What a sweet winner!
This past week I got to meet Kansan Newbery winner Clare Vanderpool, who wrote the lovely book, Moon Over Manifest (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2010). She shared with us how shocked she was when she got the call from the Newbery committee. Seeing her tears, her husband thought something was wrong! She said there’s definitely a “before” and “after” when you win the Newbery. You can read more about what she thinks about the 2011 Newberry Award on her site. Click on the Upcoming Events tab to see where she’s speaking.
Moon Over Manifest is a layered book with two time periods and two separate stories going on. It’s a great story. The characters and place are so real.
It’s 1936 and 12-year-old Abilene has been sent to live with her father’s friend in Manifest, Kansas. No one there talks about her father, though she knows the town’s people must have known him. But she’s found something else to keep her occupied–a box with letters from 1918 and “treasures” under the floorboards in her bedroom. From info in those letters she and her friends decide to see if they can discover who the WWI spy is.
Not only did I have sympathy for Abilene separated from her father, but for Ned and Jinx and what they went through as revealed by the letters and the local diviner, Miss Sadie.
This is definitely a must read with a satisfying ending!
Category: Award Winners
Turtle in Paradise
Turtle in Paradise (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2010) by Jennifer L. Holm just won a Golden Kite (an SCBWI award from her peers) in fiction for her historical middle grade novel and is one of the Newbery Honor books this year. Oh, how I love it when worthy books win awards!
Inspired by her grandmother’s stories, Jennifer writes a humorous book with adventure, buried treasure, strange relatives, crooks, and one smart girl.
It’s 1935, and when Turtle’s mom gets a job as a housekeeper for a lady who doesn’t like kids, 11-year-old Turtle is sent to live with her aunt. Not only does this New Jersey girl have to deal with a new place (Key West, Florida), but her 3 boy cousins as well. The 2 older ones are part of the Diaper Gang–they get paid for babysitting and their secret diaper rash cure. The littlest one keeps running around without his pants. And that’s just a small taste introduction to this story.
Listen to the first line and hear Turtle speak for herself: “Everyone things children are as sweet as Necco Wafers, but I’ve lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten.”
Jennifer L. Holm previously won a Newbery Honor for My Only May Amelia, which after ten years now has a sequel, The Trouble with May Amelia. Woo Hoo! Read more here.
The Demon King
I was already hooked on Cinda Williams Chima‘s Heir Chronicles and now I’m hooked on her Seven Realms novels. The former are set in contemporary times in America and England. The latter are set in a fascinating complex world of magic, castles, sword fighting and more. Let’s talk about them now.
The Demon King (Hyperion, 2009) is about Han Alister, thief, former streetlord, and friend of the Clans, and Princess Raisa ana Marianna, descendent of Hanalea and half Clan herself. They both live in the city of Fellsmarch, but in two completely extremes of society.
Han’s nickname is Cuffs because of the silver cuffs around his wrists that can’t be removed. He takes an amulet away from a wizard on the mountain of Hanalea, which ends up putting his mother and young sister at risk. Will the rich and the wizards take everything away from Han in return?
Raisa flirts and exchanges kisses with the same wizard mentioned above, Micah Bayar. Yet now she’s worrying that his father has too much control over her mother the Queen. Her father is away with the Clans. Can she be like her warrior queen ancestress or is she just going to be an ornamental princess?
Read it to find out! But you won’t want to stop there.
The story is continued in The Exiled Queen (Hyperion, 2010) and will conclude with The Gray Wolf Throne–not out until September 2011. SIGH! (I don’t like waiting…)
I enjoyed both of these books–I didn’t want to do anything but keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The characters are believable people each struggling with their situations in their dangerous world. My husband is reading them, too.
Read about fantasy author Cinda Williams Chima at her site. You can find out about more books in the works, good news, appearances, and more. Go to her blog for writing advice.
Mockingbird
Speculation about the 2011 Newbery awards started last fall as people discussed books they’d like to see considered.
Mockingbird (Philomel Books, 2010) by Kathryn Erskine is one of the ones I kept hearing mentioned. (It’s already won a National Book Award.) I am so glad I followed up and read this book. Read the opening:
“It looks like a one-winged bird crouching in the corner of our living room. Hurt. Trying to fly every time the heat pump turns on with a click and a groan and blows cold air onto the sheet and lifts it up and it flutters for just a moment and then falls down again. Still. Dead.”
Wow! I had to keep reading. I was drawn into Caitlyn’s world immediately. Her brother who used to explain all the confusing things in life to this 10-year-old-girl with Asperger’s is dead. Her father cries a lot. People want to help her, but she’d rather hide. This girl who doesn’t fit in with the “norm” has surprising insights into life. Caitlin seeks for closure (she looked up the word in the dictionary) for herself and her father and works on finding a friend.
Whether the book wins the Newbery or not, it’s definitely an award winner on my shelf. I think everyone should read it. Those who want a glimpse into the life of a child with Asperger’s should definitely read it.
On her site, Kathryn includes information on the books she read while researching this novel. You won’t want to miss the section on all the places where she’s lived.
The Magic Thief, The Magic Thief: Lost, and The Magic Thief: Found
In the late 60s, I watched “It Takes A Thief” featuring the handsome Robert Wagner. The main character was a cat burglar who got caught thieving and was recruited by the government to steal for Uncle Sam.
Connwaer got caught thieving by a magician. He also was recruited. But not to steal.
Conn may not be living on the streets anymore, but life is even more dangerous than before. At least he’s more likely to get a decent meal now that he’s a wizard’s apprentice.
I’ve read the first two books, The Magic Thief (HarperCollins, 2008) and The Magic Thief: Lost (HarperCollins, 2009), both by Sarah Prineas. Connwaer has caught my imagination and stolen my heart. I must know what’s going to happen to him next! And I will as soon as I get my hands on The Magic Thief: Found (HarperCollins, 2010). Fortunately, I am reading these in English. Those in Germany have to wait for book 3 till 2011.
Check out this extra, a map of the city of Wellmet, an interview of Sarah, and more at the publisher’s site.
Read about the author on her site. She has a blog entry on voice. She has a unique take on magic, which I won’t reveal here. (You have to read the books!)
I love the illustrator’s work with these books, too. See more of Antonio Javier Caparo’s work. I bet you’ll agree the work is lovely.