Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Title: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Author: Rachel Field

Pages: 256

Genre: Historical Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Hitty is a doll made out of the best mountain ash wood in Maine in the early 1800s. You wouldn't think a doll would have so many interesting experiences to tell about, but Hitty sure does.  From being deserted on tropical islands, to the slums of India, to the steamboats of the Mississippi and back to Maine, Hitty describes all sorts of adventures.

My Review: I didn't really have high hopes for this book, but I've got to be honest that I was pleasantly surprised. The book was simply written, but fairly enjoyable.

Flora & Ulysses

Title: Flora & Ulysses

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Pages: 233

Genre: Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B+

Synopsis: While reading a comic book, Flora Belle Buckman sees her neeighbor vacuum up a squirrel.  Flora gives the squirrel CPR and the squirrel comes back to life with superhero like powers. Flora takes the squirrel home where they become the best buddies.

My Review: This was another book that we listened to on a road trip this last summer.  My kids just loved it, I thought it was a little kooky, but still enjoyable. Well worth a listen if you've got kids around to join in.

The Crossover

Title: The Crossover

Author: Kwame Alexander

Pages: 240

Genre: Poetry, Young Adult, Newbery Award

Grade: A

Synopsis: 12-year-old Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan have mad skills in basketball that they got from their father who had played professionally when he was younger.  The story is mostly told in a poetic verse and a series of poems describing Josh and Jordan's playing on the court, about their crushes and about some of the struggles that they are facing at home.

My Review: We listened to this book on a road trip this last summer and it was a hit in the car. The book is in a similar style to the musical Hamilton, where the story is told almost through a rap-like verse.  Extremely clever and well done.

Hello, Universe

Title: Hello, Universe

Author: Erin Entrada Kelly

Pages: 320

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: A

Synopsis: Chet Bullens is a bully who's prank leads to the shy boy Virgil Salinas being trapped at the bottom of a dry well with his pet guinea pig Gulliver. Virgil's friends Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, Kaori Tanaka, who is a self-proclaimed psychic, and Kaori's little sister Gen embark on a quest to try and find out what happened to Virgil when he missed his appointment with the self-proclaimed psychic.

My Review: We listened to this audiobook on one of our road trips last summer and the girls just loved it.  Every once in a while they still reference this book in random moments, which is probably one of the best recommendations that can be made.

A Wrinkle in Time

Title: A Wrinkle in Time

Author: Madeleine L'Engle

Pages: 211

Genre: Fantasy, Newbery Award

Grade: B

Synopsis: The unique young boy Charles Wallace and his older sister Meg are surprised by the arrival of some strange visitors on a stormy night.  Their father had been missing for years when researching alternate dimensions and tessaracts. When Meg, Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin have an opportunity to help locate Meg & Charles' father, they jump at the chance.

My Review: I'm certain that I read this book when I was younger, although I do not remember it.  I can handle and enjoy some science fiction, but this book was too strange for me.  Tesseracts and time travel, ok. Pulsing brains and talking and shape changing stars must be a bit too far (although, I did enjoy Dune and that was also a strange one). Ada likes the book and wants to read more in the series.  I'll go ahead and pass.

Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon

Title: Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon

Author: Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Pages: 192

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B

Synopsis: In India, many of the young boys grow up training pigeons that they grow to love and recognize.  It wasn't uncommon for boys to have flocks of 40 or more pigeons that they train to always return home and carry messages.  Gay-Neck was an especially capable and fearless pigeon that was taken to help the British fight World War I.

My Review: This book was far better then I expected when I judged the book by its cover.  It was awarded the 1928 Newbery Medal.  It is interesting to me how many of the early Newbery Medal winners were books about animals (see: Smoky the Cowhorse and The Voyages of Dr Dolittle).  If you want to learn about carrier pigeons then this is the book for you!

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Title: Island of the Blue Dolphins

Author: Scott O'Dell

Pages: 184

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Karana was a young woman when her people decided to leave the island of their home.  She got left behind and for years and years she waited, watching for a ship that would take her to her people. This is the story of how she lived and fought her enemies, the wild dogs.

My Review: Amazingly, this book is based on the true story of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, which is an island just off the coast of California and south of the Channel Islands.  I vaguely remember reading this book when I was younger.  It was great to read it again.

