Newbery Hopefuls From Our Reading Friends (Day 3): Hearing From Our Friend, Don

Today's predictions come from our friend Don. Don Zancanella is an Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He teaches several classes of children's literature. Don is also the author of Western Electric, a collection of short stories that is part of the Iowa Short Fiction Award series.

Here is what he says about this year's Newbery Award:

The Newbery Medal always brings to the surface what to my mind is the most important fact about children’s literature: it’s written by adults for children. By letting adults pick the best book for children (written by an adult), the Newbery just adds another layer of complexity to this already vexed situation. That said, here are the books I think might win (or in some instances, the ones I think should win), along with a few comments:

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

I’m a sucker for books set in the sixties (there it is already, a preference I have as an adult reader that no kid is likely to share) and Schmidt’s book captures much of what it was like to be growing up then. The use of Shakespeare’s plays is a clever plot device but I’m kind of fed up with authors who sneak classic authors into children’s books. And Holling is a little too precocious for my taste. But it all still works. It’s funny and charming and uplifting.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Graphic novel meets mystery novel meets silent film. I predict this one will win mostly because it’s different and because we do seem to have entered the era of the graphic novel. It didn’t involve me as much as I’d hoped it would, mostly because I thought the plot had kind of a clunky, old-fashioned feel to it. I’m sure that was Selznick’s intention (the old-fashioned part, not the clunky part) but I thought it was a little too self-consciously done.


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I might very well pick this one because I like Alexie very much. However, I haven’t read it yet. I could say the same thing about Shannon Hale’s Book of a Thousand Days.

The Wall by Peter Sis

This is my personal favorite. Yes, it flies right in the face of the adult/child problem I started with, but it’s just too good to ignore. I’ve heard people comparing it to Maus and Persepolis and it deserves those comparisons. A couple of Sis’s titles have been Caldecott Honor books, but like his earlier Tibet Through the Red Box (a 1999 Newbery Honor Book) this one blurs the Newbery/Caldecott boundary. It’s an outstanding piece of writing with wonderfully integrated illustrations--just a very fine book. Not to mention that shows us a more interesting picture of the 1960s than even The Wednesday Wars does.

Newbery Hopefuls, Day 2: Another Reading Friend's Picks

Our friend Karen Terlecky is a Language Arts/Social Studies Curriculum Support Teacher (CST) in our school district, and as such, works directly with Franki. She and Mary Lee started their careers in the district the same years in 4th grade classrooms across the hall from each other. They were CSTs for each other before the term had been invented. Karen is always up for a field trip to Cover to Cover Children's Books, our favorite local children's bookstore. Here are her Newbery picks:

I loved How to Steal a Dog -- one of the best morals I have ever read: "the footprints you leave behind are more important than the path in front of you" ( I know that's not the exact quote, but I don't have my book at home in front of me). I read this aloud to my 5th grade class at the end of last year, and then it was the book I started this year with. It was interesting how important the message was to both sets of students. In addition, O'Connor's description of the homelessness conditions was clear -- good for children to know how others live,and what they need to do to just get through the day. I also love the characters -- very well developed through dialogue and their actions.

I also really liked The Mysterious Benedict Society -- the concept of kids as heroes has been done in other books, but I thought there was a great twist to this since the kids had to use all their gifts together to overcome the evil in the book. It was like a spy novel for kids -- I'm partial to spy novels! Great twist at the end, also.

Me and the Pumpkin Queen -- loved it!!!!!!! Part of the reason I liked it so much was that I had a lot of background knowledge about places and events in the story. But, even if you take that away, the concept of this girl going through her own personal grief cycle by trying to grow the biggest pumpkin was very well done. And the friendship between her and the boy was amazing. This book is a winner for me!

The Thing About Georgie -- definitely a favorite! I almost forgot about it until I saw it when I looked in my cupboard at school!

3 others that I really like, but I'm sure won't win: Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf (hysterical!), No Talking (Andrew Clements is very predictable, but there is a clear underlying message that my students really understand), and Diary of a Wimpy Kid (another hysterical!).
I liked the Wednesday Wars, too, but I didn't love it as a Newbery, because I wasn't sure how much my kids would understand without the background knowledge that I possess because of my age.

