Children's Books discussion

Come join us to discuss the Medal Winner,
The Giver by Lois Lowry (again)

and/or the Honor books:
Crazy Lady! by Jane Leslie Conly
Dragon's Gate by Laurence Yep (again)
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman (again)

Crazy Lady! is harder to find. I'll have to read the copy that has been archived on openlibrary.org.

Dragon's Gate is not local to me, so again thank goodness for the archives. (It is at family libraries, but I don't anticipate traveling in July.)

I have requested a copy of Eleanor Roosevelt, and I happen to have a copy of The Giver from a Little Free Library on hand.

I look forward to all four of these.

Ok, wow, The Giver is even better than I remembered. My adult son and I agree that it is timeless, not dated. And it's beautifully written, with a lot of themes to ponder privately, or to discuss.

What would it be like to have only the mildest versions of emotions, and to have those ironed out by ritual discussions? No love, no actual anger, etc.

Is this community (and the others like it) a Utopia? Nobody goes hungry, there's no war, there's no pollution, there's almost no danger, there are traditions and rules to relieve individuals of the burden of making decisions. Wonderful, right?

So why is the book often billed as a dystopia?

"The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared."

Though cold, he felt "an urge, a need, a passionate yearning to share the warmth with the one person left for him to love."

Btw, the edition I read (click through the link above) is the movie tie-in. It has a 20th anniversary preface by the author, and back matter interviews from the actors in the movie. I recommend reading all of that afterwards (against spoilers).

Yes, a good 'Imagine' book as in the John Lennon song. It can be imagined, but not achieved because those darn pesky homo sapiens have to be involved.

Steve wrote: "Yes, a good 'Imagine' book as in the John Lennon song. It can be imagined, but not achieved because those darn pesky homo sapiens have to be involved."

So are you saying that the community is a Utopia? If so, do you think that Jonas and the Giver do the right thing?

I gave Eleanor Roosevelt 4 stars. I owned it when my children were young. None of us got around to reading it; it just didn't appeal. Now, age 60, I found it fascinating. The woman was even more amazing than I had realized. I'm glad that we're reading it here! And I'm tempted to read some of the many writings of Eleanor Roosevelt herself.

But why was "do-gooder" an insult?

Lots of photos, index, etc.

Crazy Lady! is a quick read. But if read too quickly, it seems like just another 'issues' novel. I say it's more than that. I do admit that it might be a hard sell to kids or disinterested adults, but those of us who have or work with children, or who have an interest in 'children's literature' can find some things that are pretty special here. Not the least of whom is the retired teacher, Miss Annie.

I can't believe nobody has anything to say about The Giver. The other books are good for people who like each kind of story, too. Y'all are missing out!

Cheryl wrote: "I can't believe nobody has anything to say about The Giver. The other books are good for people who like each kind of story, too. Y'all are missing out!"

I was in high school when it came out and missed the mandatory reading of it. I am just not into that kind of book and I have too long a TBR list to stop and read books I'm not interested in. I've read ABOUT it and I loved Lois Lowry's historical fiction books when I was a kid.

I didn't read any of these books. I am familiar with Laurence Yep and have read some of his books.

Cheryl wrote: "I can't believe nobody has anything to say about The Giver. The other books are good for people who like each kind of story, too. Y'all are missing out!"

I have The Giver on my to-read list but to be honest, dystopian fiction like that is just not all that much my cup of tea and I totally forgot about the book.

I know that Lois Lowry won the Newbery for The Giver, but frankly, I am much more into her Anastasia Kruknik series.