Flotsam by David Wiesner - Caldecott Medal Winner

Well, I have discovered that I am not the biggest fan of picture books. Please do not misunderstand, the illustrations in this book are amazing and beautiful to look at. I just prefer to read someone else's words than to have to come up with my own.

In Flotsam, David Wiesner tells (or draws?) the story of a little boy who likes to look for things that have washed up on shore, or flotsam as it is called. The boy finds an underwater camera and gets the film developed, only to discover amazing things that go on at the bottom of the sea. For instance, Wiesner depicts islands in the middle of the ocean are really enormous starfish that can move at their will, and families of octupi reading books together. He finally comes upon a picture of a girl holding a picture of a boy holding a picture, and so on and so forth. He decides to do the same, him holding a picture of a picture (are you following all of this?!) and then throw the camera back into the ocean for someone else to enjoy. Trust me, the whole story is better in the pictures!

I was trying to come up with a story to go along with this book so my son and I could read it together. He got immensely bored with me and moved on to playing ball with his dad! I just am not a creative person, so this story was difficult to come up with in my mind. I like other peoples' imaginations much better!

Sources:

www.barnesandnoble.com Retrieved image on 2-18-08

Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. New York: Clarion Books.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck - 2001 Newbery Medal Winner

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck is the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago. Both book werew honored by the Newbery Award in some way, but I must admit that this is my favorite. The sequel picks up when Mary Alice is fifteen. Her family has fallen on hard times during a recession (1937 to be exact) and with Joey gone out west, her parents send her to live with Grandma Dowdel for the year. Moving cities and schools at such an important time in a young woman's life has Mary Alice scared and apprehensive.

Of course, a year with Grandma will be adventerous to say the least! Up to her same old antics, Grandma unwittingly helps Mary Alice adjust to her new life and school. Grandma is as sneaky as ever, quietly manipulating people into doing exaclty as she wants!

I liked the fact that this sequel focused on Mary Alice, as the first book focused more on Joey's point of view. Richard Peck is a wonderful author, and he tied up the loose ends from the first book in a very elegant way. We find at the end of the book exactly where Mary Alice ends up (and with whom!) and just how close her and her grandmother had really become. As I was reading this book, one of my cheerleaders was watching her grandmother fight a losing battle with brain cancer. It touched me in a very poignant way, because I know that my cheerleader and her grandmother were very close. I also know that she would loved to have her grandmother there with her at the big moments in her life, but it was just not meant to be. It also made me think of my own grandmother, whose vitality rivals that of Grandmother Dowdel, and how much I would miss her if she were not with us anymore.

Long live the grandmothers of the world!!

Sources:

Peck, Richard. (2002). A Year Down Yonder. New York: Puffin.

www.barnesandnoble.com Image retrieved on 2-18-08

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck - 1999 Newbery Honor Book

A Long Way from Chicago is the wonderful story of a brother-sister combo (Joey and Mary Alice, respectively) that gets sent from Chicago to spend a week with their grandmother (who lives in a small Illinois town). The way Richard Peck conveys the siblings' summers is told in short chapters - each chapter devoted to a different summer.

At first, the siblings do not want to go spend a whole week of their summer with their grandmother, but as the story moves on, the reader finds the pair more anxious to go than the previous year. The antics of Grandma Dowdel are hilarious - she is like a snake in the grass, one you do not see until you almost step on it! With her larger-then-life stature, most townspeople fear Grandma. She has a keen way of getting the best of people, usually without them even knowing it!

As I was reading this book, I found myself looking forward to discovering what trick Granmda was up to next. I enjoyed reading about the children getting older, and seeing how their attitudes toward that summer week grew and changed with them. The book also made me think of how close I am with my grandmother, although she is not as sneaky as Grandma Dowdel, and how I love spending time with her. My grandparents' home has always been a place of security and love for me, and the book really resonated with me on that front. I also read the sequel to this book, which will also be posted. My favorite between the two is the sequel, so read on to find out more!

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron - 2007 Newbery Medal Winner

I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive about reading children's books, mostly because it has been so long since I have read things like this. I read to my son a lot, but they are very basic books that are mostly filled with colorful pictures and not much writing! I must say that I was pleasantly surprised after reading The Higher Power of Lucky. This book was written by Susan Patron and included some black and white illustrations by Matt Phelan. The writing and illustrations were both well done, with the illustrations being fairly sparse throughout the book. They did, however, help paint a picture in my mind of the characters.

This book is about Lucky, a ten year old girl whose mother died and whose father is no where to be found. She has a guardian named Brigitte, a young woman from France who was her father's first wife. Lucky has a great friend named Lincoln, who is being groomed to become the President of the United States (hence the name Lincoln). They live in a desolate town called Hard Pan, which is basically in the middle of nowhere, California. After finding some clues, Lucky is convinced Brigitte is going to leave to go back to France, leaving Lucky as a ward of the state. She decides to run away, only to find out that she read the clues all wrong.

As I was reading this book, my heart broke for Lucky. To be so young and vulnerable without her mother or father around must have been very difficult for her. The way Lucky describes Brigitte is a little misleading - she comes across as snooty and uncaring at first. At the end of the book, the reader sees that Brigitte really has a heart of gold, and is truly being the mother to Lucky that she needs.

While this has not been my favorite book that I have read, I did enjoy it and can see why it won the Newbery Medal. The book is slated for ages 9-11, but beware of some of the more mature words that are used, such as "scrotum." Most 9-11 year olds do not know what that is, and they may ask after reading this book! The way the story is told also reminded me how a child's mind works, and that sometimes the best intentions can be misread by a young mind.

Sources:

Patron, S. (2006). The higher power of Lucky. New York: Simon & Schuster.

www.barnesandnoble.com Image retrieved 2-18-08