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.