Newbery, Caldecott winners: Jack Gantos, Chris Raschka take the top prizes
If there鈥檚 one thing this year鈥檚 Newbery and Caldecott winners taught us, it鈥檚 a confirmation of the old adage, 鈥渨rite what you know.鈥� This year鈥檚 winners scored accolades putting mundane personal experiences to paper, from growing up in a town created by the Depression to witnessing a dog lose a favorite ball.聽
Jack Gantos won the Newbery Medal, awarded for best children鈥檚 literature, for his semi-autobiographical novel, 鈥淒ead End in Norvelt.鈥� The story hits very close to home for Gantos, to say the least. Set in 1962, it follows the hilariously improbable adventures of a boy named Jack Gantos growing up in Gantos鈥� former hometown, Norvelt, Penn., created by the federal government during the Great Depression.
The ALA described it as 鈥渁n achingly funny romp through a dingy New Deal 迟辞飞苍.鈥�
Chris Raschka, who won the Caldecott Medal, awarded for best picture book, also stayed close to home with his picture book, 鈥淎 Ball for Daisy.鈥� The wordless book for ages 3 and up deals with a dog鈥檚 loss of her favorite ball. It was inspired by an everyday incident in an elevator a decade ago involving Raschka鈥檚 four-year-old son, his favorite ball, and a dog named Daisy. The dog eventually destroyed the ball, but it also sparked the idea behind the award-winning book.
鈥淢y son eventually got over it,鈥� Raschka , 鈥渂ut I thought it鈥檇 make a good picture book.鈥� The challenging part he said, was 鈥渁chieving the right balance between empathetic response without making it too upsetting for kids.鈥�
鈥淒ead End Norvelt鈥� also drew directly from Gantos鈥� experience. He was at a funeral eulogizing his aunt in the real Norvelt, Penn., when he discovered how little Norvelt鈥檚 residents knew about the town鈥檚 roots as a federal project created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and named after a combination of the last syllable鈥檚 of Eleanor Roosevelt鈥檚 name: EleaNOR RooseVELT. Gantos said he was shocked at how little the town knew about its history and determined to share his hometown鈥檚 history through a children鈥檚 book.
At the awards ceremony, hosted by the American Library Association in Dallas, Gantos said he wanted to 鈥渂ring history alive, not treat it as an object behind glass, collecting dust.鈥�
If there鈥檚 one more thing this year鈥檚 awards taught us, it鈥檚 that there are second acts in life. At 20, Gantos spent 18 months in prison for drug running. 鈥淲hen I got out,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 had a lot of focus. I never wanted to do that again.鈥� His 2002 memoir for teens, 鈥淗ole in my Head,鈥� describes what he calls the 鈥渂leakest year of my life.鈥� Today Gantos has 45 books under his belt, including a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a National Book Award finalist designation.
Raschka鈥檚 first act was as a violist and member of the orchestras in Ann Arbor and Flint, Michigan, who turned to art and illustration full-time only after tendinitis ended his musical career. Today, Raschka has written or illustrated about 50 books, including the 2006 Caldecott winner, 鈥淭he Hello, Good-bye Window.鈥�
With this year鈥檚 awards, Gantos and Raschka proved that success can be as attainable as second acts writing what they know.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
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