Newbery 1991

Maniac Magee
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Maniac Magee is a homeless white boy who finds himself in an extremely segregated town.
Verdict: Interesting tale
My rating: 3 stars


The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Charlotte Doyle is a young lady who travels to America on a cargo ship.  During the voyager there is a mutiny and Charlotte joins the crew
Verdict: Not realistic at all
My rating: 3 stars

Both of these books are a little odd.  Maniac Magee is written like "the true story" of a legend.  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is exquisitely crafted and well written but I find it very hard to believe the premise. 

Newbery 1988

Lincoln: A Photobiography
Author: Russell Freedman
Genre: Non-fiction
Plot:  The story of President Abraham Lincoln from birth to assassination.
Verdict:  Interestingly written biography
My rating: 3 stars


After the Rain
Author: Norma Fox Mazer
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Plot: Rachel deals with the fact that her grandfather is slowly dying of mesothelioma.
Verdict:  Heart wrenching story
My rating: 3 stars


Hatchet
Author: Gary Paulsen
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Brian finds himself stranded in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash with only his hatchet to help him survive.
Verdict:  Boring with an abrupt ending
My rating: 1 star

Let me honest and say that I had a terrible experience with Hatchet during seventh grade.  It was assigned reading my teacher basically ruined the book.  I wasn't into the survival genre either and I was extremely disappointed by the ending. 

After the Rain could be very useful for a student who has a dying relative and it struck a cord with me because I have lost many close relatives.  However, the rest of the plot of the book did not spark my interest so I could not rate it higher than 3 stars. 

I remember being assigned Lincoln during my children's lit course and I enjoyed it.  It has lots of pictures (so it really is a "photobiography") and gives an interesting account of the life of Lincoln.  It was definitely my favorite of the three.

Newbery 2013

The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Plot: Ivan is a gorilla who lives at a shopping mall with his friends that include an elephant and a dog.
Verdict: First Person Gorilla
My rating: 4 stars


Splendors and Glooms
Author: Laura Amy Schultz
Genre: Fantasy
Plot: Lizzie Rose and Parse travel with their guardian, puppet master Grisini.  After they perform at rich girl Clara's party, Clara goes missing and the two children must unravel the mystery
Verdict: Extremely creepy
My rating: 4 stars


Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon
Author: Steve Sheinkin
Genre: Nonfiction
Plot: The stories behind the scientists, politicians and spies involved in the race to build the atomic bomb.
Verdict: Excellently written
My rating: 4 stars






Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Mo and Dale become amateur detectives after their neighbor turns up dead.
Verdict: Spellbinding mystery
My rating: 4 stars

I felt all the books this year deserved to be on the list.  They were each unique in their own way.  I probably would have given Three Times Lucky the medal but I understand that Ivan, with it's unique writing style from the perspective of a gorilla, had extra medal appeal.  Splendors and Glooms was extremely creepy.  I'm not sure I would use it as a read a loud.

Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue

Book Series: 26 Fairmount Avenue
Author: Tomie dePaola
Genre: Autobiography
Plot: Tomie dePaola writes about his early childhood, moving to his family's new home and living life in the 1940s.  The last three books deal with how things changed during World War II
Books:

1. 26 Fairmount Avenue
2. Here We All Are
3. On My Way
4. What a Year!
5. Things Will Never Be the Same
6. I'm Still Scared
7. Why?
8. For the Duration

Overall rating: 4 stars

This is a really impressive series.  Long time children's book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola decided to write a series of short chapter books about his early childhood in the 1940s.  It starts with the building of the family house and continues with Tomie starting school and the birth of his little sister.  We see him loving art class and tap lessons.  Then World War II starts, and we see things change.

The books are extremely short and easily read by a good reader in under 30 minutes, however, I enjoyed every minute of them.  Since he's aiming these are smaller children, he doesn't drag things out (which is probably why the books are so short) and he makes sure to keep the plot moving.

Newbery 1999

Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Stanley Yelnets is sentenced to dig holes in a dried up lake for a crime he didn't commit.
Verdict: Great story!
My rating: 4 stars


A Long Way from Chicago
Author: Richard Peck
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Joey and Mary Alice visit their grandmother in the country in 1929.  Each chapter is a different year that they visited.
Verdict: Wild!
My rating: 4 stars

I really loved both these books.  Both are entertaining and easy to read.

I did not think I would like A Long Way from Chicago but it was a great read.  Peck's sequel, A Year Down Yonder, won the Newbery Medal in 2001.

Series - Crispin

Book Series: Crispin
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Set in 1377, Crispin is forced to flee or be killed after his mother dies.  He searches for freedom while traveling with his companion Bear (and later Troth and Owen).
Books:

1. Crispin: The Cross of Lead
2. Crispin: At the Edge of the World
3. Crispin: The End of Time

Overall Rating: 4 stars 

This is a nice historical fiction series written by Avi.  His writing in this book is fast paced which is a nice change from other historical fiction I've read where it reads like a snail-paced textbook.  The books fall in quick succession so the time period covered by the series is actually pretty short - perhaps a few months at the most.  I can see young boys really getting into this series because of the pacing and the main character being a young boy.

On a separate note, I love how Avi brings out how uneducated peasants of that time really were.  Crispin doesn't know much about anything and it really brings into perspective how valuable education is.

Newbery 2003

Crispin The Cross of Lead
Author: Avi
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Crispin is forced to flee after his mother dies because he is falsely accused of a crime and faces certain death if he is caught.
Verdict: Great medieval story
My rating: 4 stars


The House of the Scorpion
Author: Nancy Farmer
Genre: Science Fiction
Plot: Matteo lives in futuristic Mexico where he finds out that he is a clone of El Patron.
Verdict: Chilling concept but fantastic
My rating: 5 stars


Pictures of Hollis Woods
Author: Patricia Reilly Giff
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Hollis Woods is a foster child who has been bounced from house to house.  As she lives with her current foster parent, she reflects back on her last placement when things went horribly wrong.
Verdict: I was relieved at the happy ending
My rating: 3 stars


Hoot
Author: Carl Hiaasen
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Roy tries to untangle the mystery of the barefooted running boy while developers have problems with vandalism at the site of a new Mother Paula's Pancake House
Verdict: Excellent satire and not overly environmental
My rating: 3 Stars


A Corner of the Universe
Author: Ann M. Martin
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: Hattie's world changes when her mentally retarded uncle Adam comes to live with her grandparents.
Verdict: Sad ending
My rating: 3 stars


Surviving the Applewhites
Author: Stephanie S. Tolan
Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Plot: Jake comes to the Applewhites' "unschool" and gets involved in their crazy family and a production of The Sound of Music
Verdict: Riotous Fun
My rating: 4 stars

This was a jammed packed year of good books for Newbery with a wide variety of storylines and moods. The House of the Scorpion, Pictures of Hollis Woods, Crispin, and A Corner of the Universe are extremely dark but Hoot and Surviving the Applewhites are humorous.  The House of the Scorpion would have been my pick for the year with Crispin a close second.  I was pleasantly surprised by the Applewhites and overall I think I can say I liked every book from this year. 

Allow me to highlight the following:

• Carl Hiaasen is actual an author of adult books and a satirist.  This was his first book for children.  He also resides in Florida, the setting of the book.
• Crispin was Avi's 50th book.  
• Ann M. Martin wrote The Babysitter's Club series.  
• Nancy Farmer lived along the Mexican border for a time which is where her knowledge of Mexico comes from