Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Newbery Winner 2003

Avi has written a massive collection of work, in fact Crispin: The Cross of Lead is his fiftieth book! I'd never before read any of his works, always of the impression that I would 'get around to it'.

Now that I've read this work I can't wait to read more. This novel would be excellent for reading aloud to fifth graders and perhaps as part of a reading group. Earlier I mentioned that The Whipping Boy functioned as commentary concerning the injustices of medieval monarchy; let me just say that this story blows that one clean out of the water! I love the character development shown in Crispin as he goes from lowly serf to a strong-willed free man. In this adventure with him is Bear, a gruff, giant of a man. And while the mystery is easy enough for me, with me knowledge of both literature and history, to solve; I think that it is complex enough to keep children on the edge of their seats.

Now, it may be repetitive for me to say that every book is a good book so far on this reading, but it is well worth noting that this book is amazing while being the furthest out of my usual genres. Certainly not fantasy, not realistic fiction, not non-fiction, nor American historical fiction, this book took me far into a realm that I know about, but frankly did not, and for the most part still don't, care about. The serf system is of little interest to me, reading about royals has always been more interesting, but for Crispin and Bear I'll make a return trip through the two sequels.