Children's Books discussion

Come join us to discuss the Medal Winner,
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

and/or the Honor books:
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

Yes, that's six books! Box, at least, is a picture book. Some of us here in Children's Books have read it before.

And, yes, Soontornvat has two books in the same year! That seems like a first to me, for an author who is making her first appearance on the list at all. (If anyone is better than I at doing the research, I'd love to know more statistics about people who have gotten Newbery recognition more than once.)

Actually, it looks like I'm wrong about Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom. I thought we'd be looking at Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad - maybe some of us would like to compare the two. The latter did win a Caldecott.

A Wish in the Dark is only avl. to me as ebook. You might want to check your library promptly and get on a waiting list.

Started reading Keller's winner last night. A sort of magical realism? The setting and premise reflects real life, but the grandmother seems to be telling very important & interesting stories....

Done with When You Trap a Tiger. Somehow it didn't make a meaningful impression on me. Lots of good stuff in there, but I'll have to talk more in my review about why it didn't work terrifically well for me. I think that I do recommend it to others, though.

Done with We Dream of Space. Three stars imo.

Too long and yet.... How often did I have to read about the terrible bickering of the parents, but not see any attempt between them to care to heal their r'ship? Or to see the mom buying junk food even though she didn't approve, and how she nagged Bird to watch her diet "you won't be skinny forever." Cash doesn't get help with school, Fitch doesn't get help with his anger management... it's a terrible family and I hated reading about them. But the kids come together in the end in a beautiful way and so maybe, just maybe, they'll be ok.

So, what's good about it? The teacher, her enthusiasm, her skills. Fitch learning that other kids have feelings too. The history & historical details. Some of the writing is almost poetical.

Not the first book by the author that has underwhelmed me. I wouldn't have read it if I weren't host here.

And a dnf for All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team:

Lightly skimmed for this discussion. It's a huge heavy coffee-table book. Looks great for the right audience, but I just don't know who that would be. Nobody I know would be interested.

I think I'm going to skip Fighting Words, too. Child abuse is pretty much a trigger for me.

Cheryl wrote: "And a dnf for All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team:

Lightly skimmed for this discussion. It's a huge heavy coffee-table book. Looks great for the ..."

I read enough about that story in the news, so a heavy coffee-table type of book on the subject really does not interest me.

Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom is worth the read. So intense. Interesting to learn more details after only knowing his story from Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad. This is definitely for older children, though it is still in picture-book format.

I'm actually enjoying A Wish in the Dark. There are some orphan, prison, inequality, and other tropes, but there are also complexities, nuances, and surprises. Half done, even though I'm reading it as an ebook and am not a fan of that medium.

A Wish in the Dark is my favorite. Very relevant to today's kids, as they're growing up in such a dark time. They desperately need to know that kids can be heroes.

I don't know if any of these will be remembered. Do any of you see them featured in libraries or classrooms, or read by children?

As I said, my favorite, A Wish in the Dark, isn't even widely available. It seems to me to be a book kids would appreciate, if it were more well-known/accessible.

Yes they're in the library but I don't know if I've seen them featured. Maybe We Dream of Space ?

When You Trap a Tiger
This was only a 3 star read for me back in 2021, Probably for some of the same reasons it did not resonate with Cheryl. I did not write a review for it.

Box: Henry Box Mails Himself to Freedom
I did not write a review for this one either, when I read it in 2021. It was a 3 star read for me.

Fighting Words
This was a 5 star book for me. I listened to the audiobook. This is my brief review:
Bahni Turpin did an excellent job narrating this book. She was spot on with the Tennessee accents and created different voices for different characters. Excellent story; excellent narrator.

We Dream of Space
I liked this one but didn't at the same time. I loved the "historical" details just woven into the story without explanation. It felt natural like I was back in my childhood. Courtney Changes the Game is set at the EXACT same time - January 1986 and basically has the same idea about The Challenger and what seeing women go up in space meant to young girls AND Courtney is obsessed with video games. While I like the American Girl books, this novel is better written. The AG books don't feel like the setting is as organic. Courtney is a stylized version of the 1980s. Their 50s character is the same way. I Dream of Space is the real deal. You're there living in 1986 in a small ranch house with your dysfunctional family, you have to look up a number in the phonebook, pick up a ringing telephone, have a television in the living room, a boom box in the bedroom, are unable to program the new VCR (don't ask how many years it took me to learn how to do that but here's a tip: find the remote control FIRST and don't lose it!). You're there in school with blackboards and chalk, a TV in the auditorium and no Chrome Books, no internet, no Smart Board (We had Apple IIE computers to play with in my classroom.)

