Looking for Newbery - The Dark Emperor

It's always fun to follow favorite books of others online. It helps me keep books in my TBR pile at all times. :) So, when Jonathan and Nina at Heavy Medal ran their mock Newbery, and Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman was the almost run-away favorite, I knew I needed to make it one of the books I read during the #bookaday challenge that was happening on twitter during the holidays.

Luckily, Bill and I were headed to Cover to Cover on Tuesday, and my favorite bookstore had one more copy of Dark Emperor. I snatched it up!

This book doesn't fit the picture I have in my head of the kind of book that wins the Newbery award for three reasons: it's poetry, it's nonfiction, and it's a picture book. But when I began to read Dark Emperor, I was overwhelmed by the genius of Sidman's writing, and the layout of the book.

On every left side page of the book, there is a poem featuring a creature of the night. The words are beautiful and leave the reader wanting to read the poem with the gorgeous language again and again. Then on the right hand side, Sidman writes a nonfiction text that further explains information about that specific creature. I'm not a total fan of the darkness of the pictures (however, how could the pictures not be dark when the books has "night" in its title?) , but I believe that to win the Newbery, the text is the only thing the judges look at. If that is true, Sidman's writing is impeccable.

I'm so glad I own Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night if for no other reason that it is one of the most amazing nonfiction mentor texts I have come across in quite some time. What a wonderful book to share with students! I will watch with great interest to see what the Newbery committee thinks!

Looking for Newbery Day 5: The Dreamer

So Karen and I tossed this one back and forth, and it landed on my stack of books to review for Looking for Newbery. I know it's getting a lot of very positive attention, Fuse #8 chose it as an honor book, and is making short lists everywhere. I know the writing is "beautiful" and even has, ok, I'll say it, dream like qualities. I know it's just the type of book that wins Newbery awards. It's the type of book that I don't like. I guess I just don't get it!

The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan is a biography of Nobel winning Chilean political poet Pablo Neruda. I had to look him up to know who he was, so maybe that's part of the reason I didn't get it. The story begins with a boy by the name of Neftali, sick in his bed room, looking out the window dreaming of playing with the other kids and having friends. The dream is interrupted by the clomping of his father's boots and the fear that sound strikes in the heart of Neftali.

The book is a series of dreams being shattered by the father. Neftali's brother, Rodolfo dreams of being a great opera singer, but the father forbids him from singing anymore, even beats Rodolfo when he discovers him singing in the woods. Neftali has a love of words, developed by all of the reading he does due to his sickliness. It frustrates the father who wants his boy to be "robust" and playing futbol with the other boys. Nefatali' love of writing is an embarrassment to his father and culminates in the burning of all of Neftali's notebooks.

Thank goodness for the two characters who encourage the brothers to follow their dreams. Sadly, it's too late for Rodolfo, he succumbs to his father's wishes and becomes a businessman. But for Neftali, his step-mother and her brother, are the support every child should get. They encourage Neftali's talent and his uncle Orlando, who runs a small anti-government newspaper, even publishes some of Neftali's essays. This only serves to anger the father and leads Neftali to publish under the pseudonym of Pablo Neruda to save his father from embarrassment and to protect his own identity for safety.

Interspersed in the book are poetic questions posed by Neftali's imagination. They truly add to the dream like quality of the writing and help to bring the reader into the boy's world. Like I said, beautiful writing, dreamy and all that, but I'm not sure it's all that kid friendly. As Fuse #8 points out, that's not something the Newbery committee has to look at, but maybe they should.

Other Reviews:
The Washington Post
Bib-Laura-graphy
Kidsreads

Looking for Newbery - The Red Umbrella

I initially read The Red Umbrella this summer when it was recommended to me by one of the very smart ladies at my favorite independent children's bookstore, Cover to Cover. It was a great recommendation -- the characters, the setting, the problems and conflicts all kept me mesmerized from first page to last.

In addition, as I blogged this summer, The Red Umbrella has many layers which allows it to appeal to many audiences. I am amazed that the author, Christina Diaz Gonazalez, is a first time author. She writes about a topic that is close to her heart (the reader should definitely read her author's note at the end) which probably is why the language of the book is so beautiful and compelling, and the situations in the story are so real.

This book challenged my thinking about Cuba since I was born in the mid-50's and was aware in the 60's of our country's perception of Cuba. The Cuba in this story incorporates that thinking, but it is so much more -- it is a beautiful place where proud Cubans lived, willing to stand up to Castro's revolution.

The Red Umbrella got many favorable reviews this year, particularly in the GoodReads Mock Newbery group. It is a book worthy of being mentioned in these Mock Newbery conversations!

Looking for Newbery Day 3: Countdown

I reviewed this one back in April from an ARC that was making the rounds with the Central Ohio Bloggers and I couldn't say enough good things about it. It was my early favorite for Newbery attention. It got a little from some other places, but seems to have dropped off the lists lately. It's still on my list for a variety of reasons.

I love the way Deborah Wiles presented the subject of the story. She didn't just write a good story, she recreated the mood of the story's time period. I know that some people have been put off by the non-fiction portion of her story, but I loved it. Being a bit of a history buff may help in that regard, but in my opinion it just set the tone for the story of Franny and her family. If I were given the task of teaching about 1962 and the Cuban Missile crisis, I would look no further than this book.

The one thing I would change about my earlier post is the last paragraph where I said that it would be a tough sell in the elementary school. I could not have been more wrong. Once I got it into the hands of the right kids, the book was never on the shelf and the reserve list was always 5 students or so long. It clearly worked with the elementary students.




