Newbery 2006

Criss Cross
Author: Lynne Rae Perkins
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Debbie wants something to happen.  Hector wants to learn guitar.  Lenny fixes things. 
Verdit: A hodgepodge of stories criss crossing together
My Rating: 3 stars


Whittington
Author: Alan Armstrong
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Whittington is a cat who finds a home in Bernie's barnyard of old and misfit animals.  Bernie's grandson, Ben, has dyslexia and can't read so his sister is teaching him in the barn with the animals in exchange for hearing the history of Whittington and his cat.
Verdict: Charlotte's Web meets Whittington's cat
My Rating: 3 stars


Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
Author: Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Genre: Non fiction
Plot: This is the story of the Hitler Youth, an organization that started as a political campaign for the Nazi party and grew into a mandatory training group for young children to be indoctrinated into Nazi thinking during Hilter's regime and World War II.  It includes the experiences and outcomes of actual children involved with the Hitler Youth.
Verdict:  Chilling to the core
My Rating: 5 stars


Princess Academy
Author: Shannon Hale
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: In the kingdom of Danland, the girls of Mount Eskel, a remote mountain territory, find out that the future wife of the royal prince will come from their territory.  All the eligible girls are rounded up for "Princess Academy" to make them suitable matches for the prince.  They struggle to learn to read under the demands of their tutor, Olana. 
Verdict: Surprisingly good
My Rating: 4 stars


Show Way
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Biography
Plot:  The story of the female ancestors of the author, many of whom were slaves and made "show way" quilts, showing the way to freedom for escaping slaves.
Verdict: Made me smile
My Rating: 3 stars

This is another year with a wide variety of books.  I was pleasantly surprised by Princess Academy, which has a deceptively "fluffy" title that made me think it would be akin to The Princess Diaries (it's not). 

Hitler Youth was an extremely interesting book.  I think I liked it the best out of the books this year.  I read it about the same time as Breaking Stalin's Nose and the two merged together in my head to give me a chilling picture of children turning their parents in and the death of free speech.

Criss Cross does not really have a cut and dried plot.  I have read several books like that and I am often disappointed because I feel "unfulfilled" when I reach the end.  This one did not disappoint me, fortunately.