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"Lucky" is Indeed Worthy of AttentionMarch 6, 2007I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it nice to have a week go by where we aren’t all talking about a dog’s scrotum. One of the smartest comments about the controversy surrounding Susan Patron’s The Higher Power of Lucky was made by Shonda Brisco on LM_NET, when she remarked that someday this would be a great case study for a library school class. Well for me, that someday came last week, when I was teaching one of the intro classes at Pratt Institute. I presented the Lucky case to the students, even reading aloud the first chapter.A great discussion followed, churning up lots of issues (what meaning to attach to awards, the differences between school and public libraries, intellectual freedom…) that go right to the heart of our profession. I have to admit, I hadn’t read the book until after the Newbery announcement, and I was afraid it would be another of those dull Newbery shelf-sitters (oh please, you know what I’m talking about. Don’t make me link there!) Well nothing could be further from the truth. I picked up the book the morning after I got home from Seattle, and within five minutes I shut my office door and read through to the end. I was totally taken in by Patron’s narrative. Those people who are complaining that the book is another example of social problems being crammed into a book for kids just haven’t read it. Yes, there are social issues around the edges—which, as usual, a reader may or may not pay attention to. But Lucky’s quest for stability, and above all love, is deeply powerful and sure to resonate with readers of all ages. You would have to be pretty hard-hearted not to be moved by The Higher Power of Lucky. Posted by Brian Kenney on March 6, 2007 | Comments (2)
March 13, 2007
In response to: "Lucky" is Indeed Worthy of Attention John Berry commented: Nice to see Brian's new blog, and to see the mention of our Introduction to the Information Professions class at the School of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute, here in New York. Brian's class truly excited the 17 students enrolled in the course, and the "Lucky" dispute spilled over into other discussions later on. I was there because I "teach" that course by getting my friends and colleagues, fine lecturers like Brian, to come and discuss the issues and core values of their special parts of librarianship. The discussion introduced me to Lucky too, and to that wonderful librarian, Susan Patron. Great stuff, Many, many thanks Brian.
March 13, 2007
In response to: "Lucky" is Indeed Worthy of Attention John Berry commented: Nice to see Brian's new blog, and to see the mention of our Introduction to the Information Professions class at the School of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute, here in New York. Brian's class truly excited the 17 students enrolled in the course, and the "Lucky" dispute spilled over into other discussions later on. I was there because I "teach" that course by getting my friends and colleagues, fine lecturers like Brian, to come and discuss the issues and core values of their special parts of librarianship. The discussion introduced me to Lucky too, and to that wonderful librarian, Susan Patron. Great stuff, Many, many thanks Brian.
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