Newbery Congratulations

For a number of years in a row now, I have watched the ALA Youth Media Awards live online. In the last few years, when that final screen has been displayed with the cover of the committee's choice for the Newbery Medal, a feeling of "meh" usually comes over me. It's either been the cover of a book I had never even heard of (MOON OVER MANIFEST), or the cover of a book I had read and didn't think much of (THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN), or the cover of a book that I almost read but didn't quite get to (THE CROSSOVER), or the cover of a book that made me scratch my head because a book of its type rarely, if ever, wins the Newbery (LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET). This morning, finally finally finally, a cover flashed across the screen that I had not only read, but loved and fully supported...

THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON by Kelly Barnhill.

First, I was shocked. I was stunned. This book is straight up epic, magical fantasy, with a swamp (bog) monster and a mini dragon and witches and babies left for dead in a dark and mysterious forest. Fantasy is a genre that does not typically fair well in the Newbery but a genre that is a favorite of mine. Second, I was ecstatic because I had actually read it and loved it! Recently, where the Newbery Medal was concerned, this had not always been the case. And finally, I was elated. For Kelly Barnhill, who seems like a genuinely great person and is from Minnesota (my neighbor to the North). 

In fact, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I had read, and could fully endorse all of the books the Newbery Committee awarded. Along with Barnhill's novel, the committee gave Honors to FREEDOM OVER ME by Ashley Bryan, THE INQUISITOR'S TALE by Adam Gidwitz, and WOLF HOLLOW by Lauren Wolk. All three are fantastic!

What a morning!

A few other personal highlights from this morning were all the great Sibert picks (as I've recently taken an interest in nonfiction books for children), THEY ALL SAW A CAT by Brendan Wenzel winning a Caldecott Honor, and WE ARE GROWING winning the Geisel Award (one of my daughter Charly's current favorite read aloud titles)!

But back to the showstopper... I have read two of Barnhill's other titles, THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK and THE WITCH'S BOY. She's been an author I've kept my eye on and been interested in. While reading THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON, I couldn't help but smile at random times throughout because I just had this feeling that I was reading something special. A work by an author who was coming into her own. A work by an author who had found her voice and knew she was creating something magical and rare. THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON was different from Barnhill's previous novels. It truly felt like this was the story she was meant to write. It felt as if all of her previous work was her playing around and tinkering with ideas, leading to the moment she would create her masterpiece. 

A little dramatic of me, maybe. But THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON is a dramatic book! Congrats to Kelly Barnhill and all the other authors receiving accolades this morning. 

Ghost

It's been Jason Reynolds' year. I'm not sure there is a more popular name right now in children's literature. Reynolds came onto the scene a few years ago with a few killer YA titles (WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST, THE BOY IN THE BLACK SUIT, ALL AMERICAN BOYS) and garnered a lot of attention winning numerous literary awards. This year he released two middle grade fiction titles, AS BRAVE AS YOU and GHOST, and you will find both of them on most "Best of 2016" lists. AS BRAVE AS YOU is drawing comparisons to Christopher Paul Curtis's work (WATSON'S GO TO BIRMINGHAM primarily) and Reynolds' voice in GHOST is certainly similar, if not more edgy, electric, and raw. GHOST is the first title in a series Reynolds has planned, about a cast of characters on a middle school track team.

Castle Cranshaw cannot quite seem to get out of his own way. Ever since he and his mom left his father three years ago, it has been altercation after altercation in school. But after stumbling upon a group of kids his age practicing track, and impressing their coach, he is offered a spot on the team. Can Castle make the most of this opportunity and stay altercation-free in and out of school? 

There was a lot about GHOST that I liked. I liked that Reynolds has chosen to shine a spotlight on track. So often writers of children's sports literature choose to write stories about baseball, basketball, or football, to appeal to a wide range of kids. It was refreshing to see this sport featured in such a popular book. It should definitely fill a particular niche on library and classroom shelves.

