The Coretta Scott King is awarded by the American Library Association to outstanding African-American authors and / or illustrators. Obviously, the award is named for Coretta Scott King, a large figure of utmost respect in the African-American community; King, the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr., was the epitome of someone who worked diligently to uphold the honor of African-Americans.
In 2000, the Coretta Scott King Award was given to the Christopher Paul Curtis novel Bud, Not Buddy. Bud, Not Buddy is a wonderful account of the orphan Bud, who, through his trials and tribulations over the course of the novel, the reading audience feels has suffered so much in his short life. The reader sees Bud leave the orphanage and into the home of the Amos family, a horrible family who severely abuses Bud. Bud decides to run away, and then, he sets out on a true adventure to find his father, based on a clue his mother left in his suitcase before she died. His adventure takes him to a jazz club, where Herman E. Calloway is playing.
Curtis' novel is a wonderful historical adventure, told through the eyes of Bud, a sympathetic character who any reader could fall in love with, while at the same time, feel extreme amounts of sorrow. This novel definitely does not paint a very favorable picture of the foster system of the 1930s in Michigan; however, the novel does show how resilient a young man can be, despite the many obstacles that can be found in his way.
In addition to the Coretta Scott King award, Bud, Not Buddy also won the Newbery Medal and the ALA Best Book for Young Adults. The author, Curtis, also wrote The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963, also a Newbery Honor book and a Coretta Scott King Honor book.
Nate Smith
Resources:
American Library Association. (2008). Coretta Scott King award. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookaward/corettascott.cfm.
Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Bracelet / Yoshiko Uchida and Joanna Yardley
Yoshiko Uchida's children's book The Bracelet is a wonderfully written narrative that is both a pleasant story to read as well as an informative historical lesson concerning the Japanese Americans that were affected during the 1940s. Uchida's book uses the main character, Emi, to show how several Japanese Americans were stripped from their normal lives and normal living conditions and were shipped to "camps" to stay because of America's involvement in World War II.
In The Bracelet, Emi's friend, Lauren, gives her a bracelet before Emi is forced to leave her home and go with her family to a strange location to live. Thinking that the bracelet will be her connection to her old life, Emi swears to never take it off. Unfortunately, she loses the bracelet, but soon realizes that it is her memories and not a material possession that will keep her connected to how wonderful her life used to be before the war.
The Bracelet is not only a wonderful children's book, but also a wonderful history lesson for parents to share with their children. This book allows parents and teachers to share the horrible effects Japanese Americans had to deal with during World War II; the book also offers a follow-up page at the very end that shares how the government, several years later, tried to recompense these Japanese American citizens.
Yoshiko Uchida has written several children's book, and many of these books focus on Japanese American culture. Some of her most noteworthy children's books are A Jar of Dreams and The Best Bad Thing. This novel, The Bracelet, was based on Uchida's own experiences during World War II.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Uchida, Y. (1993). The bracelet. New York: Philomel Books.
In The Bracelet, Emi's friend, Lauren, gives her a bracelet before Emi is forced to leave her home and go with her family to a strange location to live. Thinking that the bracelet will be her connection to her old life, Emi swears to never take it off. Unfortunately, she loses the bracelet, but soon realizes that it is her memories and not a material possession that will keep her connected to how wonderful her life used to be before the war.
The Bracelet is not only a wonderful children's book, but also a wonderful history lesson for parents to share with their children. This book allows parents and teachers to share the horrible effects Japanese Americans had to deal with during World War II; the book also offers a follow-up page at the very end that shares how the government, several years later, tried to recompense these Japanese American citizens.
Yoshiko Uchida has written several children's book, and many of these books focus on Japanese American culture. Some of her most noteworthy children's books are A Jar of Dreams and The Best Bad Thing. This novel, The Bracelet, was based on Uchida's own experiences during World War II.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Uchida, Y. (1993). The bracelet. New York: Philomel Books.
Newbery Winner # 2 / A Single Shard
Linda Sue Park's children's novel A Single Shard is a phenomenal book about how hard work and determination can provide wonderful end results. The book takes place in 12th century Korea, and Park does a wonderful job of taking a story that could be extremely distanced from today's young readers and making it relevant.
