Newbery Medal Winner - When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

I found this to be an interesting read. However, being the 2010 Newbery Winner, I expected more. Since the story leads to many questions, I thought I would leave you with some questions that you may want to find the answers to after reading this post.

Miranda, the spunky 6th-grade narrator, and her mom live in a modest Manhattan apartment where her life is beginning to go through a series of changes.

First, she realizes her best friend, Sal, no longer wants to have anything to do with her. Miranda is hurt to lose her best friend, but is also worried about not having someone to walk home from school with. Who will protect her from the weird homeless guy who sleeps under the mailbox near her building?

Then, her mom gets invited to appear on The $20,000 Pyramid game show. Their modest lifestyle could certainly be improved by winning. Will Miranda’s friends who live in fancier apartment buildings still value her friendship when they realize she doesn’t have any money?

So many questions, but the biggest question of all is who is sending Miranda the mysterious notes? It seems to be someone who knows all about her, even things that have not yet happened! Could the answer be hidden in the pages of her prized possession and favorite book, A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle? Will she be able to decipher their cryptic message in time?

Read the book to help answer all of these questions and soon all the little bits and pieces of the story will fit together like an intricate puzzle.

Newbery Medal Winner- A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder

Richard Peck

This 2001 Newbery Medal winner takes place in 1937. Mary Alice, a teenage girl, is sent to live with her grandmother because her father lost his job and the family is struggling financially. Her brother, Joey, left to go to the Civilian Conservation Corps and her parents had to move to a small room. There was no room for Mary Alice; she had to go while her parents rebounded from these unfortunate circumstances.

Mary Alice is a city girl from Chicago who is experiencing the different type of living in a country town. Grandma was well-known and feared by many in her town. She was known to draw a rifle, carry a pocket knife, and put anyone in their place at anytime. Mary Alice learned a lot about her grandmother in just one year. She began to understand why she operated the way she did. She even started to think and act like Grandma! Grandma worked her hard in the kitchen and outside- even in the dead of winter. As time went on, she began to respect her even more and even started to worry about her.

Join Mary Alice as she enrolls in a very different high school where grade levels are combined and experiences life as an ordinary teenage girl. Share in her battles with other girls and in her interest of boys. At the end of the year, Mary Alice has a change of heart and wants to stay with Grandma; she worried about her being alone. Grandma knew this would happen and was prepared for it!

She did reunite with her parents but came back to Grandma's and was married to the "new kid" from high school right in Grandma's living room.

I love books with a happy ending. I was especially close with my grandmother and enjoyed "seeing" how their relationship evolved. Grandma actually made me chuckle. The author, Richard Peck, spoke of her actions and her descriptions very vividly. I could easily imagine how Grandma looked, walked, and cooked in her kitchen!

Coretta Scott King Award Winner- Rosa

Rosa, written by Nikki Giovanni in 2005, won the Coretta Scott King Award for illustrations in 2006. Rosa is an excellent book to introduce students to segregation and how the fight to end it came about. It addresses diversity since the entire story revolves around a woman's fight to end the separation of blacks and whites.

The tone of the main character is set right from the beginning when the author explains that Rosa is a good citizen who cares for her mother and husband and is known as the best seamstress in Montgomery. Nikki then tells the story of how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus along with a brief synopsis of the civil rights movement and ends with the Supreme Court's decision that segregation is illegal. The author explains this historical event very well and in easy-to-understand language suitable for younger students.

Thinking back, I don't remember reading about all of the details given in this story. I knew who Rosa Parks was and what she stood for, but this book explains the beginning of the end of segregation very well. I did not know that the walk went on for as long as it did. The author even introduces Martin Luther King, Jr., and the NAACP. This was a very interesting story that contained vivid, detailed illustrations.

Caldecott Honor book- The Wall

Peter Sis's The Wall, was noted as a Caldecott Honor book in 2008. I wanted my collection of reading to be as diverse as possible so I decided to read The Wall since its subtitle was Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Honestly, the title grabbed my attention. I liked the relation to history in this book that was based on a boy who grew up in the middle of Europe at the start of the Cold War. The memoirs described how people were expected to follow rules of leadership and the illustrations supported this. I found the side margins to be the most interesting. Actual markings of history are outlined there.

There is a lot going on in this book. Excerpts from the author's journal from 1954-1977 were scattered throughout the book. On each page the author's words are stationed underneath a very large, detailed illustration. Along side of of the illustrations are descriptions of what historical moment is being depicted. The entire book seemed very overwhelming to me. Even though the content was quite educational, it lacked organization.

If I were instructing students about this historical time period, I would think twice about using this book as a resource. I'm sure that there are books on this topic that are better suited for young adults.

Caldecott Honor book- Zen Shorts

The 2006 Caldecott Honor Award winning book, Zen Shorts, was written by Jon Muth and published in 2005. I was first fooled by the title of this book. I thought it was about a young man's piece of clothing. I couldn't have been further off. What made this book interesting to me was that it was actually a story within a story. Three children are being taught life lessons from three different Zen stories told by a panda named Stillwater. These little stories are what the title calls "shorts".

The "shorts" introduced the children to the rewards of giving, explained how luck can be neither be judged nor predicted, and how not to carry angry feelings with you. Each correlated to the feelings that one of the children in the book were having, and after the story was explained the child had a different light on his/her feelings.

The same three children and Stillwater continue their friendship in another book written by Muth. Zen Ties, too, focuses on ways to become a better person. Muth seems to put an importance of teaching values and developing good character into his stories while making them appealing and very entertaining. The illustrations are very whimsical and light. I would definitely like to read books by this author to my children as they grow older and are experiencing life.

Caldecott Honor book- Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet

Published in 2005, David McLiman's Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet won the Caldecott Honor Award in 2007. I chose to read this book for a couple of reasons. First, as a mom of two pre-school aged boys learning the alphabet is a part of our daily routine. From doing letter puzzles to watching Sesame Street and singing songs, I am always looking for different ways to incorporate the alphabet into our day. I love animals as do my boys. After reading this with them several times, I discussed what endangered meant and my four year old became very concerned. This began a discussion that I didn't think would have happened. It began quite a learning experience for them.

The combination of the alphabet being paired up with endangered animals was really a good idea. They enjoyed pointing out where the animals/insects laid. We would first talk about the letter and the sounds it made. The letter was large enough for them to trace with their finger which they loved to do. I was also able to describe some interesting facts about each featured animal/insect that were listed as a sidebar on each page. This was a fun learning experience for all of us. I highly recommend this for early readers.

Caldecott Honor book- The Spider and the Fly

The Spider and the Fly based on the cautionary tale by Mary Howitt was the Caldecott Honor Award Winner in 2003. As a lover of Charlotte's Web, I decided to read this book based upon the main character being a spider. The black and white illustrations which were very detailed caught my eye and created an almost eery feeling.
I was shocked to learn that the story ended with tragedy. Most, if not all, stories that I read at this young age level ended with a happy ending. In reality, this is not true; this was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. You see, throughout the story Spider came up with scheming ways to trap Fly into his bed and eventually have her for dinner. Yes, in the end, Spider won the battle and feast on the helpless fly.

While I would not read this to my young children at home, older students may be interested in the shocking twist. I really liked the message at the end of the book written by Spider. He warned readers to take the story to heart or they may fall into the web of a schemer as Fly did. It was a nice touch to the end of a "disturbing" story.