As a library media specialist in a public elementary school, I have always felt it was my duty to buy and promote the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King Illustrator, and state award winners and nominees in order to showcase some of the best books of year––even though I have had reservations about the kid appeal of some of the books. After all, part of my job is to help kids discover literary gems. However, despite my best efforts, every year a portion of these books eventually become “shelf-squatters” as my attention becomes focused elsewhere and the kids naturally gravitate toward more commercial, mainstream books (which I also purchase as my budget allows).

When considering books for the school library collection, the library media specialist must make tough decisions regarding the major award winners. It is very difficult for me to be objective about award books because in most cases, I find the chosen books to be so worthy of recognition. However, my young patrons do not always agree. After all, in most cases a committee of adults select the award winners based on specific criteria. (With the Georgia Book Award process, students select the winner from a list of nominees by voting for their favorite.) I have found that adults judge literary merit using a set of criteria that is very different from the criteria that children use to decide what is appealing to them. I have also found that even though adults may find a book to be of great literary merit, if kids find the book to be unappealing, it will not be read (no matter how many awards adults have bestowed upon it). That is this the case with this year’s Newbery winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. It is an excellent choice, but it doesn’t have much kid appeal. It will never have the same popularity as some of the winners (such as the 1999 winner, Holes). In fact, I will have to work really hard to promote the book, or it will seldom be checked out. While I realize that is part of my job, it does illustrate my point. So what is the solution? Maintain the current course, or steer more into the mainstream?

Motherhood has really been the catalyst for the clarification of my thoughts on the struggle of literary vs. mainstream. I have found with my own child, now a busy toddler, that I have to appeal to his interests in order to keep him reading. That doesn’t mean that my little one hasn’t succumbed to the charm of Caldecott winner Where the Wild Things Are and classics like Goodnight Moon. It just means that when something is holding his attention (currently Thomas the Tank Engine), I have to seize the moment. Therefore, I have learned to balance the award winning and classic with the kid appealing. I have come to realize that I may never get my little one to listen to Snowy Day. It just doesn’t appeal to him. (And let’s face it, my son, who hates to travel, has never seen snow where we live––in south Georgia.) That doesn’t mean that I won’t keep trying. It just means that if I want to keep him reading, I have to keep his interests in mind when purchasing new books. It’s all about balance.

I read one of the classics to him every day, though not always an award winner. Tonight, it might be Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham (which he loves after I convinced him to give it a try). After that, he can choose. He usually chooses a Thomas story like Catch Me, Catch Me! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, Go, Train, Go!, or Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story, a Cars story like Driving Buddies (Step into Reading), or a Dora or Diego story like Diego’s Wolf Pup Rescue . As long as we are reading together every night, I have stopped obsessing so much about what we are reading.

There is a wonderful article on this topic at http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/LIBRARY/qual_vs_pop.html. An extensive review of literature on this topic shows that readers of commercial/mainstream literature are the most prolific readers and are more likely to to continue their reading development at a higher rate than those who do not read popular literature. Researchers also found that popular literature can be a bridge to higher quality literature. While I already knew this from experience––both academic and maternal, I have to say that I like being able to back up my own thoughts with research.

In conclusion, I will always pursue and purchase the best in children’s literature. However, I am going to be much more careful about balancing the award winning with the popular literature that students crave. After all, as a librarian and as a mother, I have to serve the needs of my patrons and keep them reading!

Here are a couple of my son’s current favorites as mentioned above: