Check It Out

What do these three things have in common?
1. The 2009 Newbery Award: The Graveyard Bookby Neil Gaiman.
2. Email chatter about the Newbery Award winner.
3. “A Dirty Little Secret: Self-Censorship” by Debra Lau Whelan, School Library Journal, February.

They intersect one another. Gaiman’s book, a Newbery winner, once again could be self-censored from elementary school libraries. Why? Because of the opening scene. A scene in which the reader discovers the main character has escaped being murder while he rest of his family does not. A scene that includes a knife.
Shortly after the ALA announcement that The Graveyard Book won the award, emails started flying. Many of which stated, the book would not be purchased for their school. I had not read the book but immediately got my hands on it and devoured it cover to cover.

It seems that many recent Newbery Awards are for middle or high school. But this year, the committee was brave in selecting a book that not only has kid appeal but is masterfully written. Have you read Gaiman’s book? If not, it must go on your “to-read” list.
The timing of the SLJ article could not have been more perfect. Do we as school librarians self-censor? Do I self-censor? I think it is food for thought. My library does not have And Tango Makes Three or Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. Interestingly, I check our district, seven schools (four elementary) have And Tango Makes Three and there are no copies of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding in our district. This requires further examination on my part. ( I am in the process of putting an order together).
Last year, I had a parent visit me about Harry Potter. I explain she could censor her children’s reading but not others. I gave her all the paper work to file a challenge but it never happened.
What is the criteria for selecting The Graveyard Bookfor my school library? I am good at considering the reviews and the suggested ages for a book. Many reviews say ten years old or fifth grade for this title. I am always on the lookout for those “edgy” fifth grade reads. Having read the book, I think it is an excellent choice for elementary. Gaiman’s book fills a void in the scary/horror genre of the school library. It is a difficult genre at elementary beyond the Goosebumps series. (which the cover is often more scary than the text). And paired with the classic Jungle Book, wow, let the discussions begin.
This past week at the conference, we talked a lot about providing mentor text for students. The Graveyard Book will make such a great mentor text for those students trying to write a scary story. The reader can be scared and yet, most of the scary parts are nuanced. The reader is not reading about gore beyond the words “bloody knife” and that will send the imagination off, won’t it?
I have to agree with Pat Scales, a former librarian and First Amendment advocate, who says, “Children will put down what they can’t handle or what they aren’t ready for.” I know this will be true for Gaiman’s book and I also know it probably will not stay on the shelves much. By the way, yesterdy it was announced that The Graveyard Book also won the CYBILS for best book in the “Middle Grade Sci-fi/Fantasy” division. Congrats on that.

Happy Reading.

MsMac