The difference between Caldecott and Newbery awards

     According to the ALA website, Caldecott awards are given "to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children."  This award which honors outstanding illustrations is named for the 19th century illustrator Randolph Caldecott.  The 2011 winner of the Caldecott award is A Sick Day for Amos McGee written by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead. 
     The ALA website says that the Newbery award is "for the most distinguised American children's book published the previous year."  This award which honors outstanding works in children's literature is named for an 18th century bookseller named John Newbery.  The Newbery award is the first children's book award in the world.  The 2011 winner is Moon Over Manifest written by Clare Vanderpool. 
     Both awards honor the best of children's books.  The Caldecott is more centered toward illustrated children's picture books, while the Newbery is centered toward children's chapter books, or novels. 

"Tangled" based on "Rapunzel" by the Brothers Grimm--book vs movie

     While I had heard of the story of Rapunzel and knew that it was about a girl with extremely long hair who was locked in a tower, I had never sat down and read the fairy tale written so long ago by the Brothers Grimm.  I had always thought Rapunzel was a princess that was locked away in a tower.  However, according to the original fairy tale, she is the daughter of a couple whose backyard neighbored the Enchantress Dame Gothel's garden.  Rapunzel's mother craved a certain flower from the garden and her father would sneak in and steal it for her.  When he was stopped by the Enchantress one night, he was told he could have all of the flower he wanted in exchange for their firstborn child.  The Enchantress took the child at birth, locked her in a tower and named her Rapunzel.  A prince happened by one day and heard Rapunzel singing and fell in love with her voice.  He soon learned to call to Rapunzel to let down her hair and this was how to get into the tower to her.  Dame Gothel discovered his presence, cut Rapunzel's hair off and sent her to live in the desert. Dame Gothel tricked the prince, pushed him out of the tower where thorns blinded his eyes.  He wondered around the forest for years until he finally stumbled into the desert where Rapunzel and her twin children found the prince.  Her tears healed his eyes and they made their way back to his kingdom where they lived "happy and contented."
     Disney's movie Tangled, which is based on the story of Rapunzel has quite a different version of Rapunzel.  In the movie, Rapunzel's hair has a healing quality that the enchantress uses to keep herself young and beautiful.  She kidnaps the child, who is actually the princess and locks her in the tower and treats her as her daughter.  She tricks Rapunzel into thinking she is her mother and tells her how much she loves her.  However, her actions are purely selfish.  She brushes the hair while Rapunzel sings and it rejuvenates the queen's body.  Rapunzel longs to get out of the tower to see the lighted lanterns that are in the sky every year on her birthday.  She doesn't know it but the lanterns are a part of a commemoration ceremony put on by the Queen and King in honor of their lost child (which is Rapunzel).  The queen adamently refuses to let her out proclaiming that the world is too dangerous.  One day a theif stumbles across Rapunzel and her tower.  She bonks him over the head, ties him up, steals his treasure, and tells him he can have it back after he takes her to see the lanterns.  She and the theif go on this big adventure, all the while being chased by the royal guards, other theives, and the enchantress.  They end up falling in love and longing to be together.  Rapunzel discovers that she is indeed, the lost princess, conquers the enchantress, makes her way back to her family and lives happily ever after with her new prince.
     Disney changed so many elements of the story, that it hardly resembles the one the Grimm brothers originally told.  In Tangled, Rapunzel is the princess while her true love is a theif.  I suppose Disney wanted to maintain it's Disney Princess theme that is present in so many of their other movies.  As with other Disney princesses, Rapunzel goes from being weak to being strong and self-reliant.  There is also humor thrown in throughout the movie that is not present in the fairy tale.  She has a funny sidekick who is a chameleon.  He helps guard over Rapunzel and advises her with simple gestures on what she should do.  Disney seems to have tried to make Rapunzel relatable to her audience.  Little girls would love to be Rapunzel with her long flowing hair and her handsome prince.  I'm not sure many modern girls would admire the Rapunzel that was created in the fairy tale.  She was locked away and banished to the desert to raise her twins on her own.  She found her prince in the end, but only after enduring a hard life. 
     I enjoyed reading the fairy tale because it is so different from what I imagined it to be.  I also enjoyed the movie with it's beautiful songs and breathtaking scenes.  Both are entertaining stories told for two different eras in time.

