Newbery Winner: The Graveyard Book by Neal Gaiman

<This review contains spoilers>

I read this book (on my new Nook Color) thinking it was a fresh, upbeat novel and it just astounded me.  For some reason, not until I read the acknowledgement at the end of the author giving credit to Rudyard Kipling did I make the connection that this was The Jungle Book reset in a graveyard.  The 2010 Newbery winner, The Graveyard Book is another bildungsroman of young Mowgli--err Nobody Owens; a young child orphaned by a murdering Sheer Khan/Jack Frost.  He escapes to the jungle/graveyard where he is raised by a family of wolves/ghosts along with the help of a bear/vampire and a black panther/werewolf.  The young boy learns tricks that make him different from other humans, interacts with a young girl who he loses to civilization, is kidnapped by a group of monkeys/ghouls and fights the member of the group that killed his family--tiger/Jack of All Trades.  I feel like a moron for not noticing this as I was reading, the titles are even the same!  I don't think it would have distracted me from enjoying it.  It is definitely a macabre book. 

Despite the obvious similarities, the book was an excellent read and one that I would highly recommend to any age group above about 8 years old.  There is some gruesomeness, murder, violence and paranormal activity. 

Neil Gaiman reads from The Graveyard Book: 

Blogger's Note:  Just picked up a Nook Color to read this with.  This thing is going to cost me money!   I've rooted the Nook to run as an Android tablet, and prefer it's 7" width because I can palm it with one hand and read it versus the iPad.  I read the whole book and did some internet browsing for a couple of days before having to recharge it, it doesn't power down too quickly if you lay it down for a moment, it holds your place, is easy on the eyes to read and my 5 year old is reading his own books (and playing Angry Birds) on it now. 

My local library didn't have this book and it took like 20 seconds to find the book, buy it and start reading!

Newbery vs Caldecott Medals

The Newbery Medal is an honor awarded by the ALA for the most distinguished children's novel written the preceding year, Caldecott involves children's picture books.  Simplistically put, Caldecott awards are given to early readers, with few words and mostly pictures.  For example, previous winners are:

According to the ALA

"The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children."

Read more at the ALA's Caldecott Website

Video on Caldecott Award;

The Newbery medal is geared more toward pre-teens and are almost always short novels. 

From the ALA: "
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

Read more at the ALA's Newbery website. 

Previous winners: 

Video on Newbery winners:

Coretta Scott King Award winner: Dave the Potter

Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier is the story of an enslaved potter who lived most of his life between 1800-1860 in rural South Carolina.  His story is interesting in that he was both a very skilled potter who worked under slavery, and he could also write poetry that was included on several pots.  Many of his pots are still around and in museums and collections--a testament of his hard work and skill. 

Half of the book is the actual storybook, telling in prose how Dave the Potter worked under enslavement and yet was a testament to the human spirit.  The 2nd half of the book is background history on who Dave the potter was and what it is we know about him. 

I checked this book out from the elementary library I work at as a computer tech.  It was on the storybook table, the librarian reports that she just started reading this one and the kids love it. 

I found the artwork exceptional and should be perfect for young audiences.

More info on Dave the Potter. 

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

I never really cared for Raold Dahl's work and this is no exception.  It's the story of a fox, his family and their fox-like ways of stealing food from farmers.

I read this book to my 5 year old, he paid respectful attention, and liked a few parts, but didn't love it.  It's a long book, probably better suited for a 7 year old, and shouldn't be read in one setting. 

The movie is a stop-motion affair that respects and follows the book, but also embellishes and expands on the story.  The son has a name, they go into why Mr. Fox feels the need to steal, and there is quite a bit more rivalry going on.  My son watched for about 20 minutes, then lost interest, preferring to go play.  The wit was very good, but dry and some things most children wouldn't "get".

I found the book and the movie to be tedious, slow and drawn out at times. 

Julius Lester/Jerry Pinkney: John Henry

This 1995 retelling of the tall-tale/folk song is inspirational at best.  Julius Lester embellishes the story with a flair in true tall-tale fashion, John Pinkney illustrates in his usual bright, elaborate style. 

Of note is the detail told in most John Henry stories where he is working on the railroad "for the man." In this story of African-American strength and perserverence, John Henry works for himself.  I like this and think it's a great addition to the story.  Both authors are African-American and have covered African-American subjects--including the once taboo Brer Rabbit tales--and molded them to their own liking. 
I liked the fact that they included background for adults in telling this story, references of John Henry used and how they came to create this book. 


I read this book to my 5 year old, he liked it well enough but didn't love it.  He appreciated the exaggerations (Ferret-Faced Freddy was so mean, he cried if he had a nice thought) and liked the artwork much like that from The Lion and the Mouse. 


Just for fun, here is Leadbelly's version of the eponymous song.

Laurence Yep book: Dragon's Gate

Another Newbery Honor book (1994), Dragon's Gate is the story of a young boy who grows through adversity.  Our protagonist, Otter, is forced to leave turbulunt 1860's China after an accident.  He goes to the US to live with his own father and uncle in California, to work on the transcontinental railroad. 

