Newbery 1971

Summer of the Swans
Author: Betsy Byars
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Sara and her family search for Charlie, who is lost.
Verdict: Underwhelming
My rating: 3 stars


Knee Knock Rise
Author: Natalie Babbitt
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Egan travels to Instep where the people live in fear of Kneeknock Rise.
Verdict: A bit odd
My rating: 2 stars


Enchantress From the Stars
Author: Sylvia Louise Engdahl
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot: A group of aliens must pretend to be mystics to help a primitive planet.
Verdict: The narrator rambles a lot
My rating: 3 stars


Sing Down the Moon
Author: Scott O'Dell
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: A Native American Girl is kidnapped and forced to walk the Navaho Long Walk.
Verdict: The history draws you in
My rating: 3 stars

This year was an odd mix of genres that starts normal and gets odder as we travel down the list.  Sadly, none of these books really caught my undivided attention.  We start with Summer of the Swans which is a realistic fiction book.  The characters are children who are living with their aunt and not enjoying their summer.  Things heat up, when one of the children wanders off and becomes lost.  This is especially worrying because he is intellectually disabled.  I originally thought that he was Autistic but it comes out in the book that he became brain-damaged as a result of a fever. 

The next book is Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbitt.  Babbitt is famous for her book Tuck Everlasting which everyone assumes won the Newbery honor, when in fact her book that graced the Newbery list is Kneeknock Rise.  The two books are similar in that they are almost realistic fiction but have a small element of fantasy.  This book is about a boy named Egan who travels to Instep to go to a fair.  Instep is in the shadow of Kneeknock Rise, where a monster is supposed to dwell so the whole town in afraid of it.  The book explores his interaction with this forbidden place (I won't give away any spoilers).

If that wasn't strange enough, we move onto Enchantress From the Stars.  I think I might have liked this book a little better if I hadn't listened to the audio version.  The narrator tends to go off on tangents and wander a bit and this is made very evident when you hear it read aloud.  The plot is also extremely science fiction (in fact, the author says that it's really for an older audience but keeps getting read to younger audiences because of its Newbery status).  The basic premise is that a group of aliens find themselves on a primitive world where they have to help the native primitive aliens evict another group of aliens who are trying to terraform and colonize the planet (which will kill the natives) but they can't give themselves away to either group of aliens because both of them are less advanced.  So, the aliens have to pass themselves off a wizards (or, specifically, an enchantress) and get some of the native aliens to use "magic" (advanced technology) to run off the invading aliens.  If it sounds confusing, that's because it is.  Apparently, there are even more books written in the series after this one.  It would be a good choice to snag juvenile science fiction lovers.

The last book returns to normal with Sing Down the Moon.  Scott O'Dell is no stranger to the Newbery list (with a medal for The Island of the Blue Dolphins and several honors).  This book is about a Native American girl who gets forced to join the Navaho Long Walk where the Natives were relocated against their will.  His writing is excellent and I enjoyed it.