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Favorites of 1997
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From: Carrie Schadle <bz227>
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 15:32:33 -0500 (EST)
While I agree with K.T. Horning's assessment that this year's crop of fiction for kids has been generally full of gloom and despair, I still think that one of "those" is the best of the year--Karen Hesse's _Out of the Dust_. Set in the Dustbowl, it tells the heart wrenching story of a girl who is partly responsible for an accident that kills her mother and her infant brother, while scarring her own hands so badly she can no longer play the piano, leaving her with no way out, both mentally or physically, of Dustbowl Oklahoma. It sounds grim, and it is, but it is written entirely as a set of free verse poems (don't be scared!!!) that brings Billie Jo's voice leaping luminously off the page. And there is hope and redemption at the end (unlike in some of the other stuff that came out this year).
Two others that I really enjoyed are _Moving Mama to Town_, by Ronder Thomas Young and _The Heart is Big Enough_, by Michael Rosen. The first is set in Georgia just after World War II and tells the story of a 13 year-old boy who takes matters into his own hands when his frequently absent father leaves for what seems like good. Although the book ends with a tragedy, there is also hope for the future in Freddy's determination to make something out of himself. The second is a wonderful collection of short stories, all dealing (at least tangentally) with environmental issues. Sounds kind of deadly when I read that back to myself, and I know short stories can be a hard sell, but this is a book worth reading that won't leave you feeling wrung out emotionally.
A strange book that I read that definitely deserves some attention from people is one called _Tangerine_ by Edward Bloor. It is set in a very odd community in Florida, and at times almost seems like science fiction. Alas, it comes to a pretty dramatic and harsh ending, but I would be interested to hear what others have to say about it.
There is wonderful book called _Leon's Story_, an autobiographical account of a boy's coming of age during the early days of the civil right's movement, based on interviews Susan Roth, who supplies the artwork, did with Mr. Tillage. Although he chronicles matter of factly the injustices done before civil rights, his voice is so strong and so positive you don't despair. There is something particularly effecting about a book like this in which a "real" person (as opposed to the heroes of the civil right's movement) talks about what that time meant to him.
As for poetry, I really like _The Great Frog Race and Other Poems_ by Kristine O'Connell George and _In the Swim_ by Douglas Florian, both of which are graced with good, strong poems and complimentary illustrations that are way beyond average (especially Florian's).
Okay, I'll shut up now.
******************************** Carrie Schadle Aguilar Branch, New York Public Library bz227 at freenet.buffalo.edu 212/534)30
Received on Sat 06 Dec 1997 02:32:33 PM CST
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 15:32:33 -0500 (EST)
While I agree with K.T. Horning's assessment that this year's crop of fiction for kids has been generally full of gloom and despair, I still think that one of "those" is the best of the year--Karen Hesse's _Out of the Dust_. Set in the Dustbowl, it tells the heart wrenching story of a girl who is partly responsible for an accident that kills her mother and her infant brother, while scarring her own hands so badly she can no longer play the piano, leaving her with no way out, both mentally or physically, of Dustbowl Oklahoma. It sounds grim, and it is, but it is written entirely as a set of free verse poems (don't be scared!!!) that brings Billie Jo's voice leaping luminously off the page. And there is hope and redemption at the end (unlike in some of the other stuff that came out this year).
Two others that I really enjoyed are _Moving Mama to Town_, by Ronder Thomas Young and _The Heart is Big Enough_, by Michael Rosen. The first is set in Georgia just after World War II and tells the story of a 13 year-old boy who takes matters into his own hands when his frequently absent father leaves for what seems like good. Although the book ends with a tragedy, there is also hope for the future in Freddy's determination to make something out of himself. The second is a wonderful collection of short stories, all dealing (at least tangentally) with environmental issues. Sounds kind of deadly when I read that back to myself, and I know short stories can be a hard sell, but this is a book worth reading that won't leave you feeling wrung out emotionally.
A strange book that I read that definitely deserves some attention from people is one called _Tangerine_ by Edward Bloor. It is set in a very odd community in Florida, and at times almost seems like science fiction. Alas, it comes to a pretty dramatic and harsh ending, but I would be interested to hear what others have to say about it.
There is wonderful book called _Leon's Story_, an autobiographical account of a boy's coming of age during the early days of the civil right's movement, based on interviews Susan Roth, who supplies the artwork, did with Mr. Tillage. Although he chronicles matter of factly the injustices done before civil rights, his voice is so strong and so positive you don't despair. There is something particularly effecting about a book like this in which a "real" person (as opposed to the heroes of the civil right's movement) talks about what that time meant to him.
As for poetry, I really like _The Great Frog Race and Other Poems_ by Kristine O'Connell George and _In the Swim_ by Douglas Florian, both of which are graced with good, strong poems and complimentary illustrations that are way beyond average (especially Florian's).
Okay, I'll shut up now.
******************************** Carrie Schadle Aguilar Branch, New York Public Library bz227 at freenet.buffalo.edu 212/534)30
Received on Sat 06 Dec 1997 02:32:33 PM CST
