ALA Youth Media Awards are today!

Today's the big day!  Be sure to tune in at 11:00 am EST to watch the announcements for the ALA Youth Media Awards!

Here's the link to the live webcast: http://ala.unikron.com/  or follow #ALAyma on social media platforms for live updates.

2018 American Library Association Youth Media Awards list #alayma

I've created a complete, annotated list of all the books and audiobooks that were honored in the 2018 American Library Association Youth Media Awards in Denver, Colorado at the annual American Library Association Conference.

Flip through and enjoy!  

If you have difficulty accessing the slideshow, you may find it on Riffle Books. [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/253991]

Thoughts on Last Stop on Market Street

In 2008, librarians surprised everyone by choosing the 533-page, The Invention of Hugo Cabret as the winner of the Caldecott Medal honoring the "most distinguished American picture book for children."  This year, the award committees surprised us again with the choice of a picture book, Last Stop on Market Street, as the winner of the Newbery Medal, given to "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." 

The short video below featuring author, Matt de la Peña, reading from his book will convince you that this is a wonderful book. 
My concern as a public librarian, however, is how best to share this book with kids.  The book is a little lengthy for my usual storytime crowd, and school-aged kids can seldom be convinced to check out a picture book.  It's in instances like these, that I envy school teachers and media specialists, who have such a wonderful opportunity to share great books with large numbers of kids.  This is perfect book for reading aloud in school.

But, how to share it in a public library setting?

Last week, I had a last-minute inspiration and it was a rewarding experience.  I have a small book club that meets every month. This month, I asked each of the kids to read Last Stop on Market Street - right then. In addition to positive comments about the book, I loved two of the observations that they reported:

1. I never would have chosen this book if you didn't hand it to me.
2. The people at the soup kitchen look like regular people.

We then discussed public transportation (none of the kids had ever been on a bus) and soup kitchens (none had ever been to one).  Working in a suburban library with poor public transportation, I can understand this. However, as a suburban parent, I can tell you that I made sure that my own children volunteered at the local food pantry and experienced public transportation (I made all of them ride the public bus with me to the mall even though it was more expensive than driving my minivan and took twice as long).  As a suburban librarian, I can't take kids on the public bus or to the soup kitchen, but at minimum, I've ensured that a few more children are now aware of the lives that others lead.This is one of the many things that makes my job worthwhile.

One of the missions of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks (TM) campaign is to make sure that "all children can see themselves in the pages of a book."  This is important, but also important is recognizing that all people are just "regular people."  We always have more in common than we think.


Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt de la Peña, Illustrated by Christian Robinson

Read it. Share it.

**Winner of the 2016 Newbery Medal

**A 2016 Caldecott Honor Book

**A 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book

A New York Times Bestseller

Four Starred Reviews

Finalist for the 2014 E.B. White Read-aloud Book Award

A Junior Library Guild Selection

ALA Youth Media Awards announced today!

Watch the Golden Globes last night?  Well, it's award season for books, too!

The big news today for librarians, parents, teachers, and fans of #kidlit, is the announcement of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards. I'll be driving to work as the live webcast begins, but I'll be checking in as soon as I get to work!

Most people know the Newbery and Caldecott Medal awards, but there are many others.  You can check them out the complete press release here: http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards

You can watch a live stream of the event beginning at 8:00AM EST today, January 11, 2016.  Here's the link: http://ala.unikron.com/2016/ .

You can also follow the Twitter hashtag #ALAyma for live updates.

I hope to see a few of my favorites!

Image source: openclipart.org

ALA Youth Media Awards

I just returned from ALA Midwinter meeting in Philadelphia (one of my favorite cities and home of my favorite baseball team!).  It was a great day, and I picked up many new and hopefully wonderful books, as well as some favorites and award winners.

This morning was the annual announcement of the American Library Association Youth Media Awards - a highlight in the year of every children's librarian.

I was pleased that I had read most of the award winners, and many of the honor books.  Below are links to my reviews of three of today's distinguished winners. I wish I had reviewed them all!  Congratulations to all of the ALA Youth Media Award winning authors and illustrators as well as the librarians who worked all year to choose them!

