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Leon's Story
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From: Katie O'Dell Madison <katiem>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 11:25:06 -0800 (PST)
I've been out of the CCBC loop as I've started a new position so please forgive me if you've already discussed Leon's Story.
Leon's Story by Leon Walter Tillage is by far my favorite book of the year. I was terribly disappointed to see it wasn't mentioned in the award announcements last Monday from ALA. I heard that there was a discussion on if the book should even be considered "a work of literature" as the text is transcribed from the author's spoken words. This small dispute aside, I have to praise this moving and unforgettable work.
Leon tells the story of growing up in pre-civil rights North Carolina.
From the first page, readers are aware that this will not be a simple story or a pretty one. Leon's painful honesty of what his childhood was like will touch children and help them consider their own situation.
I liked the capturing of the oral tradition on paper. I could hear this story being told. The natural voice rocked me right into the story, and I could smell, taste, and see his father's ridiculously tragic death.
The other aspect I really appreciated about Leon's Story is that the length, the language, and the size make it so accessable to a wide range of reading ability or interest. I sense that many children (and adults) have lost what is our immediate history. Stories like Leon's remind us that we all live and work and interact in a society full of soft-spoken heros who are capable of surviving and acheiving amazing things.
I hope all of you get a chance to read this story and share it with some young readers. I will never forget Leon.
Katie O'Dell Madison Youth Librarian Midland Regional Library Multnomah County Library Portland, OR katiem at nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us
Received on Fri 16 Jan 1998 01:25:06 PM CST
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 1998 11:25:06 -0800 (PST)
I've been out of the CCBC loop as I've started a new position so please forgive me if you've already discussed Leon's Story.
Leon's Story by Leon Walter Tillage is by far my favorite book of the year. I was terribly disappointed to see it wasn't mentioned in the award announcements last Monday from ALA. I heard that there was a discussion on if the book should even be considered "a work of literature" as the text is transcribed from the author's spoken words. This small dispute aside, I have to praise this moving and unforgettable work.
Leon tells the story of growing up in pre-civil rights North Carolina.
From the first page, readers are aware that this will not be a simple story or a pretty one. Leon's painful honesty of what his childhood was like will touch children and help them consider their own situation.
I liked the capturing of the oral tradition on paper. I could hear this story being told. The natural voice rocked me right into the story, and I could smell, taste, and see his father's ridiculously tragic death.
The other aspect I really appreciated about Leon's Story is that the length, the language, and the size make it so accessable to a wide range of reading ability or interest. I sense that many children (and adults) have lost what is our immediate history. Stories like Leon's remind us that we all live and work and interact in a society full of soft-spoken heros who are capable of surviving and acheiving amazing things.
I hope all of you get a chance to read this story and share it with some young readers. I will never forget Leon.
Katie O'Dell Madison Youth Librarian Midland Regional Library Multnomah County Library Portland, OR katiem at nethost.multnomah.lib.or.us
Received on Fri 16 Jan 1998 01:25:06 PM CST
