Specials

Specials

Scott Westerfeld (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

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

Red Ridin' in the Hood

Red Ridin' in the Hood



by Patricia Santos Marcantonio (2005)



classic fairy tales and Greek myths retold with Latino flavoring... only got to a couple before Son #2 book-jacked it, but the stories more than just changing Jack to Jose and setting the tale in Mexico... some are funny, some more traditional...

Missing May

Missing May

by Cynthia Rylant

Newbery Medal 1993

coupled with Sarah, Plain and Tall -- what a great hour of reading! Funny, sensitive, respectful of life and death, strength and importance of family, quirky characters... I'd recommend this to any adult as well...

Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall

by Patricia MacLachlan

Newbery Medal 1986

a quick read, short and simple, very sweet... ayuh, I liked this one a lot, not just as a children's story...