A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

1999 Newberry Honor Book


Ok, Grandma rocks. I could tell you a million things about this book, but they sum up to "Grandma rocks."

Set during the Great Depression, in Piatt County, Illinois, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice are shipped off to spend the summer with Grandma. For each chapter, another summer episode is shown. This grandma certainly isn't like mine (although I love her)--this one is full of spitfire and sass. She can squeeze a dime from a nickel, and don't even mess with her shotgun.

I read most of this book on breaks at my "grown-up job", and I can tell you I was laughing out loud in the middle of our lobby at this story. Peck is a native of Decatur, and the pace of this book is much like the pace of every kid's summer vacation--nice and easy.

Each chapter covers a different summer, and we get to know Grandma at the same time as Joey and Mary Alice. You grow to love all the characters--including the upstanding men of the community singing in their scanties out at the Rod and Gun Club!
This would be a great story for boys or girls, and for readers of all levels and ages. My copy has made it around the office a little, and I have already started the sequel "A Year Down Yonder" (Newberry Medalist, by the way). Fabulous, fabulous!

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

1968 Newberry Medal Winner

This could be the longest title on the list. Believe it or not, this story is as fresh in 2009 as it was in 1968! E.L. Konigsburg has a longstanding history of great children's fiction, and this is no exception. As a matter of fact, Konigsburg is the only author to win the Newberry and have an honor book in the same year. 2 out of the 4 best children's books in 1968 were from this author. Amazing.

Almost-12-year-old Claudia feels underappreciated by her family. She decides she will not take it anymore and devises a plan to run away. She must find the perfect place to run to (so many runaways don't think that they need somewhere to go), and she knows she has it with New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks to his cash flow, Claudia invites her younger brother to accompany her. It is enjoyable to see how Claudia and Jamie manage to pull off their caper, and even manage to continue bathtime--thanks to a wishing fountain!

Several days into their stay, the kids come across a new exhibit--the Angel--possibly created by the master Michelangelo himself. Claudia becomes obsessed with finding the identity of the sculptor of Angel, and will even endanger their cover to do so. What follows is a clever and twisting story that brings us to libraries, museums and a mansion belonging to a certain elderly woman...

This was a delightful story, but it does not move with the fast pace that kids have come to expect. In the day and age where kids are distracted by a million other things, I only hope kids would stick with this story. It would be interesting how they perceive research when there are no computers and hands on databases available. Great book. Can't wait to read her others...

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

2009 Newberry Honor Book

If you want to pick up a sappy and sweet animal story, put this book down. The Underneath may come off that way, thanks in part to its adorable cover, but it is much darker and dramatic than you realize.

Appelt follows two distinct stories in this book, set on the same land in the Louisiana Bayou, thousands of years apart.

The first follows a calico cat--expecting kittens any day--that has been abandoned in the woods by a family that once loved her. Scared and alone, she is not sure where to go until she hears the song of a lonely hound dog, Ranger--doomed to end his days on the end of a chain attached to a sagging porch. She is attracted by his "blues", and understands his song as no one has ever done so before. She decides the best place to have her babies is under that sagging porch. The only problem is that the porch belongs to Gar Face, an evil man who mistreats Ranger, and if he were to find Mama and kittens, would surely use them as alligator bait.

The second story is about Grandmother Moccasin--an ancient reptile forced to live over a thousand years in a clay jar--doomed by her own selfishness and hatred. Grandmother gives us an opportunity to meet the native people that lived a thousand years ago, and learn about their belief of shape-shifting. We also see from Grandmother all of the reptiles and birds that existed then, and still do today.

This is a very intense story. Very early on in the book, a major character is brutally eliminated, and there is no comfort that "everyone will be all right in the end". Not for the faint of heart, and even though I cringed through a lot of the events in the book, sadly, people and animals exist this way every day. Extreme animal cruelty and hatred is included in this book, and perhaps may be a book best to be read together, or kept out of the hands of more sensitive kids.

Appelt's lyrical writing style makes you feel like you're floating through the bayou, and her words are poetic. Most chapters are a few pages long, so short attention span is not a problem here. David Small does some wonderful illustrations here (he's a favorite of mine), but the cover is deceiving of the content.

I am actually quite surprised that this review has come out in support of the book. I will give one final word on this. All favorable reviews I have found on this book were written by adults. I have not been able to find one from a child or teenager.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2009 Newberry Medal Winner

I don't know if I am getting more squeamish, or if books are getting more graphic...

Between The Graveyard Book and the Underneath (my next title to review), I am beginning to think I am losing my edge. I expect something weird and off the wall with Gaiman, but he does realize he is writing for kids, doesn't he?

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the story, but I'm just not sure if I would hand this to a younger reader.

