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Favorite 2000 books that have slipped under the radar
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From: Flyingpig2 at aol.com <Flyingpig2>
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 20:34:16 EST
What a wonderful year this has been for middle grade and young adult books!!
I second many people's nominations of favorites, including Homeless Bird, A Year Down Yonder, Esperanza Rising, Fever 1793, Because of Winn-Dixie and many more excellent award contenders. I'd like to spread the word about a few marvelous books that seem to have slipped under the radar.
THE WORD EATER, by Mary D'Amato (Holiday House). This book has been our smash sleeper success child pleaser this year, comparable to HOLES for a slightly younger audience. It's the story of a magical earthworm named Fip, a new girl to town named Lerner Chanse, and a school bully/goat, Bobby. The two kids are at a school ruled by the MPOOEs, the Most Powerful Ones on Earth, who label all the other kids SLUGS (Sorry Losers Under Ground). While the setup is familiar -- plucky outcasts make good against the cruel school upper caste -- the way D'Amato carries it out is original, creative, and a lot of fun. For example: Fip the worm eats ink, causing whatever he eats to disappear forever. Powerful magic, and dangerous. There are good subplots about fiercely trained dogs called Attackaterriers, and kids who are freed from a sweatshop. Remeniscent in different ways of Daniel Pinkwater, Ellen Raskin, and Jean Merrill, this is a great book. The feedback from kids at schools and libraries has been hugely enthusiastic. (Ages 8)
ALL THE BLUE MOONS AT THE WALLACE HOTEL, by Phoebe Stone (Little, Brown) Fiona and Wallace are two sisters who take care of each other. Fiona, 11, loves to dance, and practices for hours in one of the many abandoned rooms of their big old house at the top of a hill. Wallace, a little kid, is always re-naming herself, since her own name doesn't seem to fit her. Their mother, a sculptor, has retreated into a vague world of her own. There's a past tragedy associated with the house and the family that Fiona and Wallace try to hide from the kids at school -- until Wallace disappears, and the tragedy must be faced. This is a lovely, memorable, and often funny book with great characters (including Fiona's best friend, a boy named Kip who has the unquestioning loyalty of Harriet' Welsh's friend, Sport). Although it has a sadness at its core, the overall impression is one of warmth and love and strength. It put me in mind, for some reason, of my favorite childhood novels by Zipha Keatley Snyder. The kids have also been loving this (mainly girls).
(Ages 10)
IF WISHES WERE HORSES, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock. (Dutton) Lily is out of sorts: denied a horse -- her heart's desire -- and always fighting with her perfect sister, Emily, her summer is miserable. Then a mysterious aunt appears from a life of travel, and an exciting new world opens up for Lily. She gains confidence, even daring to rescue (well, sort of steal) a maltreated horse. But then her sister falls terribly ill, and all is endangered. Powerful and memorable. (Ages 9)
THE DOLL PEOPLE, by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin; illustrated by Brian Selznick. (Hyperion) What a fun book and a great gift for kids who loved Rumer Godden's unforgettable dollhouse story with Miss Marjoribanks and the celluloid doll who melts. (Unforgettable, but I've forgotten the title: The Dolls' House?) Anyhow, this is a charmer: a 100-year-old doll comes across tiny journals her doll aunt had written before her mysterious disappearance years earlier. None of the adult dolls will talk about what happened, but our heroine is determined to sleuth out the answer. She gets help in the form of a goodhearted plastic doll -- a new addition to the household -- a bold girl who becomes her best friend. The mystery unfolds in a satisfying way, with the requisite dangerous cat and an original hazard: the instant and long-lasting paralysis of dolls who get spotted moving by humans. The book is designed beautifully, too, and has a big "ooh" factor with girls. (Ages 7)
Elizabeth Bluemle Flying Pig Children's Books www.flyingpigbooks.com Charlotte, VT
P.S. If this posts multiple times, please excuse me. I've tried to send it twice before, and each time I received a message saying it hadn't been posted because I wasn't subscribed. Since I've been on the list for months, I don't know why I'm getting that message, but I re-subscribed and am trying this one more time before giving up.