"The Cat in the Hat" the book vs. the movie

     The book The Cat in the Hat features a brother and sister stuck inside with nothing to do on a rainy day.  Their mother has left the house for the day.  Soon the Cat in the Hat barges through the door and creates havoc by doing all kinds of silly things that should not be done in the house.  The children seem to be overwhelmed by the fact that a giant cat wearing a hat has intruded their home and is making a mess of their house.  The constant nagging of the goldfish acts as a reminder that the can should not be there and must leave.  All ends well,everything (even Thing 1 and Thing 2) is completely gone and back to normal before their mother comes home.  This is a simple, funny children's book that engages children in rhyme and make believe.
     The movie The Cat in the Hat starring Mike Myers and Dakota Fanning is quite different from the original Dr. Seuss book.  The movie keeps the same premise of the two children being left home with nothing much to do, but it takes the liberty of changing and adding details to lenghten and modernize the story.  Sally, the young girl, is a total control freak in the movie.  she seems to have the soul of a thirty-year-old.  She has no friends because she is so bossy and her day is planned to the last minute on her digital journal.  Her brother however, is the complete opposite.  He is very untidy and seems to be quite the troublemaker.  In the very first of the movie he sleds down the steps on a contraption he created.  Instead of being "out for the day" as in the book, the movie modernizes their mother by making her an aspiring realtor with a very needy boss.  Her boss and colleagues will be coming to her house this evening and she instructs the children to keep the house tidy.  Of course this will never happen once the Cat in the Hat enters.  Also, another new twist to the story is that the mother has a boyfriend who secretly does not like children.  The kids see him for what he really is and they do everything the can to get rid of him.  Mike Myers is the actor who plays the Cat.  His antics seem to put poor Sally on the verge of a nervous breakdown.  The goldfish is present too and argues incessantly with the Cat.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 are present in the movie and teach Sally's brother how annoying it is to do the opposite of what someone tells you to do.  The house is progressively destroyed and revived at the end before the mother sees any of the mess.
     I did not enjoy the movie very much at all.  They took a classic children's book and modernized the storyline until the movie hardly resembled the book at all.  Also, as is the case with a lot of children's movies these days, there is a lot of adult humor used. I believe this is inappropriate for children's movies.  One such instance is when the Cat is talking to a gardening hoe and says "Dirty hoe! Oh, I'm sorry baby, you know I love you." Kids laugh, but I don't think they really know the double meaning.  Using such antics is just a way of drawing in an older audience or perhaps a way of engaging the parents' attention into the movie. 
     The writers apparently tried to modernize this 1957 story, but in doing so they created a movie that hardly represented the original book.  The Cat did a lot of funny, silly stuff in the book, but in the movie there were things like the cat being hit in the crotch, his tail being cut off, and rude comments made by the cat.  I believe the movie is not for small children as the book is, but is focused more on attracting an older audience. 
   

