Children's Books discussion

Come join us to discuss the Medal Winner,
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (number 2 in a series)

and/or the Honor books:
Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox

Just a heads-up, this month's books might be more difficult to get. I have to read all but one digitally; only one is in paper in my libraries. I'm surprised. Were they not great books? We'll see!

Welp, now I'm glad that I read The Blue Sword. I hope the sequel is even better, given that it's the best children's book of the year (in the US, according to the Newbery committee).

I really did not find The Blue Sword to my liking so I think I will not bother with The Hero and the Crown.

I will check on the honour books on Open Library but none of them sound familiar.

Indeed. I think the committee overlooked In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson but otherwise it seems like it was a pretty mediocre year.

Well, according to this list, which is clearly incomplete as it doesn't even include all the Newberys: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor....

Maybe you can find a better list or maybe I'll try again later if I can find time.

Cheryl wrote: "Welp, now I'm glad that I read The Blue Sword. I hope the sequel is even better, given that it's the best children's book of the year (in the US, according to the Newbery committee)."

Oh! It's a prequel! And it's a bit different, too. I recommend y'all try it, anyway. I'm about 1/3 in and expect to finish it, though it does have political machinations which I despise, it also has Aerin's own experiences which are more fun.

The vocabulary is something else, though. How many of us know the word termagant? I had to look it up myself.

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson was a childhood favorite! There were only a handful of books with Asian protagonists and that was one of them. It wasn't super popular though and from what I hear, 90s kids are under the impression there were no books with Asian protagonists besides Babysitters Club.

I know the word termagant. Usually used to refer to a woman who scolds/nags/is bossy.

The ALA has a list of Newberry Medal and Honor books
https://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardssc...

QNPoohBear wrote: "The ALA has a list of Newberry Medal and Honor books
https://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardssc..."

Yes, that is the source I've been using all along.

What I'm wondering is, were there any other books that should have gotten attention from the Newbery committee in 1985? Lord's book certainly should have done so, imo.

So, I'm done with The Hero and the Crown and it's a pretty darn good read.

I love how doing an act of heroism comes with an unexpected cost. (view spoiler)[People are now afraid of her, and not only try to somehow minimize what she did at what personal cost, but cannot trust her to be a force for good... well, you'll have to see for yourself as McKinley is a deft writer and I'm not (hide spoiler)].

I appreciate, too, how many mistakes were made, and how much extra work had to be done because of them.

I recommend reading this *before* Blue Sword. It does feel like it was written first, to me, and makes that story so much more understandable, imo.

Cheryl wrote: "What I'm wondering is, were there any other books that should have gotten attention from the Newbery committee in 1985? Lord's book certainly should have done so, imo.

"

I learned to read independently in 1985 so I may have some childhood sentimental favorites published in 1984.

Back Home I didn'tlike as much as the Disney Channel movie (starring Haley Mills as the mother) but it's the only book I remember reading about what happened after the British children returned home after WWII. It deals with issues of identity, belonging and family.

The Butter Battle Book Seuss isn't considered serious literature but his books usually held a profound message.

The Fighting Ground also sounds like it was award worthy. I can't remember if I read that one. The Fighting Ground received the following accolades:[2]

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction (1985)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1986)
California Young Readers Medal Nominee for Middle School/Junior High (1988)
American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Book
Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
Library of Congress Children's Books

Childhood favorite book published in 1984: Ramona Forever. Alas it is not my favorite of the series and I don't think that one is award worthy.

#1 most HATED childhood books of 1984 In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark I have traumatic memories of the school librarian reading the stories to my class.

1984 seems like a lackluster year. 1985 was better. I have many more memories of those books on the library shelves.

Oh, yes, some interesting titles, thank you! Interesting that Fighting Ground got so many awards but not this one. Knowing Avi's work, it probably deserved the recognition.

And Butter Battle, definitely a classic, still important. If I were a librarian I'd make sure my library, if it had any Seuss, had this, and Sneetches, and Lorax.

I read The Hero and the Crown many decades ago, but don't remember much about it any more. I would like to re-read it, but I don't know if I will have a chance to this month. I am glad that I finally read the sequel, The Blue Sword, which I never got around to reading until the Newbery Club.

I am familiar with all four books this month, but never did read any of the honor titles.
I just checked my library catalog, and my library system does not own (any more) any of the Newbery Honors for this particular year. (What?!)

I take it back--apparently I read Like Jake and Me back in 2005. But I don't remember anything about it; had to read the description on Goodreads, and it didn't ring a bell.

Yes, even though I have a local library and, separately, the entire OKC system, I'll have to read two of these titles as ebooks, and the Paula Fox only is avl. to me on Open Library.

I wonder if they're controversial or something.
Or maybe they just don't appeal to kids...

But gosh, 1985 is not that long ago for a Newbery because (the implication is that) they're supposed to have some enduring value.

Cheryl wrote: "But gosh, 1985 is not that long ago for a Newbery because (the implication is that) they're supposed to have some enduring value..."

