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Allow Us To Explain

Are Graphic Novels Eligible For The Newbery Medal?

by Jill Pantozzi | 4:20 pm, August 17th, 2012


The John Newbery Medal is awarded each year by Association for Library Service to Children for outstanding contributions to children’s literature in America. Along with the Caldecott Medal, the Newbery is one of the most prestigious awards a children’s author can receive. But although countless graphic novels are written each year with children in mind, none have ever won a Newbery. The reason may surprise you. 

Past winners of the Newbery Medal include Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown, Louis Sachar’s Holes, and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat brought together some interesting discussion on the topic. It involved a post by librarian Elizabeth Moreau and the comments that followed. Originally, the topic was brought up at the ALA’s annual conference. According to Moreau, who cites the official rules, there’s no reason graphic novels shouldn’t be considered. Here’s a few bits from the rules:

“Contribution to American literature” indicates the text of a book. It also implies that the committee shall consider all forms of writing—fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

The committee is to make its decision primarily on the text. Other components of a book, such as illustrations, overall design of the book, etc., may be considered when they make the book less effective.

So does that mean a graphic novel’s art would act against the book just for having such a large role in the overall story? Moreau did a little experiment:

For the next five pages, I covered up the illustrations with post-it notes except for little gaps around the text bubbles and the people’s heads (so I could see who said what) and then I started reading.

Note: for this to be a truly effective experiment, I should have had someone else cover up the illustrations so I never even saw them. People already think I’m crazy, this request wouldn’t even have them raising their eyebrows.

And then I read. And it didn’t work. Without the illustrations the text was fun, but mostly flat. The setting was non-existent. And far too much was lost. I mourned a little bit as I replaced it on my shelf.

In the comment sections cartoonist/educator Chris Schweitzer, argued the illustrations in a graphic novel are not so much art as they are actual story. And then MacDonald brought up an interesting counterpoint: “Not discussed: could a Graphic Novel win the Caldecott Award, which is presented for the best illustrations in a children’s book?”

What do you think? Should graphic novels be eligible for the Newbery and should the rules be changed so that can happen?

(via The Beat, image via PNLA Quarterly)

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  • http://twitter.com/cameragrrl Wendy Whipple

    Rather than change the rules for Newberry and/or Caldecott awards, why doesn’t the ALA or the ALSC add a new award for excellence in graphic novels for children and young adults? Or for that matter, why don’t we make a bigger deal out of the Eisner Awards for those given to the kids’ categories? The awards are already out there, but do librarians bother to know about the Eisner winners? Looks like the Eisner Foundation recognizes the need for them to know! http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/comics/article/52482-the-will-eisner-graphic-novel-prize-for-libraries-to-debut-at-ala-anaheim.html

  • misterpaul

    Some people categorize The Invention of Hugo Cabret as a graphic novel. It won the Caldecott in 2008.

  • Anonymous

    I still think American Born Chinese should’ve won the Newbery in 2006. Criss Cross won that year–it’s a good book, but not a great book, and American Born Chinese is just phenomenal.

  • Heather Jeanne

    American Born Chinese did win the Printz in 2007, so that sets something of a precedent, although the Printz award doesn’t include a focus on text in its criteria.

  • zaprowsdower

    Since comics and graphic novels are becoming more prevalent in libraries  - especially in the YA and teen areas – librarians are generally very much aware of Eisner. 

  • zaprowsdower

    The rules should be changed but doesn’t automatically mean that the mindset will also change. I’ve worked as a book seller and a librarian and both aspects of the book world are super stodgy and conservative. I do think that Newbury is the most progressive of the book awards. But as I said in a response below, people rail Maus as the only comic book (strip really) to win a Pulitzer but it actually just won a special prize by the Pulitzer Commette when it should have won the real damn thing. I’m hoping for more progression but gosh, it’s not a great scene.

  • http://www.facebook.com/angelica.brenner Angelica Brenner

    As someone who’s tired beyond tired of hearing comics referred to as a “genre”, I say keep ‘em out of the awards meant for books. Comics are their own medium, not a subset.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MYC65UZW7OMSYCL4YRFH4XKKKQ Brian

    Disagree. A book is a book is a book. Paper and cardboard and ink and glue telling a story via pages and whatnot. It’s a different form, but not an entirely separate medium.

  • jemma tan

    I will be honest, as an aspiring writer coming from Asia, I still find it ridiculous that the Newbery Medal and Pulitizer literature prizes only go to American writers (along with the original Man Booker, not the international one). In my country, there really aren’t a lot of lit prizes because the industry is pretty small here. Honestly, could the at least extend those prizes to cover English-language? Yeah. I know it’s an even bigger selection, but well. Come on. Yeah, sorry, this is a really unsupported argument but it’s late at night and I can’t think straight. 

  • http://twitter.com/drawexplosions Emily Calkins

    Actually, American Born Chinese DID win the Printz Award (ALA’s award for excellence in Young Adult Literature) in 2007. While the Newbery is a text award, and the Caldecott is an award for illustration, the Printz is simple “excellence” – which gives the committee a lot of leeway! Obviously, there are graphic novels published for children that wouldn’t be eligible, but many are!

  • Anonymous

    I was so psyched when it won the Printz–first graphic novel to do so! I just think that if the Newbery represents the greatest contribution to children’s literature with little or no limits on fiction/nonfiction or age range, then graphic novels should be eligible.

  • zaprowsdower

    That isn’t true about the original Booker prize. It’s not an American award at all. Its a UK based award and its for books “written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.” The US doesn’t fall into that category.

  • http://www.facebook.com/laura.truxillo Laura Truxillo

    “Well, when I only read the dialogue, it didn’t work.”

    Where’s that Nicholas Cage “really?” face when you need it.

  • http://www.facebook.com/nfntrobin Robin Brenner

    As a librarian, first I would point out that, while it’s not the Newbery Award or Caldecott, there are now two lists for graphic novels and comics: 
    Great Graphic Novels for Teens
    http://www.ala.org/yalsa/great-graphic-novels
    and the Graphic Novels Core Collection for Kids (to be updated yearly)
    http://www.ala.org/alsc/compubs/booklists/grphcnvls

    As for the Eisners, I know many librarians who follow the Eisner Award nominations and winners.  Part of the issues surrounding the Eisner Awards are different processes of awards (the Eisners win via industry vote, a la the Oscars, whereas the ALA and ALSC awards are voted on by a panel of judges, which just makes it a  different award/win) and that there’s still a significant lack of awareness across the book industries and the comics industries.  I can’t even tell you how much the comics world doesn’t get about the book world, and vice versa, still.  It’s frustrating as someone who straddles both worlds and see just how much we could work together, but tend to get caught up in barriers to understanding instead.

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