Book Awards Can Help Teachers on a Budget

Prestigious children's book honors like the Caldecott, Newberry and Coretta Scott King Awards aren’t the end-all-be-all of great children’s literature, but these labels do help find diamonds amid the coal.

When I started out as a budget-conscious third grade teacher nine years ago, I visited nearly every yard sale I saw. Rummaging through stacks of used children’s books, I was in search of literary jewels to pad my classroom library and read aloud to students. Flea markets. Thrift stores. I was obsessed. Those darn Disney books were always on sale, so when I found an awarded book, you bet your bifocals I bought it!

Many urban public school teachers face the problem of not having access to quality trade books — awarded or non-awarded — for our students. Classrooms need a wide variety of books on multiple reading levels that children can self-select and take home to read.

When my current principal hired me, and included a $1,000 book stipend, I thought I had been reincarnated as a teacher from the wealthy suburbs! I shopped online, giving awarded books only a slight preference. This time I also referred to consumer reviews, and I asked my fourth-grade students for their must-read lists.

My kids wanted copies of the popular series "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," while the experts recommended "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." So I bought both.

I purchased the entire book collection of celebrated authors Patricia Polacco, Kadir Nelson and Chris Van Allsburg. I also bought fantastically written books by up-and-coming novelists like Paula Yoo.

I didn’t buy the awarded books that bored me by the fourth page, and I stopped haggling over ripped paperback covers in strangers' garages just because some of them had special medals stamped on them.

So it goes with most consumers: When we’re broke, expert-approved products carry significant weight. This narrows down limitless options and eases our fear of buyer's remorse. But as our knowledge base and cash flow grows, we become more discerning, even a bit cocky. We are now our own experts, closing the book on the professional critique.

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