Nutmeg Book Awards Readers Discuss Selections

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown High School freshman Jane Moran and Ridgefield teen librarian and Nutmeg Teen Book Selection Committee chairperson for 2009 Geri Diorio were at the C.H. Booth Library, Monday, February 25, to discuss the 2009 Nutmeg Book Award selections with members of the Young Adult Council (YAC).

“The ten new titles have been announced and they are already flying off the shelves,” said C.H. booth young adult librarian Margaret Brown. “The books are as interesting as they are diverse in topic and style.”

Jane, a member of the YAC, was selected in November 2006 from more than a dozen applicants from all over Connecticut as one of two student readers to serve on the Nutmeg Teen Book Selection Committee for 2009. Teen committee members help adult book selection committee members refine a list of 80 books down to the top ten nominees, reading more than 20 books every three months. Two divisions exist for the Nutmeg Children’s Book Award, one for grades four to six and the other, for which Jane read, for older readers.

The Nutmeg Book Award is sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association and the Connecticut Educational Media Association to encourage children in grades four through eight to read quality literature. Each year, students across the state read from a list of ten nominated titles and vote for the book that they think deserves the Nutmeg Children’s Book Award. More than 5,000 students across Connecticut voted for the 2008 Nutmeg Book Award, said Ms Diorio, selecting Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan as the winner in both divisions.

Initially a little concerned about the amount of reading that would be required as a member of the committee, Jane said that the reading ended up being “not a problem at all. I finished reading the books by October of 2007,” she said. She had made it a point to finish the bulk of the books before starting high school, not knowing how much additional reading high school classes might require, but found the work load manageable even with her Nutmeg commitment.

“Jane worked out beautifully as a committee member,” said Ms Diorio. “She is a very strong reader and was committed to her reading.” While some of the adult members on the committee found themselves behind on the reading at times, “Jane read every book and was ready to talk about it at the meeting,” Ms Diorio said.

While she has been involved for several years with the Nutmeg Awards, this past year was her first as the chairperson, said Ms Diorio. “It was wonderful. You get to read and know so many books and can then make recommendations when kids are looking for something to read.”

The committee gradually winnowed out the ten finalists from a list of 89 books recommended by book reviewers, a task that was not always easy, said Ms Diorio. “At the end of each meeting we would vote which of the 20-some books we had read to keep in consideration, review them each meeting and vote again, until eventually we narrowed it down to ten books.”

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko; Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos; The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer; Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock; Day of Tears by Julius Lester; Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin; Heat by Mike Lupica; The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman; Uglies by Scott Westerfeld; and Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver were announced February 1 as the ten books selected by the committee for Connecticut students to read in 2008.

In discussing the selections at Monday’s meeting, Ms Diorio and Jane offered brief and sometimes contrary opinions regarding the books, as other YAC members listened attentively. “I love it, loved it, loved it,” said Ms Diorio of Heat. “The last page made me cry. It has all the elements of a good sports story.”

Jane’s opinion was a bit more subdued. “It was a good book, but not amazing….” she said.

They differed about The Case of the Missing Marquess, as well. “I found it hard to get into, and kind of ‘la-di-da,’” said Jane. Ms Diorio pegged that book as one with a smart main character and as a very good mystery, however.

They did agree that Ask Me No Questions was a novel that dealt sensitively with the timely subject of illegal immigration. “It had a happy ending tempered with reality,” said Ms Diorio, and Jane added that she was glad to see that the book had made it to the list of the final ten.

Day of Tears was another favorite of the two book selection committee members. “I read it in an hour. It’s very short, but it stayed with me,” said Ms Diorio. “It is very powerful.”

There were different reasons for liking different books, said Jane. Sometimes it was the style of writing that raised the book above others, sometimes a well-developed character, or a subject that was easy to connect to. “Day of Tears, Dairy Queen, and Ask Me No Questions were probably my favorites on the list,” she said.

Jane admitted that among the nearly 90 books she had to read there were a few stinkers, and one that she actually was unable to finish. One book that she loved did not make the list. Escape From West Berlin fell victim, perhaps, to what Ms Diorio and Jane deemed a truly terrible cover art that distracted the readers from the content. “It is a really wonderful book, though,” commented Jane, far better than Dairy Queen, she thought, which also almost fell by the wayside due to what readers felt was a ridiculous book cover.

YAC members felt that having heard Jane and Ms Diorio speak about the books, that they would be likely to be among the thousands of voters who will cast their votes at school or at the public library for the Nutmeg Book Award next January.

Having the opportunity to serve as readers for the prestigious state book award selections was a wonderful experience, said Ms Diorio and Jane, broadening their book experiences and allowing them to share their opinions with other book lovers.

“One of the most valuable things [that came out of being on the committee] was that I read a lot of books I might not have otherwise,” said Jane.