Finished and Favorites

 

 I finally finished reading ALL the Newbery Award winners. And not being someone who can do two things an once, I didn't make time to tell you about them along the way. But I'm here now to tell you about the ones I loved. I'll return often to tell you about the rest. 

My boys and I just finished rereading my all time favorite book and winner of the 1968 award:

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.

If Mrs. Konigsburg was still living, I would write her and tell her how much I enjoy this book. I would tell her about the time I was interviewed to be a Children's librarian at my local public library and the director asked me who my favorite author was. Of course I said E. L. Konigsburg because she writes stories full of intelligent, determined children; especially girls. I was especially thinking of Claudia from this book. I'm pretty sure she is the reason I got the job.

Years later, I still love this book every time I read it, especially when I read it out loud. My boys (8 and 4) were a little young for this one. I would recommend this book for 3th grade and older just because the children are older and their situation requires some complicated imagination to grasp. But m 8 year old who is a deep thinker followed along well and asked good questions when he didn't understand.

A few of my other favorites from the past 100 years are:

2011 winner Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

1993 winner Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

1983 winner Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

1977 winner Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

1955 winner The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong

1949 winner King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

1939 winner Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

Most of these are historic or realistic fiction. That's my jam, but the award has been given to many different genres of children's literature from the historical 1922 winner to this years SciFi winner The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera. What is your favorite genre? Do you have a favorite Newbery Award winner? Please share it will me.

Let's Celebrate

After we take down the Christmas decorations, I immediately put up Valentine's. I love the color red and will do anything to celebrate a holiday that lets me display it boldly in my home. These past few years, my family has also been using the beginning of the year to celebrate the Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year and spend time learning more about Asian culture. This year we made lucky lantern candy from Kumquats that reminded me of Christmas and tasted a little like cough drops. 

 

We also read a Newbery Honor book my sister suggested: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. I love traditional Chinese folk tales and this book features some I've heard before and some new ones as the main character, a little girl named Minli, travels far from home to try to change her family's fortune. My children and I have enjoyed the adventure and the thoughtfulness of this book as the characters struggle to decide what is truly important to them. It's been a great kick-off to the new year.

 

I've also been reading one of the very few Non-fiction Newbery award winners. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman, a former Associated Press reporter. He uses strong research and accessible language to draw readers into history. His use of primary source historic pictures helps too. I love seeing pictures of President Lincoln growing out his beard and standing in front of his Illinois home with one of his sons. I've also loved the review of the political atmosphere surrounding Abraham Lincoln's election and some of the many issues that lead up to the Civil War.

Happy President's Day! I hope you enjoy these books no matter what time of year you get to read them.

What Makes a Book an Award Winner???

The past few months I've had a lot of extra time of my hands. I'm sure you have too. For many reasons, I decided this would be the year I would really work on my goal to read all the Newbery Award books. 

The Newbery Award begin in 1921 as a way to promote excellence in children's literature. 

The first book awarded was "The Story of Mankind." - a serviceable 1920's  En do-European history that reads like a grandfather telling his 11 year old grandson stories about history and ancient political systems. It's not bad, but if that was the award winner for 1922, it's clear why a little incentive for good children's books needed to happen.

But what makes a good children's book? Is it the book's appeal to children? Is it what the book may teach a child about life, the world, others? Is it the author's ability to create something new and innovative for children? After reading half of the books that have won the Newbery award, I see many different ideas emerging about what the purpose of Children's Literature is and what a good children's book should do for a child.

As I read, I'll document what I find, what books I like, and what books I don't like. And add some thoughtful discussion questions here in case you are reading with friends or as part of a group.

I want to read all 98 (and two new ones) when the award hits its 100th anniversary in 2022.

I'll also be branching out and reading from some of the many "Children's Choice" award lists established by Elementary School Librarians and Teachers in different states from 1930 to 1970.     

Please, read along with me. Find me on GoodReads.com and leave me a comment. 

 

Have you read any of the Newbery Award winners from the early 20th century (1922-1950)? What did you think?

Here are some resources for reading and finding older books:

* Your Public Library Reference Desk - If a books is not at your library, ask your librarian about ways to possibly borrow books from other libraries.

* Online Resources like OverDrive.com through your library

* Project Gutenberg free ebooks in the public domain

* Libri-Vox.org free audiobooks in the public domain 

* Check the lending policies of large city libraries near you. Some extend their online resources to state residents. If that includes you, check the library's website for instructions on how to get access.