Within the first chapter, Nobody Owens--or "Bod" for short--is the sole survivor when his family is brutally murdered. An ancient group of men has marked him for death, and the only way he can survive is to hide from "the man Jack" in a forgotten graveyard.

The ghosts take Bod under their wing, and raise him as if he were there own. He encounters Romans that came to England during the invasion, his "parents" are from a century past, and gains much of his advice from a forgotten poet. Bod's adventures grow as he does, and they culminate in a final battle against the man who has pursued him since he was a baby.

While very lyrical, this book gets quite intense. Beware to all that are squeamish--the first chapter is fairly bloody. There are many light moments in the story, but Gaiman is able to keep the suspense tightly under control even in those moments. My favorite part of the story is the Danse Macabre--where the living and the dead come together in one night to dance and revel. I burned right through this section.

Parents and teachers, please proof this one before you hand it off to the kids. Like I said, it is definitely not for the sensitive child. However, if you have a Goosebumps loving, scary-movie watching, imaginative kid, you may consider this title. Bravo to the ALA for considering this title at all, let alone giving it the top honor.

A long delay...

Sorry for the long delay between posts. Even though I haven't been writing, I still have been keeping up with reading. Hopefully, in the next few days, you will see a large increase of posts. Coming soon--Newberry winners from this year: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, the Underneath by Kathi Appelt, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. Also, Charlotte's Web, Walk Two Moons, and many more! Hope you come back and check them out!

Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White

1997 Newberry Honor Book

Sometimes a story will come along, and you will be so wrapped up in the plot, you won't notice it's over until the last chapter. This is not one of those books. However, this is a book that is so humorous and enchanting in its lack of plot, you won't realize it's over until the very end.

Belle Prater has disappeared without a trace. There is no evidence of foul play, and no indication that she might have run off with someone else. She simply vanished off the face of the earth! Belle did leave behind a son, though--Woodrow.

Woodrow is cross-eyed and funny looking, but when he comes to live with his grandparents in Coal Station, his cousin, Gypsy discovers she longs to have his quick wit, the ability to make anyone laugh, and his way to charm out of any situation.

Told from Gypsy's point of view, in her Appalachain dialect, this is a coming of age story for boys and girls alike. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the anecdotes of all the kids in Coal Station. There never really is a solid plot here, it is just short incidents throughout the school year following Woodrow's arrival.

I would find this to be a great read aloud book-if you're brave enough to try the dialect-and certainly would grab a reluctant reader from the beginning. I enjoyed this as an adult, and have used a few of the jokes from it on grown-ups, and they laughed just as hard as the characters in the book.

A great well-rounded read for everyone. I enjoyed it so much, I have added its sequel "The Search for Belle Prater", and White's other title "Tadpole" to my short list of books to be read.

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

2002 Newberry Medal Winner

I don't quite know why I put off reading this book. I have picked it up at least 2 dozen times and read the back, and for some reason I just kept putting it back down again. I am so glad I "resigned" myself to reading it.

Tree-Ear, an orphan living under a bridge in a potter's village, looks forward to the days he can sneak behind the house of Master potter Min and watch him throw a pot. He is fascinated by the way that Min can take a lump of clay and transform it into a instrument of use and beauty.

One day, when Tree-Ear sneaks behind the house, Min is not there. Tree-Ear sneaks into the yard to admire the works in progress. When Min startles him, Tree-Ear breaks a valuable piece. Tree-Ear proposes that he may work off his debt by serving the master potter. What follows is a lesson in patience, for Tree-Ear assumed the potter would show him the trade that he covets. Instead, Tree-Ear finds himself hauling wood for the kiln and harvesting the clay for his master's use.

News comes to the village that an emissary from the Royal Palace will be arriving with the intent to comission several artists' works. As a consequence, Tree-Ear finds himself on a dangerous journey of both body and spirit.

I hope this summary works, because I certainly labored over it. This one is tough, since you can either give too much or too little. I'm not sure which is better.

I found that I really appreciated this story. Too many times, authors try to force feed kids "lessons" in their stories. This one hands them to the kids without their even knowing it. Even I got a great lesson in patience. Several chapters into the book, I said to myself, "This had better pick up". Well, I pushed through it, and even though the pace didn't increase in the story, my interest certainly did. Imagine--a kid, 12 or 13 at the oldest, homeless and hungry, has the opportunity to possibly improve his own life and the lives of those close to him. The conflicting emotions that Park is able to communicate--"pride and shame", for example, are all that a kid experiences in daily life.

I recommend this title for the seasoned reader, unfortunately, I am afraid a reluctant reader would not be caught soon enough. However, for all those kids wanting to make a transition from lighter series to more "grown-up" stuff, this is a good choice. It is briefer than a lot I have read from the Newberry list, but its content makes it a good choice.