My Little "Dead End in Norvelt" Story

Lucky me: I already have two copies of the 2012 Newbery Award winning book: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos.

My library is small and I hardly ever order two copies of the same book. That's what interlibrary loans are for. But I do happen to have two copies of Dead End in Norvelt. The company we order books from sent me the copy I ordered several months ago and then sent a copy to a library in Maine with a packing slip that listed my library. The library in Maine sent the book to me, thinking I hadn't received the copy I ordered. I called them and said, "No, you must have ordered a copy. I already have mine. Should I send this back to you?" They said nope, no one up there ordered a copy of the book. I laughed and said, oh, you should... it's very good.

I kept the second copy behind my desk all these months. I figured I would have it cataloged if it won any awards and, if it didn't, I'd give the second copy away during our summer reading program. When it won the Scott O'Dell award last week for historical fiction, I thought, well, it's a good thing I saved it. And, now, it has won the Newbery and I have two copies for our shelves!

It's a silly little story, but it makes me happy.

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