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" The book vs. the movie

     The Diary of a Wimpy Kid:  Rodrick Rules is the continuation of the first book in Jeff Kinney's series of books that tell the story of middle schooler Greg Heffley and his struggles at school and at home.  It picks up where the preceding book left off, telling how Gregory spent his summer after  surviving his first year of middle school.  Being an unsuccessful part of a swim team, Greg spent most of his summer hiding in the bathroom during swim meets.  The rest of his summer consisted of trying to endure being picked on by his older brother Rodrick.  The rest of the book tells all the quirky things that happens Greg's second year in middle school.  There are funny occurences that show how awkward middle school is for most kids.  Rowley, his best friend, does all kinds of not-so-cool things such trying out for the school talent show as a magician.  No matter what Rowley does, it seems to be dorky in Greg's eyes and he's always ashamed of how Rowley behaves.  The biggest theme throughout this book, however, is Greg's struggle with his brothers Rodrick and Manny.  Rodrick gains great pleasure from torturing Greg anyway that he can.  Manny is only three, but constantly tattle tales on everything that he sees Greg do.  Rodrick's only ambition in life is for his rock band to be successful.  He manipulates his dad into writing all his school reports for him, and is constantly conning his mother.  He makes Greg's life miserable by always getting him into trouble and treating him like dirt.
     While the movie includes hilarious incidents from the book, it is also includes quite different scenes than the book portrays.  In the movie, Greg falls for a beautiful, blonde girl named Holly Hills and most of the movie focuses on his big crush he has on her.  In the book, Holly Hills is mentioned briefly about three quarters of the way through the book as a girl that Greg likes.  Greg thinks she's pretty, but in the movie he obsesses about how he can get her attention.  The biggest theme of the book is the rocky relationship between Rodrick and Greg.  In the movie, their mother creates "Mom Bucks" to encourage the boys to spend more time together, whereas in the book, "Mom Bucks" are more of a reward for chores.  Rodrick learns to manipulate the system and Greg seems to get the shaft.  When their parents go away for one weekend, Rodrick decides to call all his friends over and have a party.  Greg knows they shouldn't have anyone over, but is excited about seeing a high school party.  Rodrick tells Greg to go get something in the basement and then he locks the door as soon as Greg descends the steps.  In the book, Greg spends the night on the steps.  In the movie, Greg makes his way back up and he and Rowley are the life of the party.  This secret party creates a bond between Rodrick and Greg.  They stop arguing and start hanging out together until Greg finally breaks and tells his mom what happens.  This whole bonding scenario makes for a good movie, but it never exists in the book.
     Both the movie and the book are very funny and entertaining.  While the book is geared for an eight to ten-year-old audience, the movie takes certain liberties in order to attract a broader range of ages. Throwing in a pretty girlfriend for Greg, making Greg and Rowley a part of the school talent show, and Greg running down the halls of his grandfather's retirement village in his underwear are all unforgettable parts of the movie.  However, in the book these events did not take place.  In my opinion, most books have a better storyline than the movie made from them.  While this movie is certainly different from the book, it is still very funny and I like how Rodrick and Greg bonded in the movie.  To be honest, I do think I liked the movie better, perhaps for the reason listed above--it is geared for an older range of ages than the book is.  I took my seven-year-old son to see this movie and he was bored out of his mind.  When I read the book to him, he couldn't stop laughing.
     The movie and the book are both wonderful examples of the struggles that middle school age kids endure and how they come out okay after all.  Jeff Kinney has definately created unforgettable characters that help us laugh through those awkward moments in life. 

"The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss

     The Lorax is a didactic story because it teaches a lesson--industrialization can have bad effects on the environment and on wildlife.  The Once-ler found a beautiful place where Tuffala trees grew in abundance.  Wildlife played in the shade and fish frolicked in the water.  One day the Once-ler chopped down a Truffala tree and made a Thneed.  The Lorax, the voice for the trees and animals, urges the Once-ler to please stop chopping down the trees.  Soon a factory is built and all the trees cut.  The wildlife has moved on and the land is barren.  Without the trees the factory is shut down and the Once-ler is left all alone. 
     There are not so many didactic children's books today as there were years ago.  While there are several children's books that teach a lesson, they don't seem as preachy as The Lorax.  For instance, I recently read Patricia Polacco's book Babushka Baba Yaga.  This story teaches acceptance of a person based on what's in their heart despite what they may look like on the outside.  The story is a sweet adaptation of a Russian fairy tale.  The story is shows the love felt between the young boy in the story and his Babushka Baba Yaga despite the fact that the Baba Yaga is rumored to be a witch who eats small children.  She loves this boy and would never hurt him and he knows this.  The moral of acceptance is taught in a loving way without being the lesson being told in a preachy sort of way.
     The Lorax certainly makes it's point in it's stand against industrialization.  It's didactic content clearly shows how the environment can be affected by man's greed.  It provides a good lesson for future generations, but is the message for the children or is it more of a protest against "the man"?
Perhaps children's books are written more for entertainment today than for teaching a lesson.