The complete list of award winners can be found at http://www.ala.org/alsc/2014-alsc-media-awards.

John Newbery Medal

DiCamillo, Kate. 2013. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. (Illustrated by K.G. Campbell) (click for review)

Sibert Medal

Roth, Susan L. and Cindy Trumbore. 2013. Parrots Over Puerto Rico. New York: Lee & Low.  (click for review)

Schneider Family Book Award and Sibert Honor

Bryant, Jen. 2013. A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin. New York: Knopf.   Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. (click for review)

Three Times Lucky - an audiobook review

Turnage, Sheila. 2012. Three Times Lucky. New York: Penguin Audio. Read by Michal Friedman.

I was looking for a good book to listen to while traveling, and I had heard rave reviews about the 2013 Newbery Honor book, Three Times Lucky.  It features North Carolina, the latest addition to my college road trip cycle, and it comes in Playaway format - how convenient since I've misplaced my mp3 player. I picked up a copy from the library before heading out.

This was the best book that I've listened to all year!  I can't tell you the number of times that I had to pause the recording, chuckling all the while, to repeat a well-turned simile or metaphor to my daughter.  If I had the print copy in hand, I could quote you a dozen - just in the first chapter.

Rising sixth grader, Mo (short for Moses) LoBeau is the funniest, winningest, spunkiest heroine of children's literature that I've met in quite a while.  By the time you've finished Three Times Lucky, you'll know every resident of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, as well as if they were your own relations. Robbery, snobbery, lies, domestic violence, and alcoholism rear their heads as they do in every community; but despite some heavy-hitting themes, this modern-day, first person narrative is not "contemporary realistic fiction," but rather a delightfully funny, quirky murder mystery, and the story of a loving family, best friends, and a close-knit community. And oh yes, there's a hurricane.

I think you'll love it.  Suggested for ages 10 and up.

Do listen to an audio excerpt of Three Times Lucky here.  You'll love it!

Note:
After reading the book and looking for more information on its fantastic reader, Michal Friedman, I discovered that she died in 2011, from complications from a Cesarean section after giving birth to healthy twins. Heartbreaking and tragic.

An invitation

You're invited!

Librarians from the NJLA Children's Services Section have begun a mock Newbery blog,

Newbery Blueberry Mockery Pie.

Please join us as we discuss past Newbery Medal winners, and try to pick the 2013 medalist. 

All are welcome!

You can find me there today.

ALA Youth Media Awards

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the day that the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced at ALA Midwinter in Dallas.

ALA will host a live webcast of the event, beginning at 7:30am CT.

I can't wait to hear the winners, and hope I've read them all.  Next week, I'm planning a storytime based on Caldecott Medal winners.  I'm hoping to share the winner with my storytime crowd (unless, of course, its a behemoth like The Invention of Hugo Cabret  - you never know)

While you're waiting for the winners to be announced, feel free to enjoy this video which "captures Newbery Award-Winning authors Virginia Hamilton and Jean Craighead George talking about how those awards (for Julie of the Wolves and M.C. Higgins The Great respectively) changed their lives."


Video provided courtesy of Open Road Media.   

Tomorrow is also Nonfiction Monday and the roundup will be here.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Atwater, Richard and Florence. 2011. Mr. Popper's Penguins. New York: Open Road. 

(first published in 1938)
Review copy provided by NetGalley.

I checked out this 1938 classic for several reasons. The movie was just released, it's summer reading season with Newbery Medal and Honor books always in high demand at the library (I prefer to recommend what I know), and after hearing a radio interview with the founder of Open Road Media, I wanted to experience what they have to offer.

So here are my few comments on all of the above.


Fortunately or unfortunately (please tell me which) I didn't get out to see the movie (though I definitely made time for HP and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2! - it was great!).  If  you did get to see Mr. Popper's Penguins in the theater, please share your thoughts in the comments. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the DVD.


