Newbery Winners 2014

Newbery Winners 2014

The 2014 Newbery winners were announced in January of this year. This award is given to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children from the previous year. Since the end of January, I have been attempting to read this year’s winners. Each year, one book is honored as the Newbery book of the year and one or more books are given a Newbery Honor distinction. This year, there were four honor books, which has become a trend over the last several years. Here is my review of four of these five distinguished books.

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

Flora is a young girl whose parents are separating. Flora is left to live with her mother, who is not the kindest mother on the planet. When Flora discovers a squirrel who can type and write poetry (who she names Ulysses), her father and her neighbors help her to make Ulysses into a superhero. While I love most of DiCamillo’s books (Because of Winn Dixie in particular), I am not a big fan of Flora and Ulysses. The parents are useless and the neighbor lady, while helpful to Flora, is somewhat of a dithering fool. Flora’s age-mate is William Spiver who has a case of hysterical blindness. No one in this story shows great affection for any other character, in fact there is a great deal of angst throughout, until the end, which is all neatly tied up in a bow. Flora’s mother has a change of heart and seems to appreciate Flora, William Spiver can see, and everyone agrees that Ulysses is a superhero.

Honor Books

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

I loved this book and while it is a very simple story of a normal family, it is well-told, easy to read and deals well with sibling issues. Billy Miller is in second grade, feeling quite grown-up and while he is the main character of the story, this is told from four points of view. Billy gets the first section and his dad, mom and younger sister each get a section. Billy has a terrific teacher and understanding parents. His dad is a stay at home artist and his mom is a high school teacher. The only real problem in his life is his younger sister, but as Billy grows and becomes more understanding of her needs, she also grows and by the end of second grade, the problem is waning. Henkes gets the voice of a young boy perfectly, and he adds to the appeal of the book with simple line drawings. If your 7-9 year old cannot read this early chapter book on his/her own, consider it for a read aloud. Excellent choice!

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Vawter has written a autobiographical story set in 1959 Alabama. The twelve-year-old boy, whose name is not revealed until nearly the last page, has a severe stutter, but this does not keep him from helping his friend Art with his paper route when Art is gone for the month of July. The summer before he enters Junior High is depicted with great story-telling skills. I hope Vawter plans to write more stories, as he pulled me into this one and made me feel sympathetic to almost all of the characters. As a substitute paperboy, Victor meets several new people, learns some surprising truths from those he already knows and grows into a healthy knowledge of himself. All this in a relatively short novel that is easy to read, but contains great wisdom.

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

Set in the frontier of Wisconsin in 1871, this is a complex story of sibling relationships, passenger pigeons and a woman’s right to an education. Georgie, the thirteen year old younger sister, is the voice of the story about her search for her older sister who has run away from home and is presumed dead. Given that a body has been produced, dressed in Agatha’s best dress, sewn by her mother, there is little doubt for anyone else that Agatha is dead. But, Georgie must follow the trail, leading to an encounter with a cougar, a sharp-tongued store clerk who turns out to have a heart, and a gang of counterfeiters. While fast-paced and full of action/drama, this story also addresses issues of the day with a fresh look. Spoiler alert: it turns out Agatha has run off to attend college, since her grandfather will not condone an education for a mere girl. When she finally contacts her family, there is great rejoicing! I didn’t love this story at first, but it does grow on you and there is great depth to be plumbed here.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

As I was reading this, I kept thinking, this is one weird book! First there is Zach, a tween boy who likes playing imaginative games with his two best friends, both girls. Because these games involve action figures and dolls, Zach's father is worried and throws out his dolls. Then, Alice and Poppy convince Zach to go on an overnight adventure because the Queen doll, the one they are not allowed to play with at Poppy's house, has appeared to Poppy in a dream and needs the three children to bury her ashes. It gets deeper with some paranormal events, or are they just figments of Zach's imagination? And many psychological permutations: are Zach and Alice experiencing puppy love? Is Poppy jealous of her two best friends, or is she just perennially needy for attention which she does not get at home? Will Zach's father begin to understand Zach's needs as separate from his own? All of these combine to make a good story with a fast moving plot and one that opens many doors to discussion with tweens, including issues of familial love, gender, and how to deal with strangers on the bus!