I was younger in 1986 and I do remember seeing the Challenger disaster on TV, I think my teachers didn't want us to really know what had happened and shut it off. Space is not my thing. I'm one of Bird's classmates who argues AGAINST exploring space. I don't see the point.

BUT I could relate to Bird and her feelings about not fitting in and being focused on school and not boys. The Jessicas are obnoxious but Dani is nice. Bird is sweet and I like how she imagines such an incredibly smart woman as her friend and sidekick on space flights. Bird is not giving up on her dream. At least not yet. The Challenger explosion had a significant and similar impact on AG's Courtney but Bird's seems more somber and severe because she doesn't have the support of her parents.

The boys are awful. Cash is being brought up to be like his father. His friends are super gross and yes I know they're Junior High age boys and I DO remember how horrid the boys were at that age. Shudders! His friends seem extra awful though. They're not even nice to him. This kid is just being left behind. He's failing because everyone is failing him. No one seems to want to help or know how to help. Some of Cash's awfulness is just his age. I think he'll be OK.

Fitch, on the other hand, needs to learn how to channel that anger. He's dangerous. Amanda sounds like a nice girl but terribly naive. I saw what was happening and felt so bad for her. I wouldn't have put myself in that situation. Fitch needs to ditch his best friend. The video game obsession could be a way of controlling his anger but it's also an addiction. While Fitch constantly ignores Bird and they don't have classes together, he does recognize when she needs her twin and wants to help her. He's a sweet kid deep down inside, just dealing with a lot.

I can relate to the kids' feelings about their parents' fighting. The dad sounds just awful! So toxic! I think the mom has had an unhappy life with him and she is depressed. It's hinted she has an eating disorder and fat shames Bird. The dad hints that he did something to make the mom go out with him. Was she like the girl who likes bad boys? They all need therapy.

I would have liked more after. I want to know more about how the Challenger disaster affects the boys, other kids and more of Bird's healing process.



I must ask niece #1 if she ever read this and what she thought. I have to think it over before I publish a full review.

Well goodness. Now you make me want to reread it!

I don't know that therapy was much of a thing in 1986, except neurotic ppl from NYC and maybe some couples counseling. I sure don't remember mental health addressed in schools or for whole families together. But anyway, yes, they certainly are in need of it.

Cheryl wrote: "I don't know that therapy was much of a thing in 1986, except neurotic ppl from NYC and maybe some couples counseling. I sure don't remember mental health addressed in schools or for whole families together. .."

It did but only if there was a tragedy or something happened like one of your classmates tried to take their own life. In a situation like the Challenger disaster, I would expect the school to have counsellors or at least one, available for the students, even in the 80s. I don't remember but I was so young, I don't think the teachers wanted us to know what had happened. Certainly later on in the 80s I do remember one instance where they had a counselor. Family therapy existed but I doubt the characters would attempt it.

Thank you for sharing. I'm a generation older so I don't know much about that time in the schools.

Cheryl wrote: "Thank you for sharing. I'm a generation older so I don't know much about that time."

Well, when the first space shuttle Columbia (and which exploded in 2003) did its maiden voyage (and as the first ever space shuttle) in 1981, our whole grade eight science class watched the lift off, so I would not be surprised if for the Challenger disaster, school classes were also watching (especially since there was a teacher on board) and I do hope that there would have been counsellors provided.

I do know that even now a lot of schools have far too few counselors, even for 'routine' challenges.

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team
This was an incredible read for me and a 5-star book. This is how all children's nonfiction should be written. This was a page-turning, almost thrill a minute narrative, from the day the boys and their coach entered the caves to the harrowing rescue efforts nearly 3 weeks later. The boys were in the cave system from June 23, 2018 until July 10. They were trapped in the cave because it was flooded by rains that were not expected for another month. Soontornvat alternated between how the boys were doing and feeling to what the thousands of volunteers, media, Thai government officials, etc. were doing and planning. This book moved me to tears on occasion, and any book that can do that is a very good book in my opinion. The author included source notes for each chapter, and extensive bibliography, and an index. No wonder it received three US honors: Sibert Honor, Newbery Honor, and Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Finalist.