The Tenth (And Final) Round-Up

This will be my last Newbery round-up. What a wild-ride it has been folks! I'm pretty awful at project follow-through so I'm so amazed that I made it this far (there was a really rocky section there a few years back). We've reached the end of the trail, forded the last river, and are headed into the sunset...

Let's have a celebratory song:

 

Gay-Neck  - A surprise hit! I loved this story of a homing pigeon from India that served in World War ! and was then able to return to the boy who raised him. It was a surprisingly spiritual and introspective tale that was a nice book to read during the holiday season.

The Grey King - A great entry into children's fantasy. This book cranked the Arthurian ties up to 11 and really propelled The Dark is Rising books into lasting classics. It finally brought the main character to a stage where I actually liked him.

The Bronze Bow - On paper this doesn't sound like a Newbery book. It sounds extremely niche and I imagine if it was published today it wouldn't be as popular - rather it would end up being sold in Christian bookstores around Easter and Christmas.

A Single Shard - A good book that managed to subvert my expectations and teach me something along the way. I really loved the setting being something different and the fact that it was a fictional story tied to a historic artifact, similar to one of my favorite movies, The Secret of Kells.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - A classic that is as loved decades later as when it was first published. I've read this book a couple times now and it always strikes me how timeless most of it is but a few things just get more and more dated (especially now that I'm an adult).

To Trap a Tiger - A good idea for a story that felt a little half-cooked to me. I'd really have liked the characters or plot to be more developed, unfortunately everything felt too forced for me.

Invincible Louisa - A nice way to follow-up Little Women, it is fascinating how much of that book was inspired by Louisa May Alcott's life.

Hitty: Her First Hundred Years - The great-great-great-grandmother to Toy Story. A book with a decent concept and execution that fell into tropes that fueled racism. Overall fell into a small niche of doll books that don't really interest me.

Roller Skates - This book's biggest sin came in being a highly episodic book that never really wanted to conclude anything, there is a sequel... but it takes place in a completely different location so I wouldn't get any wrap ups I wanted anyway...

Waterless Mountain - A book that I think was written with the best of intentions but missed the mark. Sadly, it was just a little too dull for me to give it much in the way of forgiveness.

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. Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
19. Caddie Woodlawn
20. The Grey King
21. Kira-Kira
22. Sounder
23. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
24. The Giver
25. The High King
26. The Westing Game
27. Bridge to Terebithia
28. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
29. The View from Saturday
30. Sarah, Plain and Tall
31. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
32. Call It Courage
33. The Bronze Bow
34. Miracles on Maple Hill
35. Moon Over Manifest
36. A Single Shard
37. Carry On Mr. Bowditch
38. The Wheel on the School
39. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
40. The Cat Who Went to Heaven
41. The One and Only Ivan
42. The Midwife's Apprentice
43. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
44. The Twenty-One Balloons
45. The Hero and the Crown
46. Onion John
47. Shiloh
48. The Graveyard Book
49. New Kid
50. Adam of the Road
51. The Girl Who Drank the Moon
52. Hello, Universe
53. To Trap a Tiger
54. The Summer of the Swans
55. I, Juan de Pareja
56. Dear Mr. Henshaw
57. Missing May
58. Dead End in Norvelt
59. Invincible Louisa
60. Tales from Silver Lands
61. A Year Down Yonder
62. The Higher Power of Lucky
63. Last Stop on Market Street
64. Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
65. The Witch of Blackbird Pond
66. Jacob Have I Loved
67. A Gathering of Days
68. The Whipping Boy
69. The Slave Dancer
70. Dicey's Song
71. Walk Two Moons
72. Shen of the Sea
73. Shadow of a Bull
74. The White Stag
75. Rabbit Hill
76. Strawberry Girl
77. Flora and Ulysses
78. Miss Hickory
79. The Matchlock Gun
80. A Visit to William Blake's Inn
81. Thimble Summer
82. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years
83. Lincoln, a Photobiography
84. Roller Skates
85. M.C. Higgins, the Great
86. Waterless Mountain
87. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
88. It's Like This, Cat
89. Ginger Pye
90. The Secret of the Andes
91. Criss Cross
92. Up a Road Slowly
93. The Dark Frigate
94. Rifles for Watie
95. Amos Fortune, Free Man
96. The Story of Mankind
97. Johnny Tremain
98. Dobry
99. Daniel Boone
100. Smoky, the Cowhorse

I have one last trick up my sleeve... stay tuned!

The Complete 2021 Newbery Read-Through

 Here it is, the 100th Newbery review! A century of award-winning children's literature brings us to this point - there have been undisputed classics to win the Newbery (A Wrinkle in Time, Sounder, The Giver) and there have been some duds that only the most devoted will have even heard of - lookin' at you Dobry!

How does this year stack up? Let's find out!

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I read this one months ago as a potential winner. It absolutely deserves its accolades! When I read I immediately recommended it to a co-worker saying that I felt it was an absolute must-read for all teachers about the importance of trauma-informed teaching. This is a book that falls on the upper end of the Newbery spectrum simply because of content. Kimberly Brubaker Bradley once again proves that she is a master of emotions and character development. Not one scene in this book feels out of place or written solely for shock.

