Rifles for Watie (1958)

Rifles for Watie is a really good historical fiction about the western front of the Civil War.  The protagonist, Kansas native Jefferson Davis Bussey, enlists in the Union army at the age of 16 and goes to war.  The book covers the 4 years that comprise the Civil War, and focuses on the war in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas.  (The area referred to as Texas is now Oklahoma.)  A major part of the war here was between rival Indian groups that have aligned themselves with either the Union cause or the Confederates, and although  Jeff comes to realize that neither of the sides is wholly right or wholly wrong, he remains true to the Union and their fight to allow all men freedom. 

Jeff served in both armies.  He spent about a year behind the lines with the Confederates as a spy.  And in that time, he came to admire and understand the men he fought with.  As the back of the book says, "Jeff Bussey is probably the only soldier to fight the Civil War from both sides--and understand each."

I really enjoyed this book.  It contained great examples of honor, bravery, camaraderie, loyalty.  However, I thought it was too mature for the age group Newbery targets.  There are vivid descriptions of battle, (dead and wounded men, shooting, amputations, etc.) an execution, falling in love (see quote below), cruelty and hatred between Jeff and one of his commanding officers.  I think it would be difficult to write a historical war novel without those things and it is a really good book, just not for 3-5 grades.

Quotes I enjoyed:

On Jeff's first going into battle.  "He began to recall all the mean things he had ever done and how he might never have time to atone for them.  Life was running out on him.  He wasn't ready to die.  He didn't want to be rushed into it.  He needed more time to think about it.  After all, a person died just once.  Anybody who let himself get killed was just plain stupid." (p. 132)

Why I think the love part is a bit mature. Although this is about the extent of the "kissy part."-- "As their lips met and his arms went around her waist, he felt a blissful melting within him, an overpowering rapture that he had never known nor dreamed existed.  For a moment there was no sound save that of their quick breathing and the leaves of the redbud tree...As he held her close, Jeff's lips caressed her eyebrow, her cheek, her ear.  He could feel her heart pounding beneath her bodice." (p. 297)

When exhausted in his escape from the Confederate side back to the Union with the intelligence he gathered.  "He braced and began to labor up the rise, concentrating on each step and thinking of Pete Millholland and his words, 'You can always go farther than you think you can.'  It was funny how a fellow could lie moldering in his grave and still his words could go right on helping people." (p. 309)

Keith, Harold.  Rifles for Watie.  HarperCollins.  1958.

Miracles on Maple Hill (1957)

10-year-old Marly needs a miracle.  Her family needs one.  Her father wasn't the same when he came back from the war and she wants so much for him, and their family, to be happy again.  Marly's parents decide that they should visit Maple Hill and that Marly's dad, Dale, should stay there for a while.  Marly's mom, Lee, visited her grandmother at Maple Hill when she was a little girl, and they hope that getting out of the city (Pittsburgh) and into nature will help Dale get over his depression.  (Although they never use the word depression, the description of how Dale behaves seems to be that.)

When they arrive at Maple Hill the snow was so deep they got stuck and had to get help from Mr. Chris.  Lee had known him as a girl, but since her grandmother had died, she hadn't been back.  Mr. Chris is collecting maple from the trees and takes them to the sugar camp where the maple sap is collected and boiled down.  When Marly smelled it, it was "absolute sweetness...like passing an orchard in full bloom.  But different."  Mr. Chris said, "Your great-grandma used to say there was all outdoors in that smell.  She called it the first miracle when the sap come up." (p. 14)  At that point, Marly knew there would be miracles.

When the kids (Marly has a 12-year-old brother named Joe) and Lee next visit, they find Dale to be much happier, and when school gets out for summer, they return for those months.  Mr. Chris points out to Marly the plants and animals in nature.  And she sees in each one a miracle.  They make friends with Harry the hermit, for whom Joe gains a great admiration. 

The family has to make a big decision.  Whether to go back to the city, or to move to Maple Hill.  You can probably guess which they decide.  So Marly gets to see the miracles of fall and winter as well.

Although this was not my favorite Newbery, I enjoyed Marly's view of miracles--that miracles surround us and that we just have to see them and recognize them as miracles. 

Some quotes I liked:
When Lee introduced Dale to Mr. and Mrs. Chris, Marly thought, "Her voice was even more special when she said, 'This is Dale,' than when she said, 'This is Marly,' or 'This is Joe.'  Marly loved the voice and the look that seemed to say: Isn't he wonderful?" (p. 17)

Marly's view on boys and girls.  "For the millionth time, she was glad she wasn't a boy.  It was all right for girls to be scared or silly or even ask dumb questions.  Everybody just laughed and thought it was funny. But if anybody caught Joe asking a dumb question or even thought he was the littlest bit scared, he went red and purple and white.  Daddy was even something like that, as old as he was." (p.99)

Harry on Mr. Chris.  "When you have done a great many good things, you forget to speak of them.  It is those who do very little who must talk of it." (p. 119)

Dale on his prison camp experience.  "Some of the people in camp helped each other all the time.  Some others never thought about anything or anybody but themselves.  I'd never known before how different people can be." (p. 140)

Sorensen, Virginia. Miracles on Maple Hill. Harcourt, 1957.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (1956)

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is about Nathaniel Bowditch of Salem, Massachusetts.  Nat was super-bright, especially at mathematics, but when he was 10 he had to leave school to help his father's business, and at 12 he was made an indentured servant, as his father was just not able to care for the family since the passing of his wife several years before.

Nat dreads being an indentured servant, but his masters are kind and give him every opportunity to read and study on his own, even providing him with books.  He continues his study of math, but also becomes interested in physics and astronomy.  He is given Principia by Sir Isaac Newton, but finds that he needs to know Latin to read it.  So he obtained a Latin dictionary and a Latin Bible and proceeded to teach himself.  He also learned French and Spanish in this way.

With his indenture fulfilled, Nat took a job surveying, and then at work on a trading vessel.  He made several voyages for business.  On each of them he continued to improve his navigating skills, as well as teaching the crew about navigation.  He gained many solid friends of those deck hands through his teaching.

On one voyage he discovered a new way of finding longitude through lunar and stellar observation, with some complex mathematics of course.  This leads him to write "American Practical Navigator."  Here is what one website has to say about it. "The American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, was billed as the"epitome of navigation" by its original author, Nathaniel Bowditch. The text has evolved with the advances in navigation practices since that first issue and continues to serve as a valuable reference for marine navigation in the modern day." (http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=msi_portal_page_62&pubCode=0002)

I really enjoyed this book.  It has adventure, hard work, friendship, more adventure, love of learning, and just a touch of romance.  A great story for kids with the message that you don't need wealth to be smart and make something of yourself.  Hard work and life-long learning are the key.

Although called a biography in several reviews, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is shelved as fiction. I think this is because it contains a great deal of supposition about what particulars of different voyages and facets of Nat's life were like.  All of the main timeline and facts seem to check out historically, but it is mighty embellished.

Latham, Jean Lee.  Carry On, Mr. Bowditch.  HoughtonMifflin, 1955.

