First Round-Up

Now that I've finished my first ten Newbery Winners, I've decided to have a little round-up so that everyone can see where the books stand. In order from most to least favorite:

1. Number the Stars - This one entered the line-up with the distinct advantage of being the only book so far that I had read (listened to) when I was in the target age group.

2. Julie of the Wolves - A great book that I'm sorry to have missed out on all those years ago. This is a little surprising since I am quite the nature girl at heart. I was that kid; I watched All Creatures Great and Small before I started school; was broken into children's TV by Kratts' Creatures; read every animal book I could get my hands on; and memorized almost every episode of Nature on PBS. In short, I was obsessed.
3. Bud, Not Buddy - For some reason I never hear about this book. How people have forgotten it after twelve short years is a mystery. Bud is one of the most charming children's book characters I have read in my life. This book is a true gem for generations.

4. King of the Wind - Now, after my long description of my animal loving youth, I must retract part of my statement. I didn't read every animal book I could get my hands on, I didn't read the horse ones. But if other horse books are anything like this one, perhaps I should have.

5. Out of the Dust - Like Bud, Not Buddy you don't hear about this book much. I understand why, the blank verse isn't something that most reader's will be comfortable with. Personally though, I found Karen Hesse's writing carried such strong emotion that I was carried away by the words. So much so that I recently acquired another of her books sitting on my 'to-read' pile.

6. Sounder - It's not a dog story, it's something more. There is a reason that this work is called a masterpiece, it is solemn and scholarly without any effort. It is an eloquently told tale from the past that never tries to be more than what it is.

7. Bridge to Terabithia - Another classic that enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after the recent Disney movie. And why not? The characters are real and the situations deeply moving.

8. Sarah, Plain and Tall - This little book is gentle and touching, but I feel it could have been more. Guess I'll need to read the author's sequel!

9. Call It Courage - This book has an enthralling style and introduced me to a whole new culture. Though Sperry's writing can sometimes be a little dry, as a whole the book is an outstanding work that holds up well seventy years later.

10. The Whipping Boy - A fun work to be sure but I'm not entirely convinced it contains the same quality literature found in the other works on this list.

I liked all of these books but as I said before, I have a hard time comparing The Whipping Boy to the others as an example of the greatest children's literature from the year. However, while I enjoyed Call It Courage, I'll be upfront and say that I can easily see it as the book that children are least likely to get into simply because of the older writing style.