The Ninth Round-up

I'm giddy you guys. I have follow through issues on long term projects. Yet here I am 90 books in!

Our latest batch included a couple rereads for school, a couple sleeper hits, and some big disappointments.

1. ...And Now, Miguel - I absolutely adored this book. I consider this one of the Newbery must-reads and also what I'd currently call the most under-appreciated Newbery.

2. The High King - A great conclusion to a series, but a pretty poor stand-alone. If you like high fantasy the Chronicles of Prydain are must-reads.

3. Carry on Mr. Bowditch - Surprisingly enjoyable - for me. I struggle to see that it has much kid appeal though, much like that book from long ago Call It Courage.

4. I, Juan de Pareja  - I enjoyed Juan's joy in art and his defiance of the law to become a painter in his own right. Not everyone has the strength to stand in open protest, but what he did was important and brought him and many others happiness.

5. A Year Down Yonder - A quirky little read that brings us through a year in s small Midwest town shortly after the Great Depression.

6. The Higher Power of Lucky- A fairly nice, if mostly unmemorable examination of family and belonging. The most noteworthy contribution to the set-up in the setting. A small Southwest desert town provides a good backdrop for this tale.

7. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - I guess I read this one in school, but I certainly enjoyed it more now.

8. Walk Two Moons - The good parts were really good and it interwove a nice story. But for me it was bogged down with some issues concerning the use of Native American imagery.

9. Lincoln - A book that, in my mind, treaded a well-worn path. It examined a well-examined subject and brought nothing new to the table.

10. Smoky, the Cowhorse - I'm not sure I even need to reiterate that this story had some real problems concerning race. Yikes.Yikes.Yikes.

Alright, the countdown!!!

1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. Number the Stars
3. Crispin: Cross of Lead
4. Island of the Blue Dolphins
5. Julie of the Wolves
6. Maniac Magee
7. Bud, Not Buddy
8. King of the Wind
9. The Trumpeter of Krakow
10. Out of the Dust
11. When You Reach Me
12. Crossover
13. Merci Suárez Changes Gears
14. ...And Now, Miguel
15. The Tale of Despereaux
16. The Door in the Wall
17. Holes
18. Caddie Woodlawn
19. Kira-Kira
20. Sounder
21. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
22. The Giver
23. The High King
24. The Westing Game
25. Bridge to Terabithia 
26. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
27. The View from Saturday
28. Sarah, Plain and Tall
29. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
30. Call It Courage
31. Miracles on Maple Hill
32. Moon Over Manifest
33. Carry On Mr. Bowditch
34. The Wheel on the School
35. The Cat Who Went to Heaven
36. The One and Only Ivan
37. The Midwife's Apprentice
38. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
39. The Twenty-One Balloons
40. The Hero and the Crown
41. Onion John
42. Shiloh
43. The Graveyard Book
44. New Kid
45. Adam of the Road
46. The Girl Who Drank the Moon
47. Hello, Universe
48. The Summer of the Swans
49. I, Juan de Pareja
50. Dear Mr. Henshaw
51. Missing May
52. Dead End in Norvelt
53. Tales from Silver Lands
54. A Year Down Yonder
55. The Higher Power of Lucky
56. Last Stop on Market Street
57. Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
58. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
59. Jacob Have I Loved
60. A Gathering of Days
61. The Whipping Boy
62. The Slave Dancer
63. Dicey's Song
64. Walk Two Moons
65. Shen of the Sea
66. Shadow of a Bull
67. The White Stag
68. Rabbit Hill
69. Strawberry Girl
70. Flora and Ulysses
71. Miss Hickory
72. The Matchlock Gun
73. A Visit to William Blake's Inn
74. Thimble Summer
75. Lincoln, a Photobiography
76. M.C. Higgins, the Great
77. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
78. It's Like This, Cat
79. Ginger Pye
80. The Secret of the Andes
81. Criss Cross
82. Up a Road Slowly
83. The Dark Frigate
84. Rifles for Watie
85. Amos Fortune, Free Man
86. The Story of Mankind
87. Johnny Tremain
88. Dobry
89. Daniel Boone
90. Smoky, the Cowhorse

It finally happened, Daniel Boone had been at the bottom since the second round-up. I was beginning to think it would never be unseated as the worst Newbery, but Smoky managed to pull through with overt racism and a long-drawn out middle. At least Daniel Boone was short.