In response to Valerie's comment, here is the quote on ash breeze.  "When a ship is becalmed--the wind died down--she can't move--sometimes the silors break out their oars.  They'll row a boat ahead of the ship and tow her.  Or they'll carry out anchors and heave them over, and the crew will lean on the capstan bars and drag the ship up to where the anchors are heaved over.  Oars are made of ash--white ash.  So--when you get ahead by your own get-up-and-get--that's when you sail by ash breeze." (p. 48)

The Wheel on the School (1955)

The quiet in the little school in Shora was broken when Lina asked if she could read her essay.  It was about storks.  She wondered why there were no storks on the roofs of Shora, for she knows they bring good luck and make you happy.  There are storks on the roofs of the houses in surrounding villages, but not in Shora, a small, Dutch fishing village just behind the dike at the edge of the sea..

This essay and the question it poses starts the class on an adventure to get storks back in Shora.  The teacher sees an opportunity for the class to do some thinking and runs with the idea, getting them all excited about the project.  They realized that they need a wagon wheel to place on the roof so that the storks will have a place to build their nest.  The children begin combing the village and surrounding farms to find a wheel to place on the roof of the school. 

Their adventures soon lead them to interact with the people in the village.  One of my favorites was Janus.  The children all think he is the meanest man in town.  His legs, so the children tell each other, were bitten off by a shark.  When twins Pier and Dirk try to sneak into his yard to look for a wheel, they make a surprising discovery.

That is what happens in this book.  The characters make discoveries about the people around them and about themselves.  They find out good and surprising things which strengthen and lift each one and brings unity to the village.  There is enough going on that children would enjoy the book, and it also has a message that will inspire them.  I give it two thumbs up.

Some favorite quotes.  There were more, but would take up too much space setting the scene and are better read in full context.:

The teacher says, "But there's where things have to start--with a dream.  Of course, if you just go on dreaming, then it stays a dream and becomes stale and dead.  But first to dream the then to do--isn't that the way to make a dream come true?" (p. 32)

A farmer to one of the children. "I'll take a chance on you.  Fat, slow kids are usually pretty honest.  They have to be; they can't run away." (p. 81)

DeJong, Meindert.  The Wheel on the School.  HarperCollins, 1954.

...and now Miguel (1954)

...and now Miguel tells the story of, you guessed it, Miguel.  At 12 years old, Miguel thinks he is ready to go to the mountains with the men to tend the sheep during the summer.  His family have been raising sheep in New Mexico for generations and the journey to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the sheep symbolizes to Miguel the transition to manhood.  He wishes and prays for a miracle to make it possible for him to go, but he also works hard and does his best to pull his weight so that his father and the other men will see him as capable of the task.

The rest of the family do not understand Miguel.  Sometimes he thinks things and kind of assumes his listeners are following his thoughts before he speaks, and then they all become confused.  Kind of funny except that Miguel is so earnest. 

Small spoiler--A miracle does happen for him to go.  You will have to read the book to find out how it all works out.  :)

Some favorite quotes:

"I don't know if it is true but I have been told that if you are good all the time and if sometimes you pray, then you will go to heaven.  Maybe this is so and maybe not." (p. 10) 

Miguel had taken on the role painting the numbers on the ewes and newborn lambs so that the moms and babies could be matched up if they got separated.  In talking with his grandfather about this he learns: 

" 'That is the real work of a pastor,' my grandfather told me, 'of a shepherd..  To see that in all the flock there is no one that is alone by himself.  Everyone together.  Only so can all live.'

'How is it they go off, the way they do, by themselves?' I asked. 'Why are sheep not so smart?'

'Sheep!  There are many men who don't understand this simple thing.  Not only sheep.' " (p. 52)

"The boy should know this...Whenever something grows and you keep it from growing anymore, that's a sin.  And if it's a life, living, and you let it to die, that's a sin." (p. 57)

"Ordinarily I'm a pretty good prayer.  I can do an 'Our Father who Art In Heaven' as fast as anybody else.  Without skipping words, I can beat even my big sisters.  But this wish wasn't like doing an 'Our Father.' I had to make up the words for this one myself. And not only words.  To say a wish like this one I think maybe you have to say it with something more than just plain words." (p. 113-114)

"One thing is, next year on san Ysidro Day I'm going to say a new kind of prayer...I'm going to pray like this. 'San Ysidro. Dear Sir.  This is Miguel Chavez who took up so much of your time last year...Thank you for last year.  But  this year, I haven't got any wish.  No wish at all.  All I wish, San Ysidro, is for things to be the way you wish.  Amen.' " (p. 216)

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I rather doubt that the target audience children would find it appealing.  It is kind of slow-moving and makes you stop and think.  I don't think kids these days like doing that, however much we would like them to.

Krumgold, Joseph. ...and now Miguel. Crowell, 1953.

Ginger Pye (1952)

Jerry Pye decided to buy a puppy.  He chose the smartest one in the litter.  Now all he needed was a dollar, and he needed it fast, before it was sold to someone else who had their eye on the same puppy.  Jerry and his sister, Rachel, earned the dollar by dusting the pews in the church.  Their Uncle Benny helped.  Uncle Benny's claim to fame is that he is 3 years old and is the uncle of Jerry and Rachel, who are 10 and 9. On the way home from buying him, Jerry and Rachel heard mysterious footsteps following them, but never saw who was there.  And later they noticed someone in a yellow hat looking furtively through the fence.

They named the dog Ginger Pye, and they loved this dog!!  He is cute and smart and nice.  As an example of how smart he is, when Jerry went to school one day, Ginger decided to find out where he was instead of staying home all lonely.  He tracked his scent, found the pencil Jerry lost on the way, and even climbed the fire escape to get to Jerry's classroom, and deliver the pencil.  They have some good times at the reservoir, etc.  But then something terrible happens. 

On Thanksgiving Day, Ginger Pye went missing.  They searched all over for him.  Over the next days and weeks, they enlisted the help of their friends.  Never a trace of him was found.  Everywhere Jerry and Rachel went now they looked for Ginger.  They talked to the police chief about the "unsavory character," as they called the mysterious person in the yellow hat.

Finally, on the 29th of May, Jerry's birthday, the mystery was solved.  Read and find out how.  :)

I enjoyed reading Ginger Pye. One of the interesting things about it were the tangents the author often took on her way through the story.  At first they kind of annoyed me, I wanted her to get on with the story, but they kind of grew on me.

Estes, Eleanor. Ginger Pye.  Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1951

Amos Fortune, Free Man (1951)

The majority of Newbery books I have read to this point have been good, but not stand-out great.  There were a few (Caddie Woodlawn, The Cat Who Went to Heaven, Johnny Tremain).  Amos Fortune, Free Man goes on that list. This biography reads like fiction.  I don't know how extensive the "Amos Fortune papers" are (available in the East Jaffrey library) which the author used in writing this, but I would hazard a guess that she made up the dialogue and internal thoughts.  Although it does say in the book that Amos carried around a notebook. 

The book begins in Africa in 1725.  Ms. Yates paints a superb picture in our minds with lyrical, poetic prose, of the night and the group gathered in the jungle, among whom is At-mun, the chief's son.  During this night, slave traders surround the tribe, shoot the chief and take all of the healthy, young men and women captive.  Then begins the arduous path to the Americas with a wait in the pit, the notorious Middle Passage, the humiliation of being sold.  Through all this, At-mun keeps his pride, remembers his heritage as a king. 