I also enjoyed Castle's relationships with the various adults in the story. Castle loves his mother and understands her so well. He's realistically sympathetic to the hard work she puts into managing their life. He wants to protect her from his bad choices at school but is too impulsive to stop making bad choices. I liked his relationship with Mr. Charles, a grocery store owner too. Mr. Charles provided Castle and his mother with a place to hide from his father three years prior and Castle's obsession with sunflower seeds brings him back to Mr. Charles each day. But it's not really the sunflower seeds he's after. It's Mr. Charles's grandfatherly wisdom and friendship. Castle's relationship with Coach is the most powerful one in the story. For the first time in his life, someone besides his mother has taken an interest in making Castle's life meaningful. This resonates with Castle and he strives to impress Coach at every turn. 

Finally, I liked that Reynolds kept his story under 200 pages. That seems to be a rarity anymore in children's literature. Heck, Reynolds' other middle grade novel this year, AS BRAVE AS YOU is a whopper, coming in at 432 pages (hardcover edition). The plotting of GHOST is tightly structured and Castle narrates at a quick pace. Like the track topic, this was refreshing.

There are some things that frustrated me, however. Castle became a character I had a difficult time rooting for. There are moments where Castle is too smug and arrogant for his own good. I believe this was intentional on Reynolds' part, to show his insecurities, but I held back my empathy for him because of the voice. I also was a bit frustrated that things work out perfectly for Castle by the end of the story, given the mistakes he's made. I don't like the message this sends child readers. There is a moment near the story's climax where I applauded Coach's tough love. But a few flips of the page and it was all for nothing. All is forgiven, and even paid for! 

I was also bothered that Coach doesn't outfit Castle with the proper track gear after recruiting him. Having coached before, this seemed highly unlikely to me. After a few practices of Castle wearing jeans and worn out tennis shoes, it felt contrived (especially given Castle's horrendous decision later on) that Coach not offer Castle some proper practice gear. A man like Coach should be able to scrounge up a few t-shirts, or pairs of shorts, or old shoes. 

While Reynolds' talent is undeniable, personally, for me, GHOST didn't quite live up to the hype it has generated. It's still a good book and it should appeal to kids though. It's short and readable. It has a hopeful plot. Castle sounds like a real, contemporary kid and his first person narrative is definitely something fresh. And it's about track, a sport they don't read about every day. 

100 Word Reviews

In an effort to be less wordy (windy), I challenged myself to write about a few books I had recently read in 100 words or less. It took a little bit of effort and tinkering, but I was able to contain each to exactly 100 words!

Each of these three novels were fantastic, by the way!

MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY
By: John David Anderson

MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY follows 3 boys, Topher, Steve, and Brand as they skip school on a mission to find their sick teacher and make her day as memorable as possible. Their teacher Ms. Bixby, is "one of the good ones" and has cancer. She is meaningful to each of the boys in ways that are revealed throughout the story. The first person point of view alternates between the boys each chapter and each is given their own distinctly genuine voice. The chapters tend to read long, but the boys' narratives are engaging. An epic story of friendship and loss. (100 words)

UNBOUND
By: Ann E. Burg

UNBOUND is a powerful novel told in verse poetry. Because of her lighter skin and blue eyes, Grace is chosen to work in "The Big House" for her Master, leaving behind her slave family who work in the fields. Grace's tongue gets the best of her and the Missus puts forth a plan to split up Grace's family, selling them at auction. Grace and her family run for freedom in the Great Dismal Swamp. Grace's voice is beautiful while feeling raw and authentic. The unknown future of some supporting characters are my only selfish frustration. A sad, but uplifting story. (100 words)

GERTIE'S LEAP TO GREATNESS
By: Kate Beasley

GERTIE'S LEAP TO GREATNESS follows 5th grader Gertie Foy, who is on a mission to prove her importance to the mother who walked out on her father and her. She is determined to become the best 5th grader in her class but new girl Mary Sue Spivey keeps getting in her way, ruining her mission. Debut author Kate Beasley does a great job of taking a pretty tried and true coming-of-age story and injecting it with some wit and spunk. The unique third person narrative reads as if being told by a slightly more mature Junie B. Jones. (100 words)

Wolf Hollow

There is no shortage of books about bullying out there today. Publishers know this is a relevant topic across the country and it seems that multiple strong works of fiction are released each and every year on the issue. Often times, an author will approach the subject by creating empathy for a character who is being bullied. Usually, the bully learns some acceptance along the way. Sometimes even, an author will attempt to create empathy for the bully, by showing where their behavior stems from.  

