{"id":31975,"date":"2014-07-22T15:34:07","date_gmt":"2014-07-22T19:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=31975"},"modified":"2016-04-12T14:41:26","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T18:41:26","slug":"newbery-notoriety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2014\/07\/22\/newbery-notoriety\/","title":{"rendered":"Newbery notoriety"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Stephanie<\/a>

Stephanie Bange, director of the Educational Resource Center, will help select the winner of the Newbery Medal, honoring the best in children\u2019s literature.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not many adults love children\u2019s literature quite like Stephanie Bange.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a love that can be traced to her childhood, when Bange was living with her family on a military base on the shores of Guam, a small tropical island in the Pacific Ocean. Having little to do and nowhere to go, she took to the comfort of literature.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would read whatever I could \u2014 picture books, chapter books or really anything I could get my hands on,\u201d said Bange. \u201cThe base we stayed at had so few books, at one point I even began reading nutrition labels on cereal boxes for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

But above all, Bange developed a soft spot for books targeting younger audiences.<\/p>\n

Now a full-grown reader and the director of Wright State University\u2019s Educational Resource Center<\/a>, Bange\u2019s enthusiasm for children\u2019s literature has only grown.<\/p>\n

Recently, she was elected a key member of the Newbery Award committee.<\/p>\n

Named after the 18th century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded to authors of distinguished children\u2019s literature. Books such as \u201cThe Giver\u201d by Lois Lowry, \u201cA Wrinkle in Time\u201d by Madeleine L\u2019Engle and \u201cHoles\u201d by Louis Sachar are among the prestigious ranks of Newbery Medal winners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I found out I won the election and made it on to the committee, I was thrilled,\u201d said Bange.<\/p>\n

Bange said the committee is incredibly exclusive. She is one of its 15 diverse members, all of whom were either elected or appointed based on career experience in children\u2019s literature. Each member comes from a unique background with a different perspective.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s goal is to decide which book authored in 2014 is deserving of the Newbery Medal and should become an instant classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a reading list of over 300 children\u2019s books,\u201d said Bange. \u201cOver the next few months, I\u2019ll have to get through them all and decide which ones stand out the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bange has until January to pick her cream of the crop before the Newbery committee convenes to decide which among each member\u2019s top seven books meets the Newbery criteria. And the committee meeting will be much more than a mere book club gathering \u2014 intense debates and discussions are sure to ensue.<\/p>\n

According to the Newbery website, committee members must consider the interpretation of the book\u2019s theme or concept; the presentation of information vis-\u00e0-vis accuracy, clarity and organization; development of a plot; delineation of characters and setting; and the presence of any exemplary style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to examine all genres differently,\u201d said Bange. \u201cIf a book is a work of fiction, you\u2019re looking at the story arc, plot, character development, setting, among other things. For nonfiction, you need to pay attention to accuracy, chronology and how interesting the author makes his or her subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Feb. 2, 2015, the next winner of the Newbery Award will be declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy being on this committee, I really believe I can benefit Wright State,\u201d said Bange. \u201cI have been sent hundreds of books to consider for the award. Even after the Newbery Award has been given to one, I still get to keep all of them. That means the best of the best will remain in the ERC\u2019s collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the future, Bange says she plans to spearhead a mock Newbery Award committee among Dayton-area librarians and children\u2019s book enthusiasts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephanie Bange, director of the Educational Resource Center, elected to prestigious Newbery Award committee. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":31978,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2104,711,744,725,715,2024,4301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-teacher-education","category-faculty-staff","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-staff","category-staff-profile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31975"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40657,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31975\/revisions\/40657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}