I will not go through the story of his life.  Know, kind reader, that it is filled with hopes and dreams and faith, love and loss.   What I will do is put down some of my favorite quotes.

"Amos went to church for two long hours in the morning and again in the afternoon, observing with respect the laws that pertained to the Sabbath during the hours when he was not under the vigilant eye of the minister.  It puzzled Amos that the white people put so much stress on Sunday.  Yet it seemed somehow similar to the stress they put on the color of a man's skin.  To Amos, once he understood the Lord, every day was lived to Him.  It was not in the Meeting House alone but in the tan yard that he took delight in being a Christian.  It was not with his own people he felt at his best but with all men" (p. 56)

On the day he bought his own freedom, "He stood in the doorway and breathed the air...and it seemed that now he was free he could breathe more deeply...He was almost sixty years old and he was ready to live." (p. 68)

"The struggling colonies had been bound together by words on a parchment, words that said 'All men are created equal...'  words that were to become the foundation stone of a nation, words easily ascribed to in the enthusiasm of youth when they signified breaking the bonds of restriction and tyranny, words hard to explain to the black man who looked to the white for wisdom and understanding." (p.77)

Describing the preacher, "Imposing and fiery, challenging and inspired, his words on a Sunday were as forceful as his life on a weekday." (p. 121)

Amos and Violet, his wife, had an argument and these are her thoughts.  "What right had she to oppose him?  Yet it was he who had given her freedom.  The word was meaningless unless in its light each one lived up to his highest and his best." (p. 140)

Amos, after many years, told Violet about his capture and his initial desire to escape.  He said, "My hand was restrained and I'm glad that it was, for the years between have shown me that it does a man no good to be free until he knows how to live, how to walk in step with God." (p. 162)

There are many more, but this is getting too long.  I think children would enjoy this book.  I sure did.

Yates, Elizabeth.  Amos Fortune, Free Man.  Dutton, 1950.

The Door in the Wall (1950)

A fun little book, The Door in the Wall chronicles the tale of Robin, son of Sir John de Bureford, who wishes to become a knight with all of the chivalry, adventure and bravery that entails.  Unfortunately, Robin became sick with some unnamed illness which left him weak and his legs useless.  Fortunately, it was not The Plague, which was raging through England at the time the book is set.

His parents had left him in the care of servants when they went off to serve the king and queen.  He took ill soon after that, and then the servants caught the plague and were never seen again.  Luckily, a good monk, Brother Luke, heard he was alone and rescued him to hospice of St. Mark's.  He nursed Robin back to health and challenged him with difficult tasks meant to build his strength and patience.  Robin, in his lively way, met these challenges.

Robin anxiously awaited news from his father, who was away with the king at war. Robin finally learned of his well-being, and his father wrote to tell him to go to Sir Peter de Lindsay, where Robin was originally to be trained.  Accompanied by Brother Luke and John-go-in-the-Wynd (a minstrel), Robin journeyed to Sir Peter's, encountering many adventures on his way. 

But Robin met his biggest challenge yet when the Welsh attacked the castle.  Will Robin be able to save the day?  I think you, kind reader, know the answer.  :)

This book contains a good example of working hard to overcome/compensate for physical disability.  It teaches perseverance, patience, courage.  The title is based on Revelation 3:8, "I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name."  Brother Luke refers to a door in the wall several times to teach Robin along the lines of the adage, "When God closes a door He opens a window."  He wanted Robin to know that there would always be opportunities for him to learn, grow and succeed.  For example, "Whether thou'lt walk soon I know not.  This I know. We must teach thy hands to be skillful in many ways, and we must teach thy mind to go about whether thy legs will carry thee or no.  For reading is another door in the wall." (p. 29)

Sir Peter says, "Each of us has his place in the world.  If we cannot serve in one way, there is always another.  If we do what we are able, a door always opens to something else." (p. 71) 

One last quote from Brother Luke.  "Fret not , my son.  None of us is perfect.  It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit.  We can only do the best we can with what we have.  That, after all, is the mearsure of success: what we do with what we have." (p. 76)

de Angeli, Marguerite. The Door in the Wall. Doubleday, 1949.

King of the Wind (1949)

Sham, the horse, and Agba, the mute Moroccan boy who cared for and loved Sham, were pretty much inseparable.  Agba slept in the stall while Sham was being born.  He prevented Signor Achmet, the keeper  of the horses, from killing Sham when he saw the sign of misfortune on his breast by showing him that Sham also bore the symbol of speed on his heel.  So begins the tale. 

The sultan of Morocco decided to send his six most perfect steeds to King Louis XV of France.  Sham was picked to go, and Agba with him.  Here their troubles began.  From one situation to another they met misfortune after misfortune.  I kept thinking they would at last be given their due, but not until the very end did Sham receive the honor I, as the reader, kept looking for. Sham sired several race winners and was honored at one of the big races that two of his children competed in and won. 

Going from unfortunate situation to unfortunate situation became rather tedious.  (It reminded me somewhat of Black Beauty, although that horse at least had a kind master once in a while.  Full disclosure.  I haven't actually read Black Beauty, but I'm pretty sure I saw a movie version. : )  The take away for kids would be to persevere through all hardship and credit will be given in the end.  Also, "to illustrate to young children what could happen to perfectly good horses that were considered worthless because of prejudice or unwillingness to see what was there." (Nonesuch Explorers "sizhao" , reviewer on Amazon)  And I imagine they could generalize that concept to people.

This is a highly fictionalized account of a true story.  For facts, you might want to visit  http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/GodolphinArabian.html

Henry, Marguerite. King of the Wind. Aladdin,1948.

The Twenty-One Balloons (1948)

Professor William Waterman Sherman "had been teaching arithmetic at a school for boys in San Francisco for forty years and was thoroughly tired of the idea." (p.5)  He had thoughts of balloon travel where he could escape from human interaction for a whole year.  He had his balloon built and made his escape on August 15, heading west over the Pacific Ocean.  He was picked up in the Atlantic Ocean 40 days later, which cut the around-the-world time in half. (as in Around the World in 80 Days.)

This created a big mystery as W. W. Sherman would not let anyone know of his grand adventures until he had returned to San Francisco.  He even refused to meet the president of the United States, thinking he would even try to get him to tell his tale.  Upon this refusal, the president then offered Prof. Sherman the use of the presidential train so that he could recuperate and travel back to San Francisco more quickly so the tale could be told even sooner.

He is given a hero's welcome in S.F., and taken to the Western American Explorers' Club where he gives a speech, while sitting in a fancy bed, describing his adventures.  He tells of his crash landing on the island of Krakatoa, meeting a number of families there and the society they have created for themselves.  Of the fabulous wealth in diamond mines they discovered, how they have built their government on cuisine and of the many fabulous inventions to make life pleasant on the isolated island. 

Then comes the fateful day that the island exploded.  Luckily, the people of the island had provided for just such an explosion with a floating platform.  They escaped before the island completely blew itself up.

