A Note on Re-Reading...

I re-read. I know some of you do too, raise your hands. Now bear with me... I don't choose literature because 'it's popular' nor do I hate it for that reason. But Harry Potter, oh Harry... One cannot re-read Harry Potter and try to have an earnest in-depth look at it without some bit of scorn from the literature snobs about cultural mobs or what-not. But at a certain point you've visited the stories so much that you begin to pick at the details. And when you pick details expect to find scads of questions. Or, as often as not while I've been revisiting Sorcerer's Stone - witty remarks. You really begin to know the characters as friends and can comment on everything they've done. I believe that everyone has read and loved a series should read it at least twice. Unless someone out there can truly tell me that you were just as invested in Harry in The Boy Who Lived as you were in the epilogue.
It is like having a best friend and trying to pinpoint that moment... the beginning, usually there is a vague idea of what happened, where you met, what interests brought you together... But in literature we have the gift of being able to go back and reconstruct the first moments, but with a fuller view. One that, I believe only gets more developed each re-read.

The Twenty-One Balloons, Newbery Winner 1948

This book seemed one that I would not enjoy, I put it of again and again. But finding myself in a very motivated mood I picked it up and... Oh my goodness! This book is so good! I found it to be a charming tale with ingenious inventions. Professor Sherman Williams finds himself on the island of Krakatoa in 1883 after a failed attempt at living in a balloon house for a year.

For those of you unfamiliar with history let me show you an artist's interpretation of Krakatoa's claim to fame.

BOOM!

Alright, maybe the explosion wasn't THAT big. But it was enormous. Pompei? Child's play. Mount Saint Helens? Puh-leze. This was a volcanic explosion everyone knew about, mostly because you could hear it 1,930 miles away. That is like Old Faithful exploding and people in New York City hearing it - plus another 40 miles into the ocean!

So you can see that this story has an exciting climax, am-I-right? 

Oh, there is also a diamond mine filled to overflowing, lots of gourmet food, a system of government unlike anything you've ever seen, and (do I even need to mention it?) lots of balloons.

The Graveyard Book, Newbery Winner 2009

I'm not a big fan of horror, or horror-lite even. I am put off by most dark humor. But I do love The Jungle Book, and this book is heavily inspired by Rudyard Kipling's classic tale. I knew that going into the work and was able to draw several comparisons myself. As for which I prefer The Jungle Book will always win, though this isn't a bad send up.
There are several things that I wish were more fleshed out. The Jacks of All Trade for Instance. I don't quite understand what that was all about even now. I don't think that the sleer was ever properly fleshed out either.... Okay so there were a few plot holes, but they didn't detract enough from the story to keep me going. If I was really going to nitpick this story I would say that the problem was that the chapters were long. At a certain point, 10:45 PM, I wasn't quite ready to go to sleep so I started another chapter. I am among the most stubborn people ever and hate stopping in the middle of a chapter... Chapter 7 was around 90 pages long.

Seriously, Neil Gaiman, was that really necessary?

By the point I finished that chapter it was super late but there were only a few pages left. So I finished the book. But ultimately a great read and one that I plan to read with one of my tutoring students after we finish Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Fourth Round-Up

In one of the longest breaks between round-ups so much has happened! I graduated college and got a job! What followed was the long, arduous task of packing for my move to Alaska! Now that I have settled into my job as a preschool teacher/ reading intervention specialist (oooh big title), I have a little time to read again. And so, without further ado, is the fourth round-up, containing both the newest and oldest of my titles reviewed so far.

When You Reach Me - Part of the joy that a reader can glean from this text definitely stems from reading A Wrinkle in Time first. It was a cleverly written book that, while solidly founded in what we know as the 'real world' wasn't afraid to let mysterious fantasy and science fiction ooze in. For kids who might wonder more about physics than dragons this is the perfect book. Realistic, with just a dash of time travel.

The Door in the Wall - A lovely little tale with characters that I truly cared about. It is perhaps not the most accurate of the medieval England books that have been awarded, but it is among the most human. I loved Robin and felt his struggles, a struggle that provided a rich lesson many children will be able to appreciate.

Holes - A reread that held up well over the years. One note is that if you have seen the movie, you are never getting that out of your head because Sachar wrote the screenplay making it one of the most faithful adaptations you can hope to encounter. Probably tops the list of award winners I would recommend to boys that are reluctant readers.

The Giver - I'm generally not into dystopian fiction. But this book turns it around by making it seem utopian at first. You enter the society feeling like it is a model of good community and you grow gradually wary alongside the protagonist. There are sequels, but a part of me likes the maddening ending as it is.

The One and Only Ivan - A book that I expected to be okay and instead turned out to be really good. One of the most unique narrators to be found amongst the award winners, with a unique style to match.