Dragon's Gate is a bildungsroman of the first order--going from young, immature to tough, stout man--along with learning some hard cruel realities.  The book invokes conflict amongst cultures-both in China with the Manchus and in America with the American, Irish and Chinese laborers.  It also invokes how big men in one society can be little peons in another. 

The book is a bit old for most elementary students, and a bit young for anyone below high school.  The language can be lively and poetic at times.  Regardless, I highly recommend it for it's bildungsroman, strength through adversity and heartache, and doing the right thing regardless of how you might suffer themes. 

Meet the Author, Laurence Yep:

Newbery Winner~ A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

After reading, A Long Way from Chicago, I wanted to follow up with another Richard Peck book.  This one, using the same characters, is a sequel with a different protagonist.  The first book was told from the point of view of brother Joe, the sequel is told by sister Mary Alice as she comes of age after being sent to live with  her grandmother during the Great Depression.  Her parents are struggling to make ends meet in Chicago, and her brother has gone out west to work with the CCC--the best thing for her to do is to go live with her ever-resourceful grandmother. 

And resourceful she is, Grand Theft Granny rams a tractor into a pecan tree to honor an agreement (she gets whatever hits the ground), purloins some pumpkins and traps foxes in the winter in order to make ends meet. 

Trickster granny definitely has several tricks up her sleeve; bringing down the snooty townspeople, helping the poor, and taking advantage of a WPA artist. 

I found this book to be enjoyable and think most older kids around 5th grade would enjoy it.  For this copy, I'm going to pass it onto my mother who I think will enjoy it .



Here's a 5 minute clip from the audiobook:

Caldecott Winner: A Sick Day for Amos McGee

I sat through a librarian doing story time with this book,   A Sick Day for Amos McGee , illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead.  This is the 2011 Caldecott Award Winner.  It's a sweet story of how the animals take care of their caretaker after he becomes sick. 

The children listening to the book asked several relevant questions and were very attentive.  Another good story with a Golden Rule them.  I appreciated the duality of the book, the 2nd half mirrors the first half.  The artwork can be described as sparse yet lively and complements the story perfectly. 

From Book to Film: The Gruffalo

The 1999 children's book The Gruffalo is my five year old son, AJ's, favorite book.  Written by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, it tells the story of a mouse's walk in the woods.  He encounters several predators, only to get away using his wily prowess.  However, his mouth gets him in more trouble than he realizes. 

This book was very enjoyable, if not possibly a bit gruesome at times.  I was afraid my critic, AJ, would start crying at the thought of our poor hero getting eaten, but he seemed to understand the "Circle of Life" better than his father.  I brought the Lion King comparison into the book after reading it with him and he was fine with it.  He's lost a few pet goldfish already and seen fish, harvested turkey, quail and deer put into the food chain. 

The words and phrasing make The Gruffalo an enjoyable read;  the rhymes and funny sounding words lend itself well to being read aloud.

The book was put into a short movie last year that we managed to catch via DVR on ABC Family channel. My son loved it even more and watched it daily for 2 weeks along with reading it again and again. The film definitely catches the charm of the original and the art style goes way beyond that of the book. 

The book won several awards in England, the prestigious, yet now defunct Nestle Smarties Award, It was the UK's bestselling picture book of 2000, won the 2000 Nottingham/Experian Children's Book award, and the Blue Peter Best Book To Read Aloud award. The audio version won the Best Children's Audio award in the Spoken Book Awards.

The film won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award. 

The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Jerry Pinkney's The Lion and the Mouse is a retelling of the Aesop Fable without words. A 2010 Caldecott award-winner, I gave it to my 5 year old to "read" on the way home from school one day.  He told me the story himself very successfully while I was driving.  Unfortunately I couldn't get him to replicate his performance when we got home because I was going to film it.  :D  My son appreciated the story and I was able to incorporate the Golden Rule into the lesson. 

The beginning of the book shows the natural predators that the lowly mouse encounters in the serengeti and my son at first thought this book was about the Gruffalo--a book I'll cover later. 

Jerry Pinkney's book is very well-illustrated and it shows the story without words excellently--probably the first picture book I've "read" since the Snake Eyes silent issue of the GI Joe comic book in the early 80's. This was my introduction to Pinkney's work, now I plan on finding some more, the artwork is incredible. 



Here's a video of Jerry Pinkney himself illustrating this book. 

A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck

Newbery Honor Book

A "novel comprised of short stories" Richard Peck's A Long Way From Chicago is a Depression-era coming of age story about a boy and his little sister's summers spent away from their home in Chicago with their grandmother out in the country. 
This was an entertaining read to any age, the reading level is low enough for elementary children, yet the entertainment value is enough for all ages.  The stories involved are humorous, with a trickster grandmother with something always up her sleeve.  Children can relate to odd families, people who act strange and familial strife, yet also connect with ways in which families show their love for one another--often without saying those words explicitly.

The Coming-of-age-in-the-Great-Depression could be a genre in it's own right, likened to the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, or another favorite of mine Man and Boy. Much like Robert Ruark's Man and Boy, it's comprised of short anecdotes of a young boy growing up around a grandparent and learning things that most would consider unorthodox. 

Conyers' LME 518 Blog

YES I"m Running Way Behind.  Much stuff coming soon!