"The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss

     The Cat in the Hat is a book that has been read by children for generations.  It is the story of two children who are stuck inside on a rainy day with nothing to do while their mother is out.  The Cat in the Hat enters and proceeds to do entertaining, but naughty things.  The goldfish adamently tells him to stop and leave.  The children seem to not know what to do about this Cat who should not be there.  Things get worse when the Cat brings in Thing One and Thing Two.  The house is nothing but a mess by the time their mother returns.  Just as she is about to arrive, the Cat saves the day by doing a miraculous clean up. 
     Although I have read this book several times before, I had never noticed the condonement of anarchy present in this story.  The Cat takes over the household despite the warnings from the fish that everything he is doing defies the mother's rules.  The constant ordering of the Cat to leave does no good.  I have always thought of the goldfish as the children's conscience.  He voices what they know to be right from wrong and encourages them to make this Cat leave because he is not following their mother's rules.
     I'm not aware of any contemporary children's books that compare with this same tension felt in The Cat in the Hat.  However, I do feel that this book still appeals to children because of the nonsensical actions of the Cat.  Children realize he shouldn't be there and the things he's doing are silly.  They may be able to relate to not knowing what to do when a voice (this fish in this case) points out that what is going on is bad.  I think that Dr. Seuss books are classics and will continue to appeal to children because of the fantasy and rhyming that each book contains.

"A Jar of Dreams"--a book by Yoshiko Uchida

     This story takes place in California during the time of the Great Depression.  Eleven-year-old Rinko and her Japenese family struggle with extreme prejudice from people in their surrounding community.  Rinko feels shame from the all the teasing that kids at school put upon her.  Even Mr. Starr who runs the local laundry center yells things at her and her brother such as, "Get out of here you Jap kids."  Things start to change when Rinko's Aunt Waka from Japan comes to visit for the first time ever.  When Rinko's mother decides to try to earn money by doing other people's laundry from her basement, Mr. Starr harrasses the family, trying to make them go out of business.  He even kills the family's beloved dog.  Aunt Waka convinces Rinko's father to go to the laundry and tell Mr. Starr how he feels and that he has no intention of stopping the small laundry business that Rinko's mother has worked so hard for.  Mr. Starr did not like the confrontation, but the family was not harrassed again.  Thanks to Aunt Waka, the whole family, including Rinko, learned to keep their heads up high and not be afraid to pursue their dreams.
     As I read this story, I felt bad for the discrimination pressed upon different minorites such as these Japanese Americans.  Besides the struggle for survival in such a bad economic time, this whole family also had to struggle with the prejudice actions and comments from people in their own neighborhood.  Rinko and her brother Cal had dreams of going to college.  Rinko wanted to be a teacher and Cal wanted to be an engineer.  When it looked like Mr. Starr and his discriminatory antics had cost their mother her laundry business, Cal and Rinko decided it would be futile to go to college because no one would hire them even if they did have a degree.  After Aunt Waka convinced everyone to never give up and stand up for the things you want in life, Cal and Rinko gained the confidence they needed to pursue their own goals.  Aunt Waka gave them self-respect and motivation during her short visit to America. 
     What I liked best about this story is that it teaches the reader that nothing can stand between you and your dreams.  At the end of the story, Rinko talks about walking tall and without shame now that she knows what it is to be proud of herself.  Aside from her jar of money for college, she also has a jar for her dreams, like for her dream going to Japan and visiting her Aunt Waka one day. 
     Yoshiko Uchida has also written other works depicting the struggles of Japanese American families.  They include:  Journey Home, The Bracelet, The Best Bad Thing, Journey to Topaz, and Desert Exile:  The Uprooting of a Japanese-American Family.
     I look forward to reading more of Uchida's works.  I was not fully aware of the extreme discrimination that Japanese Americans endured before reading some of her novels.  Her books teach self-respect, different aspects of Japanese culture, and the effects of perserverance. 

