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Batchelder Medal Winners
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From: Kay Weisman <kweisman>
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 11:37:32 -0600
Alright, Ginny, I will accept your challenge! I held back my comments last week because I was at home on spring break without my copies of either book and because even with the books in front of me I am not as articulate as the other members of this list. Also, I am somewhat of a holistic reader in that I read a book and form opinions, but those opinions are often based on an emotional reaction to the whole text rather than a response to a particular scene or writing style.
I approached RUN BOY RUN with a little trepidation. I am a fan of Orlev's other works, but the reviews I had read made this book seem like a relentless recounting of the horrors of war. Happily, I did not find this to be the case. True, some horrible things happen to Srulik--both emotionally and physically--but the tone throughout the book is one of hope. We know that Srulik will eventually be OK. His story feels both believable and possible to me. (Some on this list have questioned the behavior of his parents in the beginning--but from the point of view of a nine-year-old child who perhaps did not completely understand everything going on around him, I can accept his report of what happened.)
THE MAN WHO WENT TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON is a delightful recounting of Apollo 11 and astronaut Michael Collins, the man who stayed behind in the capsule while his cohorts took "one giant leap for mankind." At first glance this looks like one of those "non-foreign" Batchelder titles that librarians will easily be able to sell because this is, after all, an American story. A closer inspection reveals the things that Schyffert chooses to include--things that I suspect might have been changed or edited out if this book were American in origin. In presenting background information Schyffert eschews narration for a practical chart--which includes age, height weight, pets and SALARY (something not often included in US texts about astronauts that I have seen). The excerpt from Collins' flight notebook on pages 23 and 24 looks to be a reproduction on the original, with Collins' hand-written notes included. The text is rather technical, but careful reading reveals that these are the directions for dumping urine into space. All in all, this is a refreshing and appealing look at an event that should have wide child appeal.
Kay Weisman
Received on Mon 29 Mar 2004 11:37:32 AM CST
Date: Mon, 29 Mar 2004 11:37:32 -0600
Alright, Ginny, I will accept your challenge! I held back my comments last week because I was at home on spring break without my copies of either book and because even with the books in front of me I am not as articulate as the other members of this list. Also, I am somewhat of a holistic reader in that I read a book and form opinions, but those opinions are often based on an emotional reaction to the whole text rather than a response to a particular scene or writing style.
I approached RUN BOY RUN with a little trepidation. I am a fan of Orlev's other works, but the reviews I had read made this book seem like a relentless recounting of the horrors of war. Happily, I did not find this to be the case. True, some horrible things happen to Srulik--both emotionally and physically--but the tone throughout the book is one of hope. We know that Srulik will eventually be OK. His story feels both believable and possible to me. (Some on this list have questioned the behavior of his parents in the beginning--but from the point of view of a nine-year-old child who perhaps did not completely understand everything going on around him, I can accept his report of what happened.)
THE MAN WHO WENT TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE MOON is a delightful recounting of Apollo 11 and astronaut Michael Collins, the man who stayed behind in the capsule while his cohorts took "one giant leap for mankind." At first glance this looks like one of those "non-foreign" Batchelder titles that librarians will easily be able to sell because this is, after all, an American story. A closer inspection reveals the things that Schyffert chooses to include--things that I suspect might have been changed or edited out if this book were American in origin. In presenting background information Schyffert eschews narration for a practical chart--which includes age, height weight, pets and SALARY (something not often included in US texts about astronauts that I have seen). The excerpt from Collins' flight notebook on pages 23 and 24 looks to be a reproduction on the original, with Collins' hand-written notes included. The text is rather technical, but careful reading reveals that these are the directions for dumping urine into space. All in all, this is a refreshing and appealing look at an event that should have wide child appeal.
Kay Weisman
Received on Mon 29 Mar 2004 11:37:32 AM CST