WOLF HOLLOW is definitely a book about bullying, but it is different than your typical bullying book in a number of ways. For one, the bully in this book is evil to her core. There is no sympathy to be had for Betty. Zero. She is pure evil. Also, the victim in this book doesn’t ever put up with the bullying. She doesn’t learn how to stand up for herself.  Annabelle is fighting back from the first moment we’re introduced to her. The lessons Annabelle learns in this story are not just about bullying. And finally, another way this book is different from other bullying books out there, is that it is set in rural Pennsylvania, in 1943. Many bully books are set in modern day, so they can speak to today’s students.

A synopsis: 11-year-old Annabelle’s life is pretty normal in rural Pennsylvania. She works hard to help out on her family farm and watches over her two younger brothers on their trek to school each day. Her life is simple. Until Betty moves to town. Betty is immediately cruel to Annabelle, bullying her out of sight of adults on their way to and from school. Betty’s threats (and later, her actions) prove her to be dangerous and Annabelle begins fearing for her safety. Until she discovers that she has a bodyguard. Toby, a misunderstood, reclusive World War I vet and family friend, is watching from the shadows, protecting Annabelle. However, Annabelle's world is rocked when Betty suddenly goes missing and Toby is suspected of foul play.

You would be hard pressed to find a better written book this year than WOLF HOLLOW. From the structure of the story, to the foreshadowing throughout, down to the individual sentence, Wolk's writing is beautifully descriptive. My first reaction upon finishing it however, was that it was a book written for adults that featured a child narrator. I wasn't shocked when I read up on author Lauren Wolk and learned that she began the story as a novel for adults but changed her mind about its audience later on. I loved the book. I was enthralled by the story. But I couldn't help but wonder if kids would get it. Since then, a 5th grade boy in my class read it as part of a book club at our local public library. He loved it. I saw a 6th grade girl walking down our hallway the other day holding a copy of WOLF HOLLOW in her hands. I called to her, "Isn't that book awesome?!? Isn't Betty just pure evil?!?" The girl's face lit up and she talked a blue streak about the book for 10 minutes! This first hand experience tells me that I needn't be concerned about WOLF HOLLOW's kid appeal!

What had me worried was Wolk's voice. Annabelle is a mature 11-year-old girl. She is responsible and wise beyond her years. There is an edge of maturity in not just her dialogue with other characters but in the way she narrates scenes and shares her thinking. Wolk really trusts her child readers to connect to Annabelle and in the end, I suppose this is easy because like most kids, Annabelle is not perfect. She makes decisions that she probably shouldn't. She reacts from her gut and from her heart and gets herself into trouble. She lies. She hides truths. But she also has compassion. Despite all of Betty's viciousness toward her, Annabelle is compelled to help her in the end. I found myself looking out for Annabelle in a fatherly way as the book reached its climax and resolution. I wanted nothing more than for her life to return to some normalcy.

Another thing that worried me about a child audience was the violence. WOLF HOLLOW isn't necessarily a violent book, but there are times it reminded me of a Martin Scorsese movie. A chapter would be going along, I would get the feeling that Betty would do something bad, and then BAM! Out of the blue, something very, very violent would occur and make me cringe. The violence comes and goes but it is the result of these violent moments that is sad and stays with you. Even for a character as mature as Annabelle, there is a loss of innocence in a few of these violent moments that is heartbreaking. Lives are changed forever because of this evil, evil girl. I wasn't sure if kids could handle this, but in talking with a few, I think they can. I think they need to.

Betty ranks right up there with Hannibal Lecter, Hans Gruber, the Joker, and Lord Voldemort. She is that sadistically bad to the bone. But to say that she gets what is coming to her would still be insensitive of me. The ending of this story is dark and sad. Sorry for the spoiler. There is no happy ending here. Not really. Life will go on for these characters, but not without some deep, deep scars.

