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.

Waterless Mountain (1932)

A little slow, Waterless Mountain did give me a better understanding of Navajo culture in the early part of the 20th century.  The story revolves around Younger Brother and his growth from an 8-year-old child to a youth on his way to becoming a man, and a medicine man at that.  At one point, Younger Brother decides he must go west to the sea and bring back some sea water to his uncle, the medicine man.  He has many adventures along the way, but eventually, with some help, reaches the sea and is able to return to his people wiser for the journey.

I enjoyed the authors description of how the Navajos felt connected to nature and how nature was connected to the "holy ones," the gods associated with their mythology.  Here is just one example of many.  "The secret joy inside of him responded to the joy of all the desert world and he knew that the holy ones watched him from the heat waves and the mirage which danced before his eyes." (p. 110)  How they related to the world around them and the meaning they gathered from everyday happenings in the world was very enlightening.

Seeing the clash of cultures between the Navajos and "white men" was also interesting..  The way the author describes it, the interactions were very paternalistic, with the white men providing an outlet for selling handmade goods such as rugs and turquoise and silver jewelry, in exchange for tobacco, clothing, etc.  One clash took place when the Big Man, the owner of the trading post, took Younger Brother and his family to see a Western movie.  In it Younger Brother saw the image and heard the voice of a relative who had died.  He ran from the theater scared and yelling, " Chindi!" or ghost.

I liked the telling of their legends of the Turquoise Woman and her journey to the west, the Pack People, the Young Woman Who Tinkles (not the way we use the word tinkle), and many others.

Some memorable quotes:
"There are always doubters but what of it, so long as there are those who believe and dream?" (p. 73)
"At times he was lonely, but not for any particular person.  The loneliness came when he was the happiest.  Then he felt the old longing to share his joy with someone." (p. 106)
"There are some happenings we do not speak of.  It is better to be quiet until one understands."  (p. 206)

Would I recommend this book?  Maybe.  The story was good and the learning about other cultures and times, but it was a very slow-moving book.

Armer, Laura Adams. Waterless Mountain. Longmans, Green and Co., 1931.

The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1931)

(Before I dig into The Cat Who Went to Heaven, I want to make one other comment about Hitty.  I realized a few days ago that something bothered me about the book.  The main character never made a single choice to impact any other character in the book.  Her presence was appreciated by her owners, and she was missed when removed from the scene, but she, herself, did not have the ability to choose and to make a  difference in the lives of those around her.  Now on to the current book...)

How many different ways are there to say, "I liked this book."?  Since I am reading Newbery winners, I expect that most of them will be ones I like.

Elizabeth Coatsworth tells the story of a poor artist in Japan.  Nobody buys his paintings and there is barely enough for him and his housekeeper to fend off starvation.  But one day the housekeeper brings home a three-colored cat, considered good luck, who they name "Good Fortune".  The artist's luck does change when the priest from the Buddhist temple in their town commissions him to depict the death of the Buddha.  It is a very great honor.

The artist takes the job with deep gratitude and humility.  He greatly desires to make his art worthy of the Buddha, so he meditates on the life of the Buddha.  How he began as Prince Siddhartha, wealthy and pampered.  How he came to know of death and disease and sadness in the world.  How he gave up all of his worldly possessions to find peace and love in the world.  How he was prepared when the time of death came.  All of this, the artist imagined in great detail, putting himself in the place of Buddha in order to have the empathy necessary to create a work of truth.

The artist then goes on to imagine each of the animals he will depict in the picture and how they loved and revered the Buddha.  He thinks of stories of each animal and in all his imaginings, he remembers that the cat would not be allowed into paradise.  "'Ah, the cat refused homage to Buddha,' he remembered, 'and so by her own independent act, only the cat has the doors of Paradise closed in her face.'" (p. 20)  This made him sad, for he had come to love Good Fortune.  As with us, it is be our own independent acts that will close the doors of heaven.

When he looks upon his completed work, he knows that something is missing.  He adds a cat, even though the priest might not accept the painting with the cat in it.  He knows it might ruin him.  When the priest sees the cat, he does indeed reject the painting, and would in fact burn it, but the artist is glad that his beloved cat looks out from the painting.

The story has a bittersweet ending which I will not reveal.  I loved learning about Buddha, his teachings, and some of the stories surrounding him.  I was recently asked to speak in church on the topic of humility.  This book has made me think about how Buddha was so humble and gave all his possessions away to come to enlightenment, peace and love.

A good, quick read.

Coatsworth, Elizabeth. The Cat Who Went to Heaven.  Macmillan Publishing Company, 1930.

Hitty, her First Hundred Years (1930)

Hitty is a sweet doll, fashioned by a peddlar for young Phoebe Preble around 1825.  The book chronicles the doll's adventures, covering 100 years, told from Hitty's point of view.  I was not too excited to read this one, but it turned out better than I expected.

Hitty has many adventures from being carried away by crows to meeting Charles Dickens, from surviving the a shipwreck and being worshipped by natives as an idol to being stuck in a sofa for years (better than finding a quarter) before being found and living in a Quaker household.  She always keeps her wits about her and stoically endures every hardship. 

What I am not sure about is how Hitty managed to keep her sanity.  If I were sentient doll, I think I would go mad.  Mad I tell you!  Mad!!  She thinks, feels and hopes, but has no way of communicating or indicating in any way that she does so.  It made me wonder how it would be to have some disease or illness that would close those doors.  What would I do to retain sanity?  Are there illness like that?  The good news is that I haven't lost sleep over the issue.

Field, Rachel.  Hitty, her First Hundred Years.  Macmillan Publishing Company, 1929.