"Noah's Ark"--a book written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

     Pinkney has adapted the story of Noah and the Ark into a beautifully illustrated children's book which has become a Caldecott Honor Book.  Noah's story is one known by many.  He is called by God to build a great wooden ship or ark to house his family and a pair of each animal that exists in the world.  The other people of the world have turned to wickedness, but since Noah's family have been obediant to God, they are allowed to live.  Pinkney's beautiful paintings of Noah and his family building the ark and preparing for the flood provide detail and give young readers a visual image of how massive an undertaking it was to build such a ship and gather the multitude of animals to be saved.  Pinkney's illustration of the rains falling and the waters rising bring to life the reality of the destruction that took place.  The rain seems to be falling in sheets, lighting is flashing, and the water swirls up around the ark while in the distance a small town seems to be swallowed up by the rising water.  My favorite illustration is where the water level has risen well over the cities and Pinkney takes the reader underwater to see whales swimming through the streets and fish darting in and out of windows.  The bottom of the Ark floats high above all the destruction as nothing but fish view it's passage.  In the end, when the dove makes its way back with the olive branch proving that the water has receded, it is surrounded by a golden light.  Whales are in the background jumping to the surface as if to help celebrate that Noah and his family will once again be able to be back on land soon.  Pinkney has created a beautiful painting of the animals being released from the Ark.  Noah is in the center while owls and other birds fly into the sky and animals of every variety leap and bound out of the doors.  The last illustration of the book is of the whole Earth looped with rainbows as a sign of God's promise to never destroy the Earth by water again. 
     I enjoyed reading this version of Noah's Ark so well, that I brought it home for my children to read as well.  The illustrations are impecable and really do bring every detail to life.  Pinkney has adapted many other stories and has illustrated them.  The Ugly Duckling is one such story.  Again, his illustrations depict the struggle of the small duckling who doesn't quite fit in.  As in Noah's Ark, a bright, golden light envelops the bird in the end, showing all of it's glorious beauty as a swan.  Other works by Pinkney include John Henry, The Talking Eggs, and The Mouse and the Lion.  He has won many awards for his works in children's literature. 