Newbery Hopefuls From Our Reading Friends

When we started our blog (almost 2 years ago!) we started it as a way to make public our conversations about the books we hoped would win the Newbery Award. We have never been right, but we love the fun of guessing. This year, we asked some of our reading friends--people who we share our book thinking with throughout the year--to share their thoughts with us. These are people who read lots and know books. We know that we may scramble a bit this next month, reading those 2007 titles that we've haven't gotten to yet. With holiday break coming, we thought others might be interested in doing the same thing. We'll feature a different Reading Friend each day for a while. Enjoy!

Our first installment comes from Jen Allen, a Literacy Coach in Maine. She is also the author of Becoming a Literacy Leader. For anyone who has a job as a literacy coach, this is a must read.

If I had to choose one book to receive the Newbery award it would be
The Aurora County All -Stars by Deborah Wiles. It is just a great read-aloud for students
in the intermediate grades. Good clean fun! Although book evolves around
the kid grabbing topic of baseball, it also weaves in layers about
friendship, gender, judging others, and segregation. Great lessons to be
learned. During this read- aloud I also shared the book, Teammates by
Peter Golenbock to help students strengthen their understanding on the
history of baseball and segregation. An additional treat is how the author
incorporates quotes from poet Walt Whitman and famous baseball players.
I tried this book as a read aloud with both my ten year old son and a 4th
grade class this fall. Both audiences enjoyed the book. I love the feel
good ending. The Aurora County All- Stars is my Newbery pick for the year.

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree

EMMA-JEAN LAZARUS FELL OUT OF A TREE
by Lauren Tarshis
Dial Books for Young Readers
2007

I checked out some of the buzz about this book before I read it. (see below) Based on what I found, I knew I was in for a story with two distinct voices, a tight plot line, and a unique style. I also knew that Emma-Jean doesn't use contractions when she speaks, and that I might be tempted to compare the book to THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, by Mark Haddon.

Everything I'd read was true.

Except I didn't think of Haddon's book, exactly. Rather, I thought of the phrase "spectrum disorder" when I tried to make sense of Emma-Jean.

There is, however, nothing disorderly about Emma-Jean. She is logical, scientific, distant from her peers, and very, very organized and clean. She is unlike Colleen, who is a fairly typical 7th grade girl: self-centered (but trying really hard not to be), obsessed with what others think of her (but trying really hard not to care), and way smarter and better than she ever gives herself credit for being. And Emma-Jean is practically the polar opposite of Laura, who is the alpha female of the seventh grade girls (popular, powerful, cheerleader). Along with these archetypal 7th grade girl characters, there are boys that range from tall, blond athlete Will to Brandon the bully/buffoon.

Almost as soon as I thought of the phrase "spectrum disorder," I realized that Lauren Tarshis had not so much told the story of one character who was vastly different than "normal," but rather, she had given us a set of characters in this book whose behaviors ranged in a spectrum from Emma-Jean on one end, to Laura on the other.

Tarshis shows us that no matter where a character is on the spectrum, he or she is not exempt from from the struggles of finding a way to fit in, finding a way to connect with others, and just plain finding a way to be one's true self. And no matter where the character is on the spectrum, Tarshis manages to show us some good in that person. (Even Laura. A little.)

My favorite character in this book is actually the janitor. Out of all the students and adults at the school, I think he is the one who understands Emma-Jean the best. He knows ALL of the kids the best -- all the variations on the spectrum of what constitutes middle school behavior. He takes care of Emma-Jean, and he "takes care" of Laura, both in very satisfying ways. He reminds me of our janitor, who, for some of the kids, is the most important (caring, accepting, non-judgemental) adult in the building.

I asked one of my 5th grade girls to read this book. She's a fabulous writer who has incredible voice in her writing. She really liked the way the author told the story from two points of view, and made each so distinctly different. I asked her if she knew any kids in our school that reminded her of Emma-Jean or Laura. I can think of some, but she thought that both of those characters were a bit extreme -- "creative" or "bossy" characters that you could find in books, but more over the top than any kids in real life. She could think of several girls in our class who are like Colleen, however.

I'd be curious to know how real the characters in this book are to readers of other ages. 7th grade was kind of a long time ago for me, but even so, I can remember characters in my class like all of the ones in this book...except Emma-Jean. As an adult, I have met/taught some "Emma-Jean"s. How about you? Do these characters all seem real to you, or are they book character stereotypes? Have your 7th graders read this book? What do they think? Does it ring true for them?

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Reviews at:
Buried in the Slush Pile (how a writer should read this book)
The Excelsior File (great plot summary)
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Brookeshelf
A Fuse #8 Production