The Graveyard Book

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Pages: 312

Genre: Fantasy, Newbery Award

Grade: A-

Synopsis: Nobody Owens (who goes by Bod) has grown up in a graveyard.  After his family is killed when he is an infant he is raised by a guardian, who is neither living or dead, and by the ghosts in the graveyard. In the graveyard Bod is protected, but if he leaves the graveyard he will come under attack from the Man Jack.

My Review: It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it.  It's a book geared toward a younger crowd, hence the well-deserved Newbery Award.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Title: The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Author: Elizabeth George Speare

Pages: 6 discs

Genre: Historical Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B+

Synopsis: The book is set in the late 1600's.  Kit Tyler had been growing up in Barbados when her grandfather passed away, leaving her an orphan.  She elects to hop on a ship to go stay with her only remaining family in the Connecticut colony, where Puritan ideals and witch hunts are still a part of their lives.

My Review: I find books about the Puritans very frustrating.  The snobbery and judgmentalness (is that a word?) that they show just grates on me and makes me mad.  Kit Tyler, however, is a perfect heroine and example of love, compassion, kindness and acceptance that even today should be emulated. I listened to this book with Ada while driving to the Southern Utah ski resorts and she tells me that she liked everything about it.

Smoky the Cowhorse

Title: Smoky the Cowhorse

Author: Will James

Pages: 310

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Medal

Grade: B+

Synopsis: This is the biography of a great horse that was born free and then tamed by man and enlisted as a cowhorse for many years, before finding a second and third career as well.  Smoky is a very smart horse and is always analyzing his surroundings before making decisions.

My Review: This book took a little bit of effort to get into it, but then I really enjoyed it which surprised me.  I'm typically not all that interested in animal books, but this one is well done.

Holes

Title: Holes

Author: Louis Sachar

Pages: 233

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Medal

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Stanley Yelnats and his father and his grandfather have always been cursed with very bad luck, which was mainly due to Stanley's no-good dirty rotten pig stealing great great grandfather. However, Stanley and his dad have always felt like their luck was on the brink of changing. That is until Stanley is sent to a juvenile detention center on an old lakebed, where everyday the campers are forced to dig holes.  One hole per person, 5 feet in diameter, 5 feet deep.

My Review: I'm surprised that I've never reviewed this book on here before.  I've like it for years.  It's not earth-shattering or anything, but it's quite enjoyable and the story has always seemed to be pretty clever.

Shen of the Sea

Title: Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children

Author: Arthur Bowie Chrisman

Pages: 221

Genre: Children's Fiction, Short Stories

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book is a collection of Chinese stories (not authentic, but written by an American in the "Chinese style") that won the Newbery Medal in 1926.  The stories are witty and clever and explain how many things that are used in China today actually came to be, including gun powder, kites, printing chopsticks, tea and fine china.

My Review: Honestly, I've been fairly disappointed with the Newbery Medal winners from the 1920's so far.  The stories in the book were enjoyable, but were fairly simplistic and was more of a chore to read than something I was truly interested in.

Tales From Sliver Lands

Title: Tales From Silver Lands

Author: Charles J. Finger

Pages: 225

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award, Short Stories, Fairy Tales

Grade: B

Synopsis: This book is a collection of 19 tales that the author collected and compiled from Central and South America.  Many of the fairy tales are similar to fairy tales that we're familiar with, while others are more unique.

My Review: I was a little nervous for this book, but it exceeded my expectations (or rather, my judging the book by it's cover).  First off, I couldn't find the book at any of the libraries close to my house, so I requested it through an interlibrary loan and it ended up coming from BYU's library (an book from the original 1924 printing, no less).  Secondly, the book does not have very many reviews on goodreads (at least for being a Newbery Award winner) and most of the reviews were fairly critical.  I didn't love the book, but it was an easy read, most of the stories were only 10-15 pages long and they weren't all that bad.

The Dark Frigate

Title: The Dark Frigate

Author: Charles Boardman Hawes

Pages: 246

Genre: Historical Fiction, Newbery Medal

Grade: C

Synopsis: A terrible accident in a pub forces young Philip Marsham to run away afraid for his life. More than anything he wants to be on the sea, and ends up signing on with the Rose of Devon, a dark frigate sailing for Newfoundland. After a terrible storm, the Rose of Devon is "Captured by a band of murderous pirates!" as the cover suggests.

My Review: A few things stood out to me about this book. It is an early Newbery Award Medal winner, but I have a hard time believing that children in the 1920's were able to understand this book. It is written in seventeenth century sailor's English and the book was quite difficult for me to understand, which made it a challenge for me to make it through. Of the Newbery Award winners that I've read so far, this one is at the bottom.