"Day of Tears"--a book by Julius Lester

     In this book, Julius Lester creates a story based on an actual event in Southern history.  Due to an outrageous amount of gambling debt, Pierce Butler must sell off most of his slaves from the plantation that his grandfather built.  On March 2 and 3, 1859 the auction takes place, selling slaves to people from all over the South.  Slave families are broken apart never to be seen by one another again.  On both days of the auction rain falls harder than anyone can ever remember falling before.  Characters in the story believe that God, himself, disapproved of that sad day so badly that his tears drenched the Earth.  This story is told through first person dialogue.  There are several flash-forwards and flashbacks as the characters talk not only about that day, but also the effects it had for years to come. 
     The main character in the story is Emma, a twelve-year-old house slave who takes care of Butler's two young daughters.  Sarah is the oldest daughter and shares the views of her divorced mother that slavery is wrong.  Frances, the youngest, strives to be like her father and shares his view that slaves are nothing more than property.  Emma is ordered on the last day of the auction to bring the two girls and sit with them and tend to them.  She watches as almost everyone she knows is brought to the auction block and empathizes with how it must feel to be sold away and know you'd never see your family again.  However, at the end of the auction a woman approaches Butler with an offer to buy Emma as well.  She needs a nanny for her young child and pays dearly for Emma.  Butler agrees to the sell and Emma is torn from Frances and Sarah.  Sarah never forgives her father for selling Emma.  Emma leaves knowing she'll never see her own father and mother again. 
     This book gives personal insight into how the slaves felt from intolerably cruel treatment.  It also shows the reasoning the white people had when they did these horrible acts.  They believed that black people had no more feelings than a donkey or a mule.  In one part of the book Pierce Butler analyzes how he would feel and react if anyone tried to tear one of his children away from him.  He pacifies his actions by telling himself by saying that it's a good thing that slaves don't have feelings like a white man.  This book shows the ignorance of the times, the suffering of slaves, and the effects years later that slavery had on America. 
     I liked that this book was show through multiple points of view.  Not only does the reader see inside the minds of the slaves and the plantation owner, but also sees inside the minds of people like the auctioneer, workers in the underground railroad, and inside the minds of slaves that supported slavery.  Some slaves felt secure with knowing that if they did a good job, they would always have shelter and food.  Most slaves didn't share this view, most were not treated as well as the slaves had been on the Butler plantation.  Until the day of the auction, other slaves envied the ones on the Butler plantation because they were treated well and never beaten.  I liked being able to see the viewpoints of so many characters.  I also liked the flash-forwards and flashbacks.  It sounds like this would make the novel confusing, but it added depth to the story.
     Lester has written several novels depicting the suffering of African Americans.  The Guardian is a book that depicts guilt felt by a young white boy who takes part in a lynching.  To Be a Slave shares the stories of and insights of ex-slaves.  Other books he has written include John Henry, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, and The Tales of Uncle Remus:  the adventures of Brer Rabbit. 

"The Dragon's Child"--a book by Laurence Yep

     This is a fictional book about the real life immigration of the author's father who entered the United States through Angel Island in 1922.  Gim Lew Yep is a ten-year-old boy living in China with is mother, sister, and sister-in-law.  His father is a Chinese American that lives and works in America and comes back every few years to see his family.  China at this time is in political turmoil and is a poor country where many families have starved.  Gim Lew Yep's family is considered rich in their village because his father's American money can buy them everything they need and more.  When Gim Lew is ten-years-old his father decides it's time for Gim Lew to come to America to live and work with him.  Gim Lew is frightened and sad because he knows that it will be years before he'll be able to come back to China and see his mother and the only home he has ever known.  On the perilous journey across the ocean, Gim Lew learns that his father is not the same respected man in America that he is in his Chinese village.  Gim Lew finds out that his father is the cook and servant for a wealthy American family.  The image he has of his father is shattered and replaced by the realization that his father is not a wealthy man with a business and a big house of his own.  Also on the crammed, sweltering ride on the ship to America Gim Lew must memorize details about his family's life and his village. The government created files on each person traveling back and forth to China and to be able to re-enter into America, Chinese Americans were quizzed on their Chinese life.  If they could not answer detailed questions about previous given information entered into the file, they were not allowed back into America.  Gim Lew must pass the quiz based on his father's file.  He knows that his family's survival is dependant upon his father's work and that they both will be denied access if he cannot control his stuttering and stay calm and focused to pass the test. 
     This is an enlightening book on Chinese immigration.  Before reading this book, I had not heard of Angel Island or the interrogations that had gone on there.  Many Chinese Americans were rejected access back into the country because they answered a single question wrong.  It also gave insight to the life of Chinese Americans of this time period.  Apparently, it was not uncommon for men to marry and have a family in China, but live most of their lives in America. 
     Laurence Yep has written many books with Asian characters.  Some of his other books include:  Hiroshima, The Starmaker, Ribbons, The Lost Garden, and The Magic Paintbrush.  He also has several books in a series such as The Golden Mountain Chronicles, The City Trilogy, and Tiger's Apprentice.

