Newbery Books discussion

Anyone still here? By total coincidence, I happened to read this yesterday--I forgot it was our book for this month. I LOVED it. I thought it was wonderful. I don't want to just repeat my review, but I did think that this is one that should be a Printz (YA) rather than a Newbery--not because there's anything inappropriate, but I just don't think younger kids would be interested, and I don't say that lightly! (including me, when I was young)

I am beginning to see and agree with wishing there were a younger newbery and older newbery awards. This one clearly says it's for ages 10+ on the back cover. And I can clearly see how this and "Because of Winn Dixie" should be in different categories.

That being said, I (also) LOVED this book. I literally was amazed at how she captures so many of the nuances of being an awkward teen. I will likely come back and post some more discussion but I just wanted to say -- 4 stars . . . and I don't give many of those, either.

This is the best Newbery I've read so far and I've read about 20. I thought it was a delightful story for young teens, and old ladies like me, about a pleasant summertime when kids could be kids, life moved slowly, and nothing was more urgent than filling a jar with fireflies. Remember when Debby walked over towards Mrs. Bruning to save time and thought to herself, "Not that she was saving it for anything in particular." Perkins really captured young teenage angst and humor. I laughed out loud when she wrote, "It was an idea that had never been even in the same neighborhood as Debbie's mind," and when Lenny told his father, "You didn't get enough beauty sleep, better go back to bed." Is "All Alone in the Universe" as good?

Re younger/older Newbery awards--isn't it good enough that there's the Printz award for young adults? I don't really see a need to compartmentalize more than that.

Where is everybody on this one? Too busy with end of the summer fun and getting the kids back to school?

I'm not sure I would bump this one up to YA. It seemed to fit really well into a 10-12 year old for me . . . which I still categorize as children's fiction. Personally I see the 14+ crowd in the YA category (Speak, etc.) Although I did some research and it seems each publishing company has their own "guidelines" about children's/YA/adult lit. So there's no industry standard.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when the author narrates how if Debbie had just said something to her mom about the California boy she might have talked to her about her past experience with "dog collector" boy. I thought it was really poignant to watch that opportunity just pass by. It made me think about how many of those moments have passed by in my life.

I really, really don't think many 10 year olds would be interested in this--they'd be more likely to say "nothing ever happens" (though to look at the reviews, it seems like several adults felt that way, too). The feelings and issues that come up in this book are not going to be familiar yet to many 10 year olds. And while this is true for a lot of books that kids read--say, The Witch of Blackbird Pond--those books have an exciting story, too. This seems like the rare book that is actually intended to be read by kids the same age as the characters!

The Printz is for 12+ and I think that's a better fit, even if Criss Cross is a lot gentler than Speak or Postcards from No Man's Land. (Someone in another topic here mentioned this book as a Newbery winner that's inappropriate for children, but now that I've read it, I can't imagine why--there's nothing INappropriate, just nothing that I think would catch their interest.)

My library does shelve it in YA, but as you say, that's kind of up to the individual publisher/institution (I'm not sure how they COULD make an industry standard for that).

I like Criss Cross. I read it the year it was awarded the Newbery. I like the flow of the story...the way it was written. I agree that it is for older kids.

it's ok that we have different opinions about who would like this book. I think we know different 10 - 12 year olds.

the flow of the story is very different. it takes a while to keep all the characters straight at the start with it switching POV so much. but i liked how it was different.

Yes, I completely agree. And I also liked your comment about the fact that we all know different 10 year olds. There might be a few mature, good readers at 10 who would appreciate this book. Kids who weren't ready for it would think it was boring.

I think the same is true of Elijah of Buxton. It's rather slow moving, but the ending is powerful and requires a more mature level of understanding.

I enjoyed this book and think it is a good choice for tweens. Not every ten year old will like it, but I think what you need to consider when recommending a book to a kid or teen, is the level of their maturity. I was reading adult books at 8 (and still reading kids books). If a reader feels that it's too slow, or introspective for them, they might want to wait a year or two and try it again.

Well, I seem to be in the minority, but I'm one of the "nothing happens!" group. I definitely don't think this book should be a Newbery winner. What is the contribution to children's lit? The author seemed to show off technically at times--yes, you can do creative exercises with the English language. But I spent the whole book waiting for something to happen. It never did. So not much plot and the characters never really grabbed me, either. So this book is just about what goes on in the heads of some young, small-town teenagers one summer. I did like the part where Debbie befriended the elderly German lady and her grandson. I understood how the lady felt about not wanting to leave her home. But I agree that most kids wouldn't be interested in the book and I wasn't very interested either. I would rate this book only a 2 on the goodreads scale.

Hey, Dawn, it's great to have a dissenting opinion! Makes conversation more interesting and helps everyone clarify their own feelings about a book, especially when they don't agree.

I think the contribution to children's literature is the unusually perceptive glimpse at what it's like to be a young teen. I guess I'm sort of in the minority in that I didn't think there was anything very unusual about the text--I had heard that the author told this story in unusual ways, using all these different techniques, etc, and that made me skeptical about reading it, because I like books to be books, if you know what I mean. But except for the haiku section, which was still pretty straightforward, it seemed pretty standard to me. Still, I think that supposed "innovativeness" probably contributed to its being chosen.

It's funny, because I've read about sixty Newbery winners so far this summer and this is the only one I've given five stars to (I had given some five stars previously), and yet I tend to agree with you that this may not be a "most deserving" Newbery. I can't put my finger on why exactly. And then there's always that "what makes a book a NEWBERY" elusive quality...who knows what it is? We all have different ideas. I guess I do like to see Newberys that are a little more universal in interest--some books may not have covers or plots that interest most readers at first, but if once you start reading, it seems like most readers would get interested--that's one sign of a great book.

Also, much as I loved this--a Newbery Honor was given to HITLER YOUTH that year, which I thought was a truly astonishing amazing book. Maybe some on the committee thought it too depressing, I don't know.

At first I was listening to this book on tape. When the hard bound copy became available at the library I got it and alternated between the two. I was amazed at the things I'd missed. The two that spring to my mind are the pictures, and the chapter where the boy and girl are reading different magazines and it's done in columns side by side. I'm sure there were more that I can't think of now that added to my interest in the book.

I realize that I'm more than a month behind and that most of you are now focused on reviewing a different book, but I did read this book and would like to share my two cents worth. I agree with Wendy that most younger kids would not be interested in this book. I think it was written with teens in mind. That being said, I do think that most teens would be able to relate to the characters in the book. The author seems to have a gift for being able to put feelings into words. This is what I really liked about it because as I was reading it I kept thinking "yeah, I remember feeling this way, but I didn't know how to put my emotions/feelings into words." I could especially relate to the chapter about Debbie shopping with her mom. I remember this as a teenager shopping with my mom and thinking she had no idea about what was in style and I didn't like most of things that she picked out for me, but I wanted our time together to be positive so I kept my feelings to myself. Now, whenever I go shopping with my daughter, I know that I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to teenage styles in clothing.
It really didn't bother me that nothing exciting happened in the book, probably because I already knew that going into it because I had read Dawn's review. So, I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.