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Title: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

Author: Hugh Lofting

Pages: 270

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B

Synopsis: In this second book about the life and travels of Doctor Dolittle, young Tommy Stubbins joins him on his voyage that takes him to Spidermonkey Island after a perilous shipwreck. Doctor Dolittle becomes friends with the natives on the island, before escaping back to home in the Mysterious Great Glass Sea Snail.

My Review: This Doctor Dolittle book was not much better than the first, and it also won a Newbery medal! I can't help but think the available candidates for the medal in these early years must have been fairly weak... Once again, it's a kids book, a little ridiculous and very outdated (i.e. racist by today's standards).  The book was published in 1922.

The Story of Mankind

Title: The Story of Mankind

Author: Hendrik Willem van Loon

Pages: 579

Genre: Non-fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B-

Synopsis: This book was awarded the first Newbery Medal in 1922.  It covers world history from the very first men on the earth to our present day (even though the book was written over 90 years ago, it has been updated to include WWII, sputnik and other more recent developments in world history).  The book was written within the paradigm of the early 20th century, so much has changed since then in how we understand the world and human history.  Loon's writing style is very light-hearted and easy to read and the book includes numerous original pen illustrations for many of the topics discussed.  If it were more current, it would be a good world history primer for an early Jr. High student, but at this point, we know far more about our past than is included in this book.

My Review: I enjoyed parts of this book and I learned quite a bit (especially about European history in the dark and middle ages), but overall it was a struggle to get through.  It doesn't really compare to any of the other Newbery Medal books that I've read in the past because it is so different from all of them.  Trim it down from nearly 600 pages and make it more current and it could turn out to be a classic.

The Twenty-One Balloons

Title: The Twenty-One Balloons

Author: William Pene du Bois

Pages: 180

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B+

Synopsis: Professor William Waterman Sherman turns up in the Atlantic Ocean 21 days after leaving San Francisco in a hot air balloon. He had planned on spending a relaxing year floating over the Pacific Ocean, removed from civilization and enjoying the solitude. Instead, the world clamored to hear how he had traveled across the globe in such a short time. He refused to divulge the secrets of his journeys to anybody but the Western American Explorer's Club in San Francisco.

My Review: I loved this book when I was younger and I enjoyed reading it again. It is easy to read and enjoy and definitely a children's book. Much of the book is hardly believable, but it is the type of story that is easy to daydream along to.

Onion John

Title: Onion John

Author: Joseph Krumgold

Pages: 248

Genre: Children's Fiction, Newbery Award

Grade: B

Synopsis: Andy Rusch is a boy happily growing up in the small town of Serenity, New Jersey. While playing in a championship baseball game, he strikes up a conversation with Onion John as he looks for things to salvage in the town's landfill. Andy and Onion John become friends as Andy becomes the only one who can understand Onion John. After Andy introduces Onion John to his father, his father takes it upon himself to have the Rotary Club build Onion John a new house, because the one the Onion John currently lives in is lacking many of the modern conveniences.

My Review: I expected more from this book than it provided. The story took a while to get into and seemed to move along pretty slowly for most of the book. One of the main theme's of the book is that the father was trying to live vicariously through his son Andy and was making decisions for him (and Onion John) based on what he wanted and not what they wanted. I have a goal to eventually read all Newbery Medal books. By my count, I have read 19 of the 87 Newbery Winners.

The Westing Game

Title: The Westing Game

Author: Ellen Raskin

Pages: 185

Genre: Mystery, Newbery Award

Grade: B

Synopsis: Mr. Westing is a rich hermit that gathers 16 supposed heirs for the reading of his will. He pits them all against each other in a game of wits and suspicion to figure out which of the heirs killed Mr. Westing. Only one of them can win the game. All of the heirs live or work in Sunset Towers, an apartment complex with a view of the old Westing mansion. Between bombs and deceit, the heirs are trying to unravel the clues given by Mr. Westing.

My Review: I fully planned on reading this book for a second time when I was 75% of the way through because I had a hard time following the comings and goings of all 16 heirs (and keeping track of them as well). Luckily, the book easily wraps up all loose ends and really came together in the end. I didn't enjoy the book as much as I expected I would - simply for the reasons mentioned earlier, that I had a hard time following everything. Otherwise, a good, solid mystery.