I can't say enough about WOLF HOLLOW. The plot is nerve-wracking, the setting is vividly described, and the characters are all richly drawn, even the supporting characters like Annabelle's aunt Lily and Betty's boyfriend Andy. The layered story pulls you in and the beauty of Wolk's writing leaves you in awe.

Booked

Sports books for kids are a tough sell. Typically, the ideal audience for a sports book is a boy who likes sports and in my experience, boys who like sports are often reluctant readers. In other words, the ideal audience for children’s sports books, are boys who would rather be out playing sports than reading about kids playing sports! The sports genre bookshelf in my classroom is widely untouched as boys who enjoy reading tend to choose fantasy books and nonfiction books. Dan Gutman’s Baseball Card Adventure books are read, while Mike Lupica is not. When Kwame Alexander’s THE CROSSOVER won the Newbery Medal a few years ago, I tried selling kids on it and found that it had some appeal. The verse style of narrative makes for a quick read and boys who read it felt they were reading something sporty and distinguished at the same time. It lifted them up as readers. Can the same be said for Kwame Alexander’s follow-up, BOOKED?

Nick is 12 years old and loves soccer. Nick’s father is a wordsmith, college professor and Nick’s mother does not work but was once a promising race horse trainer. Nick and his best friend Coby are friendly soccer rivals and are excited about playing for the prestigious Dallas Cup, albeit against each other. Nick has a serious crush on April, who he attends ballroom dancing lessons with (on the behest of his mother), but the bullish twins Dean and Don keep getting in between the couple. Amidst all of this, Nick’s attempt to keep his sanity when his parents announce they are separating, is challenged greatly.

The problem with marketing BOOKED as a sports book or a soccer book, is that it is not really about sports or soccer. I would describe BOOKED as a middle grade coming-of-age story about a boy who happens to like soccer. The book has a lot going on, arguably too much. It’s deeper than most sports books tend to be and it includes very little actual soccer playing. The soccer scenes are few, fast, and fleeting. I think Nick would love to devote more time to playing soccer or thinking about soccer, but he has so much else going on in his life with his parents impending separation, his anxiety around April, his competitiveness with Coby, and putting up with the bullying behavior of the twins Dean and Don. Soccer is tossed in for good measure but it’s one of many things going on in this book.

So BOOKED is not really a sports book. That’s fine. I don’t want to complain about what the book isn’t. It has a lot to say about friendship and family. I like Nick’s relationship with Coby. Their friendship feels genuine to me as does their competitive rivalry. They seem like realistic kids. I also appreciated Nick’s shy nature toward April. In fact, this brought back middle school memories!

Verse novels are hard to read when the voice does not feel authentic, but this is not the case with BOOKED. Nick seems like the kind of kid that I could imagine thinking thoughts in verse. Because of his father’s linguistic background, Nick is a wordsmith himself, as his teachers discover. There’s depth to him. Depth that pours out in the slam poetry style narrative. It seems that Kwame Alexander has found his niche with this style of writing.

My praise ends there though. My main problem with BOOKED is that the story underneath the brilliant verse poetry, is rather boring. Nick is not all that compelling of a character and his supporting cast is rather thinly drawn. Kids with separated parents may be able to relate to some of the inner thinking Nick works through but all of the other problems Nick faces are very normal, boring middle school problems. He likes April but doesn’t know how to act confident around her. The twins pick on him but they are obviously just jerks. Nick isn’t mistreated by anyone else. Everything about Nick and his story is pretty ho-hum. Kwame Alexander attempts to raise the stakes at different times throughout the story but these attempts seem unnatural.

Kwame Alexander's voice is so different than anything else that is out there for kids right now. The man has talent. While I wasn't personally compelled by BOOKED, I admire and appreciate the style. I'm intrigued to read THE CROSSOVER now and see if the hype for BOOKED was well-deserved!

