Pictures tell the stories for librarian
Published on Saturday, January 13, 2007
Fayettville ObserverMegan Smith will have to read 500 children’s books this year. But she doesn’t mind a bit.
Smith is one of 15 librarians nationwide chosen to serve on the 2008 Randolph Caldecott Committee, which awards an annual medal to the artist of the year’s most distinguished American picture book for children. She is the first librarian from Cumberland County to serve on the committee.
At 24, Smith has been youth services manager at the Cumberland County Library and Information Center in downtown Fayetteville for almost a year since completing her master’s degree in Wisconsin.
When she applied to be put on an American Library Association Children’s Division Committee, she didn’t expect such a prestigious appointment so soon.
“I thought maybe I could get on a smaller committee, being so new to the profession,” she said. “It was definitely a dream come true for me.”
Named for a renowned 19th century illustrator, the Caldecott Medal has been presented annually since 1938.
All illustrated books aimed at children from birth to age 14 and illustrated by American residents are judged. The committee will meet throughout the year to share their opinions on this year’s entries.
A short list will be generated in September, then the winner announced to national media in Philadelphia in January 2008. The medal will be awarded that June in Anaheim, Calif.
“It could be a book geared toward a middle-schooler or a toddler,” Smith said. “We’re looking at the whole spectrum.”
In the meantime, Smith will read a copy of each of the 500 or so eligible releases as the year unfolds.
“I think I’m going to have piles,” she said. “Divide it up.”
Smith said she’ll be looking not only for how the lines and textures in illustrations reveal feelings and character, but also for pictures that move a story along.
“The pictures really need to tell the story with additional information you wouldn’t get in the text,” she said.
Smith’s appointment is also a feather in the county library system’s cap, not to mention a literary windfall — she’ll be donating all the books to the library collection once she’s finished with them.
“That means thousands of dollars in children’s literature for our library system,” said library director Jerry Thrasher.
The library keeps an updated list of medal-winning books.
“Some of our customers come in and they want the best in juvenile fiction and illustration,” Thrasher said. “They use it as a reading list.”
Thrasher said Smith’s knowledge of her subject made her an excellent pick for the committee.
“She’s very organized, very dedicated and does a marvelous job with children’s programming,” he said.
Smith also orders books and trains employees, but she took pre-law classes before deciding to pursue a career in the library.
She said it combines her love of reading and desire to work with children.
“It really seemed to click,” she said.
Now she gets to help bring the same joy to children she received from classic children’s tales such as Lois Lowry’s “Number the Stars” and “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown.
“If they connect to a book as a child,” Smith said, “it gets them started on the process to enjoy reading as an adult.”
Five of Megan Smith’s favorite past winners of the Caldecott Medal, all available at Cumberland County public libraries
"Where The Wild Things Are" illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1964) Story: When a young boy dresses up as a wolf, his bedroom transforms into a forest where he gets into a wild rumpus with some wild things. Smith’s verdict: With their unique facial expressions, the pictures help create a child’s perspective as the hero goes "into his own world where he has control." | "The Hello, Goodbye Window" illustrated by Chris Raschka (2006) Story: A young girl discovers a magic window during a weekend with her grandparents. Smith’s verdict: Abstract, childlike paintings in dazzlingly bright colors. "He has a very unique style, so it’s easy to recognize his artwork." | "Kitten's First Full Moon" illustrated by Kevin Henkes (2005) Story: Mistaking his first full moon for a bowl of milk, a kitten sets out to drink it. Smith’s verdict: The use of light and shade in the unusual black-and-white drawings "really help the story come alive to a young audience." | "Tuesday" illustrated by David Wiesner (1992) Story: A colony of frogs mysteriously floats through town one night. Smith’s verdict: Intricately detailed illustrations tell the story almost entirely without text, allowing her to "have children guess what’s happening next." | "The Man Who Walked Between The Towers" illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein (2004) Story: True account of Frenchman Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. Smith’s Verdict: Unusual perspectives and "a neat romantic feeling with all the different colors." |