Children's Books discussion

Come join us to discuss the Medal Winner,
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

and/or the Honor books:
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

These should be easier to find. Or remember... some of you who are younger than I may have read these for school.

I've read the Creech and the Farmer and look forward to rereading and discussion. I've not read the Cushman, but agree that it's about time!

I read Catherine, Called Birdy: A Newbery Honor Award Winner 4 years ago, and rated it 4 stars at the time...
I do not, however, recall anything about the story, so it probably wasn't that great?
(I usually have an excellent storyline memory, and here not even reading the blurb and other reviews sparked recollection...)

I loved Catherine Called Birdy when I was a teen! It's so funny. I owned it but passed it on to niece #1. I forgot to ask her if she still has it and if I can have it back. There's a new movie adaptation I thought the nieces might enjoy. It sounded a little too raunchy for me but it looks appealing for young teen girls.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11727866/

We have Prime so I might give it a look.

Walk Two Moons is challenged on both the extreme right and extreme left. I'm not sure I read that one. By high school I didn't have as much time to read so I had to be selective.

The third book is unknown to me.

I've started reading Little Bird's story. The edition I'm enjoying has a nice introduction from Linda Sue Park. You're right, it is surprisingly funny. And smart, apparently well-researched, etc. I don't know that I like either the classic cover or the new cartoony one, though.

Catherine cea îndărătnică looks most interesting, to me.

This is the one I remember and the one I purchased used for my nieces. Karen Cushman's books are great! Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice are modern classics. I was a little older than the intended audience of 12 year olds.

Matilda Bone continues the Medieval theme but I didn't like that one as much. I was well beyond the target age when I read it though.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple might be my favorite, being a 19th-century fanatic. Rodzina is another favorite.

Not a fan of the cartoony covers either but I can see my nieces being more attracted to that style of art than the original art.

Midwife's Apprentice won the Newbery medal so we'll be reading that soon!

I'm much further along now, still enjoying it even though it's gotten more serious, and have noticed something.

This girl would have made a great scientist if she'd been born seven centuries later. The questions she asks show that she's got an inquiring, skeptical, lively intelligence. I think that educators could talk this up to kids as a proto STEM book as well as HF. And proto-feminism, too.

Yes Birdy is considered a "feminist" book and the movie seems to play that angle. It teaches girls life in the Middle Ages was really bad for women/girls. I remember getting a kick out of her medieval slang and being grossed out by the idea of a girl that young being married off to an old man.

Done. I would never have read this if not for this club, so, thank you to whomever it was who first set up the plan to read all the Newbery books. I think that I would have liked, but not loved, this when I was young, too.

I don't know if all editions include back matter, with bibliography, but that is interesting too.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Yes Birdy is considered a "feminist" book and the movie seems to play that angle. It teaches girls life in the Middle Ages was really bad for women/girls. I remember getting a kick out of her medie..."

Yes, but it does more than just portray women as victims. Every one does have a certain bit of agency and a certain skill in making the best of their lots. For example, Birdy's mother really does love her father.

I don't remember the original paperback of Birdy including a bibliography but my favorite historical fiction books included an author's note/historical note so it may have been included.

I read all three books years ago. I liked Catherine, Called Birdy the best of the three, partly because of the humor. I remember laughing a lot while reading this.
I don't remember much about Walk Two Moons, even after reading the Goodreads summary, so it must not have impressed me very much.
I did like The Ear, the Eye and the Arm since it was sort of in the science fiction genre; and I have been a SF fan for a long time.
I won't have time to re-read any of these as I have too much other reading on my plate this month.

I'm in the middle of Walk Two Moons. So far my review says:

"So, is one of the themes that we have to ask the other person what their agenda is, and what they need & want & see, instead of just assuming? I'd say so. Sal's mom wants to know who she is, under being wife & mother. Ok.

But then there's the bit about saying Indian or American Indian person but def. not Native American... and yet Creech isn't showing respect by using their 'tribal' affiliation, and even lets Grams claim ancestry. So, is Creech being disrespectful, or are her characters?

And what about Ben, ambushing Sal with random kisses. That is not ok, but it sure seems to be, according to how Sal and the author are treating it so far. He is not supposed to just assume she's ok with it, though.

I'll have to see what I think when I'm done. But so far I don't particularly like any of the characters and am not enjoying spending time with them. Hm... I sound like Phoebe's dad, which may not be a good thing. Hm...."

Ok done. Walk Two Moons is like a soap opera. But there's a nice theme underneath, that given by the idiom from which the title comes. It's actually a theme I love, but I usually refer to it as "Another point of view" and usually read it in rewritten fairy tales.

Creech and Sal do respect the Sioux of the Black Hills at least.
And at one point Sal tries to kiss Ben... but I still think that they're awfully young and it's really smarter to talk first.

Unsurprisingly, everyone does develop as characters, especially the girls, and become better people who are more likeable.

I'm just never sure how I feel about Creech's novels, no matter how many I read.

My takeaway from this is, I think, the moccasin game. "If I were walking in 'friend's name' moccasins, I'd 'feel this way, want to do this, or be trying to cope with that...'. If my sons weren't already grown and pretty good at this, we'd play it often.

I'm still waiting for the one copy of The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm that is at OKC. It's not an ebook anywhere, not even on openlibrary.

Finally got it. About halfway, and enjoying it very much. Yes it's an adventure that takes place in a city of desperate inequality, but it's not entirely dystopic, and in fact it is in some bits funny. And it's as much about the kids as it is about the mutant detectives of the title.

I have this cover:

And done. Unfortunately it's actually bloated, and about this white author's impressions of Africa. She did live there twenty years, but her outsider perspective still shows, imo. And while I understand that every adventure, every person met, was chosen by the author to strengthen the themes, and to develop at least the older boy's character, I do think that she could have written a lot more concisely and engagingly.

I disagree with the reviewer who didn't think of it as SF. The advanced technology and the slightly different society are integral to the themes and plot. But I do wonder about the character of the younger boy, as he was meant to be a little lion and all he did during the story was be a shadow, mainly of (view spoiler)[the Trashman (hide spoiler)].

I understand that this is an early work. I expect to like The House of the Scorpion much better, when we get to it.

The analysis of Resthaven was interesting, esp. in comparison to that of the community in The Giver, the recent Newbery winner. There are some strong disincentives to living as the ancestors did, especially for women, but the woman who worked so hard to earn a place there makes the case for the advantages of a community that is bound unto itself and isn't unraveled & tangled like the Outside.

Maybe this is one of the prime reasons it was honored with a Newbery badge.

Hm, I read both Walk to Moons and The Ear, the Eye and the Arm (have not gotten to Cushman yet, but I think I might enjoy it the most) and have not managed to figure out how to write a review, as while the novels themselves have been interesting and engaging, I actually have felt kind of guilty enjoying the stories (and this is the case in particular with Walk Two Moons).

Maybe just talk about why you feel guilty, but enjoyed other aspects of them?

Cheryl wrote: "Maybe just talk about why you feel guilty, but enjoyed other aspects of them?"

Good idea, but I will have to reread the books first.