The book's central character, Tree-ear, is an orphan who, after some bit of mischief, works closely with his idol, a master potter named Min. Tree-ear is fascinated with Min and his ability to work so well with pottery, and when another character Kim visits the potter's location and tells how the palace wants a new commission, Tree-ear is eager to take Min's pottery to the distant palace to show the talent of his master potter. Not terribly surprising in the novel, Tree-ear is "attacked" by robbers on his way to the palace and all of Min's work is destroyed and broken; all that is left is a "single shard," but Tree-ear thinks this shard of pottery is still enough to prove Min's talent as a master potter. Tree-ear is right; when he makes it to the palace, Kim is impressed with the potter's work, and when Tree-ear makes it back to Min with the news, he discovers some personal tragedies. In the end, however, all is well, and Min adopts Tree-ear, and Tree-ear finally begins to learn to be a potter himself.
The novel does a wonderful job of showing children how hard work can prove beneficial, and many teachers and parents could use this novel as a guide to how the human spirit can overcome many obstacles. Many times, people are judged by just a small aspect of themselves, sometimes something as small as a "single shard," so people should be prepared to make sure even the smallest aspect of themselves can represent their hard work and effort to the strongest degree.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Park, L. S. (2001). A single shard. New York: Clarion Books.
The book's central character, Tree-ear, is an orphan who, after some bit of mischief, works closely with his idol, a master potter named Min. Tree-ear is fascinated with Min and his ability to work so well with pottery, and when another character Kim visits the potter's location and tells how the palace wants a new commission, Tree-ear is eager to take Min's pottery to the distant palace to show the talent of his master potter. Not terribly surprising in the novel, Tree-ear is "attacked" by robbers on his way to the palace and all of Min's work is destroyed and broken; all that is left is a "single shard," but Tree-ear thinks this shard of pottery is still enough to prove Min's talent as a master potter. Tree-ear is right; when he makes it to the palace, Kim is impressed with the potter's work, and when Tree-ear makes it back to Min with the news, he discovers some personal tragedies. In the end, however, all is well, and Min adopts Tree-ear, and Tree-ear finally begins to learn to be a potter himself.
The novel does a wonderful job of showing children how hard work can prove beneficial, and many teachers and parents could use this novel as a guide to how the human spirit can overcome many obstacles. Many times, people are judged by just a small aspect of themselves, sometimes something as small as a "single shard," so people should be prepared to make sure even the smallest aspect of themselves can represent their hard work and effort to the strongest degree.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Park, L. S. (2001). A single shard. New York: Clarion Books.
Newbery Winner # 1 / Holes
I have heard wonderful things about Louis Sachar's novel Holes over the years, but I have never had the opportunity to read it for myself to discover if it was as good as everyone always claimed it was. In short, this novel met every one of my expectations.
Holes is the story of Stanley Yelnats, a young boy who has been sent to a camp designed to "straighten him up." While there, he and several other boys are forced to dig huge holes every day. While there, he eventually makes friends with the small group of boys in his group, while at the same time makes enemies with the camp's warden, a woman who, as you read the novel, has ulterior motives as to why these boys are forced to dig these giant holes. One of his friends, Zero, runs away from the camp, and Stanley goes after him. They survive in the desert, and at the same time, start putting together the warden's intentions. In the end, Stanley gets released from the camp, and the warden is discovered to be the evil slave-driver she really is.
This novel does an excellent job of balancing the main plot with several subplots that occured several years earlier in the same area. While reading the novel, readers become more and more engaged with the characters, wondering how the plots will eventually intertwine. When all is revealed, readers are extremely satisfied with Sachar's abilities to make it conclude in a way that works both for the characters as well as for the readers. Holes definitely lived up to all of the expectations I had prior to reading this Newbery Medal winning novel.
For this book, Sachar won numerous award in addition to the Newbery Medal, including the National Book Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction. Sachar has also written other young adult books, such as There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom and Dogs Don't Tell Jokes.
Nate Smith
Resources:
Sachar, L. (2000). Holes. New York: Yearling.
