Dead End in Norvelt

I have read all of the Newberys, and I liked some more than others. This is one I did not like so much. I started reading this when I was doing Mock Newberys, but I absolutely hated it and stopped reading. When it won, I decided that it would be better to be able to say I read all of the Newbery winners instead of I read all but one. When I picked this book back up, I hoped I would like it more. No such luck. I kinda liked Miss Volker, but didn't think that she was that great, and her character did not make up for the fact that their was too much blood and gore in this book. I don't mind gore if the story needs it to be great, I don't think this book needed as much as it has.  Over all I really hated the story, although there were some points that I enjoyed. This book wasn't quite as bad as The Dark Frigate, but it came close. I wouldn't recommend this book, but boys might enjoy it more than I did.  I think this is evidence that a kid (ME) should be on the committee, to at least get to argue what  is notable or not.

Rating: *** (because The Dark Frigate got two and this book is just a little bit better than that)

Missing ALA

This is the time of the year when I am most envious of you lucky ducks who are members of the American Library Association.  You are mostly all at ALA this week.  Because I got to go last year I know how exciting and fun it can be.  I had the best or second best week of my life last year at ALA (I can't decide if it beat my 6th birthday when I spent at week at Disney World and had lunch with Cinderella on my birthday.  They were both amazing.).  There is the one thing that is better about being at home: I slept until 11:00 this morning, and I'm not exaggerating at all.  The reason I am thinking about this right now is that I did my 10 page 4-H scrapbook this afternoon alone and it was on my amazing experience at ALA last year.  My favorite page title is Ace of Libraries (about the cake Charm City Cakes made last year) and my favorite picture is one of just me at the Newbery/Caldecott Gala.  So my request to all of you lucky ducks that are at ALA right now is to post a comment about your favorite part and the things you are doing / did so that I can hear about ALA Annual 2011 while I remember ALA Annual 2010.

An Interview with Sam B.

The famous Sam B was nice enough to let me interview him about being on the Newbery Committee. This is the first Video interview I have done so I had to learn about making it into a video. To make it work I had to do it in two parts. So enjoy part one today and come back again for part two! And, THANKS SAM!!!

Moon Over Manifest

When this book was announced as the 2011 Newbery, I was surprised because I had never heard of it. I quickly ordered a copy and have a free one coming soon. When the first copy came, I immediately started reading and loved it!!! I like how some of Abilene’s story was told in 1918 and some of it was set in 1936. This was an interesting approach to historical fiction, and I have never read a book quite like it. Moon Over Manifest is Abilene Tucker’s story of finding out who she is and where she came from. I think it is very impressive that a first-time author won the Newbery and it means that LOTS of people will read her book. I think that this book is deserving of the award and can’t wait to start reading potintial picks for next year!

Rating: *****

Dan Darigan - John Newbery Award Committee Member

This is a super cool look at the Newbery Committee from a current committee member.  Does it make me a geek that I studied his book shelf and piles to make sure the books I LOVE this year were there?  Oh, how I would LOVE to be on the Newbery Committee! 

My Bottom Ten Newberys

Some people might argue about this bottom 10.  My mom sure did about Jacob Have I Loved, but they are in MY order.  Some of these books just were not a good fit for my likes (The High King and Shadow of a Bull), some were just plain bad (Daniel Boone and The Dark Frigate), and some were bad timing for me as a reader (Lincoln: A Photobiography and Jacob Have I Loved).  Rankings are hard and a little fun; I wonder if I do this again as an adult what my rankings will be...  But, I think I will skip The Dark Frigate even as an adult!
80. 2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
81. 1999: Holes
82. 1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and
Experienced Travelers
83. 1965: Shadow of a Bull
84. 1940: Daniel Boone
85. 1954: ...And Now Miguel
86. 1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography
87. 1969: The High King
88. 1981: Jacob Have I Loved
89. 1924: The Dark Frigate

 I hope that you enjoyed reading my rankings!

My 21-79 Newberys Ranked

When I was ranking these, I had fun thinking again about each book.  It is amazing how many of them I really did like!  I know teachers often assign kids to read a Newbery winner for book reports; this is a great assignment.  The Newbery winners include something for everyone to like, and kids should know there are some really short ones.  Happy Reading!

