>Our Prairie Sisters

by Roger Sutton
Jan 05, 2006 | Filed in Articles & Opinion
>The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, headed by the formidably (forbiddingly?) intelligent Deborah Stevenson, has released its best-of-the-year list, Bulletin Blue Ribbons. It's a good list, but the inclusion of William Bee's Whatever does cause me to recall Dame Nellie Melba's remark about upstart soprano Frances Alda: "In my day, she might have been considered good enough for the chorus."
Roger Sutton
Roger Sutton

Editor Emeritus Roger Sutton was editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc., from 1996-2021. He was previously editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books and a children's and young adult librarian. He received his MA in library science from the University of Chicago in 1982 and a BA from Pitzer College in 1978.

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Anonymous

>Why? Are you only interested in one point of view? Besides, Roger is a man of great uncommon good sense and heart and you must share him.

Posted : Jan 06, 2006 07:06

Anonymous

>Don't you think this is sort of a weird place to hang out for those people who don't like awards and lists and starred reviews and such?

Posted : Jan 06, 2006 06:45

Anonymous

>Oh pish posh applesauce. There are no shocking omissions or inclusions. At the best books lists point of intersection between list maker and book maker, it's not about the books, it's about the list maker's insatiable cries of look at me, look what I like, look what I deem best, I get the last word now. The books are lost entirely. I remember reading someone once who said did Brahm's really write that piece to be sandwiched in between a Bach and Mozart? He made it to be listened to on its own. Yeah yeah yeah, you gotta live in the world.

Posted : Jan 06, 2006 04:42

Anonymous

>The shocking omission from the Bulletin list is Criss Cross, even more shocking than Fanfare's omission of That New Animal.

Posted : Jan 06, 2006 04:30

fusenumber8

>Ah, but can you deny that The New York Times Book Review gave "Whatever" a review that could not be called anything but absolutely superb. Then again, NYT disliked "Show Way" so who are they to judge?

Posted : Jan 05, 2006 05:28

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