The Newbery rarely goes to a nonfiction book, which matches my preference for fiction reading in general. One of the barriers for Courage Has No Color's change to win the Newbery is that the criteria doesn't allow for appreciating of the value of pictures:
The committee is to make its decision primarily on the text. Other components of a book, such as illustrations, overall design of the book, etc., may be considered when they make the book less effective.This book is heavy on photos and they are important to moving the reader's understanding forward. I am the daughter of a US history teacher, so I hear about history a lot. I like history, so I was somewhat hopeful that I would enjoy this view on a rarely told part of our history. Even though it probably taught me something about a group of soldiers that aren't as well known as they should be, this book did not interest me the way I want a Newbery to draw me in. My older brother Matthew's favorite books are nonfiction war stories, so maybe he would have liked it more. Even so, this book didn't excite me they way I had hoped it would; it read too much like a textbook and unlike a story. Maybe in a few years, what I learned will show up in a history essay, but I highly doubt this book will get its own Newbery speech.
Rating: *****
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