Newbery Update: 1930s
Posted by mimi on Jun 11, 2009 in dish | 0 comments
Finally finished reading the second decade’s worth of Newbery titles. Note to self: ambitious reading projects are probably not best to embark upon during a become-an-IB-school year. Alas. However, I blazed through the last few quickly now that summer is upon us, so I’m hoping the next few months will be far more productive, reading-wise.
On to the titles:
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field – Hitty is a doll, carved from “mountain ash wood” for the daughter of a Maine sea captain. When we meet her, she is on display in a New York antiques store. How she gets there and the adventures she has along the way are charmingly told in her own voice. Adorable, I have to say.
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth – The shortest read of all the books so far, this is a quick introduction to Japanese culture and Buddhism, revealed as an artist paints a commission for the local Buddhist temple.
Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer – Beautifully illustrated by the author, this book is slower-paced than others I’ve read, but the growing character of a young Navajo, Younger Brother, into a medicine man is fascinating stuff.
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis – Again with the “teach kids about other cultures,” I thought, but it’s an engaging story of a boy who struggles to become an artisan so he can pull himself and his widowed mother out of poverty. Not nearly as depressing as it sounds.
Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs – The first biography to win a Newbery, this one is all about Louisa May Alcott. Those Alcotts knew everybody–look for cameos from Emerson, Thoreau, and a bunch of other 19th century thinkers. Good, but I’d probably get more out of it if I were a big Little Women fan. Which I’m not.
Dobry by Monica Shannon – This is the third novel in a row about a child who’s growing up into something his parents don’t really understand. Younger Brother and Young Fu, meet Dobry, a young Bulgarian farmer wants to become an artist. For a book about a brilliant young artist, the illustrations are oddly simplistic–and not in a good way.
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink – Plucky, headstrong young girl and her adventures on her family’s Wisconsin farm. What is it with Wisconsin farms? Was 1800s Wisconsin considered very edge of civilization by writers in the 1930s? The mind boggles. At any rate, Caddie’s a hoot and a scamp. But she’s no Laura Ingalls.
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer – Kind of like Eloise at the Plaza, except Lucinda gets to toodle around 1890s New York City on her roller skates, since her parents are on an extended trip. Interesting and amusing, if not totally realistic. What Victorian child would be given this kind of freedom, especially with an overbearing aunt at the ready? That’s probably the appeal, though.
The White Stag by Kate Seredy – This is a mythic retelling of how the Magyar peoples settled in their homeland (modern day Hungary). And you know what that means. Tonight’s hero: Attila the Hun!! What’s amazing is how Seredy pulls it off. Not that we’ll all suddenly form Attila fan clubs (he’s pretty barbaric and bloodthirsty here), but she crafts the myth in a way that helps you at least understand where all that thirst and barbarism came from.
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright – This is the other book about a plucky young farm girl from Wisconsin and all her shenanigans. (Can you believe Laura Ingalls Wilder never won a Newbery?? Shame!) This heroine, Garnet Linden, has an idyllic summer bookended by the discovery of a silver thimble in a dry river bed and a blue ribbon at the fair. Cute, but Garnet’s no Laura. Or Caddie, even.
And my favorite is…
The White Stag!
Looks like the historical fiction bug bit me again. This book was a beautiful blend of fantastic pencil illustrations and gorgeous, lyrical writing. It’s epic, it’s poetic, it’s magical. As Seredy says in her forward, “Those who want to hear the voice of pagan gods in wind and thunder, who want to see the fairies dance in the moonlight, who can believe that faith can move mountains, can follow the thread on the pages of this book. It is a fragile thread; it cannot bear the weight of facts and dates.” And she makes Attila the Hun semi-heroic. Now that’s writing.
