Newbery 1984

Dear Mr. Henshaw
Author: Beverly Cleary
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Leigh writes to his favorite author about the problems in his life.
Verdict: Extremely witty
My rating; 4 stars


The Sign of the Beaver
Author: Elizabeth George Speare
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Matt is rescued by Native Americans after he is left to tend his family's new house by himself in the wilderness.
Verdict: Interesting story of survival
My rating: 4 stars


A Solitary Blue
Author: Cynthia Voigt
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: A parallel novel/sequel telling the story of Jeff, and his interesting childhood.
Verdict: I don't like Jeff's mother
My rating: 4 stars


Sugaring Time
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: A narrative nonfiction about a family harvesting sap for maple syrup
Verdict: Interesting process
My rating: 3 stars


The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree
Author: Bill Britt
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Three children and a shopkeeper buy wishes which go terribly wrong.
Verdict: Be careful what you wish for
My rating: 3 stars

I was happy to finally cross 1984 off my list.  It's the year I was born so I was interested to see what books were awarded that year.  There were some really good books this year and several frequent Newbery authors.

First, we have Beverly Cleary, who is well known for her Ramona books, two of which have Newbery honors.  Her medal winning book this year, Dear Mr. Henshaw, is not related to Ramona but is told entirely in letters that Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author.  I never read this book as a child (because I thought the cover looked boring) but I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult.  It is extremely witty.

Our next perennial author is Elizabeth George Speare, who is in the "two medal" club for her previous books The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Bronze Bow.  This is another great historical fiction book about a boy, Matt, who is left alone at his family's new house while his father goes to get his mother and sisters.  Things don't go well for Matt and he ends up being rescued by Native Americans.  This book gets a lot of flack for not being culturally relevant.  I didn't think it presented his "Indian" rescuers in a poor light.  I found it to be a great story about becoming friends with someone who is totally different.  Still, it may not be a bad idea to see what has been said about its authenticity (just make sure it's a credible source).  Even if it has issues, there are other books on the Newbery list that are far far worse.

Our third repeat author is Cynthia Voigt for the third book in the Tillerman Cycle, A Solitary Blue.  I actually enjoyed this book more than her first two books which focused on Dicey's family.  It's a sort of parallel novel/sequel because it shows Jeff's childhood (which takes place long before book 2, Dicey's Song) but ends after the events of Dicey's Song.  I really despised Jeff's mother and I know someone in my life who is much like her.  I felt sorry for his dad at times who really didn't know how to be a father but I was happy to see him grow into the role and finally develop a good relationship. 

Sugaring Time is kind of the odd duck for this year.  It's a short nonfiction book about harvesting maple syrup.  It was interesting but it doesn't seem to stack up to the other books from this year.  It would be a nice book to pair with Miracles on Maple Hill if you wanted to look closer at harvesting maple trees.

The last book on this list was kind of creepy.  The Wish Giver is a cautionary tale about three kids and a shopkeeper who buy wishes at a fair.  When the children begin to make their wishes, things get really really bad.  I was not surprised to find it on the challenged list because of its "devil association."  Still, it's not a bad book (the moral of which is be careful what you wish for).