Well, I hit a milestone yesterday. The year is only half over and I’ve read 100 books. Never done that before. Granted, many were juvenile and young adult as I tried to empty my shelves to donate to daltongirl’s classroom library, but still. That’s a lot of books. I don’t think I’m going to stay on this track for the rest of the year because I have some adult books I want to get through. But here’s to reading…excessively! Squeee!
I have a long-standing goal of reading all the Newbery award winners. This began when I was young and was renewed when Brian was in elementary school and decided to take up the challenge. I read along with him then, but as he grew older and moved on to other reading material, I also moved on. Again. A few years ago, I decided that I would focus again on this perpetual challenge and try to knock out a few more each year. To date I’ve read 64 of the 91 books so honored. So I’m making progress. Early in 2011 I realized that since my favorite genre (by far) is historical fiction, I should be reading the books given the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. (Because who doesn’t need more reading challenges in their life?) To be eligible for the award, a book must have been published as a book intended for children or young people, it must be set in the New World (Canada, Central or South America, or the United States), it must be published by a publisher in the United States, and it must be written in English by a citizen of the United States.
Before I decided to read them all, I had only read 5 of the 29, so the rest have been read during 2011-2012. Herein is the list with my star rating from my goodreads.com reviews. I read some really excellent books and a couple of duds, but for the most part, the books that have received this award have all been worthy. I enjoyed stretching myself and getting them all read. Someday I’ll finish all the Newberys.
2012, Jack Gantos, Dead End in Norvelt, 2 stars
2011, Rita Williams-Garcia, One Crazy Summer, 4 stars
2010, Matt Phelan, The Storm in the Barn, 3 stars
2009, Laurie Halse Anderson, Chains, 5 stars
2008, Christopher Paul Curtis, Elijah of Buxton, 3 stars
2007, Ellen Klages, The Green Glass Sea, 3 stars
2006, Louise Erdrich, The Game of Silence, 4 stars
2005, A LaFaye, Worth, 5 stars
2004, Richard Peck, The River Between Us, 4 stars
2003, Shelley Pearsall, Trouble Don’t Last, 3 stars
2002, Mildred D. Taylor, The Land, 4 stars
2001, Janet Taylor Lisle, The Art of Keeping Cool, 4 stars
2000, Miriam Bat-Ami, Two Suns in the Sky, 2 stars
1999, Harriette Robinet, Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule, 4 stars
1998, Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust, 4 stars
1997, Katherine Paterson, Jip, His Story, 4 stars
1996, Theodore Taylor, The Bomb, 4 stars
1995, Graham Salisbury, Under the Blood Red Sun, 3 stars
1994, Paul Fleischman, Bull Run, 4 stars
1993, Michael Dorris, Morning Girl, 3 stars
1992, Mary Downing Hahn, Stepping on the Cracks, 4 stars
1991, Pieter Van Raven, A Time of Troubles, 4 stars
1990, Carolyn Reeder, Shades of Grey, 4 stars
1989, Lyll Becerra de Jenkins, The Honorable Prison, 5 stars
1988, Patricia Beatty, Charley Skedaddle, 3 stars
1987, Scott O’Dell, Streams to the River, River to the Sea, 3 stars
1986, Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall, 4 stars
1985, Avi, The Fighting Ground, 4 stars
1984, Elizabeth George Speare, The Sign of the Beaver, 3 stars
Read TWELVE (12) mystery & suspense novels in 2012
I had fun with this one because I had some mysteries on my shelves that I wanted to read this year. Even though I’m done with the challenge, I want to keep reading the Navajo Mysteries and Charlotte & Thomas Pitt novels because they’re just so fun. And I’m a series reader. Can you tell? So without further ado, here’s what I read for this challenge and links to my reviews can be found at Book Chick City’s challenge page.
A Red Herring Without Mustard (Flavia de Luce #3), by Alan Bradley
I Am Half Sick Of Shadows (Flavia de Luce #4), by Alan Bradley
The Fallen Man (Navajo Mysteries, #12), by Tony Hillerman
Listening Woman (Navajo Mysteries, #3), by Tony Hillerman
The Cater Street Hangman (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #1), by Anne Perry
Callander Square (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #2), by Anne Perry
People of Darkness (Navajo Mysteries, #4), by Tony Hillerman
The Dark Wind (Navajo Mysteries, #5), by Tony Hillerman
The Ghostway (Navajo Mysteries, #6), by Tony Hillerman
Paragon Walk (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt, #3), by Anne Perry
Skinwalkers (Navajo Mysteries, #7), by Tony Hillerman
A Thief of Time (Navajo Mysteries, #8), by Tony Hillerman
I am doing awesome with reading challenges this year. I have completely finished three, done the first two levels of the Mount TBR challenge and am just planning to keep going until the end of year and see how high I climb, and I’m about halfway through the 50 States Challenge. So far with that I’ve just been marking the states I’ve happened to read, but to finish it this year I’m going to have to do some more targeted reading.