Mr. Popper's Penguins was a Newbery Honor book in 1939. Times (and children's books) seem to have been simpler then. In my humble opinion, based upon the relatively few older Newbery titles that I've read, there is either a greater level of sophistication in the writing of today's juvenile fiction or the preferences of the esteemed librarians choosing the awards has changed much over the years.  That isn't to say newer or older books are superior, just different.

This particular version of Mr. Popper's Penguins, is an e-book published by Open Road Media. They appear to have struck upon a great idea, making classic books available digitally with enhanced content, in this case, "never-before-seen archival material from the authors' estate," or in more common parlance, period photographs of the Atwaters and brief biographical information. Open Road's offerings are available through the usual digital content providers (Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, etc.).  I don't see any Open Road offerings from my library's e-book consortium, but they are listed on the publisher page, so perhaps some Open Road titles will be forthcoming via public library download.

Jane Friedman, once the CEO of Harper Collins is the CEO and Cofounder of Open Road Media, a new entry into the brave new world of e-books and digital content.  You can listen to an NPR interview with Ms. Friedman here.

A Wrinkle in Time - audiobook

L'Engle, Madeleine. 1993. A Wrinkle in Time. Read by Madeleine L'Engle. New York: Listening Library.

5 hours, 17 minutes.

It's been many, many years since I've read A Wrinkle in Time, and actually, I'm not sure that I liked it as a kid.  I was never much of a sci-fi fan.  In any case, after reading last year's, When You Reach Me, I was inspired to read it again, but forgot about it until recently, when I downloaded the audiobook version.

I remembered some of the story, but had forgotten much.  I didn't remember the religious overtones in the latter half of the book (or perhaps I never realized that Mrs. Who was quoting 1 Corinthians);  I certainly can't understand why this book has been challenged by various groups over the years.  I remember A Wrinkle in Time as a sci-fi, fantasy, time-traveling book, which, it is.  Although it was written in 1962, Madeleine L'Engle did not record the audiobook until the 1990s, when she was well into her seventies.  At first, I wasn't sure that I would like her narration - the voice perhaps too old, too flawed - but that initial perception quickly faded.  There is something special about hearing an author read her own book.  There is less room for personal interpretation, but the listener can be sure that she is understanding every nuance that the author wishes to convey.  Minor details cannot be misconstrued as important ones.  Ambiguity only exists if the author wishes it so.  It was great to revisit this old classic.  Expect to hear more about A Wrinkle in Time in the coming months.

Some Wrinkle facts and news:

• A Wrinkle in Time will turn 50 next year! Look for celebrations to come.
• This is the link for Madeleine L'Engle's official website, which is apparently undergoing reconstruction.
• A Wrinkle in Time was the 1963 Newbery Award winner.
• The American Library Association lists Wrinkle on its Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books 200-2009
• A Wrinkle in Time has its own Facebook page.
• A Glencoe study guide for A Wrinkle in Time.
• The 2010 Newbery Award winner, When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, pays homage to L'Engle's book with many references.
• On April 19, 2010, Hope Larson announced on Twitter that she would be writing and illustrating a graphic novel edition of A Wrinkle it Time. Look for the book sometime next year. I think this may translate well into GN format.  We'll see.

Moon over Manifest

Vanderpool, Clare. 2010. Moon over Manifest. New York: Delacorte.

Moon over Manifest is this year's winner of the John Newbery Medal, "awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

I admit that, like many other librarians, I hadn't read it before it was announced the 2010 winner - but no matter, other librarians wiser than I had picked this stellar gem out of last year's mine full of gems.

...and I learned something about cover art.  For better or worse, I do pick books by their covers (I'm fond of quoting Mary Rose Wood from the Mysterious Howling, "all books are judged by their covers until they are read")  The minute I saw this cover, I loved it, but I didn't read it.  Why?  Because I thought that this winsome little Midwest gal in overalls might not appeal to my little East coast customers.  I thought I might be completely enamored by it, as I was with Ruth White's 2008 book, Little Audrey, and then disappointed when it didn't garner the attention that I'd hoped for.  Well, it looks like Abilene Tucker and her creator, Clare Vanderpool will get plenty of attention - and believe me, they deserve it.  Next time I'll follow my instincts.

