They Picked WHAT? They Rejected WHAT?

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Library assistant Lauren created a display of parenting books, accompanied by an iconic image of a parent:

The kids have no idea. Some parents do. We have a good time. And now for something completely different.


Two big anniversaries this year, and from the very top of the list of greatest children's novels ever!

From 1952: Charlotte's Web, E.B. White's masterpiece, turns 60. Happy birthday to Fern, Charlotte and Wilbur. I'm planning a celebration for next fall. CW has the single best opening line of all time: "Where's Papa going with that ax?"

A funny thing happened on the way to the Newbery award, however. (E.B., however, would never have ended a sentence with "however." Sorry.) Charlotte's Web lost the Newbery Gold Medal to...drumroll, please...Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark. Since the proceedings of the Newbery committee remain sealed forever, we will never know: Was it the death of Charlotte? The failure of the story to come full circle back to Fern and family? For more ruminations on Newbery failures, click here. In vindication, I don't know anybody who's read Secret of the Andes.



From 1962: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Another classic opening line, one which sophisticated young readers recognize as a wink-wink cliché: "It was a dark and stormy night." This time, the Newbery committee picked a work that is enduring, timeless, popular and magnificent. But the thing almost didn't get published at all: L'Engle submitted it to many publishers and got a sheaf of rejection letters; most claimed it was too hard for children. (J.K. Rowling had the same problem with you-know-who. So did William Golding with Lord of the Flies. All in good company with Judy Blume, Stephen King and John Grisham.)

L'Engle adamantly refused to write down for her audience, even at the risk of remaining unpublished. It remains part of the canon, and one which faces challenges from parents who claim it offends their religious sensibilities and demand its removal from school libraries. Ironically, it also faces complaints from those who claim it is overly religious.

Atlanta's own Theatrical Outfit is performing a stage adaptation from April 12-May 6. Take your kids. Anyone remember reading it as a kid? How did it affect you? And for that matter, has anyone slogged through the other three in the series? What was up with that?

NPR recently aired an appreciation: