2011 - Moon Over Manifest

Dates read: May/Jun 2011
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 231 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

Moon Over Manifest is a great book. I love the way it comes together at the end. It reminds me a bit of last year's Newbery that also had many details that resolved themselves seamlessly in the end. That said, the first 200 pages took me over a month off and on to get through. I wanted so badly to just take the book and feel motivated to stay up all night to finish it. It didn't happen. Then I was just about to give up on the book when I decided that I was more than halfway through so I really owed it to myself and the book to finish. So I committed and I am glad that I did. (Then it only took me 3 days to finish.)

A couple ideas to take from it: Accept the love of others and allow yourself to belong. Family ties are very strong and deserve to be nourished and strengthened. History is important. Know where you came from and you'll find that it can significantly influence where you are headed. Community ties (the "village") are also useful and strong. The family can't always provide all that is good and needful so the community will oftentimes fill in. Make yourself a part of the community so that you can take advantage of all it offers.

1982 - A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers

Dates read: May 2011
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 44 pp.
Rating: ●●○○○

So, I just couldn't get into it. I read it twice to give it a fair shot. I think I was not in a poetry mood. I am sure that the poems are pretty good but they weren't there for me. The pictures are very nice. This book actually got a Caldecott Honor medal. Pretty impressive, I'd say. I wonder if there are any other books that have received both a Caldecott and a Newbery? I feel guilty for not loving this book, but I don't. Someday I'll have to pick it up again and give it another try.

1950 - Amos Fortune, Free Man

Dates read: Apr/May 2011
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 181 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

Fabulous read. I would be interested how much creative license the author took and how much is documented. Amos Fortune was born free in Africa. At 15, he was shipped to the colonies and sold as a slave. During his lifetime he bought his own freedom and that of many others. He taught that freedom means nothing until one knows how to live. His life teaches self-reliance as well as helping others help themselves while still showing forth immense compassion. A line from the book that sticks out: "If people knew what it was they did that caused suffering they would no longer do it." Oh, how nice it would be to see the end from the beginning. I felt that this was likely a progressive book in terms of racial issues being that it was written in 1950. Loved it.

1946 - Strawberry Girl

Dates read: Oct 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 194 pp.
Rating: ●●●○○

I was impressed by this book mainly because of the strength of some of the characters. Mrs. Boyer was an accepting and forgiving individual who overlooked the apparent weaknesses of her neighbors. She was able to give them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps their situations or certain influences in their lives caused them to act and react the way they did. Just today I read President Monson's October 2009 address on anger. He testifies that we are able to control our anger even when the supposed cause of our emotions are out of our control. I felt that the book "resolved" itself a bit too quickly and that the resolution was not terribly believable. But that is OK, the actual story was enjoyable and hopefully we can see it as timeless.

1998 - Out of the Dust

Dates read: Aug 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 240 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

This was another book that I had avoided reading because of the poetry. It turned out to be very good. I finished it in the tent on the camping trip. (That says something because, for various reasons, I think that reading in a tent is a pain.)

One of the strong points of Out of the Dust, among others, was the establishment of setting. I have heard of the Oklahoma dust bowls, but knew little or nothing about them. As I read this book, I saw, felt, smelled and tasted the dust everywhere. Despite all her intense hardships and deep challenges, Billie Jo comes to realize the value of home.

1984 - Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dates read: Aug 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 134 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I read this book a couple times in (many) years past. I didn't like it then. I thought it was cheesy or a bit flat (everything was wrong in the kid's life and no one lives like that). I wonder if it was because the theme of divorce (not that that is the only theme in the book) seemed to be discussed frequently. Fortunately, it wasn't something I had to deal with.

This reading was different. Now, the book does appear to be written for the 9-12 crowd, but with that in mind, I really enjoyed it. Leigh dealt with real problems and concerns - some of which I, even as an adult, can relate to and many others that my life experiences have helped me to understand second hand.

It was written for a young audience and perhaps that is refreshing for a Newbery since it seems that so many of them are being written for older (even adult) audiences under the mask of children's or young adult literature.

1989 - Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman

Dates read: Aug 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 44 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I am not a "poetry person" (whatever that means). I am not sure what my expectations were. But, honestly, it was delightful. The book is written in two columns. It is meant to be read aloud by two people - each reading a column, "the two parts meshing as in a musical duet". If I taught 5th or 6th grade, this would be a wonderful exercise in poetry performance.

My favorite poem was probably Water Striders. I was fascinated with water skeeters growing up so I didn't have any problems hearing the bugs telling me of their experiences.

I thought that Honeybees was a great contrast in the jobs and roles of the different bees in the colonies. Could this evolve into a discussion on classes in our society?

I got dizzy just reading Whirligig Beetles.

I never realized that the word "cricket" is a type of onomatopoeia for the sound a cricket makes until I read this. (I must admit I read it silently - in about 15 minutes, no less - and I could still hear the crickets in my head.)

1980 - A Gathering of Days: A New England Journal, 1830-1832

Dates read: August 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 144 pp.
●●●○○

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn't until the last half that I really got into it. The first half dragged a bit but it was enough to keep me going.

A few things I enjoyed:

• I liked the 19th century language - "'tis this and 'tis that". Any time I am reading a different dialect it takes a bit of getting used to, but it really added to the authenticity.
• On the back of the book, I found the following quote from the School Library Journal:

"Her characters are truly of their times, not the 1970s' sensibilities masquerading in 1830s' homespun, and old-fashioned in the best sense of the word--principaled."

I found it true that the principals of the characters appeared very authentic to their time period. Oftentimes we read of characters with modern qualities thrown into the historical time period.

• "Thus it now appears to me that trust, and not submission, defines obedience. (p. 139)" In a gospel sense, we are more blessed for trusting the Lord - that His commandments are for our good - than just complying (often resentfully).
  

2010 - When You Reach Me

Dates read: Jan 2010/Feb 2010
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 208 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

This is a great book. The twist at the end was unexpected, but pretty ingenious.

I loved the way Rebecca Stead treated a common adolescent theme - friendship. At the beginning of the book, Miranda finds her lifelong best friend distancing himself from her. By the end of the book, she has found out why he distanced himself from her (which was not the reason she had "known" to be the case). She realized that reconciliation wasn't necessary, just time. In the mean time, Miranda formed several other valuable friendships and learned the value of stepping outside of her comfortable circle of friends.

1971 - Summer of the Swans

Dates read: January 2010
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 128 pp.
●●●○○

This was a fine book. It read quickly, but seemed to cover the same themes that a large percentage of other adolescent books cover: low self esteem, becoming friends with the least likely and that family always triumphs. These are all important but so overwritten that I feel that it takes a very wonderful book make it work.

As a parent, though, when I read about a young person who makes her friends more important than her family, I think, "Hmm, that sounds like me at that age." and "Oh, how I wish they understood." They will come to understand the importance of family. (Friends are great, too.) I hope that my kids don't have to go through that particular identity crisis. How do we do it? I don't know but we'll do our best.

2009 - The Graveyard Book

Dates read: Dec 2009/Jan 2010
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 320 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

This was a great book. It took me a bit to get into it. (I actually started it a few months ago without finishing it, but then when I got an MP3 player for Christmas, this was what I found at the library to download--as my first audiobook on the player.)

There really are a lot of messages and themes in this book. Most come out strongly in the end. Here are two thoughts from early in the book:

The main character starts out without a name. He is given the name of Nobody Owens. This comes about as all the "ghosts" in the graveyard talk about who he looks like. Finally, his adoptive mother (I believe) says something like, "He looks like nobody but himself." His name will be Nobody. He goes by Bod. What irony! He is named Nobody, but that comes about because he is viewed as his own unique person.

I also enjoyed the part where Bod meets the witch, Eliza Hemstock. He is counseled to not befriend her because she is "not our kind". This is a typical message shared in books directed to children and young adults - that oftentimes our best friends and those we learn much from are those that we view as different. Eliza does not have a headstone and comments that everyone deserves to be remembered.

As the book ends, it is obvious that the main message of the book is the need for Bod to truly live his life instead of staying in the graveyard. I agree with this, but I love the message of connecting with our past as well. Those who went before us paved a way for our happiness and success. Similarly to things they did for Bod, I believe that there are those on the other side who are currently involved in our lives and perhaps even have ways of protecting us. I am reminded of a time when Grandpa Nielsen very emotionally pleaded for us as his posterity to not forget his grandparents (or was it great-grandparents) who are buried in a location that no one really knows about. In fact, I think I'll call grandma right now and ask her about it.

1962 - The Bronze Bow

Dates read: September 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 256 pp.
Rating: ●●●●●

Whoops! I read this two months ago and haven't written anything about it! I loved the book though. It is a fabulous story of forgiveness and change of heart. It is so interesting (and a bit different) to have such an outwardly Christian message in a category of books that I don't view as religious. I was touched by the story line and the main character's journey. To me, it had a spiritual message.

1941 - Call it Courage

Dates read: September 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 128 pp.
●●●○○

So, it looks like I managed to read two young-people-alone-on-an-island Newberys back to back. I would have to say that hands down, I preferred Island of the Blue Dolphin. I came to know Karana's thought processes, her plans for her survival and I experienced her struggles with her. I had a difficult time connecting with Mafatu and seemed to hear his experiences as a laundry list of I did this, then this, then this, and now I am brave.

I do respect the theme of the book--that we all have fears, and for good reason. Mafatu feared the sea as a result of an accident that took his mother's life and nearly his when he was only 3-years-old. Facing our fears is the best way to overcome. It is amazing that he was able to overcome those fear on his own--without the support of those who supposedly cared for him. I certainly hope that this book is one that can give readers the courage to face their fears and come off conquerors.

This is a quick listen--only 2 hours.

1961 - Island of the Blue Dolphins

Dates read: August/September 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 223 pp.
Rating: ●●●●●

This is a very beautiful story. Karana is a young girl living on an island with members of her tribe. Her community is devastated by the arrival of and ultimate attack from the Aleuts who kill many members of the tribe. Soon thereafter, a white man's ship arrives and the tribe evacuates the island to prevent future disruption. In a completely selfless act to save her brother who has been left behind, Karana jumps off the ship and swims to shore so that the young boy is not left alone. It isn't long until her brother, Ramo, dies and she is left alone on the island. The bulk of the book is an account of the many years that Karana lives and survives on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. This book is based on a true story from the mid-1800s.

Typically, I would be skeptical of a book without dialogue. (She is alone.) But he had a way of combining Karana's thoughts, descriptions of the surroundings, and accounts of her daily life that I never felt that the book was moving too slowly. I agree with other reviewers that her ingenuity and resourcefulness were inspiring and that the many ups and downs of the story (relationships with her animals, arrival and departure of other boats, etc.) contributed to the story's appeal.

2008 - Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village

Dates read: August 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 96 pp.
Rating: ●●●●●

Unfortunately, I read this book a few weeks ago so I don't have lots of specifics to write. I really did love this book though. It is a book of monologues set in Medieval times. Characters range from the peasant to the nobility. I felt that several--the women, especially--were really brought to life. I found myself envisioning how it would be read and felt on the stage. If I taught 6th grade social studies, this book would be a must! It is quite informative and emotional. LOVED IT!

2005 - Kira-Kira

Dates read: Jun/Jul 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 272 pp.
Rating: ●●●●○

I really liked this book. Unfortunately, I finished it nearly a week ago and broke my first rule of book review blogging--that is to post within 24 hours after finishing the book so that it is fresh in my mind. It isn't fresh.

Anyway, here are a few thoughts:

• I didn't find this book quite as depressing as many of the reviewers did. Sad, yes, but I was interested in the way that the family stayed together and valued each other above all else.
• Lately, I have been drawn to books describing discrimination and prejudice. I have been born and raised in a relative state of ease and it is enlightening and disheartening to recognize the reality that some people live with. We all need to be aware of these things to stop the plague of intolerance and prejudice. The Japanese-American family in this book gave a perspective not commonly seen.

I will say that this is probably not a children's book--more of a Young Adult novel.

1987 - The Whipping Boy

Dates read: June 2008
Read or listened to: Read
Pages: 89 pp.
●●●○○

Here is how it was for me: First 60 pages took me several days to get through. The characters seemed flat although I thought the story idea was fabulous! (I thought about giving this a rating of 2 out of 5, but it takes a lot for me to do that because it is a Newbery and I want to assume there are a lot of strengths.) I sat down tonight determined to finish the last 29 pages and, lo and behold, they went really quickly. Prince Brat had changed and his "newness" was believable because of the dialogue and action he was involved in. Jemmy was still skeptical of his change but, little by little, he came to realize that perhaps the change was for real. In a nutshell, I struggled to get through the first 60 pages even though I really wanted to love it. I did love the last 30 pages!

1949 - King of the Wind

Dates read: June 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 176 pp.
●●●○○

Nice book. I remember way back when at BYU, my children's lit professor (Dr. Tunnell) giving us some names of authors and series that treated specific topics that may be of interest to young readers. He mentioned Marguerite Henry as the horse author and this is the first of her books that I've read.

I need to stop listening to these books and start reading them again. I think there is so much more engagement with a book when it is read. Obviously, if I am listening to it I am doing something else as well. But I suppose that is what I have time for right now!

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. It is an account, romanticized certainly, of the Godolphin Arabian Sham (early 18th century) who was born in Morocco and then moved to Paris and England. He is a direct ancestor of many of the finest racing horses throughout history. The book chronicles the unfortunate events of Sham's life accompanied by his mute horse boy, Agba. Sham's talents go unrecognized until his sons show proficiency in racing. This is a very nice historical fiction showing the unappreciated horse and his boy triumph over adversity and come out on top!

1970 - Sounder

Dates read: June 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 128 pp.
Rating: ●●●●●

Another boy and his dog story...but not really.

This is a very moving story. Unfortunately, it deals with issues in our culture and history that we'd like to forget. Namely, the unjust treatment of African-Americans. The boy in the book is unnamed. This reminded me that his experiences could've happened to so many African-American individuals over such a long period of time. The melancholic language of the book added to the tragedy of the story. Fortunately, the boy shows resilience and fortitude to overcome in face of the adversity. I really loved this book.

1937 - Roller Skates

Dates read: June 2008
Read or listened to: Listened to
Pages: 184 pp.
●●●○○

I will admit that I wasn't very interested in this book until the end. It is the account of 10-year-old Lucinda Wyman whose parents have left to Italy for the year and Lucinda becomes an "orphan" staying with Miss Peters and Miss Nettie. I felt, during a big part of the book that it was a collection of short stories about this spunky little girl. The stories were amusing and her antics were cute, but I hadn't sensed how the book would all come together.

The last third or so of the book was the answer. One of Lucinda's closest allies was her Uncle Earl (husband of mean Aunt Emily). He introduced her to Shakespeare. At the beginning they read comedies together, but at a certain point he felt she was ready for the tragedies. He explained to her that the tragedies had inevitable sadnesses with underlying beauty. Lucinda's life seemed to parallel the Shakespearean plays she was reading. First, happy go lucky and then hardships that she was able to learn and grow from. Like other reviewers that I read I was confused by one unexplained death in the book, but perhaps that was one of the lessons Lucinda learned--that many things in life are not explained.

Lucinda is a delightful character. The book was cute and touching. There are a few inappropriate cultural and racial stereotypes typical for the 1930s (perhaps a lesson in the history of civil rights and prejudice for young readers when discussed with an adult).