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Our dear old friend the British Brigadier has come to stay for just one night before he’s off to some conference of spies somewhere. The Brigadier does funny stuff, so for many years whenever I spoke to his lovely wife and asked after his whereabouts, I knew if she replied “He’s upstairs” that that meant I simply didn’t want to know.

I’ll be whisking our friend off to his embassy shortly, but as we sat around the breakfast table with our coffee and toast, he mentioned he’d like to send the younger Mini Maven a copy of Conn Iggulden’s The Dangerous Book for Boys as a gift. I told him that she does already have The Daring Book for Girls, in case he would like to save his Euros. 

“Oh, nooooo,” he said (it was more like “Och nauw,” since he’s Scottish, but I’ve promised not to make too much sport of his foreign tongue). “The book for boys is much, much better. Did you know that they’ve got a guide to recognizing freshwater fish and also a list of the kings and queens of England?”

Uh, no, we didn’t. And, um, how exciting?

“Ahhhhh,” said the Brigadier. “But hidden between those pages is a spread of information about how to build a detonator. In a book for children! When I am explaining about the basics (Ed. note: “The basics” !!!!), as I’m handing round different explosives, I bring out a copy of The Dangerous Book for Boys and open it up to show them the directions. Iggulden gives such clear instructions on booby traps that it’s better than any military manual.”

HarperCollins, what hath thou wrought? 

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There was an interesting piece in today’s Washington Post Style section about the famed Newbery Award for children’s literature. It seems that the winners over the past years have dealt with such challenging subjects that they may not be reaching their intended audience. Some of the experts involved in the debate argue that “quality and popularity need not be mutually exclusive,” while others stand firm in their beliefs that literary merit must triumph.

As I type, President-Elect Obama is announcing his pick for Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, and speaking about the importance of easing our children away from video games and “reading to them at night” in the struggle to make our nation’s education system stronger. Those of us who love books and reading know that the Newbery debate isn’t just some frivolous chat about fiction; it’s about keeping kids engaged with narratives at a crucial stage, ages 8-12.

As the article points out, many previous Newbery winners like 1999 winner Louis Sachar’s Holes and 1953 runner-up E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, have become enduring bestsellers. The winner, with its cover earning the right to sport the distinctive gold embossed medal, usually becomes a bestseller in its own right for a time — but recently, the winners have been purchased by adults but not embraced by younger readers.

Gosh, I can’t imagine why; look at the 2008 winner. Now, first: Please let me say I don’t want to diss Laura Amy The 2008 winner has been called inaccessible to young readers.Schlitz. She deserves great praise for winning the Newbery. Second: I’m probably the biggest geek out there when it comes to medieval history (and no, I’m not a member of the SCA and I don’t want to join), and I plan to run out a buy a copy of this for myself, since I’m currently writing a popular history of the medieval world.

But is this a book that my Mini Maven would choose? Some people might argue that not every book a child should read is one that child would choose, that an adult should participate in book selection. Those people probably do not have tweens. At age seven, age eight, age nine, the Mini Maven was thrilled to have her school librarian recommend books to her. At age ten and eleven? Not so much!

Again, let’s not blame Schlitz for writing a book about medieval voices. It’s probably really, really good. I blame her publisher and her book designer, to tell you the truth — the tinted line drawing image and the antique-y font look more like a Reader’s Digest book design from the early 1960s than something that would attract today’s middle-schoolers. There’s absolutely no reason why this book couldn’t have had an edgier look and style. So, tell me, would you read this book? Would your child read it? I could be entirely wrong, but I believe that the Newbery judges need to keep readers in mind, and I think this book bypasses them.

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We have a new First Family Elect, and it includes two winsome young ladies: Malia Ann and Sasha. We already know they’re getting a puppy, soon, and moving into a big new house — but this inquiring mind is, naturally, more interested in what they’ll be reading in order to prepare for their new lives in the DC fishbowl (and they’re too young for Fishbowl DC!).

I have a few suggestions, and I’m sure that our own Reading Rockets will provide even more. Herewith, my list for the younger Obama women:

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out: I talked this one up here, too, in case you’d like to watch a video… A remarkable book by a collection of writers, poets, and artists that provides a plethora of information about our country’s First Home, including cartoons, sketches, facts, ghost stories, and more.

First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children: Himself a kid when he wrote this, Noah McCullough interviewed lots and lots of presidents’ kids past and present — their experiences may be instructive for Malia and Sasha, who will quickly learn that their every move is going to become fodder for future books like this one.

Call Me Madam President: This delightful picture book by Arlingtonian Sue Pyatt is a must-read for the young Obamas. After all, their father is the first African-American President-Elect — but we still haven’t had a WOMAN in the White House!

Do you have other titles to recommend? Share them here…

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