21. 1996: The Midwife's Apprentice
22. 2006: Criss Cross
23. 1948: The Twenty-One Balloons
24. 1995: Walk Two Moons
25. 1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
26. 1991: Maniac Magee
27. 1978: Bridge to Terabithia
28. 1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins
29. 1935: Dobry
30. 1955: The Wheel on the School
31. 1956: Carry On Mr. Bowditch
32. 1933: Young Fu
33. 1993: Missing May
34. 2000: Bud, Not Buddy
35. 1973: Julie of the Wolves
36. 1985: The Hero and the Crown
37. 1925: Tales from Silver Lands
38. 1970: Sounder
39. 2005: Kira-Kira
40. 1939: Thimble Summer
41. 1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw
42. 1943: Adam of the Road
43. 1922: The Story of Mankind
44. 1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
45. 1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse
46. 1960: Onion John
47. 1992: Shiloh
48. 1941: Call It Courage
49. 1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man
50. 2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead
51. 1974: The Slave Dancer
52. 1944: Johnny Tremain
53. 1987: The Whipping Boy
54. 1942: The Matchlock Gun
55. 2007: The Higher Power of Lucky
56. 1926: Shen of the Sea
57. 1947: Miss Hickory
58. 1945: Rabbit Hill
59. 1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven
60. 1950: The Door in the Wall
61. 1962: The Bronze Bow
62. 1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond
63. 1937: Roller Skates
64. 1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon
65. 1966: I, Juan de Pareja
66. 1953: Secret of the Andes
67. 1932: Waterless Mountain
68. 1964: It's Like This, Cat
69. 1949: King of the Wind
70. 1938: The White Stag
71. 2009: The Graveyard Book
72. 1976: The Grey King
73. 1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow
74. 1958: Rifles for Watie
75. 1971: Summer of the Swans
76. 1946: Strawberry Girl
77. 1952: Ginger Pye
78. 1998: Out of the Dust
79. 1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great

Stay tuned for my bottom 10!

My Newbery Ranking

Readers have asked me which Newbery Winners I like best.  Last year I found the ranking done by the Allen County Library, and they even let me give input on where When You Reach Me fit.  I liked their list, but definitely have my own point of view.  So, I have finally ranked all the Newbery winners in MY order of preference.  Below are my top 20; I will post the rest separately.  The books that made my top 20 are all books I LOVE.  They are books that I think about even long after I read them and books that I like to read over and over.  When I look at the list it is a mix of types of books and of when they were written.  I think my list is a little girly, but I AM a 10 year old girl.  I think that almost anyone could find several books to LOVE in this top 20. 
1. 1936: Caddie Woodlawn

2. 1967: Up A Road Slowly
3. 1934: Invincible Louisa
4. 2010: When You Reach Me
5. 1983: Dicey's Song
6. 1994: The Giver
7. 1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
8. 1990: Number the Stars
9. 1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's
Journal1830-1832
10. 1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall
11. 1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
12. 1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
13. 2004: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
14. 1972: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
15. 2002: A Single Shard
16. 2001: A Year Down Yonder
17. 1997: The View from Saturday
18. 1957: Miracles on Maple Hill
19. 1963: A Wrinkle in Time
20. 1979: The Westing Game

Stay tuned for the rest of the list.

Sounder

This was another book about a boy and his dog, but this book had the historical fiction touch and the perspective of  the boy being African American.  I found it odd that the only name mentioned in the book was Sounder, the name of the dog.  I liked this book because the boy had a real devotion to his dog.  It is worth reading even if you are not a boy or don't have a dog.

Rating:*****

The Grey King

This medieval adventure story with dragons and royalty definitely appeals to readers who enjoy adventures and lots of fantasy excitement. It’s always fun to root for a hero!  While I liked the book, I thought the use of all of the complicated royalty titles distracted me from the book. I found myself renaming characters to make it possible for me to keep track of them all.

 

Rating: ****

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

One great thing about the Newbery is that many of the books force you to think about problems with the way we treat each other in this world. Cassie Logan’s family endures many things just because they are African American. Reading this book might make you angry about all of the horrible things that happened to the Logan family, but I think that it is important that kids nowadays think about this time period so that we can make sure it never happens again and that we are treating people around us fairly now.

