a children's literature monthly | Volume I, Issue 2
March 2006 |
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- The Golden Kite is the only award in children's books judged and recognized by a jury of peers. Winning entries are selected based on their excellence in writing and illustration, and their appeal to children.
- See theSCBWI website for details on the 2006 Golden Kite Award.
- Plans are underway to "rock the publishing community and dramatically increase the visibility" of the 2006 Golden Kites, according to SCBWI Executive Director, Lin Oliver. Watch The Edge of the Forest for details.
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Did you ever wonder what life’s like when judging a book award like the
SCBWI Golden Kites announced last month?
Author Jane Buchanan, one of the three judges for the fiction category of the
award, talked with The Edge of the Forest recently about her experience.
The Edge of the Forest: According to Jamie Weiss, Golden Kite Award Administrator for
SCBWI, more than 1,000 entries were received in all. Wow, that’s an amazing number of entries. How many books did you
end up reading?
Jane: I didn’t count the exact number—who had time! But in the end, I was reading four books a day…I was totally bleary eyed.
The Edge of the Forest: Who were your fellow judges?
Jane: The fiction panel included authors Cara Haycak,
Uma Krishnaswami, and myself.
The Edge of the Forest: In her blog, Writing With a Broken Tusk, Uma writes that boxes of books arrived at her door
so often she developed a relationship with her UPS delivery person. She also reports reading hundreds of books during the
judging period, so many that she found herself reading all the time, “standing in line at the grocery store, the post office,
even at traffic lights.”
Jane: Most of the books arrived in mid-December, giving us less than a month (during the holidays!) to read them.
I didn’t count the exact number—who had time! In that next month alone, I read dozens at least.
The Edge of the Forest: What did you look for when judging an entry?
Jane: I found myself drawn to beautiful prose, strong characters, unforgettable settings, and novels that surprised me.
The Edge of the Forest: What did you learn from reading so many books in such a short amount of time?
Jane: I’m not sure I really learned much about story that I didn’t already know. But my sense that you can’t judge a book
until you’ve read to the end was certainly reinforced. You often don’t realize how great a book is until you get to the end.
Which meant you couldn’t read the beginning and decide it wasn’t (or was!) an award-worthy book.
Congratulations to the 2005 Golden Kite Winners!
Fiction
A Room on Lorelei Street, by Mary E. Pearson. Henry Holt, 2005. ISBN: 0-8050-7667-0.
Nonfiction
Children of the Great Depression, by Russell Freedman. Clarion/Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ISBN: 0-6184-4630-3.
Picture Book Text
Doña Flor, by Pat Mora. Illustrations by Raul Colon. Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN: 0-3759-2337-3.
Picture Book Illustration
Baby Bear’s Chairs, by Jane Yolen. Illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Harcourt, 2005. ISBN: 0-1520-5114-7.
Golden Kite Honor Books
Fiction
Each Little Bird That Sings, by Deborah Wiles. Harcourt, 2005. ISBN: 0-1520-5113-9.
Nonfiction
The Forbidden Schoolhouse: The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students, by Suzanne
Jurmain. Houghton Mifflin, 2005. ISBN: 0-6184-7302-5.
Picture Book Text
Grandmama’s Pride, by Becky Birtha. Illustrations by Colin Bootman. Albert Whitman & Co, 2005.
ISBN: 0-8075-3028-X.
Picture Book Illustration
Cinderella, by Barbara McClintock. Scholastic Press, 2005. ISBN: 0-4395-6145-0.
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