I love a story with a wealth of meaning behind its words. This one is exemplary. Within, young Robyn’s father has left for the Scottish wars, his mother has gone to wait on the ailing queen, and Robyn awaits John-the-Fletcher who will escort him to the manor of Sir Peter where Robyn will serve as squire. […]
Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus, 2010, Book Review
A storm, a shipwreck, and five stranded Japanese fishermen picked up by an American whaler. The problem? They can never go home. Because of Japan’s strict isolationist policy and fear of outsiders, those who leave Japan can never return. The year is 1841. Young Manjiro, like the other fishermen, is suspicious of his blue-eyed rescuers. […]
Moon over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool, 2010, Book Review
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! Recommended to me by a sixth grade literature teacher, I gobbled it up in a two sittings. A few days later, I learned it won this year’s Newbery. Well-earned, I say! Following an illness, twelve-year-old Abilene’s father, Gideon, sends her away to friends in Manifest, Kansas, a town that […]
Ramona and her Father, by Beverly Cleary, 1977, Book Review
Ramona and Her Father is another installment in the life of the Quimbys. Within, Mrs. Cleary maintains her characteristic anecdotal style, but she’s tied her chapters more fully together to give us a glimpse inside the mind of this precocious child. And to our surprise, we find a regular girl with logical reasons for her outlandish behavior. Ramona is […]
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater, 1938, Book Review
I really liked this book! I was hesitant at first, not knowing what to expect. The sentences seemed a little simplistic, the details redundant, and the humor a bit corny. But I quickly realized this is not a middle grade novel but one aimed at a slightly younger audience, unusual for a Newbery winner. It’s […]
Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary, 1981, Book Review
Meet the Quimby’s. In Ramona Quimby, Age 8, Mrs. Cleary details for us this ideal American family. The Quimby’s aren’t perfect, and they can hardly make ends meet, but they tolerate each other’s idiosyncrasies with love and understanding. A generation of kids grew up feeling a part of Ramona’s world, and it’s still a safe, happy place […]
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi, Book Review
Crispin’s mother just died, taking with her any knowledge of his past. In fact, the boy didn’t even learn his name until the priest told him–after the burial. He’d always just been “Asta’s son.” But the priest said his mother could read and write, that she hadn’t always lived as a serf bound to Lord […]
It's Like This, Cat, by Emily Neville, Book Review by Emily, age 11
The title of this book is It’s Like This, Cat. The author is Emily Neville. This book won the Newbery Award. It is fiction. The story begins in New York with the main character, Dave Mitchell, arguing with his dad. He gets in all sorts of arguments with his dad. He goes to an apartment […]
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare, Book Review
How have I missed this book for so many years? I’m familiar with Elizabeth George Speare. Her Newberry-winning story, The Witch of Blackbird Pond was one of my very first lasting favorites as an adolescent, and I later fell in love with The Sign of the Beaver. How did I miss The Bronze Bow? I stumbled […]
Sounder, by William Armstrong, Book Review
Has anyone out there not yet read this incredible book? Written by William H. Armstrong in 1969, it won the Newberry Medal, the most distinguished award for children’s literature, and not by any stroke of luck. Sounder is a masterful coming of age story, but it’s also far, far more. Set in the deep South in […]