The Midwife's Apprentice - A book that can be appreciated for placing a common occurrence (childbirth) into a historical framework and examining the process around it. Although the story is arguably about Alyce's growth, I think the true gift of this book is in it's honest portrayal of midwifery.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - Perhaps I was spoiled by the cartoon but this book was nothing like I expected. It is however, a great book that makes you ask big questions about intelligence and compassion.

Tales from Silver Lands - This was a great read due to the location. But it definitely shows its age and not every story was totally readable.  But most of the book was an interesting look into the folk lore of South America.

Strawberry Girl - I liked the fact that this book delved into one of the many cultures found across our large and varied country. I also like pioneer fiction, though this is the one I'd feel least inclined to return to if faced with Little House, Caddie Woodlawn, and Strawberry Girl.

It's Like This, Cat - Hands down the worst of the batch. I simply didn't care for much of the book, and when the author finally mustered up some interest the story was over.

1. Number the Stars
2. Crispin: Cross of Lead
3. Island of the Blue Dolphins
4. Julie of the Wolves
5. Maniac Magee 
6. Bud, Not Buddy
7. King of the Wind
8. Out of the Dust
9. When You Reach Me
10. The Tale of Despereaux
11. The Door in the Wall
12. Holes
13. Caddie Woodlawn
14. Kira-Kira
15. Sounder
16. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
17. The Giver
18. The Westing Game
19. Bridge to Terabithia
20. The View from Saturday
21. Sarah, Plain and Tall
22. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
23. Call It Courage
24. The Cat Who Went to Heaven
25. The One and Only Ivan
26. The Midwife's Apprentice
27. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
28. Onion John
29. Dear Mr. Henshaw
30. Missing May
31. Tales from Silver Lands
32. A Gathering of Days
33. The Whipping Boy
34. Rabbit Hill
35. Strawberry Girl
36. The Matchlock Gun
37. A Visit to William Blake's Inn
38. It's Like This, Cat
39. Johnny Tremain
40. Dobry
41. Daniel Boone

The Midwife's Apprentice, Newbery Winner 1996

Another day, another book. Here is yet another Newbery set in medieval England. As for that subcategory it rates about the middle of the pack in enjoyability and the top in historical accuracy. I thought that this book was fascinating simply for it's place in history, although I would have liked to see the story fleshed out more, the book is just over 100 pages. I also appreciate that the author decided to focus on Alyce's growth in skill rather than, as she notes in the author's section, the fact that midwife's were sometimes considered witches; the book would have taken a much different tone if that had been the case. All in all a very enjoyable read.

Holes, Newbery Winner 1999

I'm retreading familiar territory once again with Louis Sachar's Holes. This book is still just as fascinating as the first time I read it. Speaking of the first time... this book has the distinction of being the only Newbery published during the time I was in the suggested age group for Newberys, that I read when I was that age! Yes, Holes was only a couple of years old the first time I read it, there was no movie from which to draw my imagery, I hadn't heard the plot twists from classmates, and I didn't even really know what a Newbery was. My most vivid memory is taking this book to camp and reading it in the waning daylight.
Funny because this last round, I was on an airplane, trying to read just a little more as the light faded away. (The aircraft I was in had passenger lighting but it didn't turn on.) But even though I know the story, I found the way that Sachar together the past and the present to be wonderful in every way. Another thing I noticed is that, more so really than any of the other Newberys I'd read so far, this one struck me as feeling more like a boys' book. That is, a book hoping to appeal to boys, although girls are welcome to come along.

The One and Only Ivan, Newbery Winner 2013

I finished off this book in one sitting... I should have gone to bed, but books like this with their deliciously short chapters always get me. They're so small and it only takes a minute at most to read any one chapter that I stayed up and finished the book.
There were a few other reviewers out there who thought the book was too 'cute'. That it wasn't what kids would read, it's what adults thought kids would read. I disagree, there were far too many instances of abuse and suffering for me to describe the book as cute. Never-the-less I think that it is a story kids would read. The premise is interesting, hearing Ivan's point of view in short, simple descriptions. Humans, Ivan says, have too many words. And the writing accurately captures the mindset of someone who never uses a $20 word when the dollar word will work just fine. The book is almost how you would imagine a gorilla keeping a diary, not every single is recorded, just the stuff that matters.
The story is the driving force of the book, certainly not setting (four different ones and two of them are strictly flashbacks) and not really the characters (though they are enjoyable).
Perhaps the most compelling part of the story is that there is a grain of truth in it. Ivan is based off of an actual gorilla that spent two decades in a store display. While reading you can't help but think how implausible the entire thing is, animal rights being what they are today. But, in the not-so-distant past, exotic animals were held captive for display by organizations other than zoos, and this book highlights the experiences the many animals went through because the resources to care for them were inadequate.