Newbery 1976

The Grey King
Author: Susan Cooper
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Will teams up with an albino boy to continue his quest.
Verdict: Lots of Welsh mythology
My rating: 3 stars


The Hundred Penny Box
Author: Sharon Bell Mathis
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Michael's Aunt Dew has a box with a hundred pennies for each year of her life.
Verdict: Interesting short story
My rating: 3 stars


Dragonwings
Author: Laurence Yep
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Moon Shadow and his father survive the San Francisco earthquake
Verdict: Expertly researched multicultural writing
My rating: 3 stars

The Grey King is the fourth book in the series "The Dark is Rising."  I always try to read the proceeding books in a series when the Newbery winner is not book number one (it doesn't always happen because sometimes I'm unaware there is a series until I have the book mostly read).  The series is a low fantasy series, with lots of Welsh mythology.  There is one book after this which I did read but this book is probably the best in the series. 

The Hundred Penny Box is a longer picture book which can easily be read in one sitting.  The main character is Michael who enjoys having his Aunt Dew (who really is a great aunt) tell him about the hundred pennies in her "Hundred Penny Box."  She has one for each year of her life.  It touches on memory and treasured objects.

Laurence Yep is an author you will see mentioned if you are looking for culturally relevant and accurate children's multicultural literature.  He spent years researching his books and you will find them gritty in comparison to other books which try to make all cultures friendly.  In this book, Moon Shadow and his father work at a laundry in San Francisco right before the big earthquake.  His father wants to build a flying machine.  A parting note: if you are a fantasy dragon lover, you will find absolutely no mythical dragons in Yep's writing, despite the title.