Kira-Kira (by Cynthia Kadohata)

Eventually Lynn is diagnosed with Lymphoma. Katie does her best to take care of her while their parents are working, but it is at times too much for her to bear. As Lynn's health fades the family seems to crumble, but after her death they look for ways to come together again, and Katie continue to try to see the world the way Lynn had taught her from the moment she began to speak -- as kira-kira (glittering).

Each year the American Library Association gives the Newbery Medal "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Too often award-winners like this one are the result -- books that will be loved by the adults who make the purchasing decisions, especially teachers and librarians, who will cram them down the throats of kids and then bemoan a generation of children who hate to read.

Even by the questionable criteria of the Newbery this is an odd choice. It's a perfectly decent book with some lyrical writing, a bit of charm, a bit of humor, and an interesting setting, but nothing special. It's slow, the characters are not especially compelling, and, given its sad theme of the death of a child, emotionally uninvolving. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children" it is not.