Photographer, Richard Tuschman gets credit for the inviting cover art. Check out his original photo of "Abilene" on his blog, Richard Tuschman Images.


Manifest is not only the fictional location of the story, manifest (both the verb and the noun) are an integral part of the story.  Manifest,Kansas, the dry (Dust Bowl and Prohibition style dry) Midwest town is revealed, or made manifest, through the stories of its people, most of whose names can be found on the manifests of ships that passed through Ellis Island. 
 
The story begins in 1936, with Abilene Tucker arriving by train.  Her dad, a drifter, has uncharacteristcally sent her away for the summer - to Manifest, a town she knows only from stories her dad has told her as they've ridden the rails throughout the country.  She hops off the train about a half mile before the Manifest stop, reasoning that

it's best to get a look at a place before it gets a look at you. 

 Abilene has been to enough towns in her short life to know that there are certain "universals" - the rich kid in town that looks down on everyone, the poor kid, and so on.  But as she gets to know the people of Manifest and uncovers bits of their lives through old newspaper articles and a box of hidden mementos, she comes to a realization,

Maybe the world wasn't made of universals that could be summed up in neat little packages.  Maybe there were just people.  People who were tired and hurt and lonley and kind in their own way and their own time.

Abilene tries to figure out why her father has sent her Manifest.  When did he live here?  Why did he leave? Is he coming back? The answers come slowly, with the help of the Hungarian Woman, a diviner, a storyteller who breathes life into the Manifest of 1918, during the Great War, a Manifest run by a wealthy mine owner, a Manifest where the immigrant mine workers are intimidated and exploited.  Abilene uncovers Manifest's secrets (and her own) from Miss Sadie's Divining Parlor, from faded copies of "Hattie Mae's News Auxiliary," and from letters found in the memento box - letters from a boy named Ned fighting overseas, to his hometown friend, Jinx.

Moon Over Manifest begins with a cast of characters, both from 1918 and 1936, and switches from Abilene's first-person account of the events of 1936, to the diviner's stories of 1918 Manifest happenings.  Wartime correspondence from Ned to Jinx, and Hattie Mae's newsy column (along with the occasional advertisement for healing elixirs and such) fill in the blanks or corraborate the Hungarian Woman's stories. Different fonts and points of view are used to help the reader transition from the past to the present. 

Moon Over Manifest is a many-layered story of parental love, redemption, determination, and community. It's also a mystery, and the story of the ultimate con job.  And it can be funny, heartbreaking and pointed at the same time, as shown in this article from "Hattie Mae's News Auxiliary" following a cross burning at the German Fraternal Hall,

July 20, 1918
Since the recent unfortunate happening at the German Fraternal Hall, everyone has been on edge and the mood of the town has been somber.  It is unclear if the motive was the Germans' nationality or their attempt to organize at the mine.  Mr. Keufer says future meetings of the order have been postponed until further notice.
     It is in times like these that this news column cannot provide the needed comfort and solace.  But as I was instructed in my journalism correspondence course through Harper's Magazine, a good reporter must continue to do her job, even in the most trying of times.  These are certainly trying times.
     It has been one year since the first "Yanks" went overseas, and the country hoped they would be home by Christmas past.  However, our boys rally on.  The American Defense Society continues to push for abolishing Hun names in America. For example, changing sauerkraut to liberty cabbage and frankfurters to patriotic pups.  However, many folks in Manifest seem to think that a bit unnecessary.  Especially Mr. Hermann Keufer, who rather likes his name and does not consider himself or his sauerkraut to be a threat to national security.
     Many of the soliders from Camp Funston had a rought boat ride overseas and are still feeling indisposed with flu symptoms.  The army doctor says he's never seen such a fast-spreading outbreak but it should soon be under control.  The troops will be pleased to know that Velma T. has sent off more relief parcels with her newly concocted elixir.
     For Mrs. Larking, who hasnt' been feeling herself of late, the elixir went down fairly easy the day of the Women's Temperance League meeting.  After consuming nearly an entire bottle, she appeared to be feeling better, and although her rendition of "how Dry I am" was a little off tune and a somewhat surprising selection for the gathering, she did seem to have a healthy glow about her.  ...
Hattie Mae Harper
Reporter About Town

A wonderful book!  Highly recommended.
Listen to Clare Vanderpool explain the inspiration for Moon over Manifest, and read a short excerpt.

