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January 24, 2006'Criss Cross' earns a Newbery, trip to New YorkLocal author Perkins wins annual awardTRAVERSE CITY - Lynne Rae Perkins made a dash for the Laundromat when she learned she'd won the prestigious John Newbery Medal for her newest book "Criss Cross."Perkins and her family are building a house and meanwhile live in a Suttons Bay rental that doesn't have a washing machine. She was ecstatic when she got the call before 7:30 a.m. Monday from the Newbery Committee. Then she learned winning included an immediate trip to New York for an appearance this morning on NBC's "Today Show." And that meant doing laundry - fast. "I just threw clothes in the washer at the Laundromat because I don't have anything to wear," she said. The American Library Association awards one Newbery annually "for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children," said Barbara Barstow, a Cleveland area youth librarian who chaired this year's 15-member committee. Each member read at least 500 books published in 2005 before selecting Perkins' "Criss Cross" as the winner. Barstow said "Criss Cross" from HarperCollins' Greenwillow Books easily rose to the top. Aimed at younger teens, it's about the thoughts and dynamics of life and love - or the lack of it - for five 14-year-olds. In addition to prose, it incorporates poems, haiku, drawings and question-and-answer formats. "She and her publisher created a book that was like nothing we have ever seen," Barstow said. "It's beautiful." Perkins' own teen years played into the premise. "I was sort of developmentally delayed, I didn't really go out at all in high school. I thought something was wrong with me," she said. "I think I wanted to say to other kids who felt that way, 'No, sometimes it just takes awhile, and you can have fun on the way, and it can be funny.'¡" "Criss Cross" is Perkins' sixth book. She has come to earn a "modest living" from book sales, she said. The Newbery could boost that a notch. "When a book is named a Newbery winner, it means that probably every public library in the nation, and most schools in the nation, will have a copy of this book," said Barstow. "Plus, it will be one that will be gifted to children everywhere. It will be discussed, and it will probably never go out of print, so this will change her life significantly." Perkins, 49, will accept the award this summer in New Orleans at a banquet honoring winners of the Newbery and Caldecott awards, the association's top annual honor for picture books.
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