This book has two facts based on historical events.  There really was a balloon craze in the last decades of the 19th century.  And the volcanic island of Krakatoa really did blow up in 1883.  The book was very entertaining.  Here are two quotes, one from the beginning and one from the end, that illustrate the humor in the book.  (Speaking of illustrations, William Pene du Buois also illustrated the book with fun drawings.)

On why balloon is the best way to travel to school, "You get up early in the morning with your schoolbooks, climb into the basket, look in the direction of the schoolhouse, untie the ropes, and fly off.  On your way many delightful things can happen such as:
     a) the wind will be calm and you'll never get to school;
     b) the wind will blow you in the wrong direction and take you fifty miles out into the country away from school, and
     c) you might decide to play hookey, just once, and nobody can bother you in a balloon." (p. 5)

On how he could give such a good speech about his adventures while still in his "sickened condition...'Ha,ha' shouted the Professor, leaping from the bed.  'I feel fine.  I rested up completely on the Presidential train on my five-day trip across the country.  I could have made the talk standing up, but when I saw this beautiful bed on the speaker's platform I thought I'd be a stupid fool if I passed it up.'" (p. 178)

du Bois, William Pene.  The Twenty-One Balloons.  The Viking Press, 1947.

Miss Hickory (1947)

Miss Hickory was kind of an odd book about a doll made from an apple twig with a hickory nut head.  Miss Hickory, unlike Hittie, (another doll character from a Newbery book) is able to move and interact with animals and her environment, but she is never shown interacting with humans. 

Left behind (and outside in New Hampshire) when the family in the house moves to Boston for the winter, Miss Hickory despairs of ever surviving.  Her corncob house taken over by a chipmunk, she has no place to spend the winter.  Finally Crow takes pity on her and helps her find an abandoned robin's nest to live in for the winter.

Miss Hickory is quite resourceful.  When her clothes start to fall apart, she improvises with things she finds in the forest.  She discovers that she loves to skate on the frozen streams.  She finds berries frozen under the snow to eat.  She helps the pheasant hens start a ladies aid society. 

The one thing that characterizes Miss Hickory most is her hard head.  She says that it is because it is a hickory nut.  She doesn't take easily to change.  She has a hard time believing her animal friends or trusting them. 

Near the end of the book Spring has finally arrived.  Miss Hickory has to find a new home when the robins return to their nest, and decides to look into Squirrel's hole in the tree.  She hadn't seen him for some time and thought he had moved on.  To her great surprise, and dismay, she found him home.  I say to her dismay because Squirrel, having eaten all of his nuts, needed food and saw Miss Hickory's head as his salvation.  It was at this point that the head started realizing how hard it was and all of the things Miss Hickory had missed because of it.  So then the image the author gives is a bit funny.  The body of Miss Hickory wanders around and climbs the old, gnarled apple tree and sticks the neck part of the twig into a crack.

Good things come of this, however.  Miss Hickory becomes a scion, bringing new life to the old tree.  (dictionary.com defines scion as "a shoot or twig, especially one cut for grafting or planting; a cutting.")   

Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin.  Miss Hickory.  The Viking Press, 1946.

Strawberry Girl (1946)

In the Foreword of Strawberry Girl, Lois Lenski tells us her purpose in writing a "series of regional books for American children."  She writes, "We need to know our country better; to know and understand people different from ourselves; so that we can say: 'This then is the way these people lived.  Because I understand it, I admire and love them.'" (p. xi) Set in the early 1900's in the backwoods of Florida, this book is rich in regional dialect and character.

When the Boyers move from Marion County to the old Roddenberry house (I couldn't find a town name, only that they moved from northern Florida to somewhere more southern), they have more than just the land and weather to contend with.  They have the Slaters.  Despite all their efforts at being neighborly, the Slaters, just don't want to get along.  The Boyers, along with many families in the area, start strawberry farms, and the Slaters' hogs and cattle roaming unfenced wreak havoc on the plants.  But when Bihu Boyer decides to fence his land, that's when things get ugly.

Told from the perspective of 10-year-old Birdie, we experience with her the joy and sadness, faith and fear of a brave girl who wants to do good and who truly loves her neighbors despite their shortcomings.  The Boyer family is portrayed as hard-working, kind, forward-looking; in sharp contrast with the Slaters, who are depicted as lazy, selfish and backward. 

During the course of the story, Mrs. Boyer and Mrs. Slater and the children become friends and learn to appreciate and serve each other, but it takes a small miracle to bring Mr. Slater around.

I enjoyed reading this book very much.

Lenski, Lois. Strawberry Girl. HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1945.

Daniel Boone (1940)

Many thanks to our local children's librarian for help in obtaining a copy of this for me to read!

Daniel Boone.  One of the great legends of the settling of America.  His story is told here.  Filled with adventure, loyalty, love, patriotism, this book gives a taste of life in early America, and the people who sacrificed and worked to make the nation great.

The book begins with the Boone family in Pennsylvania.  They decide the country is filling up and move to North Carolina with their 11 children, Daniel being one of the 11.  When he was about 22 he joined an army going to fight the French and Indians.  George Washington, same age as Boone, was in the same group.  This campaign ended in disaster.

Boone married Rebecca Bryan.  She had to have been a remarkable woman.  The family moved several times, when one area would "fill up" they would move on to a new one.  When they moved to a new place, they had the work of building a fort and fending off Indian attacks as well as breaking ground and planting. 

Daniel often went on extended hunting and trapping trips, extended meaning a year or two, long.  He blazed the trail through the Cumberland Gap and led settlers into the beautiful Ohio Valley. 

Daniel Boone was a great man.  Unfortunately, this particular biography was not very fulfilling.  Dates, which I really like in a biography, were missing throughout.  So a timeline would have been nice. Another thing I didn't like about the book was the writing style.  Here is one example, which I actually like quite a bit, but when the whole book is written in this rather florid style, it gets a bit annoying.  "Boone's story was the story of a whole people.  It had all their griefs and tragedies and restless longings and rich half-fulfilled dreams, all their ranging freedom and mortal bondages.  It rang with the roaring laughter and boisterous fun; it was dark with the unfathomable silent anguishes by new-made graves; it was full of lost hopes and dreams of grandeur." (p. 52)  The author put this in the middle of the book, but it sounds like a great ending to me.  I think this would be a hard sell to get a child to read.

Daugherty, James.  Daniel Boone.  The Viking Press, 1939.

Rabbit Hill (1945)

You know the old adage, "Don't judge a book by its cover."  In this case, trust it.  When I first picked this book up I judged it, wrongly.  So don't let the cover put you off.  Here is the scoop.

All the little animals on the hill are in a hard way.  There have not been "folks" in the big house for several years and the animals sorely miss having a garden to raid, garbage pails to go through, and people to plant the fields.  The excitement starts when the news of new folks coming begins to buzz through the animal neighborhood. 