My own little fairy tale

Dear "Secret Life" readers. I feel like it's time to tell you all that I have a second secret life, and a story to go with it.

Fanny's Dream by Caralyn and mark Buehner is the story of a young farm girl who dreams her fairy godmother will come dress her up for a ball. But when the fateful night arrives, Fanny is met in the pumpkin patch not by her FGM but by the farm boy next door who convinces her that all of her dreams will come true if she marries him and moves to the farm next door.

I'm a firm believer in fairy tales especially when the fair maidens remind me of myself. Come join my little fairy tale adventure at Our Happily Ever After.

If you like Fanny's Dream, you may also like these funny fairy tale twists:





Christmas Reading

This Christmas I have a stack of books that fortunately or unfortunately keep piling up. For Classics Book Club we are reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde  by Robert Louis Stevenson. For the fun of it I've picked up:

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Van Trapp
Chester, I Love You by Blaine M. and Brenton G. Yorgason
White Demon by Tiffany Black
and
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois

And then I was inspired as I watched the Christmas Devotional this past Sunday, and I added these three books to my list:

The Gospel of Luke
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
and The Mansion by Henry van Dyke

You may not own your own copies of these Holiday Classics yet. Perhaps you will be as thrilled as I was to find all three available for reading online. Have a Merry Merry Christmas as you read and remember that Christ and His love for us is what truly makes December so merry and bright.

This month's Classic Book Club book: Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser. It promises to be a racy one.

Last month we read The Hiding Place  by Corri Ten Boom. I love thsi book, and I have some questions for you, because I know if you have read it, you love it too. When did you first read The Hiding Place. How did it make you feel. How does Corrie Ten Boom's life change your outlook and make you want to be better? What truths does Corrie Ten Boom share that resonate with you?

 

Teaching, the best way to learn.

So, I heard once, or maybe I read it, that teaching is the best way to learn something you think you already know. Last fall I began teaching knitting classes to some friends. In the last year, the friends have created a TJed based Mom-taught school for their homeschooled children. This Fall I'm teaching 2 knitting classes. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yogurt Cream Cheese

1) I made yogurt.

2) I put it in a strainer lined with cheese clothe in my fridge for 6-8 (or maybe more) hours.

3) It didn't strain very well and was still a bit runny.

4) It tastes like yogurt.

Any suggestions?

Starting Over With Sourdough

My new cookbook has a recipe for whole wheat sourdough starter. After saying for weeks that I was going to try something out of this cookbook I decided this would be a good place for me to start.



My husband says the bread reminds him of bread in Germany. I can't deny, it does have a very "rye" type of taste . . . which got me thinking. I wonder if bakers in Germany use their own cultured yeast instead of commercial yeast.

The recipe makes 5 loaves, so after the first loaf I was a bit tired of the new taste. I'll be excited to see how the taste changes as my new start matures.

Anyone intersted in trying a loaf of whole wheat sourdough bread?

Change in Priority

I love books. But the more I read, the more I realize I'm not a book critic. I just love books. I didn't become a librarian because I love books, though. I because a librarian because I love to learn things and I couldn't think of another profession that would put me as close to the source of knowledge as this one.

With that said, I hope you'll visit often, not for book suggestions, or to see the newest, greatest things I'm reading, but rather, to see the newest greatest things I'm learning from what I've read.

I'm a pretty random reader, too. For instance: in the last few months I've read a cook book from cover to cover.

which has propelled me into many new cooking adventures and nutritional research, a few children's books



and one Russian classic that includes children in a surprising way. I hope you'll be willing to endulge me, and maybe even join a conversation or two as I talk about what I'm learning, and what projects I'm inspired to start as I read.

Looking for something to read?

I know how it is. You go to the library with your children and can't seem to find anything "new" that doesn't push the envelope a little too far. I don't personally read enought young adult books to recomend any new stories to you, but here are some suggestions that I hope will help.

* Read the classics. Classics to me are any book that is just as apealing today as it was when it came out 50+ years ago. Things like S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Lewis Carol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

* Check out what's new in the Children's Department. Lots of Children's authors write wonderful stories that are just as wonderful and engaging for teens and adults as they are for children. A few of my favorites are K.G. Going and Kate DiCamillo. And don't forget those classics again! =)

*Check out this blog  And others like it that give suggestions for books you like.