The Newbery Award list is an interesting cross-section of genres, styles, time periods and themes. At a glance it may seem that kids’ books aren’t as fun and light-hearted as they used to be. Judging from my own experience, from when I was a kid till now, it’s hard to tell. I didn’t read many Newbery Award winners ~ instead I went straight from classic picture books (like Where the Wild Things Are, or Harold and the Purple Crayon) to “grown-up” classics like Grapes of Wrath and Little Women. So it’s only been now, as an adult, that I’ve gone back to read some of these Newbery classics.
Looking at some of the pre-teen lit that’s out there, it’s easy to say that yes, things are getting more intense. Books like Harry Potter and other popular series – that may or may not have won the Newbery Award – are certainly darker books than I would want my kids reading, if I had any.
Yet when looking at the list of recent Newbery winners – which I would say is a good sampling of what’s going on in the world of kids’ lit – there’s a decent representation of light and dark. Take the two most recent books I’ve read and reviewed: The Underneath and Savvy. While both had happy endings, one was definitely darker than the other. Savvy was a sweet, enticing tale – not without its harrowing moments, but focused on the love of a family. The Underneath was quite a bit darker and sad, with a redeeming message none-the-less.
For these reasons, I think there is still a balance maintained in kid’s literature between lighter issues and heavier problems. After all, kids face upsetting and difficult situations, why shouldn’t they have books that they can identify with in these areas as well?
