Children's Books discussion

Come join us to discuss the Medal Winner,
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (again)

and/or the Honor books:
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer (again)
The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Belle Prater's Boy by Ruth White

I'm reading Farmer's first. Not my cup of tea, but I can see something of the appeal and of the value, as I get into it.

Done. The whole middle of the book was an interesting survival story, the child alone on an island on a lake with only a blade. I liked that part, especially the comparisons of baboons to people. And I appreciated aspects of the ending, though it seemed rather implausible.

Catherine's review says it best: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I gave Belle Prater's Boy four stars.

At first I was rather concerned that this relatively rich and almost spoiled child was to be exploited by the author as spoiled, but it turns out she's really a sweetheart, almost always trying very hard to be kind, to be good, and also to figure out whether always being good is satisfying. And gosh, even she, we learn at the end, has had her horrible experiences.

Woodrow, too, is an individual, not a trope or icon in any sense at all. And I'll let you know right now I appreciate his true theory, revealed in the end, about what happened to his mother.

I like that all characters have their backstories, even Woodrow's father who gets maybe 5-6 pages of attention. We don't necessarily learn a lot about them, for example, the grandparents, but clearly the author knows exactly who they are.

I see that there is a sequel. Even though I only read this because of Newbery Club, I will consider reading further.

If only to get more ideas for food: cornbread crumbled on vegetables, Peach Ice drink, made from vanilla ice cream, fresh peaches, and ginger ale.

Do not name your children Belle, or Love... or Chastity or Summer or Caesar for that matter. Let them be themselves, instead of fighting with the expectations risen by their name.

My review for The View from Saturday: Now I know why I couldn't remember anything from my first read. There are bits that might stick, but overall it's overambitious, and winds up being more chaotic than rich. The kids' voices don't seem to me to be distinct from one another, except for the kid who prefaces observations with "Fact:..."

But it's a pleasant read if one focuses on the humor and heartwarming themes. I can see lots of reasons the Newbery committee loved it.

And I learned that one reason sports are important in (some?) schools is that they charge admission to the games, offsetting the cost. Mathletes etc. don't. Hm....

So, does your school charge for admission to high school athletic events? Do they have academic competitions?

I do like the 'themes' of calligraphy, and saving the turtles,and disability awareness, and slowing down for afternoon tea, in here. There are probably more, but again, I've already forgotten them. What did you find meaningful about this book, or why do you think it won the Newbery?

Cheryl wrote: "My review for The View from Saturday: Now I know why I couldn't remember anything from my first read. There are bits that might stick, but overall it's overambitious, and winds up being..."

I have to agree with you. I read the book in 1997 and don't remember anything about it. Even after reading through some of the Goodreads reviews--none of them sparked any memories of the book.

Cheryl wrote: "So, does your school charge for admission to high school athletic events? Do they have academic competitions?

I do like the 'themes' of calligraphy, and saving the turtles,and disability awareness..."

Our high schools do charge admission to athletic events (I have a grandson who plays basketball).
When I was in high school, taking German, we did participate in some sort of competition (memory very fuzzy now). Also, in Texas at least, I know that there are UIL (University Interscholastic League, started by the University of Texas in 1910) competitions in academics, athletics, and music.

Beverly wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "So, does your school charge for admission to high school athletic events? Do they have academic competitions?

I do like the 'themes' of calligraphy, and saving the turtles,and disab..."

There was a quiz TV show (for students) in Canada that was called Reach for the Top (pitting schools against one another). The year I was on the team, we ended up being third place in Alberta.

Good to know; thank you both.

I think my high school charged for football games because we didn't have our own field and used a small city stadium. I went to a baseball game once too at the same park and don't remember if we had to pay. I'm guessing not because I remember going just to ogle the cute boys with my friend who had a massive crush on one particular boy. Her dad would not have approved and given her money to go.

:Smiles: Good story! Thanks for sharing.

The Moorchild is dedicated "To all children who have ever felt different." So I expected this to be akin to so many other thousands of books.

But it's better. And one of the things that makes it so is the writing. I particularly noticed, and love, the description of the moor< " the waste of rocks and heather and towering cloud pillars, the three goats nibbling in the foreground, and far behind them a gray, narrow curtain of rain brushing the horizon."

I guess it's good that there are books like this, that are only metaphorically interpretable as supportive to people who are 'Queer' or a member of a disenfranchised minority. There's nothing here that censors can point to on 'p...' themes. But I'm sure it can still be a valuable read to the right audience.

I'm pretty sure I won't reread The Thief. I've tried several times, as it's one of my son's favorites, but I just can't seem to appreciate it. See my review for details if you wish.

This thread will get archived within a few months, but it will never close. Please submit your impressions any time!