Holes is the story of Stanley Yelnats, a young boy who has been sent to a camp designed to "straighten him up." While there, he and several other boys are forced to dig huge holes every day. While there, he eventually makes friends with the small group of boys in his group, while at the same time makes enemies with the camp's warden, a woman who, as you read the novel, has ulterior motives as to why these boys are forced to dig these giant holes. One of his friends, Zero, runs away from the camp, and Stanley goes after him. They survive in the desert, and at the same time, start putting together the warden's intentions. In the end, Stanley gets released from the camp, and the warden is discovered to be the evil slave-driver she really is.
This novel does an excellent job of balancing the main plot with several subplots that occured several years earlier in the same area. While reading the novel, readers become more and more engaged with the characters, wondering how the plots will eventually intertwine. When all is revealed, readers are extremely satisfied with Sachar's abilities to make it conclude in a way that works both for the characters as well as for the readers. Holes definitely lived up to all of the expectations I had prior to reading this Newbery Medal winning novel.
For this book, Sachar won numerous award in addition to the Newbery Medal, including the National Book Award, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the Christopher Award for Juvenile Fiction. Sachar has also written other young adult books, such as There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom and Dogs Don't Tell Jokes.
Nate Smith
Resources:
Sachar, L. (2000). Holes. New York: Yearling.
Caldecott vs. Newbery
The Caldecott Medal is a prestigious award given annually to the artist of the year's most distinguished children's picture book. This award is given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. This extremely sought-after honor is named after the nineteenth century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. In addition to the winner, several runners-up are awarded with an "honor" status award.
The Newbery Medal is an equally prestigious award that is given to the year's most outstanding author of an American book for children. This literary award is named after John Newbery, an eighteenth century juvenile literature publisher. The Newbery Medal is also awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Like the Caldecott Medal, several Honor Books are named as runners-up to the award winner.
Since both awards are given by the same organization, the Association for Library Service to Children, and the distinction between the awards is so distinct, one being awarded to a picture book while the other being awarded as a literary award, no one can claim that either award is any more prestigious than the other. Consequently, the authors of children's picture books strive to win the Caldecott Medal, and the authors of children's literature equally strive to win the Newbery Medal.
Nate Smith
Resources:
Association for Library Services to Children. (2008). Caldecott Medal. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.cfm.
Association for Library Services to Children. (2008). Newbery Medal. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberymedal.cfm.
The Newbery Medal is an equally prestigious award that is given to the year's most outstanding author of an American book for children. This literary award is named after John Newbery, an eighteenth century juvenile literature publisher. The Newbery Medal is also awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. Like the Caldecott Medal, several Honor Books are named as runners-up to the award winner.
Since both awards are given by the same organization, the Association for Library Service to Children, and the distinction between the awards is so distinct, one being awarded to a picture book while the other being awarded as a literary award, no one can claim that either award is any more prestigious than the other. Consequently, the authors of children's picture books strive to win the Caldecott Medal, and the authors of children's literature equally strive to win the Newbery Medal.
Nate Smith
Resources:
Association for Library Services to Children. (2008). Caldecott Medal. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.cfm.
Association for Library Services to Children. (2008). Newbery Medal. Retrieved April 7, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberymedal.cfm.
Dr. Seuss Extravaganza
After reading Horton Hears a Who! for my book versus film blog, I felt that reading The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax would be a simple enough task. It had been years since I had picked up any Dr. Seuss book, and to be honest, I wondered when I read these three books why Dr. Seuss is so popular with children. His popularity, to me, should lie with adults moreso than children, due to his overwhelmingly apparent subtext and analogies.
There is a little The Cat in the Hat in all of us. We all wish we had a friend who showed up when our parents were not around and encouraged us to be as bad as we want to be. However, sooner or later, our responsible-side must reappear and get us grounded back to reality. Children still love this book because of its sing-song rhyme pattern and familiar graphics, but I am curious to know that even after one reads this book to children if he or she would ask the children what the book was about if the children could tell the reader. Several other books have this same appeal to children; books such as Peter Pan have that same appeal to children, but again, if someone asks the children what the book was about, I doubt most children would understand the complex analogies the author James Barrie is trying to make.
