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.
