A Gathering of Days, Newbery Winner 1980

A book that reads like a diary can be very compelling. This one however was only so-so; while I enjoyed the book I never really had a strong desire to keep on reading just a little bit more. Certainly Joan Blos has captured the thought and spirit of a young girl in the 1830s but this girl is in the heart of a very uninteresting year. When I read historical fiction I prefer my characters to be within the action of the time, for instance the subplot with the runaway slave was interesting but such a tiny part of the story that I would quickly lose interest.
One thing I should note about the prose is that it by turns amused me and annoyed me. I laughed over how realistic some of the grammar and spelling choices were but then I would be conflicted about using it in a classroom for the same reason. Ah well, que sera,
Overall I liked this book, though it is definitely one I am fine with just having a single read. I was touched by how realistic Catherine was, but often bored by the mundaness of her life.

Maniac Magee, Newbery Winner 1991

Yet another re-read for me this holiday season. The last time I read this was about 12 years ago, but I still remembered it quite vividly. Once again I stayed up late reading; the chapters average about 3 1/2 pages making 'just a couple more' stretch on all night!
This is a story about how a legend is created. And though Maniac himself has no trouble at all passing between the 'white' and 'black' parts of town, I'm still not sure that this book shows his legacy as bringing the two halves together. Perhaps my favorite character is Amanda Beale, I always did appreciate that she loved books. But she is also a no nonsense girl who really puts Maniac in his place and shows him what it means to be home. All in all this is a surprisingly simple story. Ah well, still a very good story and an interesting starting point for many discussions about race, family, and home.

Now if only Maniac would go to school.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Newbery Winner 1961

Of all the Newbery Award winners I had read previously, this was possibly the one I read the fastest. I picked up Island of the Blue Dolphins one day in the middle of a snowstorm and read through it very quickly. It is by no means short compared to a lot of the works I have read, yet it is so exciting that it is nearly impossible to put down!
One of the reasons that this book is so interesting is that it is based, however loosely, of a true story. The most gripping parts of the tale are true, but what Scott O'Dell writes only augments the original tale - a young girl living alone on an island after her people leave. It is among the most straightforward example of person vs. nature that you can find, yet reading it gives you a sense that it wasn't so much Karana vs. the island but that Karana was a part of the island.

Here is an overhead shot, it is Navy owned now I can't find any really good photos.

 

I found it to be a fascinating story, certainly one of the best in the sub-genre of survival. I can also appreciate Karana's attitude in much of the story, she is not angry, though she can be very sad and lonely. But what I truly love is her fondness for animals. My own family has a large menagerie consisting of three cats, and three dogs, with an additional fish that I keep at college; over the years though we have owned 4 dogs, 6 cats, a gerbil, 3 hamsters, 2 newts, 2 salamanders, dozens of snakes (winter relocation project), 2 rabbits, and a hedgehog. This doesn't even touch on the numerous animals that we have taken in that were lost (seriously, our house is like an operating branch of the Humane Society) or injured, such as a pigeon that lived in our grill while we fed it and it recuperated. In fact, the last cat that became a permanent resident was hit by a car on the street just in front of our house, we were going to bury him, but discovered that he was alive. The Humane Society fixed him up and when he was put up for adoption nearly a month later I went down and paid the price. He is funny looking, basically he broke half his face, but he fits into our family so smoothly.

Karana also took in the injured animals, likely because she was lonely. I cannot imagine never being able to talk to anyone; I get restless after a couple days of only relative solitude. Overall this is among the most powerful narratives, the first-person viewpoint really sucks you into the story, I will definitely be offering this book in my classroom (which is closer than ever as I'm about to start student-teaching!)