Category Archives: Newbery Award

ULYSSES+ Quarterly Report

NYC has had its usual share of rainy weather since the start of the year, which means that I’ve been making good progress on my ULYSSES+ project. In just 3 months, I’ve read 5 of the 12 books-published-in-1922 chosen as … Continue reading

Posted in Am reading, Animal tales, Castles and towers, Classic, Fantasy, Humorous, Newbery Award, Poetry, ULYSSES+ | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

ULYSSES+

You may already know that 2022 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, which I first read about 50 years ago, while a senior at university. The professor organized the class so that we read a … Continue reading

Posted in Am reading, Fantasy, Fiction, Humorous, Newbery Award, Poetry, short stories, ULYSSES+ | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

This and that

As NYC swelters through the dog days of summer, I find myself wishing for an early start to fall. This summer, what with work projects and reading projects and writing projects, has been busy. It’s also passed quickly — in ten … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Gothic, Graphic Novel, Newbery Award, Poetry, Supernatural | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The sea, the sea, the sea

Before continuing, set the soundtrack for your reading here (but only if you don’t mind reading with some music playing in the background). The Wanderer (2000), Sharon Creech “The sea, the sea, the sea.” When she first writes these words, Sophie, … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Newbery Award, YA Lit | Tagged | 9 Comments

Summer omnibus, part 1

Once again I find myself with a foot-tall stack of books I’ve read but not yet reviewed for my followers, next to a stack of papers to grade and projects to complete for school, which started 3 weeks ago. Normally, … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, History, Humorous, London Underground, Newbery Award, YA Lit | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Identity themes, reader response, and the critical lens

A conversation with a student last night sparked this post, which covers wide swatches of literary theory as well as some personal issues. Read on if you dare. A few decades ago I took a course on Japanese literature that … Continue reading

Posted in Critical lens, Identity themes, Newbery Award, Reader response theory, reading, Slavery | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Steig-mania

Most people are familiar with at least one character from the works of William Steig (1907-2003): Shrek, that sweet but lonely ogre who leaves his cave to find his place in the world, which ends up being back at his … Continue reading

Posted in Fantasy, Humorous, Newbery Award, YA Lit | Tagged | Leave a comment

ABCs

Though written in 3 different decades, these four books run along parallel routes that often meet and the separate, each providing insight for understanding the others. Each is about characters of Chinese heritage, about Chinese immigrants in the US, about … Continue reading

Posted in Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical fiction, Newbery Award, YA Lit | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Triptychs

A (relatively) quick post today, and then an apology in advance. I picked up Laurence Yep’s Newbery Honor book, Dragonwings, and the first few pages made me think of Frank Chin’s Donald Duk, which in turn made me think of … Continue reading

Posted in Historical fiction, Newbery Award, Science fiction, YA Lit | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Indelible art and stories

Three images from my childhood reading are permanently etched on my mind: a boy diving deep into the sea to rescue his ivory seagull; a tiny carved Indian sitting in a canoe atop a snow-covered mountain waiting for spring-melt to … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Newbery Award | Tagged | Leave a comment