My Mom the Pirate
by Jackie French (2003)
cute, funny, good for beginning of school year or new students
Farmer Boy
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1933/1971)
I have a soft spot for the Little House books; I received the set for my 8th birthday (still one of the top 3 birthdays of my life -- these books and a baseball glove & bat, all of which I still have around. Sentimental or Pathetic?) and read along with my teacher when she read them aloud to the class, plus my mom probably read them when she was growing up as well.
Anyway, I only have one son left to pass the treasured stories on to, the first 2 have rejected them soundly (without really giving the books a chance, I believe) due to lack of lasers, monsters, or appearance of any magic wands. Their loss.
I love this book in part for the food: pies, breads, ice cream, turkey, sausage, ribs, fresh berries... Almanzo is a hard-working growing frontier boy, and he appreciates his meals! I wonder if my boys have noticed I've stepped up their chores and duties since reading of the dawn to dusk work it takes to run a farm...
Frindle
Andrew Clements (1996)
A smart-aleck kid defies authority and causes chaos at an elementary school... oh, wait, a creative student leads his classmates in thinking outside the box and expressing their inventive talents.
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry
Newbery Medal 1949
The story of a mute Moroccan boy and his horse traveling across Europe as their fortunes go down, up, down, up again, down further, slightly up, down and out, and finally up again for a happy ending. Especially for the horse, who becomes a very popular stud.
More of an animal story than a boy story, we never get to know too much of the boy or see him grow/change, except through the fortunes of the horse. But quick pace, some humor, and the underdogs come out on top in the end.
connections: ?
A Visit to William Blake's Inn
Nancy Willard
Newbery Medal 1982
I am a big William Blake fan, painting and writing, but not a big poetry fan. This is one of those "It won the Newbery? Really?" I liked the art (Caldecott Honor) and the ideas behind the poems better than the poems themselves.
The Midwife's Apprentice
Karen Cushman
Newbery Medal 1996
Timothy of the Cay
Theodore Taylor (1993)
The follow-up to The Cay alternates between Phillip's rescue and recovery and Timothy's past life from cabin boy to captain of his own ship. Phillip becomes quite independent and makes many important decisions, eventually going with his father back to the cay and Timothy's grave. Timothy's story is a quality portrayal of working hard to overcome fears and predjudice to become a strong, productive man.
connections: shipwrecks, survival, blindness; Hatchet, The Slave Dancer, Winter Danger, Follow My Leader
Follow My Leader
by James B. Garfield (1957)
This is a read-aloud book for my 3rd grade class, but I brought it home to read ahead so I wasn't surprised by anything. I'm normally biased against books published more than a few decades back, and the Eddie Haskell dialogue had me involuntarily rolling my eyes ("Golly, guys, dry up, would ya?") but it turns out to be a worthwhile read.
The hero's name is Jimmy Carter and he's the class president -- how weird is that? --before being blinded in a firecracker accident. He needs to learn Braille and how to work with a guide dog, as well as forgive the boy who caused the accident and prove to the fellows he can still be a good Scout. A lot of opportunities for additional learning: empathy for the blind, of course, and Braille, guide dogs, constellations, bats and radar, and telling time without gasp! a digital clock.
So what is the acceptable/preferred "label" these days, what do I file and tag this as? Handicap, disability, challenged... ???
Max
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
Newbery Medal 2009
Possibly the spookiest Newbery winner ever? Maybe I could tell you if I didn't try to read it while covering my eyes...
Okay, I finished it. Great book, on the different side from most Newberry winners, but definitely deserving. With all the interesting characters and subplots I wished at times it was a thicker book, but the focus rightfully stayed on the main character.
update: haven't listened to this yet, and will make sure all the lights in the house are blazing brightly when I do, but here Neil Gaiman reads his Newbery winner!
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Newbery Medal 1944
Coming-of-age during the American Revolution, a poor but selfish/arrogant boy finds himself and a greater purpose during the birth of our nation.
I heard a lot of negative comments about this one on LibraryThing, mostly within the "books kids are forced to read" threads, but I enjoyed it; as a 6th grader I* may have felt it was long and therefore boring. Who has time in a classroom to have kids read novels anyway? There is some awkward prose, choppy almost fragmented sentences, possibly due to when it was written (?)...
