What's It Like to Be on the Geisel Committee #5

Today's guest blogger, Julie Danielson, writes about picture books at her blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, and reviews for Kirkus, BookPage, The Horn Book, and Tennessee's Chapter 16. She is one of the bloggers at The Horn Book's Calling Caldecott and is a Lecturer for The University of Tennessee's School of Information Sciences. 

This is an exciting time of year for the Real Geisel Committee, who are making final nominations for the award — and who will soon meet behind closed doors to start deliberations and pick the big winner and Honor books.

Angela Frederick, Librarian at Nolensville High School in middle Tennessee, is familiar with the thrill of working as a team on a Geisel committee. She was a member of the 2019 committee, the one that gave the Geisel Award to Corey R. Tabor's Fox the Tiger, which her committee described as being "an inviting tale of the power of transformation and friendship." (You can see the Honor books listed here.) Angela has served on multiple award committees, including the 2015 Printz committee, and she chaired the 2013 Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

But I wanted to find out from her what it was like to serve on the Geisel committee, so we talked via email about her experience.

JD: Are Geisel committee members asked to read professional materials on evaluating beginning readers prior to committee work?

AF: There is a manual for the committee, and there is a suggested reading list of articles and books written by various leaders in the field. I myself read Robin Smith's articles and Kathleen Horning's From Cover to Cover, among other articles from School Library Journal and Booklist, etc.

JD: Child appeal is a part of the Geisel criteria. When you did your committee work, how often were you getting feedback from children about books you read?

AF: Several committee members were working directly with children in school or public library settings and were using the books in storytimes or lessons.

JD: Do you have any beginning reader pet peeves?

AF: I dislike when difficult vocabulary words are included in an otherwise easy-to-decode text. I feel like this can discourage a new reader who is having success with the other words. I also don't like when sentences continue on to the next page before ending.

JD: How did serving on the committee affect your work as a librarian, generally speaking?

AF: It helped me understand another aspect of the power of literature to help children on their journey to becoming readers. A book that can be read to a child by an adult is often written differently than a book that a young reader can read on their own.

JD: You've served on other committees. What is one way in which serving on the Geisel committee differs from other committee work you've done?

AF: The criteria was much more specific than some of the other committees, so that the field of choices was narrowed down quickly.

JD: What's the most memorable or valuable thing you learned from your committee work?

AF: I think the most valuable thing I learned is how to recognize an early reader of quality. I was also reminded of how a great committee working together can be such a lovely experience.

JD: What is your very favorite beginning reader book?

AF: Geisel 2019 Award Winner Fox the Tiger by Corey Tabor, of course!