Browse inside

And the winners are ...

Today the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards winners (including the Caldecott and Newbery medals) will be announced from San Diego, beginning at 7:45am EST PST.  Check back throughout the day for updates to this post or view the official ALA webcast.  I can't wait to find out the winners!

(Follow Twitter hashtag #ALAYMA if you can't wait.)

Odyssey Award for best audiobook for children or teens
The True Meaning of Smekday



Pura Belpre Award
The Dreamer

John Newbery Award
Moon over Manifest
(Oh no!  I read all the honor books but not the winner! It will be next on my reading list for sure!)

Randolph Caldecott Award
A Sick Day for Amos McGee

Coretta Scott King Award
One Crazy Summer

Theodore Suess Geisel Award
Bink and Gollie

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot

Schneider Family Book Award
Pirate of Kindergarten,  After Ever After, Five Flavors of Dumb

and more!

These are some of the major award winners.  Watch the webcast for all the winners and the honor award recipients.

It's also Nonfiction Monday.  Today's roundup can be found at Tales from the Rushmore Kid.

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When You Reach Me

I had a few days off for the Independence Day weekend, but took a little time out to make a video book trailer for Rebecca Stead's Newbery Medal winner, When You Reach Me. A video is perfect for this book that is difficult to promote without giving too much away! I actually made two.  You can find the other one on the Multimedia Booktalks page.  If you haven't tried Animoto, you're missing out.  Hope you like it.  The book is awesome!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.



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A Year Down Yonder

Peck, Richard. 2000. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Dial.

I admit that I don't "get" America's Heartland.  Other than a few trips to Texas, Colorado, and Louisiana, I usually think of the Midwest as something in between where I am and where I'm going.  So it was with great pleasure that on my recent vacation, I became acquainted with the rural Illinois of the Depression-era, and I fell in love with it!  Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel are two of the best characters in children's literature, and I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to find them.  If you haven't read A Year Down Yonder, you're missing a very funny and heartwarming (but never sappy) story.  Many reviews are available of this 2001 winner of the Newbery Medal winner.  (The original PW review nailed it.)

Now I can't wait to read its prequel, A Long Way from Chicago (downloading to my mp3 as I type), and Peck's latest, A Season of Gifts.

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Newbery and Caldecott Winners announced

A quick run-down of the major 2010 ALSC Award Winners  announced today:

Newbery Medal

When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead, published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
Newbery Honor Books


Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, written by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, written by Jacqueline Kelly, published by Henry Holt and Company

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, written by Grace Lin, published by Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, written by Rodman Philbrick, published by The Blue Sky Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.


Caldecott Medal
The Lion and the Mouse , illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers

Sibert Medal

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, written by Tanya Lee Stone, published by Candlewick Press

Belpre (Author) Award
Return to Sender, written by Julie Alvarez, published by Alfred A. Knopf

Of course there are many other winners and honor books, but I wanted to pass the word quickly.

A comlete list of all awards and honors is available on the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC) website.

The Whipping Boy

Fleischman, Sid. 1986. The Whipping Boy. New York: Greenwillow.

