Rereading Atlas Shrugged

During the summer of 1989, I was flying back to Ohio from a trip out west, when my seatmate on the plane told me that every year he reread Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. It’s a long book. I hadn’t read it. I didn’t think to ask if he read any other books, and since I hadn’t read that one, our discussion was one-sided. He obviously loved the book, and based upon that, I did read it.

If you are on an ALSC literary award committee, like the Newbery, you must read and discuss and reread and discuss a lot of books. Late last year, the Newbery received quite a bit of press. Well, two articles (“Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?” by Anita Silvey in SLJ, 10/1/08 and “Plot Twist: The Newbery May Dampen Kids’ Reading” by Valerie Strauss in Washington Post, 12/16/08) that I can recall, but still, the past Newbery selections were causing a stir. Since this is the official blog of the Association for Library Service to Children, should that conversation take place here? After all, members of our organization head the committee to select the Newbery using a specific criteria.

Keep in mind, those committee members aren’t supposed to talk about their deliberations. Books are selected by consensus by a group of professionals who go into the process with open minds and a specific criteria in finding the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in the preceding year. I know they take this hard work very seriously, and I hope they have a great deal of fun.

I support the selections of the committees, past and present. I support everyone who wants to discuss the merits of the selected books and second-guess well into the future. More than that, I encourage you to keep reading and discussing children’s literature and thinking of ways to encourage all children to read. After all, there isn’t much of a discussion if you haven’t read the book.

–Teresa Walls
Manager, ALSC Blog