There is much speculation as to what type of folks these will be.  They all hope for planting folk but the worriers among them wonder if there will be dogs, cats, traps and poison.  When they finally move in, the animals find in them good friends.  The worker repairing the yard wall is told to leave a section near Porkey the woodchuck's burrow, so as not to disturb him.  Another, in charge of planting the field, is told "No poison or traps."  These men really wonder at the wisdom of this method of keeping varmints out of the garden. They figure it is because the new folk read a lot.  One says, "Seems a shame, nice folds too, pleasant-spoken and all-but queer.  Comes of readin' books too much, I guess.  Grandpa had the right of it. 'Readin' rots the mind,' he used to say." (p. 84)

There is a cast of great animal characters.  Phewie the skunk.  Worrying Mother rabbit. Pompous Father rabbit. Energetic Little Georgie and cantankerous Uncle Analdas Rabbit.  Porkey the Woodchuck.  Willie the field mouse and his best friend Mole. And many others.

After the folk leave washed veggies out for the animals,  the animals decide that the folks are so good they won't despoil the garden and fields, but keep guard around it so other critters don't get it.  Back to the workman.  "Louie, I just can't understand it.  Here's these new folks with their garden and not a sign of a fence around it, no traps, no poison, no nothing; and not a thing touched, not a thing...Now me, I've got all them things--and what happens?  All my carrots gone and half my beets...I can't understand it.  Must just be Beginner's Luck." (p. 128)

A fun book for the younger Newbery crowd.

Lawson, Robert.  Rabbit Hill.  The Viking Press, 1944.

The Matchlock Gun (1942)

I finished this book over a week ago and have had multiple opportunities to write about it, but just couldn't seem to bring myself to do it.  It wasn't a bad book, it just didn't strike me as a great book. 

In The Matchlock Gun, the Van Alstyne family lives in upstate New York in the mid 18th century during the time of the French and Indian War.  They have an old Spanish musket that has been in the family for generations.  When Teunis goes off to defend against Indian aggression, he leaves his wife, Gertrude, and two children, Edward and Trudy, at home, also the gun.  (He takes is more modern gun.)  Gertrude decides not to go to the larger house that her mother-in-law lives in.  Apparently, she has never approved of Gertrude, her being German, not Dutch.

They don't know what is going on and so prepare to defend their home against any Indians who might get past the guard.  Gertrude sets up the matchlock gun, an old Spanish musket, on the table and gives 10-year-old Edward a signal word of when he should fire the gun.  Then she goes out to pick beans, a pretense for keeping watch. 

The Indians have indeed slipped past the guard and as they chase Gertrude to the door of the house, she calls out several names, probably to make the Indians think there are many men in the house.  The last name she calls is "Edward" and that is the signal.  He lights the primed gun and it fires, the kickback knocking him onto the floor with the gun on top of him. 

Here is how it all played out.  Gertrude was hit in the shoulder with an axe.  Edward's shot killed 3 Indians.  The house caught on fire, but Edward and his sister were able to get out, move their mother out of harms way, and Edward saved the gun.  Their father found them there in the morning.
I know people's attitudes were different back then, but I really don't like it when Native Americans, or other aboriginal groups, are portrayed as less than human.  I don't think I would want my 10-year-old to have on his conscience the death of 3 people. 

I really liked the illustrations, though.

Edmonds, Walter D.  The Matchlock Gun.  Dodd, Mead & Co., Inc., 1941.

Johnny Tremain (1944)

This was a fun book, and so great for the 4th of July!  Set in Boston just before the Revolutionary War, Johnny Tremain gives a good flavor for life in Boston at the time.  We learn of the Patriots (Whigs) and Loyalists (Tories) and the political struggles leading up to the American Revolution. 

At the beginning of the book, Johnny Tremain works as an apprentice silversmith.  He is very talented as a silversmith, practically running the shop.  Through his pride, and the meanness of others, he suffers an accident that leaves him crippled in one of his hands, unable to do the work he loves.  In looking for work, he meets Rab, a kind young man who helps him find work and by not focusing on his crippled hand, enables him to also look past it and see that he is more than his disability.

Rab also introduces him to the ideas of the Patriots and the cause to which  they aspire.  Johnny begins delivering The Observer, a Patriot paper, to cities around Boston.  He becomes very good with his horse and when the Redcoats come to subdue the people of Boston, Johnny is able to spy on them when he delivers notes and through gossip among the stable boys.

Johnny rubs shoulders with the likes of Paul Revere, Sam Adams, John Adams and others.  He takes part in the Boston Tea Party and anxiously awaits the news from Lexington and Concord. 

Intertwined with the political turmoil, Johnny also experiences love, friendship, jealousy, family intrigue.  A good book to introduce children to the American Revolution and get them interested in history.

Here are some quotes I liked:

At one of the Sons of Liberty meetings, James Otis had a great speech in which he uses questions to draw out the answer to why they will fight.  I will shorten the passage considerably.

"'Sammy,' he said to Sam Adams, 'You were saying...We will fight...For what will we fight?'

'To free Boston from these infernal redcoats and...'

'No,' said Otis. 'That's not enough reason for going into a war....Why are we going to fight?  Why?'

'We will fight for the rights of Americans.  England cannot take our money away by taxes.'

'No, no.  For something more important than the pocketbooks of our American citizens.'

Rab said, 'For the rights of Englishmen--everywhere.'

'Why stop with Englishmen?' Otis was warming up.  'For men and women and children all over the world.  There shall be no more tyranny.  A handful of men cannot seize power over thousands.  A man shall choose who it is shall rule over him...The peasants of France, the serfs of Russia.  Because we fight, they shall see freedom like a new sun rising in the west.  Those natural rights God has given to every man, no matter how humble.  The battle we win over the worst in England shall benefit the best in England...So we hold up our torch and we will set it as a new sun to lighten a world...'" (p. 177-179)

Johnny talking to Mrs. Bessie:

"'How old are you Johnny?'

'Sixteen.'

'And what's that--a boy or a man?'

He laughed.  'A boy in time of peace and a man in time of war.'" (p. 236-237)

Forbes, Esther.  Johnny Tremain. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1943.

Secret of the Andes (1953)

I am going to begin this entry with a personal note.  You might have noticed that in reviewing this book, I skipped ahead about 10 years.  For our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband and I went to Peru for a week.  Loved it!!  We spent a couple of days in Cusco and a couple of days around Machu Picchu.  Some of the places mentioned in the book we were able to visit.

Set in the early 1900s, Secret of the Andes tells the story of Cusi, a young boy who lives with the mysterious Chuto.  Cusi was left with Chuto when he was a young child, too young to have memories of his previous life.  They live a very solitary existence high in the Andes Mountains caring for the flock of llamas.  When a family moves into the valley far below them, Cusi begins to question why he doesn't have a family.  When a minstrel (very unlike Roger the minstrel) joins them for a few days, an opportunity arises for Chuto to take Cusi to the bigger world.  He says to the minstrel, "It is time we saw the valley beyond us.  Today Cusi saw people in the valley below us.  In a week's time he will have seen many.  Curiosity can leap the highest wall; an open gate is better." (p. 5)  This idea is repeated in other places in the book, that sometimes too little freedom will cause rebellion.  So they visit the Salt Pits (which we also saw in our travels), and soon after a traveler comes to stay.  He trains Cusi in the history and ways of the Inca.  Cusi sometimes wonders why he  is being trained.

