Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

– Michelangelo

Among the people who follow the Youth Media Awards awards closely (and specifically the two oldest awards, The Newbery and Caldecott), I think there are two extremes.

On one end are those who feel that THE (I should say THEE) winner is out there – there is one “best” – and the committee must find it. They read the Michelangelo quote above and say, “Yep.”

On the other extreme are those who feel that the block of marble doesn’t hold one statue, but a world of possibilities. There is no one “best”. Every year has many potential winners of it and the committee members fight for their favorites.

I tend to fall more toward the latter group.

Where do you stand? One best? Or many?