Thoughts on Newbery: Focus on the Book…

…not the creator. Having been on one of the Newberry committees I can say with complete certainty that this is what happens. Committee members are looking intently at the books through the lens of the official criteria. They absolutely DO NOT consider the authors, illustrators, editors, or anything else of that nature. They are looking full-on at the work and nothing else.

However, those of us outside the committee room are aware of those creators and it can be hard to not think about the love...