Other Reviews:
A Year of Reading
100 Scope Notes
A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Abby the Librarian

Looking for Newbery - Out of My Mind

I read Out of My Mind last spring and absolutely fell in love with it!! In fact, as soon as I read it, I knew it had to be the final read aloud to share with my class last spring.

I liked so much about it, but I will admit it was mostly the characters that continued to draw me further and further into the book. Melody, with so much in her mind that no one knew about. Mrs. V, the next door neighbor who babysat Melody and was one of the first people to understand how much knowledge Melody had within her. Penny, the little sister who is born perfectly normal and adds a lot of drama to the story. Butterscotch, the pet dog who loves Melody unconditionally. Melody's mom and dad, parents who live a very real life with a less than typical child but who love Melody more than anything. Molly and Claire, the mean and unkind girls who make them so easy to dislike. Rose, the girl who is one of the first students to reach out to make Melody feel included.

The action in the story is equally compelling. The Whiz Kids quiz team and all its drama. Penny's accident. The first time Melody could "talk". Melody having a fit over learning ABCs again. Mom standing up to the doctor who wanted Melody sent away. Mom standing up to the teacher who hadn't bothered to find out what Melody was capable of. All the afternoons with Mrs. V, learning so many new things; the sky was the limit. Melody starting be part of "regular" classes in an inclusion model.

But, the part that "hooked" me from the beginning and never let me go was the lead; the first chapter. This past November, at NCTE, I got to hear Sharon Draper read this part out loud. I had goosebumps, it was so beautiful!

I blogged about Out of My Mind two other times this year. The first was my initial reaction to the book. The second blog post reflected my students' reactions to Out Of My Mind at the end of the read aloud.

Looking for Newbery Day 1: One Crazy Summer

As Karen said in an earlier post, we have signed on for another year of Looking for Newbery here at Literate Lives, and it's time for the fun to begin. Karen and I have been looking at lists and picking the books we need to read and the ones we have already read. At breakfast one morning we came up with a tentative list, but just like all of the Newbery watch lists out there, ours is fluid too.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garzia is set in one of the most dramatic years in our country's history, 1968. Three sisters being raised in Brooklyn by their grandmother are suddenly sent to Oakland to visit their mother who walked out on them 7 years before. There father thinks it will be a good experience for them to meet her and spend time with her. Grandma isn't so sure, but off they go, on an adventure that will change them forever.

Fern the youngest, Vonetta the outspoken middle, and Delphine, the oldest and designated caretaker arrive in Oakland and their mother's home. It's clear from the beginning that she doesn't really want them there. She doesn't cook for them, instead gives them money to walk to the nearby Chinese take out place. They are not permitted in the kitchen so they eat the food on the floor. Their first morning their mother puts them out of the house, sending them to the Black Panther People's Center for breakfast and the days activities.

During their daily visits to the People's Center, the girls are exposed to the militant 60s group. Activities include making rally signs and getting local businesses to display flyers for a rally. The girls are instructed in the ways of the Black Panthers. Interesting for me was the fact that in the midst of the indoctrination, the militant group, known for their violent ways, provided a safe place for kids in the neighborhood to hang out during the day. They made sure the folks at the center had breakfast and lunch and provided necessary services for the community. A side of the organization that most of us weren't aware of.

I wish I could say this book had a happy ending, reunion with mom and all that, but at the risk of spoiling something, let me just say it doesn't. The girls get a better idea of who their mom is and why she walked out, they get a lesson in the politics of the day and learn a lot about themselves. I enjoyed the story, I found it informative and fast paced, but I don't think it will make my top 5 for this year's award.

I have talked to several students that have read the book and they enjoyed it. Most were intrigued by the history of the time and it actually spurred their interest in reading more about this time period.

#BookaDay - Holiday Version

This past summer, Donalyn Miller (@donalynmiller on twitter) challenged people to try to read a book a day. Recently, Donalyn decided to bring back the #bookaday challenge, and proposed that she wanted to try to read a book a day over her holiday break and invited others to join in on the fun. I immediately decided it was an event in which I wanted to be a part!

Break and books - what is not to enjoy!! So, my task the past 2 weeks was to start gathering a TBR pile of books for over break. I am in school through this Wednesday, so I will be trying to read a book a day starting Thursday, Dec. 23 - Monday, Jan. 3. Eleven amazing days (not counting Christmas Day) to read to my heart's content.

My TBR pile is divided into 4 parts:

• Books that were recent Book Fair gifts from some of my students -- Smile, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Human Footprint, Of Thee I Sing, Interrupting Chicken
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• Books recommended by friends: The House on Mango Street, Titanic (the first in a new series by Gordan Korman out May 2011), Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
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• Books that I received at NCTE -- The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester (1st to read), the 2nd book in The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series (out March 2011), True (... sort of) by Katherine Hannigan (out May 2011), One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street (out April 2011), Junonia by Kevin Henkes (out June 2011)
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• Books that are the "hot buzz" when it comes to potential Newbery winners on January 10 -- The Kneebone Boy (this will be a reread), Dark Emperor, They Called Themselves the KKK, A Conspiracy of Kings
  

I'm so looking forward to my first book on Thursday. I'm starting with The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester. What a great start with many wonderful books to follow! As you can see from my list, there's no way I'll get everything read, but I'll sure have fun trying!! And I'm actually going to try to throw in some fun adult books as well. :)

If you'd like to follow what everyone is reading over holiday break in the Book a Day challenge, go to twitter and type in the hash tag #bookaday. People will be listing their books as they read them. I imagine there will be some great titles I will want to add to my already too-large TBR pile.