Della and her older sister, Suki, are put in to foster care at the very beginning of the book. Though you think you know why it is still heartbreaking as you learn chapter by chapter what they suffered at the hands of their step-father over the years. Suki not only endured neglect and emotional abuse but sexual abuse as well - her journey, as witnessed by Della is so raw and emotional that I found myself tearing up several times. This book also shows that simply being in a good situation now doesn't heal the wounds caused by the past. 

Again I recommend this for all teachers - really anyone who works with kids, people who are looking for an emotional read, and older children that can handle the subject matter.

We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

Once again Kelly writes in a style very similar to my own. She gives several characters a chance to be the focus. In Hello, Universe she chose a group of loosely interconnected children - in the book she chooses the three Nelson-Thomas siblings. Personally I liked this one even more that Hello, Universe which erred on the side of making its characters a little too quirky. Here the characters are more believably flawed though still a touch clichéd. 

I didn't actually read the description before jumping into this book. Which means that at the very first mention of the space shuttle Challenger my heart dropped. I wonder what it would be like for kids that know absolutely nothing about the Challenger disaster reading this book the first time. The entire story is overhung with a sense of dread, the feeling of impending doom. A good book makes you react emotionally - a great book makes you react physically. When I reached the part where the auditorium of students is watching the space shuttle launch I had some of the strongest goosebumps I've had in a long time.

The Nelson-Thomas siblings are trying to make their way in their dysfunctional family; Cash - the older brother repeating 7th grade with his siblings, Fitch - a video gamer with anger-management issues, and Bird - the budding scientist that feels unnoticed and invisible by those around her. I like that Kelly did not cop out at the end by having the parents reconcile or even acknowledge their own problems. Sometimes kids end up just having to make their own way forward and that was realistically depicted.

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

A non-fiction title! It can be tricky to determine what the last non-fiction honoree was - I'll eliminate memoirs and poetry because they really fall into different categories. I think the last 'hard' non-fiction title was Bomb in 2013. There are two things that can turn a non-fiction book into a good read: passion for the subject matter or learning something new.

This one falls squarely into the later for me. I was only passingly familiar with the rescue of the boys soccer team so found this book both informative and enjoyable. Likely if I was more familiar with the story I wouldn't have enjoyed it quite as much; though competently written it does the job of presenting facts without dressing them up exceedingly well. Something I was pleased by was that it was well-balanced in focusing on the efforts below and above ground and also in mentioning just how many countries and organizations came together to save these boys. Things were never sugar-coated, the rescue effort was constantly tempered with the knowledge that so many things could go wrong that it would be pointless to be too hopeful.

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

Set in a land inspired by Thailand, this book examines social justice in an incredibly powerful manner. Several sources mention that this is inspired by Les Misérables - one of my favorite musical films and a pretty decent novel. I don't know if this is true (although it is cited on the author's website) but I can certainly see some parallels. However, this is inspiration done right! Nothing seems overly derivative and things fall into a natural rhythm all their own.

Pong was born in prison and sentenced to remain there until his 13th birthday. He manages to escape and join some monks in the countryside. That all changes when the warden's daughter recognizes him and vows to recapture him. His flight returns him to the city where he discovers an imbalance between the rich and poor that only serves to make the poor - poorer. 

This is such a great story for discussion and deep thinking. I highly recommend this book for any and all readers with the skill to tackle the text. Note: yes, Soontornvat did recieve two honors this year! That is such a difficult feat that she joins only two other authors (E.L. Konigsburg winner and honor 1968, and Meindert DeJong two honors 1954).

BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

I actually circumvented the problem of evaluating this book while also trying to ignore the pictures by just listening to the audiobook. Honestly... it holds up on the strength of its writing alone pretty well. I'm interested to get my copy and see how the pictures enhance things. 

This is a poetic first person telling of the story of Henry Box Brown, a slave that mailed himself from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I had briefly heard about him before, but really I learned quite a bit with this relatively brief text. I think this will be a great addition to elementary libraries because it doesn't shy away from the reality of slavery while still remaining appropriate for younger kids.

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

Well... I wasn't wowed. This book features Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother moving from somewhere in California to live with Lily's Halmoni (grandmother). Motivations for the move are not really explained until partway through the book - which might have worked if handled differently. Halmoni is sick and Lily wants to help her. A tiger appears and Lily is convinced this is the key to helping her Halmoni. Korean traditions and storytelling are woven throughout the text, this is probably the book's strongest attribute.

I think that this style of magical realism just doesn't work for me. There was a lot of symbolism inserted into the story through fantasy that seemed to exist solely for the purpose of being symbolic. In short, I could tell while reading that I was supposed to be drawing all these connections - they never felt organic. 

The characters were good starts but aside from Lily they didn't feel fully developed. Sam's story is only half-told with far too much being subtext, the mother is very underdeveloped, and Halmoni is just a catalyst. There are a few characters outside the family, but they too suffer from being just there to move things along. 

Final thoughts...

I'm disappointed with the final selection. Perhaps I had built it up too much because it is number 100, but also I feel like it just falls short and I really have no idea where the committee was going with it. I would much rather have seen either A Wish in the Dark or Fighting Words given the win. A Wish in the Dark has great plotting and examination of social justice through the setting and events of the story. Fighting Words is by the master of character Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It examines tough subject matter through character interactions and growth. Both would have been an excellent entry into the line-up of winners and would have been in my top 20, possibly top 10. As it is I'm glad they received honors so that other people will have the chance to discover them.