What a wonderful book The Lorax is. I must admit, I do not remember reading this book as a child, but as an adult, I loved everything about it. Yes, the ever-present Dr. Seuss rhyming "fun" is present yet again, but there is a level of sophistication and adult-appeal that I do not always feel with Dr. Seuss that I definitely felt while reading The Lorax. There is a deeper truth here, discussing the horrible effects of deforestation. Teachers and parents could use this children's book in a discussion with their children about nature and humanity's desire to tear down the rain forests. In my experiences with children's books, I felt this same didactic nature when I read Flotsam by David Wiesner; the feeling was for a different reason, but again, the book could be used to appreciate the past, to gain a sense of a world larger than one's self, and to see ourselves as a part of a much larger picture.
Nate Smith
There is a little The Cat in the Hat in all of us. We all wish we had a friend who showed up when our parents were not around and encouraged us to be as bad as we want to be. However, sooner or later, our responsible-side must reappear and get us grounded back to reality. Children still love this book because of its sing-song rhyme pattern and familiar graphics, but I am curious to know that even after one reads this book to children if he or she would ask the children what the book was about if the children could tell the reader. Several other books have this same appeal to children; books such as Peter Pan have that same appeal to children, but again, if someone asks the children what the book was about, I doubt most children would understand the complex analogies the author James Barrie is trying to make.
What a wonderful book The Lorax is. I must admit, I do not remember reading this book as a child, but as an adult, I loved everything about it. Yes, the ever-present Dr. Seuss rhyming "fun" is present yet again, but there is a level of sophistication and adult-appeal that I do not always feel with Dr. Seuss that I definitely felt while reading The Lorax. There is a deeper truth here, discussing the horrible effects of deforestation. Teachers and parents could use this children's book in a discussion with their children about nature and humanity's desire to tear down the rain forests. In my experiences with children's books, I felt this same didactic nature when I read Flotsam by David Wiesner; the feeling was for a different reason, but again, the book could be used to appreciate the past, to gain a sense of a world larger than one's self, and to see ourselves as a part of a much larger picture.
Nate Smith
Let's Talk About Race / Julius Lester
Let's Talk About Race, written by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour, is an excellent book for children to read; this children's book does an excellent job of creating a multi-cultural environment within its pages and allowing children to learn how people are "different," but really, how people are all the same.
Lester uses an interesting narrative to get his point across; he communicates directly with the reader. He uses lines such as "Your race is not all that you are. My race is not all that I am. Yes, I am black but I am also a man. I am of medium height. I have a deep voice and a loud laugh. (I love to laugh. Do you?)" to create an open communication with the readers, asking questions and trying to find commonalities.
The graphics / illustrations in the book are wonderful, creating an atmosphere of beauty among the many different races represented. Children who read this book can see how people may look different, but all people are realistically the same. The book shows people "without their skin," relating how, if humans had no skin, we would look exactly the same. This concept is one that Lester easily communicates in such a way that children can easily understand.
Julius Lester is a Newbery Honor Book Award winner for To Be a Slave, a Caldecott Honor Book Award winner for John Henry, and a National Book Award finalist for Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History. Lester is an accomplished civil rights activist, radio talk-show host, and a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Lester, J. (2005). Let's talk about race. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Lester uses an interesting narrative to get his point across; he communicates directly with the reader. He uses lines such as "Your race is not all that you are. My race is not all that I am. Yes, I am black but I am also a man. I am of medium height. I have a deep voice and a loud laugh. (I love to laugh. Do you?)" to create an open communication with the readers, asking questions and trying to find commonalities.
The graphics / illustrations in the book are wonderful, creating an atmosphere of beauty among the many different races represented. Children who read this book can see how people may look different, but all people are realistically the same. The book shows people "without their skin," relating how, if humans had no skin, we would look exactly the same. This concept is one that Lester easily communicates in such a way that children can easily understand.
Julius Lester is a Newbery Honor Book Award winner for To Be a Slave, a Caldecott Honor Book Award winner for John Henry, and a National Book Award finalist for Long Journey Home: Stories from Black History. Lester is an accomplished civil rights activist, radio talk-show host, and a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Nate Smith
Resource:
Lester, J. (2005). Let's talk about race. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
