Newbery Books discussion

This thread may contain spoilers and is intended for those who have already finished the book.

Discussion begins April 1!

I just bought the book and will get back to you when I've read it.

sweet- I have this book already!

I read this one several years ago but I think that I will read it again so that it's fresh in my mind.

I also read this years ago and remember liking it. I'd like to read it again but I gave most of the Newberys I've read away to a new teacher and I just picked up The One and Only Ivan at the library. So that will be my next Newbery to read.

Kathy wrote: "I also read this years ago and remember liking it. I'd like to read it again but I gave most of the Newberys I've read away to a new teacher and I just picked up The One and Only Ivan at the librar..."

Kathy, we'll be discussing that one in a few months - The One and Only Ivan seems rather hard to get a hold of. I'm glad I picked it up as a Kindle deal of the day for $2 about 6 months ago!

I reserved Ivan as soon as the activity started up here again. I'm sure Ivan will continue to have high demand at the library. So I hope to read it while I've got it. If you see any other Kindle deals that are worth getting, would you please let me know. In the past year I think I've only caught one deal I really wanted.

That's a good idea, I think I'll start a thread that would give others a heads up when there are some good KidLit titles available. A few weeks ago I was able to get Splendors and Glooms for a steal as well. So they happen fairly regularly.

Thanks.

I've also been on the reserve list for The One and Only Ivan at the library since it was picked for the Newbery Award. I just got a notice that it is my turn so I will pick it up today. Exciting!

I read Dear Mr. Henshaw a few years ago, as well. But I will at least skim it to remember details before our discussion. Thanks for getting us going again, Kristine!

I just read Dear Mr. Henshaw for the first time, and loved it. Here's my review.

Just a reminder that discussion starts Monday - grab the book for a quick weekend read if you want to join in!

So what did everyone think? I feel this probably was the beginning of the development of "guidance counselor fiction." Divorce was the social drama of the day and a major enough issue to produce Leigh and his letters. I loved that when he was lost there was an adult who was always consistent. A pretty good lesson for our day. I liked this book, but wasn't blown away - and think it may be that I'm not as partial to realistic fiction, so I may be undervaluing it.

What did you think of the lunchbox? I saw another review that related this book an allegory of the Cold War and had to chuckle at the similarities.

What was your favorite part? Why or why didn't you like it and do you find it distinguished? Newbery worthy? Check out our other thread for some good discussion questions . . .

I like this book, but don't LOVE it. As most of you know I am a huge fan of Beverly Cleary, but this is not my favorite. I thought it was sad. I felt so bad for Leigh, he's new in town, he's trying to make friends, he misses his dog, his dad's being a jerk and his mom has to work a lot. It wasn't funny like the Ramona books. I was getting frustrated when his Dad wouldn't call him and when he finally did get to talk him, his Dad tells him that he lost the dog, I was so heartbroken for the poor kid.

I read this book to my girls, I really didn't think that they would like it, but they did. I'm not sure what the attraction is, but they're asking me to read the sequel to them. We all really liked the lunchbox part, totally something my oldest son would've done.

I'm sure that there are a lot of kids who can relate to Leigh since divorce is so prevelent and even if their parents aren't divorced they most certainly have friends whose parents are divorced. My kids were able to relate to being the new kid, and all of the challenges that go with that.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what other people thought about it and I'm also wondering if this book is still interesting to kids or if it's too outdated for today's kids.

I was wondering that, too. Does it's age make it outdated? I guess I would have to have L read it

Well, one thing that might make it dated is that there is no mention of modern technology such as, cell phones, WII, DS's, I Pods or I Pads, but the biggest thing is all the letters that he wrote to Mr. Henshaw, these days it probably would've been emails.

I also liked this book, but didn't love it. It's interesting to me that Beverly Cleary won the Newbery for this book instead of for her Ramona books. They are so fun and much more popular. Do you think the Newbery committee thought Dear Mr. Henshaw was more 'important' since it deals with divorce? I thought that they may have chosen The Higher Power of Lucky because of its social issues, too. Or how about Dicey's Song?

This was my review when I read Dear Mr. Henshaw in 2009:
A nice little Newbery Award winner about a boy learning to like himself and make his life better. His parents have recently divorced and he is the new kid at school. The book is older, so the boy's problems almost seem innocent compared to today. But he is a genuine character and the things he learns are still true. I like what he learns about writing and about friendship. I also really like Paul Zelinsky's illustrations.

A friend of mine who is a teacher says that she still reads this book with her class and they still seem to like it every year, so that would support the view that the book is not too outdated. Your girls liked it, too, Annette. I think that's what I was trying to say in my original review as well, that modern touches are not as important as timeless things like character, feelings, friendship, etc. I'm glad, since I know we all like some classics that are much older than 1984!

I agree with Linda that I enjoy epistolary novels. It is a form that can convey a lot without any wasted words. I find it fascinating and appealing. Part of the appeal may be that it's like you are peeking over someone's shoulder to get a glimpse of his/her life. It feels almost as if you were actually there. And who doesn't enjoy reading personal letters? One of my favorite epistolary novels is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and there are lots of other good ones out there.

Annette, I also liked the lunchbox! Kristine, I was also very glad that the boy had a caring, consistent adult in his life. Otherwise his situation would have been too heartbreaking.

Did anyone else like the illustrations in Dear Mr. Henshaw?

Kristine, what do you mean when you mention another thread with good discussion questions? I'm confused as to what that thread is. Thanks!

It's another thread I posted in this 2013 BoM folder.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Thanks, I think they are good questions, too.

I remember not liking this book that much, but when I re-read it for the discussion I was surprised by how engaged I was. I don't think it's dated at all. The lack of cell phones or modern computer games is not glaring because it's difficult to notice when something *isn't* there. Plus, it's stated several times that Leigh's mother is struggling to make ends meet, so I'll bet a lot of kids will empathize with not having a fancy computer or video game system.

I was particularly pleased that the identity of the lunchbox thief was never revealed. It would have been so easy to make Leigh's trap successful, but I think Leigh has the right of it when he is ultimately glad that he doesn't know.

Kristine wrote: "This thread may contain spoilers and is intended for those who have already finished the book.

Discussion begins April 1!"
I read this out loud with my two boys in a couple nights during spring break. We had some great discussions about attitude, poverty, and divorce/fatherhood. We really enjoyed the read.