Wendy, you’re right about the logical fallacy in “Is there any 14 year old this book would work for?” …if you take it as the only measure. Remember that it’s just one question of many that you have to ask about a title. Yeah, technically, the field is wide, and I think that’s good. If a committee member finds a title that they think might be distinguished under Newbery criteria, but is questionable about the age range…then “Is there any 14 year old…” become a useful question for them to ask themselves…and then with which to construct an argument to convince the committee. They’ll have to persuade others that there is a readership of children for this book, and that it is so distinguished in comparison to others that it should be taken seriously.

As I complained last year in the discussion of CHIME, an interpretation of “Is there any 14-year-old this book would work for?” opens up not only ALL the YA, but every adult book out there. After all, what was the first adult book that you loved, and how old were you when you read it? I bet it was younger than 14 for almost everyone here. I just don’t think it’s a useful way of looking at the question.

Here’s how I might approach the situation. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, CODE NAME VERITY, and SERAPHINA all have six starred reviews–and they all have readers in the 12-14 age range. All of these books are long which is one thing that discourages me from suggesting any of them. I think the characters in CODE NAME VERITY are past high school, no? And isn’t there some foul language? I’ll pass. SERAPHINA and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS have sixteen-year-old main characters and there are quite a few of those in the canon, books like HATTIE BIG SKY and HOPE WAS HERE and SOMEWHERE IN THE DARKNESS. But again with THE FAULT IN OUR STARS we have the language and some mild sex, so I’ll pass on this one, too. SERAPHINA would be the most likely contender for me, and I might suggest it, but I don’t think it does for the 12-14 reader what THE FALSE PRINCE does for ages 9-12 so I can’t really get very serious about spending one of my nominations on it.

Once a YA title gets suggested then it obligates the other committee members to read it. The ones that read it and find that it is (a) distinguished and (b) suitable for the age range may also suggest it. The more suggestions a book receives, the more likely the book is to get a nomination in the fall. However, some YA titles may make it onto the final nomination list with only one to two people behind it. They have a long road ahead of them to convince other committee members to get behind that book (as opposed to other titles which have broader support). You can see, then, why committee members would pick their age battles with care. Personally, I’ve only read two books in this 12-14 range that I would battle for: NO CRYSTAL STAIR and BENEATH A METH MOON.

As to your question about older titles, I won’t get into specific titles, but I in my personal opinion there is no question that there have been plenty of 16ish titles, especially in recent years, that out class Newbery winners on pure literary merit, but not necessarily in that pieces about respecting children’s understanding, being a contribution to children’s lit, etc. And I think (never having been on the committee) that’s how the committee circles around to exclude those titles.

So, I cannot be more proud for our 2002 list with one historical fiction for middle grade, another realistic fiction with quite a bit of quirky humor for middle grade, and then a verse biography for the older readers. If we had decided to put more honor titles, I assure you, it would have been even more diverse as a whole list. But, I have no idea what January 2013 might bring. After reading and re-reading, thinking and re-thinking — all 15 of us, who don’t know each other that well and who have to come to consensus for something as subjective and as personal as reading and reacting to what we read. There is also each of our personal backgrounds to bring to the table: some of us are professors of children’s literature who do not work directly with kids, some of us are school librarians for particular age groups, and others are public librarians working with a wider range of kids or teens. Now you are making me really excited and very scared about that last week in January