I agree. I don't think libraries should be getting rid of these older books (that are runners up for awards), even if they are not circulating as well as newer books. They should be kept for some historical value, if only in the main or central library buildings. I guess Open Library and Project Gutenberg, etc. are going to be those holding books of historical value.

Cheryl wrote: "The vocabulary is something else, though. How many of us know the word termagant? I had to look it up myself."

I have occasionally come across the word in books, but not very often. I did look it up to find out how it's pronounced.

QNPoohBear wrote: "#1 most HATED childhood books of 1984 In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories and More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark...."

The "Scary Stories" series were some of the most sought after "scary" books in our library system. That's how kids asked for them: "Where are the "scary" books?"

Beverly
Everyone ELSE loved the Scary books except me. I hate scary stories. I never read Goosebumps or any of those other creepy books kids liked. I'm still terrified of scary stories! I liked ghost stories/time slip novels and ghost legends like reports of sightings in real places but never ever scary. I tried to buy a used copy of one of the Scary books for nephew #2 but my sister said no because she reads to him at bedtime and already he's too scared to sleep on his own so please don't make it worse. He would probably pooh-pooh them as not scary enough but for me they were traumatizing.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Beverly
Everyone ELSE loved the Scary books except me. I hate scary stories. I never read Goosebumps or any of those other creepy books kids liked. I'm still terrified of scary stories! I liked gh..."

I do not really like scary stories all that much either. But actually, scary stories that are too outrageous to be believable are less traumatic for me than stories that are not only scary but feel like they could actually happen.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Beverly
Everyone ELSE loved the Scary books except me. I hate scary stories. I never read Goosebumps or any of those other creepy books kids liked. I'm still terrified of scary stories! I liked gh..."

I'm with you--I like a nice, not too scary ghost story or legend; but I do not like over-the-top horror stories or movies, especially.

Beverly wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Beverly
Everyone ELSE loved the Scary books except me. I hate scary stories. I never read Goosebumps or any of those other creepy books kids liked. I'm still terrified of scary ..."

What really bothers me is the huge amount of TV series that deal with demons and even with Lucifer, with the Devil, especially those where Lucifer is somehow supposed to be misunderstood and a hero instead of a villain.

A lot of Newbery books are traumatizing, imo, because they have bad & scary things that happened irl, or certainly could. Like Internment, war, abuse, etc.

I'm getting a ways into The Moves Make the Man and there's been foreshadowing that something pretty bad is going to happen. :sigh:

Meanwhile, I found a clue why the book isn't on (at least some) library shelves. A young 'black' boy, one our hero does not like and who is shown to be someone we adults would be concerned about, throws the n* word around all over.

Ok, I finished The Moves Make the Man a couple of days ago and just about all I can say is wow.

More poetical than most 'novels in verse' nowadays.

If one knows just a little bit about basketball, one can get more out of it than someone completely naïve, but I can't imagine anyone who's never seen any snippets of the game or who doesn't know what a backboard is, for example. Oh, and do know that you can't 'travel' (walk or run with the ball in hand rather than dribbling it). That's about it.

Mostly it's about race relations, family relationships, and coming-of-age in the South in 1961.

The N word is used a lot, almost always to signal that this is a character for whom we have no respect. The word 'coon' is used once, too, in a way that makes it clear it's an obscenity.

Don't read it too fast. I have a feeling the less than stellar reviews are from people who rushed through it.

The author is white, but his biography gives me the impression that he is a completely credible witness.

I do highly recommend this.

I checked, and our library system had a digital audiobook of Hero and the Crown. So I checked it out, started listening, and am about half way through now.

I gave Like Jake and Me four stars.

Very short, one revealing episode in the r'ship of stepson and stepfather. Well written, with all the details. Some kids might remember Jake getting almost naked, or the pears in the bottle, or the boy, Alex, doing ballet, or the boy's own dad being an entomologist... but first they'd have to get past the art work. It grew on me as the style became more relevant, but I don't think it's kid friendly, nor do I like it. And that may be why this book isn't more popular.

I finished listening to the Hero and the Crown today. There were many scenes I had not remembered from the first time I read it. I enjoyed the book very much; enjoyed the battle with the dragon (I have a poster I bought years ago depicting this battle), the battle with the evil uncle/sorcerer, and the rout of the northerners. My only problem with listening to the book, is that I can't tell how the names are spelled.

Oh I'm glad it was worth the listen!

I gave One-Eyed Cat four stars.
I honestly have no idea if young me would have appreciated it.

" Ned was at once reminded of the past. The time before his mother had become ill.... It was the time he'd been happy and hadn't known it. When he was happy now, he would remind himself he was. He would say, at this moment I'm happy."

" you must beware of people who wear their hearts on their sleeves; it's not the natural place to keep your heart--it turns rusty and thin, and it leaves you hollow inside."

Mrs. Scallop " was locked inside of her own opinions like a prisoner."

It's important to know that this takes place during the recovery from the Great Depression, on the Hudson river in rural New York. And that mother has rheumatoid arthritis, an auto-immune disease.

I read Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes today. I really loved it. Such a lovely snapshot of family life. The illustrations are magnificent.

Oh yay; I'm glad it found a fan!