Yesterday, Caldecott Medalist David Small’s graphic novel-style memoir, Stitches, became a 2009 National Book Award finalist in the Young People’s Literature category—which has led to some discussion and debate, along with the usual congratulations.
Publishers, not National Book Award judges, nominate books for particular categories. And W.W. Norton, which normally publishes general-interest books and textbooks for adults, submitted Stitches for the children’s award rather than the nonfiction adult one. It was a "house decision," said Robert Weil, executive editor at Norton, who acquired the book at auction and who edited it. "It has been a crossover book. We found a great appeal to kids between 12 and 18. Many of the comments we’ve gotten are from teens. It is a growing-up story, but the issues addressed in the book are ones that a lot of teens face."
The author was not involved in the age category decision. "I didn’t have anything to do with that," said Small. Originally, he said, "I felt I was stepping out of the children’s book world. [But] now I’ve had enough reactions from teenagers and people in their early 20s and even a 13-year-old."
The crossover in age appeal "pleases me," Small said. Even when he wrote the book, he knew kids might see it. "There were things I refrained from talking about, knowing that the book might fall into the hands of kids," he said. For example, he did not talk about masturbating. "I’m not saying that I’m a fuddy-duddy, but I think it was unnecessary in this case to be that candid about my entire adolescent life. It had nothing to do with the arc of the story I was telling," he said. "There’s an urge to confess everything. It’s sort of cleansing, until you realize it’s sort of pointless."
If he’s "learned anything" from creating 50 children’s picture books, it’s how to economize, he said. "To take side trips, which is going to add a lot of additional information, especially when you’re trying to do it wordlessly, it becomes tedious to make and to read."
No one is accusing the book of being tedious—just of being for adults, not kids. A sampling of tweets that appeared yesterday afternoon after the nominations were announced: "Just wish they defined YA at least as books that were published as YA"; "Is Stitches a good book? Yes. Did it take the spot of a book actually written for teens? Yes. Is this right? No"; and "The cynical side of me says Stitches was nominated as YA because a gn [graphic novel] has a better shot there than in the adult category" (@chasingray). Ouch.
"It’s by no means a children’s book," said Heather Doss, children’s merchandise manager at Bookazine. "I would not hand it to anyone under the age of 16." YA often covers disturbing topics, she said. "But the fact that this is nonfiction brings it to another level. You’re stretching the boundaries to give it a YA award." Doss’s best guess: the publisher "couldn’t figure out where else to put it." After all, she said, "there’s so much competition in the adult nonfiction." Perhaps Norton felt the adult category wasn’t ready to let graphic novels "into the club," she speculated. Stitches does deserve to be nominated, Doss said; "I don’t know that’s the right category."
But the five young people’s literature judges apparently felt comfortable with Norton’s choice—though they are not allowed to comment on individual titles. "Young people’s literature covers a pretty broad age range," said one of the five young people’s literature judges, Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese. "The boundaries seem like they’ve blurred a little bit." Yang’s book was a 2006 finalist in the same category, and was the first graphic novel recognized by the National Book Foundation.
Over the summer, all five young people’s literature judges read every book sent to them. By mid-September, they each chose their own top 10 books, giving more points to their favorites. To make it to the semifinals, a book needed the backing of at least two judges.
"There were tough choices at that point, some very worthy books were set aside, and that was heartbreaking," said Nancy Werlin, who chaired the judges in this category. "We had to say goodbye to some excellent books." She gave praise to the "eclectic" list. "The diversity of our list is one of the things we feel makes our choices so strong, even though we didn’t set out to have a diverse list," she said. "We believe that it exemplifies the range of writing that is being done in children’s letters. At the end of the day, these worthy books won out over the others. We love our final five."
Some booksellers seem confused by the age issue. "I am in the camps of ‘love Stitches’ and "very surprised to see it on a YA list," said Angela Sherrill, children’s book buyer at 57th Street Books in Chicago, which features the book on its Staff Picks shelf. At Wellesley Booksmith in Wellesley, Mass., Stitches can be found in the adult biography section and in the graphic novel section (for teens and adults). Children’s buyer Alison Morris plans to include it on her list of holiday recommendations for high school students. "I was still surprised to see it on the list, though," she said. "My assumption was that a book had to have been published by a children’s or YA publisher to qualify."
Even before the award announcement, booksellers were giving Stitches to adolescents. "I would give it to teen memoir fans, just as I would give them The Liar’s Club or Running with Scissors," said Jennifer Laughran of Books Inc. in San Francisco. "We also consider Maus and Persepolis adult books, but there is no doubt that they are widely read in high schools."
Small grew up in a little house of horrors; cathartically, he turned his nightmare into Stitches. In the autobiography, Small recounts how his misguided father gave him excessive doses of radiation to treat his sinus problems—and caused him to develop a cancerous cyst. After Small finally woke up from an operation, he was voiceless, with Frankenstein-like stitches on his neck. Oh, and he ran away from home, and his mother was gay. (A 13-year-old fan, the son of a Norton employee, told Small, "I guess your mom wasn’t into being married to a man.")
Weil, who calls Small "one of the great geniuses," said the story "entranced" and "beguiled" him. "I feel it touches people of all ages on all human levels," he said. "This is a book about being redeemed from a very horrible childhood. Even someone coming from an experience as troubled as David can prevail and become a great artist. That speaks to all of us. We just are thrilled with the nomination."
Another publisher noted that Small had wanted to be published with an adult house for the book, and chose Norton because of its track record in publishing and marketing adult graphic novelists like R. Crumb and Will Eisner.
Other authors have spanned age categories, noted Small. Take Roald Dahl. "Roald Dahl was one of my models for literature for kids. It’s something that crosses the ages," he said. "It’s exactly the kind of book I’ve tried to make—that not only kids can understand on their level but that also can be enjoyed by the parents. When Dahl wrote Boy, he was certainly aware that he had a broader audience than 12-year-olds."
"I like something Leo Tolstoy said," said Small. "If it can’t be understood by a sympathetic 9-year-old, then your book isn’t any good. Nowadays we might say a 13-year-old. It’s a terrific quote."
Small said he wrote Stitches for himself, not for any particular age category or reader. "My intention was to find out the truth about my family," he said. "What was basically an act of self-therapy turned into a book that so many people can identify with, including young adult readers. I guess I was doing it for myself right from the beginning. That’s what’s so overwhelming to me about this whole award. It seems granted to such a personal work."
Small plans to continue illustrating picture books for children. In fact, his next one is a HarperCollins title called Princess Says Goodnight. But he also has an idea for another crossover book—a novel this time.
