The librarians let loose the screams this morning at the ALA conference in Denver as Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book was announced the winner of this year's Newbery Award. The Newbery has been under assault in the press of late for honoring books that are inaccessible to a large number of readers. In times of shrinking library budgets and sharply increased library usage, librarians have been particularly vocal about there being no wiggle room in the collection development plan for books kids won't read - Newbery medal upon their cover or not. Last year's Caldecott winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, was brilliant but lengthy with themes more attractive to adults than children. Gaiman's Newbery winner is also read by adults and children alike but in far greater numbers. The author's extreme popularity will certainly mute some of the critics questioning the relevancy of the award system. And the happy news for kiddie librarians? Gaiman's other books are an easy sell to many children, and next month's movie tie-in with the release of Coraline could potentially create a little Gaiman reading frenzy among the short set. Kids fighting over books at the library? Music to my ears!
Curious about the other awards presented this morning? Publishers Weekly summed them up quickly online and you will be able to check out video later today at the ALA site.