Heavy Medal Shortlist

This morning, Heavy Medal released their Mock Newbery shortlist. The list is:

1. FULL OF BEANS by Jenni Holm
2. GHOST by Jason Reynolds
3. JUANA & LUCAS by Juana Medina
4. PAX by Sara Pennypacker
5. SAMURAI RISING by Pamela Turner
6. SOME WRITER: THE STORY OF E.B. WHITE by Melissa Sweet
7. WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES by Julie Fogliano
8. WHEN THE SEA TURNED TO SILVER by Grace Lin
9. WOLF HOLLOW by Lauren Wolk

I have read four of these titles (FULL OF BEANS, PAX, WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES, and WOLF HOLLOW). PAX remains my personal favorite but WOLF HOLLOW contains the best writing. I am still blown away by the poetry in WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES and find myself cheering that title on.

These Mock Newbery groups are great because you can really get a sense for how difficult it is to build consensus around a title. For that reason, I am betting that PAX falls. Its early hype has simmered and the discussion around it on Heavy Medal was surprisingly divisive. The initial conversation around SAMURAI RISING proved to illicit divisive feelings as well. Age appropriateness seemed to be an issue with WOLF HOLLOW

GHOST seems to be gaining hype among kidlit types online and everyone seems to love WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES. As a Jenni Holm fan, I'm excited for the conversation to begin on FULL OF BEANS because my initial instinct was that it was okay. Grace Lin always seems to have a fan base and I've read some positive thoughts about Melissa Sweet's E.B. White book. I haven't heard much about JUANA & LUCAS.

I would have loved to see Adam Gidwitz's THE INQUISITOR'S TALE or Kelly Barnhill's THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON make the list, but Jonathan noted that their long length makes it a challenge to include them on a list of this nature. 

For now, my money is on GHOST or WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES. 

When Green Becomes Tomatoes

Poetry and the Newbery Medal. Hmm… The two typically do not go hand in hand. Get a load of these stats:

The first Newbery Medal was awarded in 1922. That means there have been 95 Newbery Medal winning books. Most, but not all, years award Honors to runner-up books and these vary in amount. In total, 309 books have received a Newbery Honor since 1922. In total, that is 404 children’s books that sport either a gold or silver Medal.

How many of those were poetry books, would you assume?

Five.

That’s right. Five. Twice, a book of poetry has won the Newbery Medal, A VISIT TO WILLIAM BLAKE’S INN in 1982 and JOYFUL NOISE in 1989. Three times, a book of poetry has been awarded an Honor, ANAPO in 1978, THE SURRENDER TREE in 2009, and DARK EMPEROR in 2011. Five times in 404 opportunities. That is a rate of 1% of the time! Disclaimer: I did not include books like INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, which is a novel written in verse. I was simply looking for books of poetry.

The Newbery Medal is awarded to the “most distinguished contribution to children’s literature.” Maybe it’s the term “literature” that steers the committee away from poetry. Nonetheless, based on the history (if my research is accurate), it would appear that poetry has to be truly exceptional to stand out in a field of strong fiction work each year to rise to the top and win a Newbery Medal.

Well, WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES by Julie Fogliano is truly exceptional.

The book starts in the spring:

March 20

From a snow-covered tree

One bird singing

Each tweet poking

A tiny hole

Through the edge of winter

And landing carefully

Balancing gently

On the tip of spring

Each poem advances the reader further through each season, from Spring, to Summer, to Fall, to Winter, and ending with the same March 20 poem in Spring bringing closure to the year. The poems vary in length and style. Each poem is perfectly paired with a beautiful illustration by Julie Morstad.

June 10 (“I don’t know much about flowers”), July 10 (“When green becomes tomatoes”), and October 31 (“Pumpkin sprout”) are personal favorites but too long to reprint here. Go check the book out and read them! But to give more of a taste of the quality, rhythm and style, here are a few shorter favorites from the book:

August 3

If you want to be sure

That you are nothing more than small

Stand at the edge of the ocean

Looking out

January 30

It is the best kind of day

When it is snowing

And the house

Sounds like slippers

And sipping

And there is nowhere to go

But the kitchen

For a cookie

I've never really understood poetry, the same way I've never really understood fine wine. I've never had the palate for it, no matter how hard I try to get into it. But occasionally, I'll taste a wine that I don't need a sophisticated palate to understand how good it is. It's just good. The same can be said for WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES. It's not hard to see how brilliant these poems are, and how perfect the collection is as a whole. You don't have to be familiar with, or understand poetry, to appreciate this collection. I read it once through and sat back and marveled at it. Then I shared it with my wife and kids and bragged it up to my mom and my coworkers. It's that good.