The book also focuses on the Incan people and the pride they take in being apart from their conquerors, the Spanish.  There is a lot of "us" and "them."  Also, feelings of resentment against the Spanish.  But mostly it is about Cusi deciding what he will do.  After receiving a sign, he goes off to Cusco, alone but for several llamas, to find a family that he might join.  The love Cusi has for Chuto is demonstrated in this passage.  "An old man on the mountaintop let his tears drop to heal the heartache of a lonely boy.  Cusi knew it.  He had been so close to Chuto, so near him, so much a part of his world, that he knew when the Old One cried.  He could sense the Old One's tears.  He knew that they were dropping to cool the burning of his heart, to soothe his aching disappointment, to wash all his bitterness away." (p. 77)

In Cusco, Cusi realizes his dream of being in a family was already his.  After spending time with a typical family he felt they were not his family.  He couldn't share what was most important with them, and he kept thinking of Chuto.  "There was the answer! What he had been looking for had been his.  He had not known it.  He had almost lost it.  He had almost gone away, leaving all that mattered behind him.  'But I guess deep in my heart I knew,'" (p. 109)

If the book ended with Cusi's realization that Chuto was his family, I would have really liked it.  However...  SPOILER ALERT...it is then revealed that Chuto is part of a long line of Inca who have kept the secret of gold in the mountains, gold that was to ransom the Inca king being held by the Spaniards 400 years before.  The gold is now in a hidden cave and the only ones to be able to access it are an old man and the young one he trains.  Just a bit far-fetched for me.

Quotes I liked:
"Cusi was glad to begin his new task, although usually he did not like to do it.  But today it seemed easier than thinking.  Some thoughts are hard to think about." (p. 18)

"They walked along in silence, a comfortable silence.  They were companions.  Companions have no need for constant talking." (p.44)

Clark, Ann Nolan. Secret of the Andes. The Viking Press, 1953.

Adam of the Road (1943)

This was a fun little book.  Actually on the longer side for Newbery awards at 317 pages, but a quick read.  Set in 13th century England, Adam of the Road chronicles a year in the life of Adam, the 11-year-old son of Roger the minstrel.  Adam is set on becoming a minstrel as well.  He sings beautifully and plays the harp as well. A small harp that he carries over his shoulder.  (see photo above) 

Adam's adventure really began when Jankin, a mean-spirited minstrel, stole his dog, Nick.  Adam loved Nick above all but Roger.  Roger and Adam started after him, but eventually got separated.  Many people gave Nick help along the way.  Great characters.  One of the adventures I liked best was when Adam was travelling with a merchant and an errant knight robbed and kidnapped the merchant.  Adam escaped and went for the bailiff for help.  They made a great rescue. 

The author painted a vivid picture of medieval life, although as in Thimble Summer,  I think the children were very lucky in the people they met who helped them.  That seems to be a theme in many of these Newbery books, that there are good people out there who are ready and willing to help children in trouble. 

Some ideas the author brought out, and returned to throughout the book.  "A road's a kind of holy thing.  That's why it's a good work to keep a road in repair, like giving alms to the poor or tending the sick.  It's open to the sun and wind and rain.  It brings all kinds of people and all parts of England together.  And it's home to a minstrel, even though he may happen to be sleeping in a castle." (p. 52)

"All the adventures don't happen in minstrels' tales.  Let the boy keep his eyes open, he may see great things happen, though he won't know it at the time." (p. 117)

There were several great proverbs about living honestly, not being proud, etc.  Here is one I really liked about treating the elderly with respect. 

"If you sit upon the bench

And see before you standing

A trembling old man,

Get up from your seat

And bid him sit down.

Then will he say

A good man taught you first.

Then sit afterward

Beside him, and learn wisdom." (p. 115)

Gray, Elizabeth Janet. Adam of the Road. The Viking Press, 1942.

However, if you are looking on the shelf, it will likely be under VIN.  Apparently, Ms. Gray became Mrs. Vining.  Random fact about her I just learned on Wikipedia.  "During the Allied occupation of Japan after the war, Vining was selected by Emperor Hirohito himself (and not the U.S. government, as is erroneously believed by some) to become a private tutor to Crown Prince Akihito, the heir apparent of the Imperial House of Japan. As part of her teaching program, she arranged for closely-supervised occasions when four Western teen-aged boys in Tokyo would get together to help the crown prince practice English conversation."  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Gray_Vining)

Call It Courage (1941)

When Mafatu was 3 years old, a storm swept him and his mother out to sea.  She was able to rescue him, but then she perished.  After that, the ocean terrified Mafatu, which was kind of ironic since his name means "Stout Heart" in their Polynesian language.  His father was ashamed of him, boys on the island mocked him.  His only friends were his dog, Uri, and an albatross, Kivi. 

One night, he decided he couldn't stand another taunt.  He climbed into an outrigger canoe and summoning all of his courage, pushed out to open ocean.  So begins his grand adventure.  It is boy against nature.   Nearly starved and dehydrated, he found an island, and began making it home.  He built a shelter, made a new canoe, killed the wild boar, retrieved a spear head from the place that was taboo.  He built traps for lobsters, made a knife from whale bone, killed an octopus. 

"Never again need he hang his head before his people.  He had fought the sea for life and won.  He had sustained himself by his own wits and skill.  He had faced loneliness and danger and death, if not without flinching, at least with courage.  He had been, sometimes, deeply afraid, but he had faced fear and faced it down.  Surely that could be called courage." (p. 95) 

I think children would enjoy this book.  I did, as I thought about how I would survive on a deserted island (without the benefit of Gilligan,Skipper, the Professor, etc.).

Sperry, Armstrong. Call It Courage. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1940.

Thimble Summer (1939)

The day Garnet found a silver thimble in the sand by the river, she knew her summer would be magical.  Nine-year-old Garnet lives on a farm in Wisconsin and drought threatens to ruin the crops, but that changes with the finding of the thimble as a storm moved through that very night.

Many good things happen that summer that Garnet attributes to the luck of the thimble.  Eric, a runaway orphan, joins their family.  She and her friend, Citronella (What a name!!) get locked in the library for half the night.  Her father gets a government loan to build a new barn.  She has an argument with her brother, Jay, and runs away, hitch-hiking, but luckily she gets help from friendly strangers.  She enters her pig into a contest at the fair and ... I won't tell.

I'm not sure exactly when the book takes place.  Maybe it is contemporary with the publication (1938), but I think it is set a little earlier.  The book really reminds us of the innocence of farm life in the early twentieth century with children hitch-hiking, orphans taking care of themselves and great-grandmothers who tell wonderful stories from their childhoods.

Enright, Elizabeth. Thimble Summer. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1938

The next book, Daniel Boone by James Daugherty, is not in our local library or any of the school libraries I have access to, so I'm not sure when I will blog about it.  So up next is the 1941 winner, Call it Courage. 

The White Stag (1938)

Written and illustrated by Kate Seredy, The White Stag recounts the movement of the Huns and Magyars from Asia across Europe.  Although not in the "fiction" section of the library, the author definitely makes it her own.  In the forward, she states, "Those who want to hear the voice of pagan gods in wind and thunder, who want to see fairies dance in the moonlight, who can believe that faith can move mountains, can follow the thread on the pages of this book.  It is a fragile thread; it cannot bear the weight of facts and dates."  That is indeed the essence of the book as the Huns are led from place to place by a magical white stag, told by their gods of leaders and men to lead them in battle, and led to a final valley of peace and plenty.  Those who lost the vision and faith in the future success of the people are punished by the gods.  Battle is glorified.

