Newbery 1986

Sarah, Plain and Tall
Author: Patricia MacLachlin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Sarah comes to live with Caleb, Anna and their father to see if she wants to be his new wife.
Verdict: Short and Sweet
My rating: 4 stars


Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
Author: Rhoda Blumberg
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The true story of Commodore Perry coming to isolated Japan to make a trade agreement. 
Verdict: Interesting details
My rating: 3 stars


Dogsong
Author: Gary Paulsen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: An Eskimo boy goes off to live in the wilderness with a team of dogs.
Verdict: Not my kind of book
My rating: 2 stars

I remember reading Sarah, Plain and Tall in fifth grade and watching the movie because my fifth grade teacher loved it but I didn't love it at the time.  Now that I have reread it as an adult, I like it more because I understand what it is to come in as the stepmother (granted, my stepchildren were a lot older).  It is a very short read. 

I did not know a lot about isolationist Japan, but Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun definitely did a good job of explaining why they were isolated and how they treated outsiders.  There are lots of drawings from the time period to help explain how people looked.  It would be a good idea to read this at the same time as Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus, which was a 2011 Newbery Honor Book.

Thankfully for me, this is the last Gary Paulsen book on the Newbery list so it is the last one I have to read.  I really am not a fan.  His writing is definitely aimed at boys (which is not a bad thing, but I am a girl, sorry, Gary) and I think you might actually enjoy Dogsong if you enjoy Eskimos and sled dogs.  The ending sealed my two star rating. 

Newbery 1979

The Westing Game
Author: Ellen Raskin
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction/Mystery
Plot: The new residents of Sunset Towers try to unravel the mystery of Samuel Westing
Verdict: Great mystery
My rating: 4 stars


The Great Gilly Hopkins
Author: Katherine Paterson
Genre: Conteomporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Gilly Hopkins moves into her new foster home determined to make trouble.
Verdict: I hated the ending
My rating: 2 stars

Both of the books from this year often appear on middle grade reading lists. 

The Westing Game is an awesome junior fiction mystery.  There are clues all over the place and in the classroom where they were reading this, the kids had to keep track of the clues to try to figure out what was going on. 

Katherine Paterson has three books on the Newbery list, and is one of the few authors to have won the medal twice.  I have to admit I was disappointed by The Great Gilly Hopkins after reading Jacob Have I Loved and  Bridge to Terebithia.  Terebithia has a pretty sad ending but the ending of Gilly Hopkins ruined the whole book for me.  It has also landed itself on the challenged list because of Gilly's use of profanity and the card that she sends to her African American teacher. 

Newbery 1980

A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-1832
Author: Joan Blos
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Catherine is a teenage girl living in rural New England. 
Verdict: Really slow beginning
My rating: 3 stars


The Road From Home
Author: David Kherdain
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: A young girl escapes the Armenian genocide by the Turks.
Verdict: Well written true story
My rating: 4 stars

This year seemed to have a historical theme.  A Gathering of Days is written in journal entries of varying length (as you would expect from an actual journal) but sometimes these entries are disjointed and it makes for an uncomfortable reading experience.  It also plods along in the beginning.  The plot picks up when Catherine's father decided to get remarried.  In contrast, The Road From Home is written in traditional chapters.  True stories can sometimes get very boggy but this one is edited well so it had a nice flow.  Both books would make a great edition to a social studies unit of each respective time period.