Rating: *****

Rifles for Watie

Common sense would indicate that it is impossible to have fought for both the North and the South in the Civil War and live to tell about it. I’m not sure anybody really did, but the character Jefferson Davis Bussey in this story did, and that was a great way to get to see what the Civil War was like from lots of different points of view. This book is a bit long and it kind of drags on with lots of adventures as the author makes sure that Jefferson is in the middle of much of the action of the Cival War, but I still liked it.


Rating: *** and 1/2

King of the Wind

The most famous story about a boy and his horse is Black Stallion, but Black Stallion didn't win the Newbery. King of the Wind is the only book about a boy and his horse that did win, and I think it deserved the medal. Unlike most books that are the only one of their kind and won the Newbery, this one deserved it. I was drawn into the world of Agba, a mute orphan, and Sham, his horse, and I couldn't get out. I've always wanted a horse, but our farm is only equipped for pigs and dogs and cats and fish. Maybe when I grow up I will have a horse like Sham.

Rating: ****

Summer of the Swans

Summer of the Swans is a short, easy-to-read, sweet story, but it is offensively outdated. The way that the author talked about Sarah’s younger brother’s disability was fine in the 70s, but nowadays it is inappropriate to use that kind of language. This book would probably not be considered as award-winning today, but it is worth reading as long as you’re willing to think about how the world has changed.

Rating: ***

Strawberry Girl

I found the local language used in the dialog even more annoying than Old English!!! For me, it took away from the story instead of making it better. If I was an average kid trying to read this book, it would have been put in the pile of books to donate. But, I kept reading and, eventually, I was able to get the meaning of the story picked out of the old-fashioned dialog. Birdie Boyer's family is trying to make a living by farming strawberries, and it turns out that sounds a lot easier than it is.

Rating: ***

Shiloh

Sometimes life just isn’t fair, and kids try to fix all of the problems in the world. This book shows Marty, a young boy of eleven, trying to protect Shiloh, and Judd Travers, Shiloh’s abusive owner. I think this is a book that every child should read. It shows kids that, as young as they are, they can make a difference. This book also helps kids understand that we can’t do everything alone and some adults will still do terrible things even if we try to fix the world.  Boy do I wish we could just fix it!


Rating:*****

A Single Shard

I think it is amazing how an orphan’s life can be changed so much by a mentor. When Tree-ear is apprenticed by a potter, he finds that love from his new father could change his life forever. I loved this book because a., I LOVE pottery, and b., it is very well written without being written in the exact same way as other Newberys. A Single Shard is still a growing up story, like almost all of the other great Newberys, but it was different and not boring because there were interesting twist and a focus what careful, slow, hard work can achieve. This book made it to my top 15 Newberys, although I haven’t written the whole list out. Three cheers for Tree-ear!!!

Rating:  *****

Roller Skates

The main character, Lucinda Wyman, uses her roller skates and the fact that her parents, and their rules, are away to do many things that girls her age wouldn't usually do. Lucinda becomes quite a bit of a tom boy when she becomes a close friend of a BOY, roller skates to school, and talks to a patrolman. I didn’t like this book much in the beginning because it was too old-fashioned for me, but by the time I got to the middle of the story, I loved it. Despite the fact that it was old fashioned, Roller Skates was still a great story, and the plot wasn’t the same as every other book published that year. Now I wait until the middle of the story to judge if a book is a good one or not.

Rating: ****

Julie of the Wolves

Before I started this book both of my parents talked about how much they had liked it growing up, they said all the girls they knew in elementary school read it. You can tell my parents were children of the 1970’s, but I agree this is a great book. This is a growing up book but that setting and issues that Julie faces make it very interesting. The author also organized the story amazing well; the flashbacks were great and made the story work. I am not really an “outdoor kid” (wheelchairs work better on pavement) but it was fun to think about living in the wild from Julie’s experience.
Rating: *****

M.C. Higgins the Great

This is a book where I liked the main character, M.C., more than the book. In my mind I call M.C. “the pole guy”, and really like his quirky and resilient personality. And like many Newberys it is a growing up story, but not the best one. Overall, I didn’t think this book was that well written, it seemed to ramble and get a little lost at times. M.C. was the only thing that made you want to keep reading.
Rating: ***