I am a reader of fiction. Poetry is outside of my comfort zone. WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES is so good though, that any reader will be able to recognize its distinguished qualities. I'm certain that the Newbery Medal committee members will as well.

Diverse Picture Books

Last year when LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET won the Newbery Medal, I was a bit skeptical. Out of all the incredible novels and works of nonfiction that are released within a given year, how was it that the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children" was a book of no more than 32 pages with pictures supporting most of its text? Then I read it, and found some respect for the committee that chose it. It's text is sparse, but fantastic. While I still would personally rather see a longer novel or work of nonfiction win the Newbery Medal, LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET opened my eyes up to the text within picture books. I picked up the following books at my public library for a change of pace...

FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE tells the story of slaves in New Orleans and the unique French law that allowed them a free day from work, on Sunday. Slaves would gather together in many locations until 1817 when a city law designated one location for slaves to gather: Congo Square. It was here, where slaves sang and danced, socialized, and bought and sold goods and produce. Congo Square, at the time, truly was "freedom's heart."

"Mondays, there were hogs to slop, mules to train, and logs to chop. Slavery was no ways fair. Six more days to Congo Square." The story is told as a poem, just a few lines to a page, each day as strenuous as the one before but one day closer to freedom in Congo Square. The poetry is beautifully descriptive and its cadence is perfect. Each word, each line is carefully crafted. The illustrations are colorful and pair perfectly with each couplet. The glossary at the back of the book highlights 11 words from the text, a nice attempt to build vocabulary. The book is surprisingly celebratory and hopeful, considering its subject matter.

FREEDOM OVER ME is a difficult book to digest. The book centers around an appraisal completed for a Mrs. Fairchilds. Mrs. Fairchilds' husband passed away and concerned with stories of runaway and revolting slaves, she decided to have her slaves appraised with her estate so she could move back to England. Author Ashley Bryan tells the story of Mrs. Fairchilds eleven slaves, detailing what their lives in the Fairchilds' estate are like and what their dreams are from Africa.

"In recognizing our skills and labor, how can owners say we are property, priced and valued like cotton, cattle, hogs?" Each slave gets two pages of verse poetry and beautiful accompanying illustrations. One page details their responsibilities in the Big House, the other page shares their hopes and dreams. The verse poetry is more straightforward here, not as rhythmic as the poetry in CONGO SQUARE. The format however, is emotionally effective. Your heart aches for these people, who had their freedom, families, and cultures ripped away from them. An actual appraisal scan makes up the last page, further confounding how we ever as a race felt it was okay to buy and sell humans like crops and cattle.

JAZZ DAY is one cool book, honoring one cool group of musicians! It tells the story behind creating a famous 1958 Esquire magazine photo, titled Harlem 1958. Art Kane is the photographer who attempted to gather as many jazz musicians as possible in front of a New York brownstone to photograph as a group. Each page is its own separate poem (with a title) honoring a jazz artist or memory from that day. I particularly liked the poems about the neighborhood boys (Scuffle) getting into trouble throughout the 4-5 hour shoot. Together, the separate poems tell the crazy, joyous story of gathering together for that photograph.

Incorporating the real photograph was clever and I appreciated the profiles in the back of the book that provide information on each of the musicians highlighted throughout the story. The poetry threw me a bit. It was a bit disjointed, sometimes verse, sometimes free form, and I'm not sure kids (who aren't jazz fans) will be able to take away much meaning. I admire the project though and the illustrations are awesome.

FREEDOM IN CONGO SQUARE is probably my favorite of this group, but I liked all of them. CONGO SQUARE reminds me of LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET the most, in the powerful simplicity of its poetry and its celebratory tone. FREEDOM OVER ME and JAZZ DAY both exceed in creativity however and would both surely broaden the minds of young readers who happen to pick them up.

