Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Caldecott Medal and Newbery Award Winners

Yesterday, the Caldecott Medal and Newberry Award winners were announced. The Randoplh Caldecott medal, which is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished picture book for children, was presented to John Klassen for This Is Not My Hat. The imaginative story tells of a little fish who tries to get away with stealing the hat of a much larger fish. The Newbery Award, which honors the author with the most distinguished contribution to children's literature was presented to Katherine Applegate for The One and Only Ivan, the fictional story of a real life gorilla who lived in a cage in a circus themed mall before being rescued in 1994. Both books make excellent reads to share with a special child in your life and are available at your Community Library!

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Caldecott Medal and Newbery Award Winners

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