There were times of softness, as when Bendeguz and Alleeta fall in love in the moonlight, and his despair at her death.  I loved the illustrations and thought they added depth to the book.

Seredy, Kate. The White Stag. The Viking Press, 94.

Roller Skates (1937)

(Trouble getting a picture of the book.  I'll try later.)

In Roller Skates we meet Lucinda--eager for excitement, impulsive, kind-hearted.  The story is set in 1890s New York City.  Lucinda's parents depart for Europe and leave Lucinda to live with Miss Peters and Miss Nettie.  Lucinda, now "orphaned," pretty much has the run of New York City.  In Lucinda's mind why walk when you can run, why run when you can roller skate?  She loved to roller skate and used them as her main mode of transportation.

She makes friends with everyone she meets--the cabbie, Mr. Gilligan; the policeman, Patrolman M'Gonegal; Tony, the boy whose father runs the fruit stand; even the junkman, Rags-N'-Bottles.  Each of these help Lucinda and are helped by her in return.  Mostly they love how she is so carefree, just as a young girl ought to be, without inhibition or affectation.

One of Lucinda's favorite people is her Uncle Earle.  He rescues her from sewing sessions with Aunt Emily and her prissy girl cousins.  He seems to know that she was not made in the mold of his own daughters, and loves her just the same.  He introduces her to Shakespeare, which she loves and decides to put on her own theatrical version of Twelfth Night.  They read some comedies and then Uncle Earle introduced her to tragedy.  He said, "In fine tragedies, such as the Greeks and William Shakespeare wrote, what happens must be inevitable--unescapable.  It must make you feel right about the ending.  And great tragedies must have beauty in them; otherwise what's the use?"(p. 150)

Lucinda takes a special liking to a 4-year-old upstairs neighbor girl.  When she discovers this family is very poor, she begins to do little things to help them.  She watches "Trinket" and takes her to the toy store.  She makes a Christmas tree for her.  Spoiler:  Do not read the next paragraph if you don't want to know a major plot line.

Trinket gets very sick and Dr. Hitchcock, called in on the last day, is not able to save her.  Dr. Hitchcock tells Lucinda that the Eskimos believe that when a person dies her soul becomes a white gull.  Lucinda replies, referring to Trinket's parents, "I could tell them about the gulls.  That would be putting beauty into it, wouldn't it?  Uncle Earle said there must be lots and lots of beauty to make it great, and it must be inevitable; that in the end it must all add up right.  Do you think it will add up some day, Doctor Hitchcock?"  He replies, "I think we must believe that.  Otherwise, what would be the use of going on?" (p166-167)

Maybe I liked theses quotes on tragedy because they remind me to see beauty in life in the face of tragedy, and we all have tragedy.  To look for the beauty and that it will all add up, "otherwise, what's the use?"

One other quote, just because of how odd it is.  "Lucinda always got excited over a soda at Huyler's.  To lean on the counter and gaze at the cake of ice with a red rose frozen inside always made her think of lovely things: like Snow White in her little crystal coffin; and Alpine climbers who had fallen down a crevasse and came out years afterwards in a Swiss glacier, looking fresh and perfect, just like the red rose." (p. 179-180)  Lucinda obviously did not have a subscription to National Geographic in which there has been at least one article on frozen Alpine climbers, who do not look perfect, like the red rose.

Sawyer, Ruth. Roller Skates. Viking, 1936.

Caddie Woodlawn (1936)

I loved this book!!! This is the first of the Newbery's in my project that I have read and said to myself, and others, "What a great book!"  Based on a true story, Caddie Woodlawn is about a year in the life of an 11-year-old girl in Wisconsin in the 1860s.  It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie books, but better.

Caddie is one of a large family living on the brink of civilization.  News is sparse, winters hard and adventure plentiful.  Mr. Woodlawn persuaded Mrs. Woodlawn to let Caddie "run wild" for health reasons.  An older brother and a younger brother made up the threesome.  Caddie shows spirit, pluck, patriotism and a great deal of kindness and generosity.

Near the end of the book, Caddie was punished for playing a particularly bad practical joke on a visiting girl cousin.  When her dad went up to talk to her, he gave a great speech about what is important about women.  "It's a strange thing, but somehow we expect more of girls than of boys.  It is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie, who keep the world sweet and beautiful.  What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way!  A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness...It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things...A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's...I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind." (p. 244)

This is a Must-Read book!  (Although now you will probably be let down since I've praised it so highly.)

Brink, Carol Ryrie. Caddie Woodlawn. Macmillan Publishing Company, 1935.

Dobry (1935)

Dobry tells the story of a boy named Dobry growing up in a mountain village of Bulgaria.  His father was killed in a war and he was raised by his mother and grandfather.  His best friend is the shoemaker's daughter, Neda, whose mother has died.  The book describes the work in various seasons and the weather of the area and how their lives revolve around this.

Their life and work in weather and season did not, however, seem in conflict.  It was more like the peasants and their environment were part of each other, not working against each other. There was almost no conflict in the book.  "Conflict: The conflict in a work of fiction is the issue to be resolved in the story. It usually occurs between two characters, the protagonist and the antagonist or between the protagonist and society or the protagonist and himself or herself."

(http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/glossary/glossary_bc.htm#c) I really enjoy conflict in books.  It makes you think more, to try and figure out what you would do if faced with the same dilemma.  I am finding many of these early Newbery winners to be nearly conflict free.  Dobry discovers, on page 81 nearly half way through the book, that he loves to draw.  His mother thinks he should be more peasant-like and want to work the fields like his father and father before him.  But this theme is not expanded on.  Dobry and his mom never talk about it.  His grandfather encourages his art and tries to help his mom understand him, and in the end, his sheer talent wins over his mother. 

Many interesting traditions and customs are described. Some of the ones I liked best were the Christmas and New Year traditions.  I also liked the coming of gypsies to the village and the festivities involved with that.  The gypsies would bring a bear that would give "massages"--walk up and down the backs of the men in the village.  It sounded wonderful.

Not my favorite Newbery.  When he was younger, Dobry was a bit on the annoying side.  When he was older, I kept wondering, "When is he going to kiss Neda?" 

Shannon, Monica. Dobry. Viking Press, 1934.

Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women (1934)

Invincible Louisa,as the subtitle so succinctly states, is the story of the author of Little Women.  Louisa May Alcott had a difficult life.  She was born on November 29, 1832.  From a  very early age, her family lived frugally, but what they didn't have in worldly possessions they made up for in familial love.  Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a great thinker and his friends included Emerson and Thoreau.  In fact, Louisa taught the Emerson children in a little school.

With the financial straits the family seemed to perpetually be in, Louisa vowed to do all she could to help with family finances.  When she was old enough she went out on her own to earn money for the family.  She wasn't very successful at first.  "At first" being years and years.  But Louisa had determination with a capital "D".  She was never down for long.  She wrote, but didn't sell much.  She taught and was a companion for a sick girl.  She was quite an accomplished seamstress.  She had a great zest for life and interest in her fellow men.

