to say about an issue at hand, as the book also has no index.

Greenberg, Jan & Sandra Jordan. Frank O'Gehry: Outside In. DK Ink.

Greenberg and Jordan illuminate the artistic drive behind modern architecture and direct young readers in an appreciation by telling one man's story. The great photographs and highly charged design communicate as much as the text. However, O'Gehry's creative mind fails to come to life in the short text and some of the quotations will make little sense to young readers as they include unexplained references to "organic shapes" and "aesthetics." Some of the most useful information for developing readers' critical eyes is relegated to marginalized sidebars. In the end, many young readers may find it difficult to approach the material here.

Levine, Ellen. Darkness Over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews.Holiday House.

A gripping narrative is interspersed with firsthand accounts based on the author's own interviews. Levine describes the interview process and the people involved, and documents her sources, making this a wonderful example of living history. However, her decision to rewrite her interviews into flowing third-person narratives that she intersperses with the text seems misguided—rather than making these people's stories immediate and individual, it distances and muddles them, as they all take on Levine's voice.

Marcus, Leonard. Author Talk.S & S.

Marcus shows what a skilled interviewer can do, by varying his questions to bring out the most interesting comments from 15 well-known children's book authors. His careful editing brings out the individual, and then brings them together as a group. But what about the group? All of these authors are stellar, but not all are necessarily popular with kids these days. And Laurence Yep and Nicholasa Mohr end up sticking out painfully like token writers-of-color, in a collection that includes no African Americans. Marcus's careful editorial selection aside, readers' perceptions of his selection are important in this kind of collection, and there is little explanation of how he came to these authors.

Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw. Shaping the Earth. photos. by William Muñoz. Clarion.

Geology is made fascinating through Patent's accessible, clear, and stimulating text. Readers are invited in by Muñoz's startlingly beautiful color photographs, and the large sans-serif typeface and use of white space. But blue-paged spreads of side notes break the main text in mid-sentence, and some of Muñoz's loveliest photographs seem to have little to do with the narrative.

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. illus. by Stephen Alcorn. Harcourt.

Alcorn's paintings and the book's celebratory design match the strong narrative voice. Pinkney's stories are meant to be inspirational, not comprehensive (or even balanced) biographies, and the extensive bibliography will lead inquisitive readers on. Unfortunately, they won't know exactly where to go to find out more about some of the women. The bibliography includes titles of individual books about many of the women, and a list of collective biographies. There is no way to know which women are found in these books.

St. George, Judith. So You Want to Be President. illus. by David Small. Philomel.

Everyone should be familiar with this 2001 Caldecott Medalist, also a strong informational book for its stimulating presentation of "trivia" about the U.S. presidency that invites reflection. Its six-item bibliography of generally adult titles published from 1963 to 1986 might describe St. George's sources (we don't actually know), but certainly does not give reflective readers much to go on.

Sills, Leslie. In Real Life: Six Women Photographers. Holiday House.

Short biographies and critical examinations of the work of six individuals also give a sense of the history of women's photography. Sills's ancillary matter is exemplary, including notes on the mechanics of photography and how to view and appreciate it, and full bibliographies on each woman. The photographs are, generally, splendidly reproduced, but several small, cramped examples on text-heavy pages are frustrating, detracting from the otherwise lovely design, and likely to turn off potential readers.

Stanley, Jerry. Hurry Freedom: African Americans in Gold Rush California. Crown.

This National Book Award Finalist brings a little-discussed aspect of California history to the forefront, showcasing Stanley's fine use of primary sources. But although he includes a bibliography, he notes no sources for his many quotations, further undermining his own authority by noting that "some quotations were edited for clarity."

The flwas I've described might be grouped in many ways. Lack of documentation undermines the author's authority. Lack of ancillary matter fails to lead readers beyond the covers of the book. Poorly thought-out design distracts rather than engages audiences. Unaddressed questions of scope detract from the power of the author's stance. Stylistic choices in word or illustration create an effect that might enhance the enjoyment of the story, but interfere with the communication of information. Appreciation of a young audience takes a backseat to artful design.

But can any of the creators and editors of these books be chided for these problems, as long as they accomplished what they set out to do? What I call a flaw was likely a purposeful decision, intended to inspire a certain kind of reading. After all, it is silly to imagine that authors and illustrators hold the ALSC-award criteria in front of them as they sit down to work. But those setting out to inform their readers might do well to look at the Sibert Award criteria, at the strengths and weaknesses Susan Faust points out in last year's winners, and in the flaws noted here that made at least one committee member say, "If only!"

Terms and criteria for the Sibert Award can be found at www.ala.org/alsc/sibert_terms.html.