by Marcia McBrien
The best children’s literature doesn’t only entertain – it also helps young people develop empathy and confront difficult issues through reading, explained Dr. Kristy Spann, educator and member of the Book Club of Detroit.
At a July 13 meeting of the Book Club of Detroit, Dr. Spann spoke about the importance of children’s literature, sharing books from her Newbery Medal winners collection – and also her system for cataloging her collection using the Excel spreadsheet program. The event took place at the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, Michigan.

Dr. Spann shared why she collects books that have won Newbery Medals: “Kids are our future.” The importance of children’s literature is often overlooked, but “The Newbery Medal recognizes the best examples of high-quality writing for children … it’s amazing when we can give children the love of literature.”
Children’s literature as we know it today did not always exist, observed Dr. Spann, who is superintendent of Bentley Community Schools District. The first children’s books were didactic, seeking to instill good behavior and morals. In 1744, British publisher John Newbery issued A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, considered to be the first modern children’s book, in that it aimed to entertain children and was not merely didactic. Newbery believed that books should be enjoyed and that children could be encouraged to behave well through stories, games, and rhymes. Newbery published a number of children’s books, helping to establish children’s literature as a respected and commercially viable genre.

In 1921, at a meeting of the American Library Association, Publishers Weekly editor Frederic Melcher proposed recognizing outstanding children’s books with an annual award named after Newbery, with the goal of encouraging good writing for children. Melcher funded the creation of the Newbery Medal, which was designed by American sculptor Rene Paul Chabbellan. Dr. Spann noted that Chambellan, who was one of the foremost proponents of the Art Deco style, also designed the tower of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak – “only two miles away from where we are now!”
Starting in 1922, the Newbery Medal has been awarded every year to a children’s book published in the previous year. The Newbery Medal winners span a wide range of genres, including history (The Story of Mankind, Newbery Medal 1922), historical fiction (Amos Fortune, Free Man, Newbery Medal 1951), biography (Lincoln: A photobiography, Newbery Medal 1988), poetry (Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, Newbery Medal 1989), fantasy (The Tale of Despereaux, Newbery Medal 2004), and art (The Eyes and the Impossible, Newbery Medal 2024). A Wrinkle in Time (Newbery Medal 1963) is notable as the first work of science fiction with a girl as the protagonist.

The best children’s literature helps young readers develop empathy through introducing them to different characters, periods, and perspectives, Dr. Spann said. For example, a protagonist in Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (Newbery 1928) is an Indian boy living during WWI. Island of the Blue Dolphins (Newbery Medal 1961), based on a true story, is told from the perspective of a young native American girl who is stranded on an island and must learn to survive on her own.
Children’s books can also help young people deal with difficult issues, such as death and loss; for example, in A Bridge to Terabithia (Newbery Medal 1978), the 10-year-old protagonist suffers the loss of his best friend when she drowns while trying to reach their meeting place. Children can also learn how to navigate a text with multiple narratives, as in Walk Two Moons (Newbery Medal 1995).

Particularly with the rise of technology, starting in the 1990s, “Kids have difficulty sitting still with a text,” Dr. Spann explained. “Adults need to introduce children to good books and help them engage the texts.” She recommended adults and children reading a book together as a “shared data point … When children see adults working with a text also, that’s very liberating. Their lives are islands until we help children recognize that there is more to the world.”
Dr. Spann also demonstrated her cataloging system using the Excel spreadsheet program. “Why do this? So that you don’t miss an opportunity to buy or sell a book through not knowing what you have,” she advised.
Dr. Spann includes in her spreadsheet such information as edition, printing, book quality, author information, genre, and even photos of the books in her collection. She frequently takes her laptop on trips to used bookstores. “If I make it to the right bookstore, I may find the book I’m looking for!”
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Marcia McBrien is President of The Book Club of Detroit.