Both Ben and Rose at personal risk become seekers. Interestingly what they each sought that starts their venture is not what they find, but, what they find is exactly what they really sought. What is so creative and innovative is that the stories are not told in the same language and the difference is Rose’s story is told with no written words only a language of image, gesture, silent thought and feeling and Ben’s story is told in written words of English which evokes all those same things. Each story enriches the other. There is suspense, mystery, the lost, the found and this incredible plot twist as the actual relationship between Ben and Rose is revealed.

When I read this book I knew it was distinguished. Wonderstruck easily meets the key criteria to award the Newbery: 1- Quality of theme. The books theme is interwoven between the two stories and how this is revealed makes it original and innovative 2- Quality in presentation of information (accuracy, clarity and organization). The two stories could not have come together as a whole and worked so well if the presentation failed to provide these necessary elements of information. 3-Well developed plot. The plot and timing is well developed or this original and innovative way of telling Ben and Roses story would not have worked as well as it did. In. 4- Well delineation of characters. The characters are well-defined, believable and you become easily involved in what happens with them 5- Well delineated settings. The settings work even if they begin at two very different places and times and then they merge in this unexpected and satisfying way. 6- Appropriateness of style. Mr. Selznick’s style of storytelling is so unique and it brings so much more to the table then words alone can. He sets the bar that much higher for all other authors this year.

The story style presented through written and image language communicates more than either could on its own.. This book has much to offer children of all ages no matter what their reading level precisely because it uses a universal language and not just the written one. Children do not need to depend on the written word to experience and enjoy this book. This I believe is what distinguishes Mr. Selznick from all the other notable books on this year’s Newbery short list.

Maybe because I’m 9 years old I miss the controversy the adults see in nominating Wonderstruck for the Newbery award. Some adults don’t believe there are enough written words and the story depends too much on pictures. I just don’t understand how the committee can ignore such a distinguished book based on a lack of “Text” for imagery and believe Mr. Selznick somehow comes up short because there are not enough written words telling his story. I personally never found my “Textbooks” superior to real literature yet no one would dispute their abundance of valuable text. Is the number of written words or images important? And when did that become more important than the story telling. Consider how Mr. Selznick succeeds where others fear to tread and he does it without the familiar ( for some of us) sounds words make in our head as their read.

Mr. Selznick has found a way to use an familiar and unfamiliar language to tell the whole story in an way that is always appropriate and in context. Mr. Melcher would be made proud if the committee fulfills the purpose he set when he created the Newbery award and that was to encourage, recognize, support and reward original creative work in the field of children’s literature. What work this year is more creative, original or evolves the standard of children’s literature than Mr. Selznick in Wonderstruck? None!

And to expand on what Wendy was saying earlier, about Ben traveling to New York, remember this was a kid who’s dream vacation was a trip to Duluth, MN. Which is 2-3 hours south of Gunflint Lake. That tells me this kid doesn’t get out much. So we are suddenly to imagine that hopping on a bus and traveling across the country, is something within the realm of possibility for this kid. I don’t buy it.

In WONDERSTRUCK, the improbabilities come almost immediately. From the instant Ben looks at all the items in the room and magically determines that they must be leading him to New York. We don’t get to know Ben as a character before these leaps occur. Selznick just kind of expects us to suspend disbelief from the beginning. And that’s more because he trusts the format in which he’s telling his story.

The fact that Ben just hops on a bus in Duluth, MN and rides to New York City, and then is able to just seamlessly find his way around New York, is kind of silly. Especially since he’s just recently lost the hearing in his other ear, making him fully deaf. The improbability that we’re speaking of in WONDERSTRUCK, feels cheap because it moves the plot along. That’s not the same as OKAY FOR NOW.

If you pull out character development, setting, and plot (which the duel stories converging is not at all original), I don’t think you can make convincing arguments based on the text in terms of the Newbery. I think people are being wowed by the format, which I really don’t understand because after his work in HUGO CABRET, even the format isn’t entirely original anymore. Thanks to Selznick himself!

I think the format is ingenious, but I’m not sure I liked HUGO CABRET or WONDERSTRUCK enough to fully endorse either title. I’ll keep reading his books, should he return to the format again, because it is engaging. I just feel like the story is being overhyped based on the format in which it’s told.

Changing the Newbery criteria would be very, very difficult, and given the fact that committees have wrestled with the present criteria and still manage occasionally to recognize books with significant graphic features makes me think it extremely unlikely. Monica’s lament sidesteps the fact that even if we could have considered both words and pictures for COUNTDOWN and/or HUGO CABRET it doesn’t necessarily mean that she herself or we, as a hypothetical committee, would have deemed them the most distinguished in their respective years.

Getting back to Monica’s point about WONDERSTRUCK: why *should* WONDERSTRUCK or HITLER YOUTH have to fight with a hand tied behind its back. Let they have both hands in the fight.