I mentioned in a previous post that I’m doing some mentoring on reading with some girls. The main event is a book club with an older elementary student and her mom. We read a book and discuss it, do an activity and have a treat that relate to the book in some way. Because we’ve been having a great time and learning stuff, I thought I’d share the books we’ve done in case someone out there “in the cloud” wants some great ideas. We began with “The Long Winter” by Laura Ingalls Wilder and because it involved being cooped in the cold and having to delay Christmas until the train got through in the spring, we tied the ends of a fleece blanket for charity. The family had to grind wheat with a coffee grinder all day long to make bread, so we had warm slices of homemade bread.
Next up was “Bud, Not Buddy” by Christopher Paul Curtis and we discussed the Depression and jazz music. He bases one of the characters on the jazz singer Betty Carter, so we watched this video to see how a jazz band sounds and to hear Betty. Bud is trying to find his family, so for our activity, we did some family history research at https://familysearch.org/ and watched some of the videos on how young people can get started. Because Bud has to eat out of tin cans in the Hooverville, we had cookies baked in small iron skillets.
The next month was “Fair Weather” by Richard Peck which involves a visit to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. We decided to have an exposition of our own and invited the whole family, plus my husband to view it. We each got to display and tell about two things we’ve made or accomplished. I displayed my first quilt and a scrapbook I made of our 25th anniversary trip. Because the girls and Aunt Euterpe have a fancy tea and meet Mrs. Palmer at the fair, we had fancy punch and treats on elegant glass plates with matching punch cups.
Our latest adventure was “Everything on a Waffle” by Polly Horvath. The main character, Primrose, likes to cook and collect recipes so a recipe book was in order.
I collected family recipes from them, typed them up, and printed them to put in binders. Then we used some of my scrapbook supplies to make covers to insert in the front pocket of the binder. We labeled the dividers and inserted recipes in the proper places.
For our treat, of course we had to have waffles! They were topped with a yummy buttermilk syrup that was included in the family recipes. The rest of the treats were from recipes in the book: chocolate-covered nuts, chow mein noodle cookies, and sugar cookies with lemon zest. It was super yummy and fun!
Pike’s Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile
Mt. Vancouver: Read 25 books from your TBR pile
Mt. Ararat: Read 40 books from your TBR piles
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 50 books from your TBR pile
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile
Mt. Everest: Read 100+ books from your TBR pile
I scaled Pike’s Peak by February 10th, and have now conquered Mt. Vancouver!!!! (Some late-night insomnia has helped with the climbing-grrr). You may think I’m cheating because many of these are juvenile and young adult, but they are on my shelves and need to get off. I’m finally reading them and then they are going to find a new home in my friend’s classroom library in the fall. So I’ve been climbing hard, and will be pushing on to Mr. Ararat. Here’s what I accomplished on the way up Mt. Vancouver:
#13-Shades of Gray, by Carolyn Reeder
Excellent story of a teen boy scarred by the Civil War and filled with hate for the Yankees because of the loss of his family. He’s sent to live with his aunt and uncle and is dismayed to find that his uncle is a coward who chose not to fight for either side. As he gets to know his uncle, he finds that there is more to his uncle than he first thought and there’s more than one way to show courage.
Will’s story vividly brings to life the conflict among small landowners during and after the war as they try to survive in a countryside ravaged by both sides and coming to grips with the aftermath. It’s also an excellent coming-of-age story as Will deals with his feelings about the war and learns that war involves human beings with lives and loves. He also learns to deal with the local bully.
#14-Witness, by Karen Hesse
This tells the often overlooked story of the resurgence of the KKK in the early 20th century. Most people are unaware of the terror and lynching that accompanied the rise of the movement. It’s an important story that young people should know, and I found it interesting that it was juxtaposed with the notorious Leopold/Loeb case that was occurring at the same time. It was brought in to show the sanctity of human life as it was being threatened by the KKK in the little town in Vermont.
The poetry style was a little confusing at first as it was hard to keep track of the characters, but by Act 2 I felt comfortable with them and had gotten to know them. The story being told by the characters in this spare way was almost akin to reading a play and I found that I liked it as each character was able to show their feelings through their story. It has an interesting cast of characters that show a range of emotions and involvement: a young black girl, a younger Jewish girl and her father, a sympathetic single farm woman, a doctor, a newspaper editor, a constable, a preacher, a female rum runner, a young Klan member, a store owner and his wife. (couple cases of mild language)
#15-Morning Girl, by Michael Dorris
This is an interesting story that graphically shows the thriving Native American culture and what happens when the white men arrive in their big rafts. It’s a story of a family and the interplay between the sister and brother. Definitely saw the influence of Louise Erdrich and I liked the Birchbark House treatments better.
