Newbery Books

[osprey_archer]

Newbery books! I have been reading them, and naturally I have thoughts about them which must be shared.

First, Eric P. Kelly’s The Trumpeter of Krakow, which I expected to like, as it is an adventure story in Poland in the 1400s. Doesn’t that sound interesting and unusual? But although there are a lot of exciting happenings in this book -

Comments

[nagasasu]

Wholeheartedly agree that Enchantress was robbed. But the Newberry in general doesn't give out a lot of awards to sf.

[osprey_archer]

They really don't, which is unfortunate, because there are so many good children's fantasy and sf books.

[osprey_archer]

I think Rylant has a talent for sounding folksy without sounding quaint or laying it on to thick. I really enjoyed that in Missing May, that Summer sounds so individual (and like an individual from a very specific place). And she does have a way with words: I liked, for instance, her description of Uncle Ob's whirligigs, or Cletus's suitcase of pictures.

Maybe it's one of those books like Charlotte's Web that is good when you're young, but even better when you get older?

I think I found Terabithia so upsetting because I expected it to be one of my favorite kinds of books - either "friends invent imaginary world" or "friends find door to magical world," I wasn't picky which.

And then...it so is not that.

[osprey_archer]

I reread Charlotte's Web a year or two ago, and for me at least it was totally true that it was even better as an adult.

On the other hand, I found it even more irritating that Fern gave up on the talking animals to moon over some dopey boy at the fair. Because talking animals.

And also she was only eight, it seemed awfully young to let romance overshadow all over aspects of her life.

[c_maxx]

Ha! The Trumpeter of Krakow!! Read that back before the last ice age. But I do recall it was quite an adventure.

May have to pick it up again, and now the kids are getting old enough to read to, tho I'm not sure they are up to a real novel yet; we at still at Dr. Suess and such...

[osprey_archer]

The Trumpeter of Krakow might be a little long for a first foray into chapter books. But then again, my mother read me all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books when I was pretty young, and they're pretty long, so maybe length doesn't matter so much? At least for a reading-aloud book.

When I first learned to read, I loved Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putter and Tabby series. They're technically chapter books, but the chapters are very short, so they weren't frustrating at all to my first-grade self.

[asakiyume]

I quite agree with you about Enchantress from the Stars versus Summer of the Swans--but I suspect the Newbery folks looked askance at space opera (and yet, they do sometimes pick fantasy and science fantasy, so…)

[osprey_archer]

There's definitely a trend toward historical and realistic fiction in the Newbery Award winners, which has changed somewhat in the last ~40 years, but not that much. But Enchantress has endured well even without winning, so that's something, at least.