Raymie Nightingale

Raymie Clarke’s father left town with a dental hygienist. Raymie is sure that if she wins Little Miss Central Florida Tire, her father will come home to her and her mother. In order to win Little Miss Central Florida Tire though, Raymie needs to learn how to twirl a baton and its at her baton twirling lessons where Raymie meets two other girls hoping to win Little Miss Central Florida Tire: whimsical Louisiana Elefante and saboteur Beverly Tapinski. Over the course of the summer, the three girls bond over the sadness in each of their lives.

In my opinion, the best way to talk about RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE is to pretend that Kate DiCamillo didn’t write it. That way, bias can be set aside. DiCamillo has a well-earned following. THE TIGER RISING and BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE are widely studied in elementary classrooms across the country. She has multiple Newbery Medals and Honors to her name. She’s a talented wordsmith and storyteller. But does that mean RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE is any good?

When you discover that you are not the ideal reader for a book, it seems a little unfair to continue reading it with a critical eye. DiCamillo’s fans will undoubtedly adore this book. I can’t say that I did. Maybe it’s because I keep trying to imagine Raymie, Louisiana, and Beverly in my 5th grade classroom. I can’t imagine them fitting in socially with many other kids. This is why they are drawn to each other. They are equally quirky and desperate. Sure, the friendship they form is sweet, but it’s also clunky and convenient. Their lives are filled with sadness and the resolution of the story brings no real closure to their glum situations. They call themselves the “Three Rancheros,” but I’m not sure if they actually like each other, or if they are just forced to because they have no one else.

This was probably DiCamillo’s point, and if the plot of this story would not have been so thin I could have forgiven the similarly drawn characters, but events transpire for the sake of the story and not in a genuine fashion. I found myself caring for the characters only because they were drawn so sad and not because of their development or depth.

There is no question that DiCamillo is one of the best, but this sad little story of convenient friendship doesn't compare to her other accomplished work.

The Wild Robot

I grew up in a small rural town in Iowa. Most of my friends and classmates were farm kids. Outdoor kids. I was not. I was content inside my house, building Legos, playing with action figures, and reading comics and watching movies. As I grew up, my love of the outdoors grew and instilling a love for the outdoors in my children through riding bikes, camping, snowshoeing, you name it, has become important to me. This is why I was drawn to THE WILD ROBOT. It felt as if it was written for me specifically. A blending of my childhood self with my adulthood self. My expectations were high.

When Rozzum Unit 7134 first boots up, she is packed tightly in a crate, washed ashore on a remote island. It doesn’t take her survival instincts, or programming, long to kick in as she notices broken crates and busted robot parts strewn about the beach. She is the lone robot survivor of a cargo ship accident and is stranded on an exotic island with no recollection of who or what she is or how she came to be. In order to survive so that she can function properly, Roz must learn how to be “wild” from the animal inhabitants of the island.  

I enjoyed THE WILD ROBOT, despite it not quite living up to my expectations. With 288 pages divided into 80 chapters (that’s roughly 3 pages per chapter), I was expecting a quick read. It was not a quick read however. I don’t know if it was the plot, or if the short chapters worked against the pacing, but the story dragged quite a bit. I enjoyed the descriptive opening chapters, as Roz was problem-solving her way around surviving the island, and I enjoyed the exciting closing chapters, as the Reco bots were closing in on capturing Roz. The middle of the story, where Roz mothers a small gosling, gave the story some heart, but this is where the pacing of the plot became drawn out and repetitive.

I have read reviews of THE WILD ROBOT that laud the deep questions Brown asks of his young readers. I had a difficult time pinpointing a coherent message though. The opening chapters stand out as Roz attempts and fails multiple times to understand her surroundings and I began to see this nature vs. machine theme take shape. But it doesn’t go anywhere. Instead, Roz discovers that her key to surviving the island is in befriending the animals that live there. The animals however, don’t behave like animals. They are very civilized and talk like goofy Disney characters. In order to survive, Roz wants to become “wild” like the animals but the animals she encounters are far from “wild.”