Once I while, I take time out to catch up on older classics. To that end, I recently read Sid Fleischman’s Newbery Medal winning book from 1986, The Whipping Boy. I’m not sure if it would win a Newbery Medal if it were published today, because later stories (like Kate DiCamillo’s, The Tale of Despereaux and The Magician’s Elephant), perhaps inspired by this comical, yet moving adventure story, have set a new standard for this style of writing. Nevertheless, The Whipping Boy is an amusing tale with plot twists and turns, as the kindly whipping boy is forced to accompany the hated, Prince Brat as he flees from King and castle. Lies and deceptions, murderous thieves, and compassionate peasants will keep the reader guessing about fates of Prince Brat and his whipping boy. Unlike DiCamillo’s stories, The Whipping Boy is a tale of historical fiction, revealing the lifestyles of both medieval royalty and peasantry. And yes, if you’re wondering, according to the author’s end note, “some royal households of past centuries did keep whipping boys to suffer the punishments due a misbehaving prince. History is alive with lunacies and injustices.”

A quick read with black and white illustrations by the renowned Peter Sis, The Whipping Boy is still relevant today, more than 20 years after its debut.

The Graveyard Book

I always seem to have trouble when I try to add tags to an embedded Animoto video. Not sure if it's a Blogger glitch or an Animoto proprietary issue. In any case, I'm still an Animoto fan.

So, the tags are here and the video is in the next post.
http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2009/02/graveyard-book_24.html

2009 ALSC Awards and the House in the Night

Below is the link to the 2009 American Library Association's (ALA) Association of Library Services to Children (ALSC) 's list of award-winning books for 2009.

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2009medawardwin.cfm
Click the link for the complete list of winners and honor books in all categories.

Here are a few highlights:

The Caldecott Medal (picture book) went to
The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson, Houghton Mifflin Co.

The Newbery Medal (J Fiction) went to
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, HarperCollins Children's Books.

Unfortunately, because it is cataloged at a Young Adult book in my library, I did not read The Graveyard Book, and now I'm on the waiting list for a copy.

The Sibert Medal (non-fiction) went to
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, Disney-Jump at the Sun, an imprint of Disney Book Group

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) also chooses an annual award, the Orbis Pictus Award for outstanding non-fiction for children.

Their choice this year is:
Amelia Earhart: The Legend of the Lost Aviator by Shelley Tanaka, illustrated by David Craig (click the link for Honor and Recommended books)

As the saying goes, so many books, so little time!

The Giver

Lowry, Lois. 1993. The Giver. New York: Random House Audio. ISBN 0807286095.

Plot Summary:
Jonas is about to turn twelve years old - an age of importance and responsibility. At a special ceremony, he will receive his role for life in this futuristic community where discomfort, want, and uncertainty are unknown. But Jonas does not receive the duty that he expected. He is apprenticed to "The Giver," and his life and that of his community's may never be the same.

Critical Analysis:
This unabridged audio book version of The Giver consists of four CDs that run for a total of 4 hours and 47 minutes. The reader is Broadway actor, movie star, and television actor Ron Rifkin. Rifkin is the only reader, although background instrumental music is played to underscore important scenes. The packaging claims the book to be appropriate for ages 10 and up.

Rifkin did a wonderful job of giving voice to Lois Lowry's story narration and the male characters of the story. His portrayal of female dialogue, however, was not believable, particulary his impersonation of Jonas's younger sister, Lily. In spite of this shortcoming, the audio version of the book was engaging and moved along quickly enough to keep a listener interested. The use of orchestral music to highlight pivotal events was overkill, however, younger listeners might possibly need such a clue.

The Giver is a futuristic fiction tale that is suitable for classification as a YA or juvenile novel. It takes place in what initially appears to be a future utopian community, free of want, need, and uncertainty. It is a community where "preciseness of speech is required" ("starving" is not acceptable because "hungry" is more precise), a community where children are rationed and assigned to households (no more than fifty new children per year and no more than two per household), a community where each person has an assigned duty (food-bringer, nurturer, birth mother), a community where a faceless voice from a speaker issues orders and public chastisement. Finally, it is a community where those who do not conform are "released." The sterility of the setting and the preciseness and blandness of the characters' dialogue add realism to the stark world of "the community." Rifkin employs a calm and almost monotonous tone to add to the colorless world of the community.