Louisa and all her family were abolitionists.  In 1862, at age 30, in the midst of the Civil War, she volunteered to be a nurse in Washington, D.C.  She worked very hard for a month and caught typhus.  She went home very ill and was sick for months.  She never regained the health she had before her sickness.  But it was during this time that she began to be noticed as a writer.  She wrote "Hospital Sketches" about the people and circumstances of the hospital that she encountered during her work at that time.  They were very popular.

Around this time, she was approached by a publisher to write a "book for girls."  She accepted the challenge and wrote Little Women, which was a great success.  From this time on, the family did not have to worry so much about money.  Sales of the books she now wrote provided well for them.

Louisa inspires us to approach life with enthusiasm and interest.  She sets an example of love and devotion to family and appreciation for life and the experiences it affords.

Besides being a slightly boring book, I liked it. 

Meigs, Cornelia. Invincible Louise: The Story of the Author of Little Women. Little, Brown and Company, 1933.

Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (1928)

I was finally able to check this one out.  (Being on first name basis with the children's librarian at our local public library has its perks--she ordered 2 new copies when I told her I needed it and it was unavailable.) 

One thing I've noticed about several of the Newbery books, so far, is that they don't have an overarching storyline.  I understand that with collections of stories, that is inevitable.  But some of the other books are also like that.  Take Gay-Neck for instance.  This book does not have a story running throughout with conflict, resolution,etc., but is more like a series of pictures of different times in the life of the bird and the boy who owns and loves him. 

The action takes place in India, except for a short period when Gay-Neck is sent to Europe to act as messenger in World War I.  "Even now, with the aid of wireless telegraph and radio, no army can dispense with the help of carrier-pigeons." (p. 97)  How times have changed!

Lots of great Indian philosophy (see quotes below).  It was interesting to learn about how pigeons are trained, learn evasive action from enemies, show love and return to their owners.  I could see how Pres. Monson and Bert (from Sesame Street) have a fascinations with pigeons.

I really enjoyed the descriptions by author Dhan Gopal Mukerji. (See quotes below.)  Do children in grades 3-6 appreciate great descriptions?  These seem quite sophisticated for the target audience.

Not the most exciting book, but by reading the quotes below, you can decide for yourself if you want to take the plunge and read the whole thing.  Some of the quotes are quite lengthy, but good.

Philosophical quotes:
"You must know, O Jewel amongst hunters, that no animal, nor any man, is attacked and killed by an enemy until the latter succeeds in frightening him.  I have seen even rabbits escape hounds and foxes when they kept themselves free of fear.  Fear clouds one's wits and paralyses one's nerve.  He who allows himself to be frightened lets himself be killed." (p. 55)--This idea is continued in the next quote...

"Here let it be inscribed in no equivocal language that almost all our troubles come from fear, worry and hate.  If any man catches one of the three, the other two are added unto it.  No beast of prey can kill his victim without frightening him first.  In fact, no animal perishes until its destroyer strikes terror into its heart.  To put it succinctly, an animal's fear kills it before its enemy gives it the final blow." (p. 128)

"There are no graves of Indian Hindu soldiers because the Hindus from time immemorial have cremated their dead, and those that are cremated occupy no grave.  Their ashes are scattered to the winds, and no place is marked or burdened with their memory." (p. 148)

"The holy man said, 'Here in the monastery we have prayed to Infinite Compassion twice every day for the healing of the nations of earth.  Yet the war goes on, infecting even birds and beasts with fear and hate.  Diseases of the emotions spread faster than the ills of the body.  Mankind is going to be so loaded with fear, hate, suspicion and malice that it will take a whole generation before a new set of people can be reared completely free from them.'" (p. 171-172)

"He who purifies himself to the greatest extent can put into the world the greatest spiritual force." (p. 172)

Descriptive quotes:
"I was roused by a tenseness that had fallen upon everything...There was no doubt that the silence of the night was more than mere stillness; stillness is empty, but the silence that beset us was full of meaning, as if a God, shod with moonlight, was walking so close that if I were to put out my hand I could touch his garment." (p. 71)

"The sky above, as usual in the winter, was cloudless and remote, a sapphire intangibility.  The city houses--rose, blue, white and yellow--looked like an army of giants rising from the many-colored abyss of dawn.  Far off, the horizons burned in a haze of dun and purple" (p. 109)

"The Himalayas in the spring are unique.  The ground glittered with white violets, interspersed with raspberries already ripening here and there in the hot moist gorges where the ferns were spreading their large arms as if to embrace the white hills lying like precious stones on the indigo-blue throat of the sky...Tree against tree, bough against bough, and roots struggling with roots fought for light and life...Everywhere life grew in abundance, all the more intensifying the struggle for existence among birds, beasts and plants.  Such is the self-contradictory nature of existence.  Even insects were not free of it." (p. 168-169)

"Suddenly the Himalayan Doel, a night-bird, very much like a nightingale, flung abroad its magic song.  Like a silver flute blown by a God, trill upon trill, cadenza upon cadenza, spilled its torrential peace that rushed like rain down the boughs of the trees, dripping over their rude barks to the floor of the jungle, then through their very roots into the heart of the earth." (p. 183)

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1933)

Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze tells the story of a young boy, age 13, who is displaced by war in 1920s China. (The date is approximate as I could not find an actual time in the book.)  At his father's death, Young Fu and his mother have no way of working their fields, but someone in the village has connections to a coppersmith in Chungking (now spelled "Chongqing"), and is able to secure an apprenticeship for Young Fu.  Going from the open air and fields of China to the cramped city is quite a change for them.

(A note.  Fu is the family name.  Young Fu's name is actually "Fu Yuin-fah."  In China the family name is first, and he is called "Young Fu" because he is young.)

Young Fu develops a good relationship with the coppersmith and learns his trade well.  He has learning experiences as he grows and develops in his new setting.  These were all very interesting.  He learned the vices of going into debt, the danger of gambling, the stumbling block of pride, the horror of war.  All of these are told with understanding and compassion for Young Fu and those he associates with.

I especially enjoyed watching how his relationship with his mother and the coppersmith develop as Young Fu grows up.  I also learned much about the customs of China during that time.  The people, especially those from the country, were very superstitious.  His mother constantly reminds him to not cross this dragon or that.  But as Young Fu experiences life, he comes to not believe quite so strongly in the old teachings.

One thing that I really liked about Young Fu was his honesty.  Several times in the book he had the opportunity to lie or tell half-truths or keep silent when it was to his advantage, but he always spoke out and told the full truth.

This book had many good nuggets of truth to glean.  Here are some favorite quotes:

"Always these foreigners must hurry.  They waste good time studying their watches. They hasten to earn money and hasten to spend it.  Why then trouble to gain it?  Careful spending increases riches." (p. 34)

"What is fortune without wisdom?" (p. 54)

"No man can rule the unruly until he first rules himself." (p. 164)"No task into which a man puts his heart is too bad.  For the lazy, all work is difficult. 'The superior man finds pleasure in doing what is uncongenial.'" (p. 249)

I would definitely recommend Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze. 

Lewis, Elizabeth Foreman. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1932.