Received on Wed 13 Dec 2000 07:34:16 PM CST
Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 20:34:16 EST
What a wonderful year this has been for middle grade and young adult books!!
I second many people's nominations of favorites, including Homeless Bird, A Year Down Yonder, Esperanza Rising, Fever 1793, Because of Winn-Dixie and many more excellent award contenders. I'd like to spread the word about a few marvelous books that seem to have slipped under the radar.
THE WORD EATER, by Mary D'Amato (Holiday House). This book has been our smash sleeper success child pleaser this year, comparable to HOLES for a slightly younger audience. It's the story of a magical earthworm named Fip, a new girl to town named Lerner Chanse, and a school bully/goat, Bobby. The two kids are at a school ruled by the MPOOEs, the Most Powerful Ones on Earth, who label all the other kids SLUGS (Sorry Losers Under Ground). While the setup is familiar -- plucky outcasts make good against the cruel school upper caste -- the way D'Amato carries it out is original, creative, and a lot of fun. For example: Fip the worm eats ink, causing whatever he eats to disappear forever. Powerful magic, and dangerous. There are good subplots about fiercely trained dogs called Attackaterriers, and kids who are freed from a sweatshop. Remeniscent in different ways of Daniel Pinkwater, Ellen Raskin, and Jean Merrill, this is a great book. The feedback from kids at schools and libraries has been hugely enthusiastic. (Ages 8)
ALL THE BLUE MOONS AT THE WALLACE HOTEL, by Phoebe Stone (Little, Brown) Fiona and Wallace are two sisters who take care of each other. Fiona, 11, loves to dance, and practices for hours in one of the many abandoned rooms of their big old house at the top of a hill. Wallace, a little kid, is always re-naming herself, since her own name doesn't seem to fit her. Their mother, a sculptor, has retreated into a vague world of her own. There's a past tragedy associated with the house and the family that Fiona and Wallace try to hide from the kids at school -- until Wallace disappears, and the tragedy must be faced. This is a lovely, memorable, and often funny book with great characters (including Fiona's best friend, a boy named Kip who has the unquestioning loyalty of Harriet' Welsh's friend, Sport). Although it has a sadness at its core, the overall impression is one of warmth and love and strength. It put me in mind, for some reason, of my favorite childhood novels by Zipha Keatley Snyder. The kids have also been loving this (mainly girls).
(Ages 10)
IF WISHES WERE HORSES, by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock. (Dutton) Lily is out of sorts: denied a horse -- her heart's desire -- and always fighting with her perfect sister, Emily, her summer is miserable. Then a mysterious aunt appears from a life of travel, and an exciting new world opens up for Lily. She gains confidence, even daring to rescue (well, sort of steal) a maltreated horse. But then her sister falls terribly ill, and all is endangered. Powerful and memorable. (Ages 9)
THE DOLL PEOPLE, by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin; illustrated by Brian Selznick. (Hyperion) What a fun book and a great gift for kids who loved Rumer Godden's unforgettable dollhouse story with Miss Marjoribanks and the celluloid doll who melts. (Unforgettable, but I've forgotten the title: The Dolls' House?) Anyhow, this is a charmer: a 100-year-old doll comes across tiny journals her doll aunt had written before her mysterious disappearance years earlier. None of the adult dolls will talk about what happened, but our heroine is determined to sleuth out the answer. She gets help in the form of a goodhearted plastic doll -- a new addition to the household -- a bold girl who becomes her best friend. The mystery unfolds in a satisfying way, with the requisite dangerous cat and an original hazard: the instant and long-lasting paralysis of dolls who get spotted moving by humans. The book is designed beautifully, too, and has a big "ooh" factor with girls. (Ages 7)
Elizabeth Bluemle Flying Pig Children's Books www.flyingpigbooks.com Charlotte, VT
P.S. If this posts multiple times, please excuse me. I've tried to send it twice before, and each time I received a message saying it hadn't been posted because I wasn't subscribed. Since I've been on the list for months, I don't know why I'm getting that message, but I re-subscribed and am trying this one more time before giving up.
Received on Wed 13 Dec 2000 07:34:16 PM CST