The protagonist is Jonas, a young boy about to "come of age" at twelve. Until the age of twelve, birthdays of those in the community are celebrated "en masse," every December "ones" become "twos," "threes become fours," etc. At the significant "twelve" ceremony, children are given their assignment, their life's duty for the benefit of the community. In a world where there should be no fear, no uncertaintly, no individuality, Jonas is nonetheless uneasy. What will his duty be? Why does he notice things that others do not? Readers will relate to Jonas as his innermost thoughts are revealed through narration. The contrast between Jonas and the rest of the community will unnerve the listener as well. Listeners will identify with Jonas and feel his unease in the sterility of his world.

His assignment does not answer his questions. It merely poses more. Jonas is assigned to be "The Receiver." He must work with the elderly "Giver" to receive all of the memories and experiences outside the realm of the here and now. He may share his knowledge and experiences with no one. From "The Giver" he learns of color,of music, of cold, of hot, of sunshine and of snow. He also experiences the memories of sickness, of pain, of war, and of death. And he learns what it means to be "released" from the community. Jonas must reconcile the knowledge of what is possible in a free society with the consequences of those freedoms. Is it better to live in peace, safety, and health than to experience love, music, color, and freedom along with pain, sickness, war, and misery?

Jonas makes his choice, and the listener is left to wonder what the final consequences will be.

The ending is unresolved and somewhat symbolic. Jonas, carrying "newchild" Gabriel before him, arrives in a place outside the community on a snowy December day. He can hear music. He sees colored lights and a decorated tree. Is Gabriel symbolic of Jesus? Is Gabriel carried in front because he is like the biblical herald, heralding the arrival of the savior? Will Jonas be the savior of the community? Or has Jonas simply escaped with Gabriel? The listener is left with a hopeful, yet undetermined ending.

From ages ten to adult, this book will not leave the listener unaffected. It is sure to provoke discussion about the consequences of free choice and the very nature of society. This Newbery winner is a perennial favorite for all ages.


Review Excerpts:
"The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated. And the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented," writes Ann A. Flowers in the Jul/Aug 1993 Horn Book Magazine.

Amy Kellman writes, "This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time." (School Library Journal May 1993)


Connections:
Lois Lowry has a website for children that is a wonderful resource. It contains a bibliography of Lowry's books, FAQs, biographical information and more.
http://www.loislowry.com/index.html

Read Lowry's two later books, Gathering Blue and The Messenger. Together with The Giver, they create a futuristic trilogy. The character of Jonas returns in The Messenger.

Before reading the sequel, have students resolve The Giver's ending.

For another thought-provoking futuristic tale, suggest
Z for Zachariah by Robert O'Brien

The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963

Curtis, Christopher Paul. 1995. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. New York: Delacorte. ISBN 0385321759

Plot Summary:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is a realistic historical fiction account of the Watson family -- Momma, Dad, Kenny, Joetta, and Bryon. The first person account is through the eyes of 10-year-old Kenny. Joetta is his younger sister, and Byron, his 13-year-old "juvenile delinquent" brother. The story recounts the day-to-day happenings of this tough, but loving family in their equally tough Flint, Michigan neighborhood. Byron's constant trouble-making activities prompt a trip south so that he may spend the summer under the reforming hand of his strict grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama. While in Birmingham, the Watsons witness the bombing of the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church and must come to terms with its impact upon their family.

Critical Analysis:
The Watsons Go To Birmingham is a Newbery and Coretta Scott King award winner with a 10-year old protagonist that children will relate to. Kenny has a loving family and problems that are still familiar today - a lazy eye, the unwanted attention of the school bully, poverty typical to his neighborhood, and a roller coaster relationship with his older brother, Byron. Although the Watsons witness the 1963 bombing of the Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the facts concerning the bombing are accurate, the historical aspect of the tale takes a back seat to the fictional story of the Watson family.

