Newbery Winners 1922-1960 & 1961-2011
Michael Printz Award Winner for Young Adult Literature
Coretta Scott King winners/honors books
Pura Belpre Award Winner
I'll be sharing some more information on The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare, and The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales:
Speare, E.G. (1958). The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
One of the subjects I studied quite extensively in my master's History program was the European witch hunts, so I'm always on the lookout for books that feature witch beliefs. I was not at all disappointed by this election! The story takes place in the late 1600s. Kit, who has lived on her Grandfather's plantation in Barbados, comes to her Aunt and Uncle's home in Connecticut after his death. Her Aunt is her late mother's sister, so Kit is quite sure she'll take her in; so sure in fact that she sails to America without letting them know she's coming. Kit is used to much more freedom and individual expression than she finds in her Aunt and Uncle's conservative Puritan town and household. She befriends a woman named Hannah Tupper who has been ostracized and labeled a witch. When illness spreads through the town, Hannah is blamed and her friendship with Kit is revealed, and Kit lands in jail accused of witchcraft.
Speare has done a superb job of researching the beliefs and mores of the time. The characters are richly developed and their actions are understandable and believable. This would be a great book for middle school readers; high school readers would probably also find it enjoyable since it includes a touch of romance and family drama along side the more prominent persecution themes.
These are some reviews contributed to School Library Journal when The Witch of Blackbird Pond was nominated for the top 100 reading list:
#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)
I consider this Juvenile not YA-great historical fiction, hint of romance - Amy Sears, Supervising Librarian, Head of Youth Services, Teaneck Public Library, Teaneck, NJ
This is the first book I can remember where I was interested in the love story. I feared for the future of Kit’s relationship with Nat Eaton as much as I did for her safety. - Kara Dean
School Library Journal described the plot as, "The setting is the Colony of Connecticut in 1687 amid the political and religious conflicts of that day. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle’s doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her. Having been raised by her grandfather in Barbados, she doesn’t understand the conflict between those loyal to the king and those who defend the Connecticut Charter. Unprepared for the religious intolerance and rigidity of the Puritan community, she is constantly astounding her aunt, uncle, and cousins with her dress, behavior, and ideas. She takes comfort in her secret friendship with the widow, Hannah Tupper, who has been expelled from Massachusetts because she is a Quaker and suspected of being a witch. When a deathly sickness strikes the village, first Hannah and then Kit are accused of being witches. Through these conflicts and experiences, Kit comes to know and accept herself. She learns not to make hasty judgments about people, and that there are always two sides to every conflict."
This was Speare’s second children’s novel. Silvey says that with this book, "After spending a year and a half working on the novel, Speare sent it to Mary Silva Cosgrave, the editor who had rescued her first book, Calico Captive, from a pile of unsolicited manuscripts. Cosgrave found the manuscript for The Witch of Blackbird Pond to be the most perfectly crafted she had ever seen. Because Speare had been so thorough in her research and in the way she had pieced the book together, Cosgrave suggested only one minor correction before the book went to press."
It won the Newbery, of course, beating out The Family Under The Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson, Along Came A Dog by Meindert Dejong, Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa by Francis Kalnay, and The Perilous Road by William O. Steele. But Silvey reports a shocking piece of news about that committee. "Although the details of the Newbery’s selection process usually remain confidential, the chair of the committee revealed that The Witch of Blackbird Pond won the Newbery Medal unanimously on the first ballot, an extremely rare event." No secrets that year, I see.
Of course Lizzie Skurnick had to have her say about the book over at Fine Lines. A sample:
"What’s wonderful about Witch — and what distinguishes it, I think, from the American Girl novels I like to flog unmercifully because I don’t think novels should have branded stores with cafes that serve things like ‘American Girl Pasta’ — is that the narrative isn’t a flimsy cover for a history lesson, and neither is Kit a stand-in for heroic, spunky girls resisting the powers-that-be everywhere."
Canales, V. (2005). The Tequila Worm. New York, NY: Wendy Lamb Books.
I must say, I LOVED this book! I've spent most of my life in Texas, so have always been aware of Hispanic culture and traditions, but this book really made them come alive! Sofia weaves together tales of her life before and after she attends a prestigious boarding school and through these stand-alone stories, she shares bits and pieces about all of the things that make her heritage so special. Whether it's cooking beans with her father, painting eggs with her sister, planning parties with her cousin, decorating for Christmas, or tending to the sick, each "event" gives her a chance to reflect on how deeply ingrained traditions are in her family. Like most teens, Sofia longs for her "own" life and sees what she doesn't have as more desirable than what she does have. Being away from home at a challenging school changes her life, but not necessarily in the ways she imagined. Canales shows how Sofia deals with friends, copes with grief, and eventually returns to the "old barrio" to give back to those who have given her so much.
This is a fantastic book for anyone interested in Hispanic culture and traditions. I highly recommend it for middle school/high school readers. It would be a great read aloud book for younger students as well - the chapters easily stand alone as short stories, so a creative teacher/librarian could feasibly use this all year long by reading chapters that coordinate with the holidays.
Following are reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal:
THE TEQUILA WORM (reviewed on July 15, 2005)
Sofia, growing up in an urban Latino neighborhood in McAllen, Texas, has a chance to attend an expensive boarding school in Austin on scholarship. Like her father, Sofia lives the life of the mind, rich with story and possibility. How can she convince her mother to let her take this opportunity? By learning to dance and showing her that she can leave home and still learn to become a good comadre. Canales, the author of the story collection Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales (2001), is a graduate of Harvard Law School, suggesting that Sofia’s story at least closely parallels her own. She is an accomplished storyteller, though not yet, perhaps, a successful novelist. The episodic narrative has disconcerting leaps in time at the beginning, and a sense of completion, or a moral displayed, at several points throughout—all lacking the tension to carry the reader forward. This said, the characters and setting are so real to life that readers who connect with Sofia at the start will find many riches here, from a perspective that is still hard to find in youth literature. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 9th, 2005
ISBN: 0-385-74674-1
Page count: 176pp
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
CANALES, Viola. The Tequila Worm. 199p. Random/Wendy Lamb Bks. 2005. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-385-74674-1; PLB $17.99. ISBN 0-385-90905-5. LC number unavailable.
Gr 5-8–Sofia, 14, lives in McAllen, TX. What she lacks in material possessions, she makes up for in personality and intelligence. When she is called a “taco head” by a student at her school, she decides to “kick that girl” by getting better grades and being a better soccer player than her tormentor. As a result of this determination, Sofia is offered a scholarship to the elite Saint Luke’s school in Austin. Now she must convince her family and herself that she is up to the challenge. Canales includes vivid descriptions of life in a Mexican-American community. Her prose is engaging and easy to read, making this novel a good choice for reluctant readers. The momentum slows a bit after Sofia’s arrival in Austin in contrast to the portion of the book set in McAllen. Still, the story is a good addition to most collections.–Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX
Both of these books easily lend themselves to library/classroom lessons - they portray characters who feel they don't "fit in" and explain the reasons they feel this way. Tolerance, culture, beliefs, respect, family.....all of these key themes exist in these books so there is ample opportunity to use these alongside other texts that address similiar issues. Tequila Worm, in particular, would be a great title to promote during Hispanic Heritage week/month celebrations.
No comments:
Post a Comment