This was part of my goal to read every Newbery book (this one took honors), and I finished it in one sitting. I started it the last evening of 2012 and enjoyed it enough to forego watching the ball drop. I turned the last page in the earliest hours of 2013. I knew this book […]
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg, 1967
Can you believe I’ve never read this book before? This Newbery winner is a heavy hitter, well-known and well-loved by the generation that grew up with it. Except me. But now I see why it has such a reputation. Claudia Kincade is a sixth grader who is so unhappy with the routine of her life […]
The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, 2012
Ivan has lived at the Exit 8 Big Top Circus Mall since he was a juvenile gorilla, just off I-95 and under the billboard lauding “The One and Only Ivan.” His best friends include Stella, the aging elephant, Bob the stray dog, and Julia, the daughter of the janitor. But the Big Top isn’t faring […]
Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage, 2012, Book Review
Meet Mo LoBeau, eleven-year-old spitfire from the town of Tupelo Landing, NC and her best friend, Dale Earnhart Johnson III. (The three is for the immortal legend’s race car number, of course.) Yup, you’ve just landed in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business–which is a good thing, according to Miss Lana, because […]
Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, 1997, Book Review
I’ve been slowly picking away at the list of Newbery winners. The medal is a sign of skill and quality, the best book of the year, and usually I enjoy them. But not always. I didn’t care for Out of the Dust simply because it doesn’t follow a traditional story format; it’s a collection of […]
A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park, 2001, Book Review
I had the vague feeling that I read this book before. I remembered bits and pieces, and some settings I recalled quite strongly. The characters were sort of like those familiar faces you run into now and then and know you should place them but they elude you till you stop and ask. I guess […]
The Giver, by Lois Lowry, 1993, Book Review
Imagine a world that is efficient, safe and painless. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? No one is rude, crime is not a problem, no one ever goes hungry. Every member of the community contributes in a helpful, organized manner, and life glides along as easily as sled runners on a snowy hill. Except there are […]
The High King (Chronicles of Prydain, 5) by Lloyd Alexander, 1968
I’ve so enjoyed this series. If you’ve never read it, check out my other reviews (scroll to bottom) then get thee to a library and check out book one. These are among the cream of the crop in children’s literature, and all five books are chock full of fantastic adventure and fabulous writing. They relate […]
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, 2009, Book Review
Miranda and Sal are best friends, until the day they are not. Until the day Sal takes a punch to the stomach. Until the first day of the story she must write in a letter…to someone. Suddenly, Sal no longer wants to walk to school with Miranda, and the first of four strange notes appear. […]
Dead End in Norvelt, Jack Gantos, 2011, Book Review
Dead End is a worthy title for this book. It deals with death on several levels, but it’s done in a comic, light-hearted way. Jack Gantos, age 12, lives in a town started for the poor by Eleanor Roosevelt during the Great Depression. It’s a socialist type of community (communist, as Jack’s dad, who desperately wants […]