The harsh life of the Watsons is evident in the details of their daily lives. Although poor, Momma makes sure that each of the children have two new pairs of gloves each winter for the frigid Michigan weather. Kenny shares his lunch and his extra pair of gloves with a new friend who can afford neither, but then his gloves are stolen. Byron, 13, forcefully retrieves the gloves from a school bully and offers Kenny the chance to get even. When Kenny declines Byron's invitation, Byron punches Kenny instead of the bully. Kenny's relationship with his older brother is a major focus of the story. Bryon is at times tender; at times cruel. Kenny's younger sister, Joetta is obedient and protective of her brothers. Momma and Dad are loving, but firm.

Most of the story is set in Flint. The family travels to Birmingham to take Byron to stay with his Southern grandmother, where Momma and Dad hope he will break away from his "juvenile delinquent" friends and learn respect. The Watsons journey to Birmingham in the "Brown Bomber," accompanied by the sounds of the "True-Tone AB-700 Ultra Glide", the latest technology - a dashboard mounted record player! The Ultra Glide, the frequent use of the word Negro, references to "The Untouchables" and "Felix the Cat, and the $1.23 price for groceries at the local market, help to firmly set the story in 1963.

Although the Birmingham events occupy just the last sixty pages of the book, the contrast between the North and the South is a focal point of the story. In Flint, the only inkling of racism is a teacher's reminder that "..as Negroes the world is many times a hostile place for us." As the Watsons travel south, the reader feels the danger growing. Mrs. Watson carefully plots the three-day trip, making sure that they stop in locations known as friendly to Negroes. Mr. Watson is not as confident of a friendly welcome, and instead chooses to drive straight through. When they make a rest stop in Appalachia, Kenny is at first afraid of encountering a snake in the dark, but Byron tells him that snakes are the least of his worries. "Man, they got crackers and rednecks up here that ain't never seen no Negroes before. .....they'd hang you now, then eat you later." The reader can feel the fear of being a Negro in the South of 1963.

Once in Birmingham, fiction, fact, and fantasy are combined as Joette goes off to Sunday school at the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church with her relatives. Kenny remains at the house, exhausted from his near-drowning in a "whirlpool" a day earlier. The family hears the blast and races to the church. Kenny follows and discovers a shiny, little shoe in the church and believes that his sister has perished, killed by the devilish "Wool Pooh" of his imagination. Miraculously, his sister is found alive and insists that Kenny saved her, waving to her and luring her away from the church before the bomb blast.

The family travels together back to Flint and struggles to regain normalcy. Byron and Kenny undergo changes as Kenny suffers post-traumatic stress, and Byron helps him overcome it. Eventually, the Watson family rises above the experience of racism and violence in the same way that they overcome all difficulties - with love, pride and determination.

An Epilogue offers the reader a short, factual account of the Civil Rights struggle, and a challenge to continue the quest for freedom.

Christopher Paul Curtis grew up in Flint, Michigan in the same era as the fictional Watsons, making his setting authentic and believable. The addition of the Birmingham church bombing makes this a historical fiction story, but the true purpose of this factual event to the story is to underscore the far-reaching effects of racism and injustice. The fundamental theme of the book is the strength and power of family to overcome adversity.

Review Excerpts:
Writing for Horn Book Magazine in March, 1996, Martha V. Parravano wrote, "Curtis's control of his material is superb as he unconventionally shifts tone and mood, as he depicts the changing relationship between the two brothers, and as he incorporates a factual event into his fictional story."

In the Jan/Feb volume of Book Report, Susan N. Bridson wrote, "The transition from comic to tragic jars the reader's sensibilities as Curtis hammers home the cruelty of racism. Recommended--should be seriously considered for purchase."

Connections:
An excellent website for students to visit after reading this title is http://www.centralhigh57.org This is the official website chronicling the integration of Little Rock, Arkansas' Central High School in 1957 - a pivotal event that set helped propel the Civil Rights movement and set the stage for the climate leading to the Birmingham bombing. The site is slightly dated, but contains poweful video of the events and is a great resource.

An appropriate title to accompany The Watsons.. is Newbery award-winning, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.

An introduction to artist, Norman Rockwell, and his famous painting "The Problem We All Live With," depicting integration, would also be appropriate.