Scary Stories, Winner of the Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal, established in 1922, is an award given annually to works and authors who have contributed to children's literature.
The Newbery Medal judges, one of the oldest children's literature awards, have selected Scary Stories for Little Foxes as the 2020 Honor Winner.
When we think of scary stories, we usually think of them as entertainment that provides peripheral stimulation to readers, and we don't expect them to be literary stories.
But why was this work chosen for the Newbery Medal, which recognizes the best children's and young adult literature?

If you read this work without prejudice, you will naturally understand why it received attention for the Newbery Medal.
Everything that makes up this work is organically connected and has a connection to the author's thematic consciousness.
It even has sentences that can be read quickly and a fun that doesn't let up.
Not a single element is missing: characters, composition, sentences, the author's sense of theme, plausibility, the value to be conveyed, or the appeal of the story.
“Adventure, survival, and humor all add to the story’s value.
This work stands out with the Newbery Honor Award judges' comments: “Even fear.”

An interesting composition of framed composition and reversal

"Scary Stories for Young Foxes" begins with seven young foxes going to an old fox who tells them scary stories.
The storyteller tells eight scary stories, and the seven little foxes, scared, run back to their mother's arms one by one.
These settings correspond to the frame part in the framed configuration.
And the frame part is written in white letters on a black surface, making it clearly distinguishable.

The story inside the frame is divided into eight parts.
The story in the first frame is about a master fox who is caught in something with a yellow smell and tries to eat his young disciples.
And the second is the story of six sisters who bully, threaten, and drive the youngest, who has a disability on one of his front legs, to death.
When you read only the first two stories, it seems as if the storyteller is telling a series of independent short stories for the young fox.
But as the story progresses, the stories within the frame intertwine to form one grand adventure story and epic tale of life.


The picture frame story is a device that shows young foxes reacting to a scary adventure story.
It acts as an accessory that covers the story inside the frame, but by the time you close the last page, the story inside the frame and the story inside the frame are like a Möbius strip, and finally, they become one large picture.


Empathy for the fox and the aesthetics of unfamiliarity

The title of this book is "Scary Stories for Little Foxes."
Why is this a scary story for young foxes, rather than a scary story for people or children? This book is written with the premise that it's a story for young foxes, and the main characters in the stories are all young foxes.
It depicts the scary and eerie adventures a young fox can experience.
Because the story is told from the fox's perspective, the more you empathize with the fox, the more fearful it becomes, and the more you distance yourself from it, the more objective it becomes.
Interestingly, this is one of the book's great strengths.


As you read the story in this book with empathy, you will be reminded of the horrific violent crimes that occur in society, as well as the school violence, bullying, domestic violence, child abuse, and separation from parents that you see in the news.
These news stories and true stories are much scarier and more terrifying than ghost stories that have no substance.
It would not be good to tell children only about beautiful things as if these things that clearly exist in the world do not exist.


This book is about a fox, but if you read it with empathy, it will remind you of the terrible things that happen in human society.
And seeing the young foxes overcome these challenges and grow will also give children who read this a lot to feel.


That doesn't mean you need to view this book in a dark and serious light.
There may also be people who find the tension of something scary uncomfortable.
When you're reading a book full of foxes and then find yourself shivering at the scary story, just take a moment to catch your breath and slow down the pace.
In this way, a distance is created between the fox and the reader, allowing them to look at fear objectively and develop the ability to overcome it.
In particular, the young foxes in the story are sad and disappointed in the scary situation, but they do not despair or run away.
She gradually grows into a responsible adult fox who knows what sacrifice is.


Additionally, at the end of each story, readers can revisit each story with the young foxes in the frame.
Maybe every time that happens, the kids will brag.
“It’s about this much.
“It’s not scary at all.”

Scary Stories and Resilience

Scary stories are always a favorite subject for children.
But why do we love scary stories? And what role do scary stories play in children's lives? Kristina Gradi, currently working for the American Association of Librarians, discusses the work's resilience.
“It was interesting.
After we selected all the books, we realized:
Each story in this book tells a story about resilience in some way.
Everyone said it.
“Oh, so that’s how it turned out.”

Resilience is a term used in the textile industry and physics to refer to the ability of a material to return to its original state when impacted by an external force.
Recently, this term has been used as a psychological term to refer to the property or ability to overcome extreme situations, adversity, or bad events and return to one's original state.


It is said that people with high resilience can quickly overcome adversity or external shocks by looking at them objectively or temporarily.
Additionally, people with high resilience are not afraid of mistakes, are challenging, and have a positive mindset.
It is said that people with high resilience can quickly lower their stress levels even in post-traumatic stress situations.
In other words, resilience is about protecting yourself from external shocks and helping you live a positive life.

This book is different from the scary stories that children usually read.
It's not like there's a ghost or something that makes you jump in and raise the tension.
Rather, this book allows us to look back on human life through the adventures and lives of foxes.
We watch Yuli and Mia endure and survive in extreme, scary, and fearful situations.
It depicts her growing into a responsible adult fox, overcoming her own terrible sorrow.
And at the end of the story, it makes you think about how you should evaluate Mia and Yuli's lives.


This way of telling the story will help children develop resilience.
It will help you develop the mindset to calmly look at the bad situation in front of you, endure it, and overcome it, rather than hiding, running away, or becoming frustrated.
That is why this book is worth reading and discussing with children, teenagers, and adults alike.

“Seven foxes living in a dark and twisted forest of deer horns go to a storyteller to hear a scary story.
The story is full of black, sticky eyes and the terrifying teeth of the Golgathursi.
Adventure, survival, and humor all add to the story's value.
Even fear.” - Newbery Honor Award judges’ comments