'Dead End in Norvelt' Wins Scott O'Dell Award
RSSBy Laura B. Weiss
This year's award goes to Jack Gantos for Dead End in Norvelt (Farrar). Gantos will pick up $5,000 as part of the prize, which each year goes to the author of a distinguished work of historical fiction for young people. Tracked down while he was on the road in Texas, when told of the award, Gantos reportedly said he was going to celebrate by eating a bunch of snacks. Gantos sets his hero, Jack Gantos, in the town of 1962 Norvelt, PA, a planned community created in the 1930s and named for its biggest booster, Eleanor Roosevelt. After being grounded by his parents, Jack is loaned out to a local librarian who sets him to work typing obituaries of the town's residents. Soon, he's launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, voices from the past, Hells Angels, and even a possible murder. The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction was created by author Scott O'Dell and Zena Sutherland in 1982. The annual prize goes to the writer of a distinguished work of historical fiction for young people that's published by a U.S. publisher. The book must be set in South, Central, or North America. Gantos will be given the award this spring, at a time and place to be determined. The award committee consisted of Ann Carlson, English and Fine Arts librarian at Oak Park-River Forest High School, in Oak Park, IL; Deborah Stevenson of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; and chair Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book). Read an interview with Jack Gantos about Dead End in Norvelt
January 17, 2012
A historical novel recounting a young boy's adventures as he becomes immersed in his town's history has snagged top honors as the winner of the 2012 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