I think there are several movie versions, anyone recommend a particular one?
connections: Paul Revere, colonial/revolutionary America, My Brother Sam is Dead , the Dear America series
*"I" as in a broad, generalized assumption of 6th graders-- I personally probably would have loved it, and I'm surprised I'd missed it way back then...
Winter Danger
William O. Steele (1954)
A boy and his father live the "woodsy" life, sleeping in hollow trees and hunting for food, until a extremely hard winter forces the father to leave the boy with relatives; the solitary, independent boy learns about family, community, depending on and helping others. Plus he has a cool battle with wolves.
connections: LHontheP, Hatchet
Guts: The True Stories Behind "Hatchet" and the Brian Books
by Gary Paulsen (2002)
Paulsen's childhood and adult adventures in the wilderness, focused mainly on hunting and flying; interesting, and good for students to see how real (and dangerous) some seemingly fun "adventures" can be, and also to point how important it can be to "write what you know" -- inspiration for those that can't think of anything to write...
Possible compare/contrast the true accounts and the fictionalized versions from his books.
While reading it, I did feel a little guilty whining when our temps here dropped below 60... brrrrr!
Yolanda's Genius
by Carol Fenner (1995)
Newbery Honor Book
Very nice story, a lot going on -- moving from city to suburbs, plus-size females, musical talent, making friends, missing father, drug dealers, etc. etc... -- the book could've been twice as long, but it focused the last 3rd and ended interestingly. The same book could be written from Yolanda's brother Andrew's POV.
I really like the cover art also; sometimes I don't look twice at a cover, but I kept glancing back at this one...
connections: Chicago blues music, The Sound and the Fury
Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2000)
The beginning of a series (7? 8 books?) dealing with a government limiting families to 2 children and controlling the food supply... what happens when the extra/illegal children revolt? Adventure plus discussions of personal freedom...
connections: The Giver, Anne Frank
Whirligig
by Paul Fleischman (1999)
I wasn't sure about this one during the first chapter -- teen alcohol, hormone and suicide issues -- but then it got much better. Alternating chapters between a boy seeking redemption for mistakes and the people whose lives are touched by his actions and art, it's interesting and thought-provoking.
Whoa! Just checked the published date: 1920?!?!?!? Need to double-check that, or re-read the book, 'cause that doesn't make sense... UPDATE: no, of course it wasn't written in 1920 -- that's what I get for trusting anything on the Internet for viable information!
Horns & Wrinkles
by Joseph Helgerson (2006)
Loved it! Trolls and magic, bullies and crickets...
"Qualitative and quantitative purpose statements address similar content, but to express the assumptions of a qualitative paradigm..."
The Whipping Boy
Jack and the Giant A Story Full of Beans
by Jim Harris (1997)
Jack and his beanstalk, cowboy style... not my usual type of book to list here, but it gets special consideration since it was the star of my first official lesson plan assignment.
Brian's Winter
by Gary Paulsen (1996)
The hero of Hatchet gets a re-imagined adventure of not being rescued before winter... mostly deals with hunting, the cold, and survival techniques, but doesn't go very deep and personal as in the previous book. The ending seems quickly added once a certain number of were hit.
The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs
by Betty G.* Birney (2005)
A boy who wants to travel and see the world, or at least get off the farm and ride a train, looks around his small town for "wonders" and finds how special his family and neighbors really are. Well done characters, humor, strength of family and community, but also following your dreams, looking out into the wide world.
*are there a lot of other Betty Birneys out there she might get confused with?
Specials
Scott Westerfield (2006)
The conclusion (?) to Uglies, and very similar... not as much new and different, same characters, issues, conflicts for the heroine, just with new technology/power... some drama, a death, even a 9/11 reference and Pres. Bush/Iraq allusion, but a happy ending...
connections: Gathering Blue, ecology vs technology, government control vs right to choose
Thimble Summer
by Elizabeth Enright
Newbery Medal 1938
Whoa, didn't realize this one was from so long ago... I've been trying to avoid some of the older books, (unnecessarily?) worrying about relevance and dated references, etc.... tales of a farm girl's constant mishaps -- she seems quite disrespectful, running off quite often with no apparent disciplinary consequences, but in the end she learns a little lesson...
connections: Little House...; Sarah, Plain and Tall; farm life