There are some tender moments where Roz learns to take care of a gosling and I could see a message coming through about acceptance and family, but then the final act of the book kicks into gear and violence ensues. The ending is rather unsettling and I’m not sure what Brown was going for. Is he saying it is ok to destroy someone (or something) in order to protect those we love? Pretty heavy for a children’s novel! The lack of a coherent message may result in a somewhat choppy story, but that may only bother adult readers. Kids may ask deep questions around each of these themes Brown touches on and maybe that was his point.

In the end, I did enjoy THE WILD ROBOT. I love Brown's sense of humor and I liked the black and white illustrations of Roz, looking out of place on the island. The sci-fi/adventure/survival blend is right up my alley and I can really see kids digging this book. Readers should check out Brown's blog where he details the process of creating this book and getting it published. Quite the inspiring labor of love.

Pax

PAX is the type of book I would have stayed away from as a young reader. My 4th grade teacher read WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS to my class and it almost turned me away from reading. It ruined animal books for me. My family did not have any pets and looking back, I wonder if part of the reason was because we were a sensitive bunch, and hated the thought of losing them someday. Sensitive readers, like me, will have a difficult time with PAX.

Peter rescued Pax as a kit and the two have been inseparable ever since. That is, until Peter’s father heads off to war and makes Peter release Pax back into the wild before going to live with his grandfather. Shortly after arriving at his grandfather’s house, Peter finds a photograph of his father as a boy. In the photo, his father is with a pet dog Peter never knew he had. His grandfather tells him they were “inseparable.” Filled with anger and guilt for abandoning Pax when he knew it was wrong, Peter leaves his grandfather’s house in the middle of the night and starts out on a journey to get Pax back.

PAX is a difficult book to digest because it is filled with such visceral, raw, emotion-packed scenes. Pennypacker leaves nothing to the imagination. A pair of foxes are brutally and graphically slain, right in front of the reader’s eyes. Another animal loses an appendage in a terrible way and that same appendage reappears as the story nears its conclusion. Blood scatters the landscape and a creepy fear permeates many of Peter’s scenes with Vola, an isolationist that rescues Peter after he suffers a major (and also graphic) setback on his journey. If you struggled through Kathi Appelt’s THE UNDERNEATH, which is the most recent comparable I can think of, you will struggle with many of the images in PAX.

The chapters alternate from Pax’s point of view to Peter’s point of view. Pax’s chapters are filled with wonder and confusion, as he discovers things about the wild and as he learns more about the behavior of humans. Not all humans are like his boy Peter. As the bond between he and Bristle and Runt grows stronger, the happy reunion readers may hope for becomes less likely. Pennypacker’s writing is best in these scenes with Pax. Peter’s chapters are filled with anxiety and dread as he suffers setback after setback in his journey to find Pax. Vola is a fascinating character. If Pennypacker had any interest in centering a prequel around her, I believe it would find some interested readers.

If I had one small gripe with PAX it is that Pennypacker’s themes often seem a bit heavy handed and spelled out for the reader. War is bad. Humans ruin everything. What were the humans even fighting for? What was the war about? By keeping these issues vague, Pennypacker turns them into statements instead of plot points. The political statements Pennypacker seems to be making are very overt and sometimes they held me back from enjoying the story unfolding or investing in the characters.

Perhaps a more subtle theme in the story is the loss of the family unit:

"It hadn't happened for several years, but sometimes at the end of the day, his humans would sit together on his boy's nest. The father would lay a hard box, flat and thin and made of many layers of paper, across his lap. Paper, like Pax's own bedding, but not shredded, and with many marks. His humans would peel these layers, one by one, and study them. Pax remembered that his humans were most linked together on those evenings, and with their harmony he could let down his guard."

When Peter chooses to make right his mistake of leaving Pax in the woods, he's doing more than going against his father. He is going against what his father stands for. He is realizing that sometimes, the apple does fall far from the tree. He recognizes the mistake his father made when he was a boy and vows to not make the same mistake. Which makes PAX above all, despite the heart-breaking, gut-wrenching narrative, a story of hope. Hope for a more harmonious future.