Newbery 1996

The Midwife's Apprentice
Author: Karen Cushman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Brat learns to be an apprentice to a midwife.
Verdict: Not quite as good as Catherine
My rating: 4 stars


What Jamie Saw
Author: Carolyn Coman
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Jamie, his mother and his sister flee their mother's abusive significant other.
Verdict: A bit dark
My rating: 2 stars


The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: The Watson family travels to Birmingham to drop off their oldest son, Byron.
Verdict: The first chapter is great
My rating: 3 stars


Yolanda's Genius
Author: Carol Fenner
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Yolanda discovers that her brother is a harmonica prodigy.
Verdict: Interesting story
My rating: 3 stars


The Great Fire
Author: Jim Murphy
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The story of the great Chicago fire.
Verdict: Great descriptions
My rating: 3 stars

The winner of the medal this year was The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman, who won an honor the previous year for Catherine Called Birdy.  I felt that Catherine was actually a better book but it was up against some stiff competition.  The Midwife's Apprentice is a great book about an urchin girl who becomes an apprentice to the local midwife and is frustrated when she feels she isn't learning anything.

I felt that fiction honor books were a bit lackluster this year.  The Watsons Go to Birmingham was the best.  I was not impressed with What Jamie Saw.  Yolanda's Genius was a little better.

On the other hand, the nonfiction book for the year, The Great Fire was excellent.  It described in detail the events of the great Chicago fire, including diagrams to show the path of the fire as it spread.  It also talked about the "fire proof building" and how they still had weaknesses that led to them burning as well.