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Batchelder Award
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From: Annette Goldsmith <ayg>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 16:02:19 -0500
The Crow-Girl was, as Cathy said, full of hope in spite of the characters' grim circumstances. I liked that it showed different ways of dealing with grief. I also loved the dignity people accorded one another (not counting the nasty woman, of course). I'm not sure if this is a cultural trait, but everyone seemed to value independence and pulling one's own weight: for example, the way they planned in advance how to share the work and payment at the shepherd's house.
I was struck that this is the author's first novel to be translated into English. Does anyone know why it's taken so long for her to appear in English? The jacket flap describes Bredsdorff as "the beloved Danish author of many books for children". Ulterior motive for this question: I'm doing some research on the process of publishing Batchelder books.
I'm looking forward to hearing how your young readers respond to the Batchelder books, Cathy.
Annette
Annette Goldsmith Doctoral Student and Teaching Assistant College of Information Florida State University
Message----From: Cathy Sullivan Seblonka [mailto:cathys at uproc.lib.mi.us] Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 2:09 PM To: Megan Schliesman Cc: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] Batchelder Award
I've read Shadows of Ghadames and The Crow-Girl and thought both were excellent. Shadows opened up a whole new world for me as I learned about a city in Libya and women living on the rooftops in a separate world away from the men. The book showed women taking risks to help another person and the growth that resulted in both the mother and the daughter (and the young man). (I can't remember their names.) The place was so well described that I could feel the desert dryness and the cool air of the nighttime.
Crow-Girl was one of my favorite books of the year. Such tragic things happen in the story either to the young girl or in the stories she hears from the other characters, yet it's a book of beauty and hopefulness. Various people come together in their deep needs and build family, in fact, build a small settlement. And the atmosphere created by the author is so real, one can feel the sea and the mists. It's a lovely book.
And I have great news. I am co-chair of the Great Lakes' Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association's children's choice book award) and we put all three of the Batchelder books on the ballot for 2006. Shadows and Crow-Girl for grades 4-5 and Daniel Half-Human for grades 9. (I have not read Daniel yet but my co-worker did and thinks it is also excellent.)
Cathy
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Cathy Sullivan Seblonka Youth Services Librarian Peter White Public Library 217 N. Front St. Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 228?10 fax (906) 22683 e-mail: cathys at uproc.lib.mi.us
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Received on Wed 16 Mar 2005 03:02:19 PM CST
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2005 16:02:19 -0500
The Crow-Girl was, as Cathy said, full of hope in spite of the characters' grim circumstances. I liked that it showed different ways of dealing with grief. I also loved the dignity people accorded one another (not counting the nasty woman, of course). I'm not sure if this is a cultural trait, but everyone seemed to value independence and pulling one's own weight: for example, the way they planned in advance how to share the work and payment at the shepherd's house.
I was struck that this is the author's first novel to be translated into English. Does anyone know why it's taken so long for her to appear in English? The jacket flap describes Bredsdorff as "the beloved Danish author of many books for children". Ulterior motive for this question: I'm doing some research on the process of publishing Batchelder books.
I'm looking forward to hearing how your young readers respond to the Batchelder books, Cathy.
Annette
Annette Goldsmith Doctoral Student and Teaching Assistant College of Information Florida State University
Message----From: Cathy Sullivan Seblonka [mailto:cathys at uproc.lib.mi.us] Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 2:09 PM To: Megan Schliesman Cc: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] Batchelder Award
I've read Shadows of Ghadames and The Crow-Girl and thought both were excellent. Shadows opened up a whole new world for me as I learned about a city in Libya and women living on the rooftops in a separate world away from the men. The book showed women taking risks to help another person and the growth that resulted in both the mother and the daughter (and the young man). (I can't remember their names.) The place was so well described that I could feel the desert dryness and the cool air of the nighttime.
Crow-Girl was one of my favorite books of the year. Such tragic things happen in the story either to the young girl or in the stories she hears from the other characters, yet it's a book of beauty and hopefulness. Various people come together in their deep needs and build family, in fact, build a small settlement. And the atmosphere created by the author is so real, one can feel the sea and the mists. It's a lovely book.
And I have great news. I am co-chair of the Great Lakes' Great Books Award (Michigan Reading Association's children's choice book award) and we put all three of the Batchelder books on the ballot for 2006. Shadows and Crow-Girl for grades 4-5 and Daniel Half-Human for grades 9. (I have not read Daniel yet but my co-worker did and thinks it is also excellent.)
Cathy
-
Cathy Sullivan Seblonka Youth Services Librarian Peter White Public Library 217 N. Front St. Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 228?10 fax (906) 22683 e-mail: cathys at uproc.lib.mi.us
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To leave the list, send the message...
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Received on Wed 16 Mar 2005 03:02:19 PM CST
