Category Archives: Newbery Award

Knots untangled

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

When You Reach Me (2009), Rebecca Stead This is going to be a tough post, because I don’t want to spoil anything about this book for you if you haven’t read it yet. It’s important NOT to know in advance … Continue reading →

Posted in Newbery Award, YA Lit | Tagged | 7 Comments

Darwin in Texas, 1899

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (2009), by Jacqueline Kelly, 338 pp. So, 21st century women: Take away your conveniences, your open-minded views of gender roles, your comfortable ease with addressing intellectual challenges, and how would you do? Would you chafe at … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical fiction, Newbery Award | Tagged | 2 Comments

Grandma Dowdel for President

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

I just knew I’d written about Richard Peck’s books somewhere, and it took me a while to find the post, on the grandmother of all my blogs — my first and still accessible “Lizzie Ross, Writer” at blogspot.com. Here’s the post: … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical fiction, Humorous, Newbery Award | Tagged | 2 Comments

Mississippi cotton fields, 1933

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (1976), Mildred D. Taylor, 276 pp. In The Personal History of Rachel Dupree (2008), Weisgarber tells the story of a black rancher in 1910s South Dakota.  In Taylor’s novel, we read about a black cotton farmer in … Continue reading →

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Killing dragons is not enough

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

The Hero and the Crown (1985 Newbery), Robin McKinley I love a good fantasy, and this one is good enough to stand with Garth Nix’s Sabriel. Aerin is King Arlbeth’s only child but, because she’s a girl, not next in … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Newbery Award | Tagged | 10 Comments

Gorilla my dreams

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

Sorry for the old (very old) joke, but I couldn’t resist. The One and Only Ivan (2013 Newbery), Katherine Applegate You might be familiar with the story of Ivan, the gorilla kept in a small shopping center in Tacoma until … Continue reading →

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On poetry

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

Four Newbery winners are books of poetry. One, Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust, is a novel in free verse and will be featured in a separate post. The other three are reviewed below. A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: … Continue reading →

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Graveyard rock

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

I hope you get the Garland Jeffries reference! Any-who. Neil Gaiman won the 2009 Newbery for The Graveyard Book, adding another notch to his award belt and crossing another goal off his writer’s bucket list. For it seems that Gaiman can … Continue reading →

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A simple matter of mathematics

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (1956 Newbery Award), Jean Lee Latham There are few Newbery novels about seafaring. This biography is only tangentially about ships during the Age of Sail, for Nathaniel Bowditch is first and foremost a scientist, although he … Continue reading →

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Dog on your mind — or perhaps Cat

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Lizzie Ross

It’s Like This, Cat (1964 Newbery Award), Emily Neville Shiloh (1992 Newbery), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Perhaps it’s a bit obvious to pair these two, but I couldn’t resist. Each can be read in a day, each tells the story of … Continue reading →

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