SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell

WOW! I had a great reading week (and it is only Wednesday!).  I had airport delays and had some extra reading time.  The plane rides were a bit bumpy so I didn't sleep.  Lucky for me, I had great books.  One, that has been on my stack for a while is SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell.  She has been an author I have paid attention to for a while.  I can always count on her books to engage and surprise me.

SHOOTING THE MOON is definitely my favorite for this author. It is a powerful story and, as always, Dowell builds characters that we know and love. I read completely for character--plot is secondary.  And I loved the characters in the book.  The thing that I am always amazed with in her writing is how well we get to know, even the minor characters. I love that about her writing.

SHOOTING THE MOON is about Jamie Dexter and is set during the Vietnam War. Jamie's father is a colonel and she has grown up with a great love of the military. Now, her brother, TJ has enlisted and has been sent to Vietnam. While he is there, he sends Jamie film to be developed--pictures that he takes in Vietnam. The pictures begin to tell the story of the war of of TJ's life there.

This is a powerful story. A story of how war affects a family and how a family deals with a child that is sent to war. It is the story of a young girl growing up and finding herself.  And there is amazing thread of photography throughout the book. 

This is not an easy book to read in 2008--when we are in the midst of a war. I was worried about how it would end. I worried the whole way through the book. I am certainly not going to give it a way, but it was an ending that was satisfying, believable, and..oh, I won't say anymore. But she scored a few more points with me as a writer for the ending. Very brilliantly done, I thought.

I had this on my stack but then decided to move it to the top of my stack after Betsy at Fuse #8 put it on her Newbery Predictions (Spring Edition!) List:-) Betsy has this one as her #1 pick.  Right now, this one is right up there with THE UNDERNEATH. I really lucked out with the 2 books I threw in my carry-on bag this week!  I don't know if I'll be able to top these. You know how reading is after you've read something amazing? But it was well worth it to have read this book. I am pretty sure this one will end up on my Newbery prediction list in January.

Poetry Friday -- Metaphorically Speaking

LITANY
by Billy Collins

You are the bread and the knife,

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.
.
.
(the middle part of the poem is here)
.
.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley,
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman's tea cup.
But don't worry, I am not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and—somehow—the wine.



Here's what I want to know. What are you? It would interest me to know, "speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world," what you are.

And what am I?

I am the frost on my car's windshield in the morning,
and I am the stacks of papers and files that haven't been put away,
but I am also the piece of rainbow that the crystal in the window makes
when the sun comes in at just the right angle.

What are my students? They are...

...the annoying squirrel on the porch,
...the book, with so many ideas,
...the sneakers on the baseball field,
...the hair on a golden retriever,
...the sun in the summer.

They are...

...the homework that is not finished,
...the wind slowly blowing,
...the soft butter on the roll,
...a feather,
...the letter D,
...an airplane that flies over the clouds.

They are...

...popcorn in the microwave,
...syrup on pancakes,
...the moss that stays forever on the rock,
...the brush that makes the painting,
...the volcano that erupts,
...a hare on the prairie,
...a worm in an apple,
...the wind of a tornado.

They are...

...the sunset in the evening sky,
...the moon and the sun,
...the noise in my mother's house,
...the thorn on the rose,
...the sugar in a chocolate bar,
...the H in hurt,
...but most importantly, the snowflake on a snowy day.


Elaine has the round up this week at Wild Rose Reader.

Newbery: Predictions? Thoughts? Ramblings?

Mary Lee:

Franki and I had many years worth of Newbery discussions before this blog was ever born.

We started by trying to pick the winner. We were never right. I think my pick was an honor book once.

Then we decided you could count it a success if you had read the winner. We came closer those years.

The next stretch was "if you own it, you can count it." That was the year Franki claimed success because she had the winner in her shopping cart at Amazon.

Due to the avalanche of Notables Nominees that are shelved in my basement, I figure there's a pretty good chance the Newbery is in my house, so I'll be contrary this year and predict that the Newbery will be a book that hasn't darkened my door: Jimmy's Stars, Highway Cats, The Graveyard Book, The Porcupine Year, After Tupac and D Foster, Seer of Shadows, or The Trouble Begins at 8.

Franki:

This year, I am going to think of it more as a wish, than a prediction.  There are lots of books that I would be happy to see win. I can't name them all but I had a great reading year and I think there are so many that could win. Narrowing it down to a few, here are my wishes for Newbery (in no particular order):

THE UNDERNEATH--really, nothing could compare to the writing.  I reread the lead the other day and it is definitely "distinguished".

GREETINGS FROM NOWHERE by Barbara O'Conner-a book that has stayed with me all year. Love the characters, the story and the writing.

MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES by Polly Horvath--Horvath at her best.  She is amazing and quirky with great characters and amazing writing.

JIMMY'S STARS by Mary Ann Rodman  I just finished this one. If you haven't read it, it is a must-read. I can't explain the way I felt reading it--through the whole thing.  She captured the characters perfectly.

SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell--another one that stuck with me all year. I could easily see this one winning.

I also loved Lisa Graff's, THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER and DIAMOND WILLOW by Helen Frost.

There were so many others that I liked a lot!

And I'm not done reading for 2008! Next on my pile: ONE THOUSAND NEVER EVERS, THE UNNAMEABLES, ITCH, and EVER.

I think WE ARE THE SHIP can win every award out there. I would love to see it win the Newbery as well as others! An amazing book.

I would LOVE for PAPER TOWNS to win the Prinz. Love John Green and the book.  

Bottom line: in less than a week, we'll know who won for 2008 and we'll start reading the 2009 books!

Making Wishes

Thousand Star Hotel
by The Okee Dokee Brothers
Sterling Children's Books, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Mr. and Mrs. Muskrat catch a giant golden catfish who asks for their mercy in return for a wish. Mrs. Muskrat wishes small and practical, but Mr. Muskrat keeps wishing bigger and bigger. His wish for not a 5-Star, but a Thousand Star hotel is granted, but you might guess from the cover that it's not quite what he expected. Luckily, Mrs. Muskrat knows how to make the best of the situation.

World Pizza
by Cece Meng
illustrated by Ellen Shi
Sterling Children's Books, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

SPEAK CLEARLY WHEN YOU MAKE A WISH

When mama sneezes just as she's wishing on a shooting star, it comes out sounding like she wishes for world pizza. So pizza begins raining from the sky all around the world -- pizza in every ethnic flavor known or not known to chefs:

"Some people dipped their pizza in hummus, while others dipped their piza in guacamole. Some people made pizza chow mein and some people made pizza sushi. Some even made pizza soup."

Pizza solves problems, brings people together, and inspires love and kindness. Maybe mama got her wish after all!

The Paper-Flower Tree
by Jacqueline Ayer
Enchanted Lion Books, 2017
review copy provided by the publisher

IF YOUR WISH COMES TRUE, BELIEVE

Miss Moon falls in love with the paper-flower tree carried by the man who is traveling through her small village. She wants one of her own. The man gives her a paper flower that has a small bead -- a seed, he says -- to plant, which she does, watering it and keeping watch over it in spite of all who ridicule her. A year later, when the old man returns again with a troupe of performers, she reminds him about the paper-flower tree seed and tells him she's planted it and cared for it. The next morning, there is a paper-flower tree blooming right outside her house. No one else in the village believes that it grew from the bead/seed, but Miss Moon believes.