The Bronze Bow by by Elizabeth George Speare

Lovely story set in Roman-controlled Galilee. It is amazing to me that a book dealing with Jesus Christ and his affect upon people of his time was chosen as a Newberry Winner. I am delighted that it happened.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

I thought that this was a wonderful story. Newberry Award winner the same year that I graduated from high school, I found myself wishing I had read this book back then. The author, Mildren D. Taylor, did an amazing job of capturing the language of his characters. The novel is set at the same time in history when my parents were growing up in the south. The descriptions of what life was like for blacks in the south post-Civil War and pre-Civil Rights movement is intriguing and gripping. Powerful story!

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

The value in this book, in my opinion, is the exposure to the Aztec culture of Peru. Otherwise, the story was a strange one and I am not exactly sure what the message was. I felt that there was a lot of loose ends and unexplained. Nonetheless, I did find the Aztec culture information very interesting.

Amos Fortune: Free Man

This was a very interesting read for me...discussing some different aspects of slavery that you do not often read about. It is interesting to read about the issues pre-Revolutionary War and occuring in the North. Even more interesting because the story is based upon a real person.

Wonderful discussion about what it truly means to be free and how we become free...when we truly are free. A great quote from the book: "It does a man no good to be free until he learns how to live." Highly recommended reading for all.

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

I loved this story of making the "impossible" happen! Another of the great themes is that of not prejudging people...getting to know people and finding their strengths. This is an important story for children and youth to read and internalize. Amazing thing happens as the children of Shora dare to dream the impossible and bring the entire village together as they never have been in order to make their dream come true.

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

One of the most enjoyable Newberry Award winners that I have read! Mr. Curtis portrays the story of a young black orphan living during the Great Depression--telling the story through the boy's point of view and his 10 year old manner of speaking. It was delightful! Another on my list of books that people who enjoy good literature must read!

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

I wonder if I would have loved this book as much if I had read it when I was younger. It was most inspiring to me. I loved how Ms. Forbes introduces her reader to some of the lesser known characters of the Revolutionary War period. I was reminded of the importance of freedom of the press. I shall long be inspired by James Otis' words as to why it was important for people to be doing what they were doing and to be willing to sacrifice what they did...not just for the freedom in this country, but for the freedom of people around the world. Inspiring, insightful, and motivating for me in the work that I am involved in that seems so thankless, at times.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

I truly enjoyed reading this Newberry Award winner. It was a book that I had a difficult time putting down. I am not a huge fan of a lot of fantasy novels, but this one was such a fun read. The heroine is a female who is not beautiful and has many flaws, but still very noble and heroic in character. While it was clear where Ms. McKinley was going to take you in the novel, nonetheless, the trip there was enjoyable.
I look forward to reading other books by Ms. McKinley. I think that The Hero and the Crown is a book that will be enjoyed by both young adult and adult readers. One of my highly recommended reads...not for any earth-shaking moral statement or wisdom, but simply as an enjoyable read.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

The Twenty-One Balloons was such a fun, fantasy-filled book! The story captured my imagination like the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory did. I think it was one of the better Newberry Award winners that I have read. It is sad that I took so many years to discover this story of Professor William Waterman Sherman and the magical island of Krakatoa!

I need to spend more time in my life "traveling by balloon"--leaving where I am taken "to nature" in an unrushed, free, spirit of awaiting what new worlds there are to discover around me.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Maniac Magee! At first, I struggled with having to suspend belief regarding how so much was not really believable. However, I came to understand that I needed to look at this story more as a parable with a lot of symbolism. I think a person has to ask a lot of questions about who does this character represent? How are names significant to the story? I think that the story is a lot deeper than just a children's story that would appeal to 12 year old boys.

The obvious criticism in the story is about prejudice, racism, and stereotypical or uninformed traditional thinking which can box people into totally unrational, illogical thinking. Maniac dealt constantly with people's fears of things they really knew nothing about, just had been made afraid of all of their lives. They were living in a state of fear...paranoia...about so many things...the Finsterwalds, the East side vs. West side, attitudes about elderly people, attitudes about people living in poverty, etc.

One of the best, most telling moments about what the story was really all about was when Maniac describes the things he did as dares to keep the McNab boys going to school. When he talks about the dare to put his hand into the hole and proceeds to not only put his hand in, but his whole arm and comes out without any kind of harm to himself. There is a real difference between those things that really can do us harm (like the incident that made Maniac flee...the incident on the trolley trestle) and what he stood up to...traditional fears that had no true foundation. Maniac refuses to deal with fear based around tradition and not fact.

A wonderful story!!! But, the story does require a very thoughtful reader to get beyond the surface extremes to a deeper, much deeper message. I realize that I will need to go back, again, to do another reading to see what other symbols I missed on my first time through.

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze is a fascinating book. Elizabeth Foreman Lewis describes life in China in the 1920's. The culture described was fascinating. I loved how she brought the foreshadowing of communism into the work and helped me to understand what led China towards that choice in government.

Young Fu is an endearing character who battles the "dragons" of his life and his culture...a life lesson for all youth about facing the trials that they face (and all of us face) with courage and tenacity. The great life message in the book is found in the chapter entitled "A River on the Rampage." Young Fu ponders the outcomes of the flood:

"...For one household, at least, the Dragon had been forced to admit defeat. Dragons! He sniffed to himself. After all it simply a matter of keeping one's head and outwitting them."

Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

One of the more enjoyable of the Newberry Award winning books. Criss Cross is a "coming of age" story of a group of young people in a small town. The title refers to how peoples' lives seem to criss cross and how people and new experiences are brought into our paths.

One of my favorite passages describes the choice of having new experiences in our lives:

"I think," he [Peter] said, "that it's a good thing to get out of your usual, you know, surroundings. Because you find things out about yourself that you didn't know, or you forgot. And then you go back to your regular life and you're changed, you're a little bit different because you take those new things with you. Like a Hindu, except all in one life: you sort of get reincarnated depending on what happened and what you figure out. And any one place can make you go forward, or backward, or neither, but gradually you find all your pieces, your important pieces, and they stay with you, so that you're your whole self no matter where you go. Your Buddha self. That's my theory, anyway."
Perkins, Lynne Rae. Criss Cross. (2005). New York:HarperCollins. pg.267.