"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia (Newbery Honor Book)

     Not only is this book a Newbery Honor Book, but it is also a National Book Award Finalist and a winner of the Coretta Scott King Award.  Set in 1968, the author tells the story of eleven-year-old Delphine and her two little sisters, Vonetta and Fern.  Cecile is their mother who abandoned them right after seven-year-old Fern was born.  Their father has decided that the girls need to know their mother so he sends them from their home in Brooklyn to Oakland, California to spend the summer.  Cecile makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with her daughters.  To get them out of her house so that she can work on her poetry, she sends the girls to a summer day camp ran by the Black Panthers.  Delphine is used to taking care of her sisters, but she has to step up even more since the only caregiver they have refuses to even cook for them.  Over the course of the summer the girls have to try to fit in to their new environment.  They meet other kids there and are introduced to new ideas such as revolution and civil rights.  Throughout the whole summer and all of their adventures, the girls all yearn for the one thing they can't seem to get--love from their mother. 
     What I liked about this book is that it set in such a revolutionary time for African Americans.  The story is told from the viewpoint of Delphine which lets the reader experience what it was like being introduced to the views of the Black Panthers from a child's prospective.  Being from Brooklyn, Delphine had never really had any encounters with anyone who looked or acted like the Black Panthers.  Although she didn't initially agree with their philosophies she eventually came to understand their cause.  This book explores what it was likefor children and adults living in Oakland at this termultuous time in America. 
     My reaction to this book stems from curiosity.  I am curious when it comes to stories of abandonment.  It is hard for me to understand why a mother would want nothing at all to do with her children.  Cecile left after the birth of her youngest daughter because the father would not let her name the baby Afua.  Until Cecile finally tells her side of the story near the end of the book, do I finally have an insight as to why or how she could just up and leave her babies.  Cecile's poetic spirit will not let her be controlled or contained.  I am also curious about the workings of the Black Panthers.  Summer day camp is not what I picture when I think of this group.  I had no idea that they had ran programs that fed and educated low income children.  While they were a radical group, they promoted civil rights and ideas of equality.
     Other works by this author include Like Sisters on the Homefront, Every Rainbow Dies, Jumped, and No Laughter Here.  Rita Williams-Garcia's novels usually involve African American teens and some of the hardships that they endure.  One Crazy Summer deals with the issue of abandonment.  Some of her other works deal with topics such as teen pregnancy, bullying, and the Nigeriean ritual of female circumcision. 
     I enjoyed reading this book.  I learned a lot from Delphine's journey of trying to be accepted by her mother and by her community.  I can understand why this book has won so many awards. 

"Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Coretta Scott King Award)