#16-Trouble Don’t Last, by Shelley Pearsall
Gives a well-researched account of runaway slaves during the 1850’s under the Fugitive Slave Law. An old man and a young boy flee their Kentucky farm and are aided by people on the Underground Railroad. Most of the people they encounter are based on real people. It’s an interesting account from the viewpoint of a young boy and would be a very good discussion starter about the topic of slavery and the Underground RR. It’s well-told and interesting.
#17-Gathering Blue (The Giver Quartet #2), by Lois Lowry
I loved this tale of the “broken” girl with a talent for threads who helps others and discovers that there are secrets in their village. Great companion novel to “The Giver”, with interesting characters and a great story.
#18-On Agate Hill, by Lee Smith
The structure of the novel was quite interesting as a shallow former documentary studies student finds a box with a diary and other items from just after the Civil War. They are discovered in a cubbyhole in Agate Hill and she petitions her former professor for a return to the program with this wealth of documents. So the novel consists of her intros to each section which include the child’s diary and other documents which recount the fascinating life of Molly Petree. She is orphaned by the war and grows up at Agate Hill with an interesting cast of inattentive relatives, attends a girls’ school, teaches school in a rural North Carolina mountain area, marries, and is involved in a coroner’s inquest. Letters, diaries, and reminiscences tell Molly’s story, which has some twists and turns, and she finds love and enlightenment during the journey. I found the child’s diary very interesting to read because it was written as a child would write and also as a child perceives events, sometimes very differently from the adults around them. The testimony from the inquest was also an interesting read as it was taken down verbatim as the shy man from the mountains gave his testimony. Although I didn’t absolutely love the book, I did like it and found the structure interesting and the character of Molly intriguing. (mild language)
#19-Nothing But the Truth, by Avi
This book was brilliantly structured. It’s called a documentary history because the entire book consists of transcripts of conversations, memos, newspaper articles, etc. so that the reader is forced to examine what’s happened based on an outside view and make a judgement of the motives. There is no inner voice from characters, only what they actually say or write. Very thought-provoking and interesting to see how the story subtly changes in the telling. It involves a boy suspended from high school for humming the National Anthem when students are supposed to be quiet, and then exposes the extensive fallout from this act. At first I kept laughing to myself at the cast of stock characters: bumbling superintendent, too-busy-to-listen asst. principal, unintelligible coach, strident radio talk show host, earnest but ineffective principal, polite get-the-facts reporter. But then I unintentionally started seeing the real faces of people I know, and I was struck by a truth: these are called “stock” characters because we are all familiar with them and know someone like them. They are real, and the way this modern tragedy unfolds and snowballs is also real. Students, parents, and school personnel will all find a moral in this tale.
#20-Unbroken: A World War II Story Of Survival, Resilience, And Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand
This is a fascinating story told with the same current breathlessness as the author’s “Seabiscuit”. Louis’ story is amazing in its depiction of human depravity and the victims’ subsequent resilience. The suffering of the Pacific POWs is almost unimaginable and the descriptions are graphic. I was reminded of “Ghost Soldiers” by Hampton Sides, which depicts the Bataan Death March and rescue. Even though some of the book is difficult to read, it’s an important story, and ultimately, an uplifting one.
#21-The Hundred Penny Box, by Sharon Bell Mathis
Not sure what the story was trying to tell except that children should be respectful to their elders who have a story to tell. It was so spare that maybe it was too spare. Lovely illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon.
#22-Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata
This had some lovely visual images as Lynn explains the world to Katie. The book centers on family sacrifice, racism, and the bond between siblings as Katie tries to make sense of her world as a Japanese-American in rural Georgia. There’s a lot of sadness in the novel, but it eventually ends in a somewhat hopeful manner. I think it’s more of a young adult than children’s novel because of the themes. (instance of language, references to parents making babies)
#23-Stepping on the Cracks, by Mary Downing Hahn
Excellent evocation of the homefront during WWII. Two girls with brothers fighting overseas are forced to confront questions on the morality of war and desertion, as well as the brutality of domestic abuse. The book is well-written and serves as a great intro for middle readers to discuss important themes as they relate to two girls faced with neighborhood bullies, too much homework, and a tough teacher.
#24-Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it, just liked it. Interesting details about women’s life in China during the 19th century.
#25-Lost December: A Novel, by Richard Paul Evans
This is a prodigal son story with a happy ending that covers some dark territory, like gambling addiction and deceit.