     Lanesha is a twelve-year-old girl who lives in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans in the time right before Hurricane Katrina hits the Gulf Coast.  Lanesha has been raised by a grandmotherly person she calls Mama Ya-Ya.  Lanesha's mother died giving birth to her.  Mama Ya-Ya was the mid-wife who delivered Lanesha.  Because Lanesha's mother's rich family would have nothing to do with her, Mama Ya-Ya gave Lanesha a loving, caring home.  Both Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha have special "gifts."  Mama Ya-Ya can see bits and pieces of the future and Lanesha can see ghosts all around her, even her mother's ghost.  Anticipation grows as the days before Katrina hit.  Mama Ya-Ya knows a big storm is coming and something bad is going to happen because of it.  Neither Mama Ya-Ya's insight nor Lanesha's conversations with the ghosts around her can help them understand the great flood that is coming to New Orleans.  This story depicts the love a young girl feels for the lady who raised her and the love she has for the mother she never knew.  At first Lanesha is just trying to survive being a twelve-year-old girl who everybody has labeled as a misfit.  As the story progresses she has to survive a great storm and all the death that surrounds her--the death of loved ones and the death of her beloved neighborhood. 
     There are so many things I liked about this book.  I liked the supernatural events depicted in the book such as seeing into the future and Lanesha being able to see ghosts all around her.  As the storm approaches, ghosts from several points in time start filling the streets of New Orleans.  However, these supernatural events do not take over the storyline.  I also like that Lanesha is a very ambitious girl.  She's not just a plain twelve-year-old girl, but she's a girl who loves Shakespeare, is obsessed with words and what they mean, and she is a girl who loves math.  After seeing a picture of the Golden Gate bridge, she decides she wants to be an engineer.   Very few books depict girls with a love for math, and very few depict girls who want to be an engineer.  Several novels depict girls as wanting to be nurses or teachers when the grow up, not engineers.  Another thing I liked about this book is the love between Mama Ya-Ya and Lanesha.  They are not tied by blood, but they love each other like they are family. 
     My reaction from reading this book probably comes from the memories I have of watching coverage of Hurricane Katrina.  I can remember seeing video of people stranded on rooftops waiting to be rescued.  I watched as the flood levels got higher and higher and I also remember the chaos that happened inside the Superdome.  This book describes the different cultures of people who lived in the Ninth Ward and the destruction that Hurricane Katrina unleashed there. 
     Although Rhodes has written adult novels, this is the first novel that she has written for young adult readers.  I look forward to any future young adult novels she writes.
     From this book I learned that children's literature can accurately depict the anxiety and anticipation that is felt before a life changing event occurs.  The author builds the story with unexplainable dreams that Mama Ya-Ya cannot understand.  She knows the storm is coming, but it's not the storm that will bring the destruction, it's the flooding when the levees break.  Also, Lanesha sees her mother daily, but does not converse with her until Mama Ya-Ya asks her to.  The confusion and anticipation of what is about to come overshadows everything else.  The question of "How bad will it be?" lingers as the characters try to prepare for the inevitable.

"Henry's Freedom Box: a true story from the underground railroad" by Ellen Levine (Caldecott Honor Book)

     As the title suggests, this is the true story of how Henry "Box" Brown put himself in a box and mailed himself to freedom.  At a young age, Henry was taken from his mother and give to his master's son.  His new master would beat him if he made any little mistake while working in the tobacco factory.  When Henry grew older he met a slave named Nancy and they were given permission to wed.  They had three children and were happy together.  One day while Henry was working, Nancy's master sold her and their three children at an auction.  Henry arrived just in time to see them tied and hauled away.  He never saw them again, but this event made hime determined to seek freedom for himself.  He consulted with a white doctor who was known to be against slavery.  Henry's plan was to mail himself to safety.  The doctor helped Henry crate himself into a box and mailed him to friends in Philadelphia.  After an excrutiating twenty-seven hour trip, Henry arrived in Philadelphia and was greeted by the good doctor's friends. 
     One of the things I liked about this book is that it brings to light the cruelty of slavery and how it tore families apart.  It shows young readers that the master's of slaves thought of them as nothing more than property.  The illustrations show the raw emotion that is felt by the characters in the story.  They also help demonstrate how rough the transport was for Henry. 
     I learned that a subject as cruel and grotesque as slavery can be explained in such a way that children can understand how horrible it was to be a slave.  Very slight descriptions are enough to let young readers know that slaves were treated cruelly.  The author makes the readers feel sympathy for Henry and his family. 
     My reaction to this story is one that most people share.  I feel sympathy for the way slaves were treated, but then I rejoice when I hear stories like Henry's.  My reaction was to rejoice when Henry made it to freedom.  I just hated that he had to lose his family before he found freedom.  As a mother of three, I can't imagine not being able to ever seeing my children again.
     This book is much like other works written by this author.  Levine has written several books including Freedom's Children:  young civil rights activists tell their own stories.  She also has a series of books called "If You".  Some of these titles include:  If your name was changed at Ellis Island, If you traveled on the underground railroad, and If you lived at the time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake.  Levine brings to light the tribulations different people have gone through throughout history.