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[CCBC-Net] Criss Cross discussion
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From: Carla K <carlak_56>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 10:56:34 -0800 (PST)
A heatfelt thank you for this discussion about CRISS CROSS! I am the person who posted the original 5 star review on Amazon, because I loved the book so much when I read the pre-publication copy I received last September (in fact, I was so happy to see it advertised in the Greenwillow fall catalog, because I really enjoyed ALL ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE too.)
Then, for months, the only other reviews on Amazon were from two young readers who hated the book. While I appreciate that Perkins's style is different, and that it takes a few pages for the various connections to begin, I was upset that young readers (and since then, various older readers too) were not seeing all of the things I'd delighted in while reading the book, and I don't think it resonated with me only because I was Debbie's age, in a Midwestern city (larger than Selden, but it sure felt small to me), in the time this novel is set, and remembered the thrill of hearing coffee house folk musicians, as well as the day I frayed the hems of my bell-bottomed jeans. I began to wonder if today's young readers could not handle subtlety.
Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear it won the Newbery (I loved THE HELLO, GOODBY WINDOW too, and had the fun of presenting it at two Mock Caldecotts), because I do think it deserves to be read and discussed. I will hold off any other comments until I have reread it. I'm planning to call the teacher in charge of 7th and 8th grade English at a nearby private school, to see if some of her students would like to read and discuss with me. Of course, that will take a while to organize. My thanks to Ginny, Monica and others for giving me lots of discussion fodder, should I pull this off.
Carla Kozak, Children's Librarian
Chinatown Branch, San Francisco Public Library
Carla Kozak "Librarian by Day, Catwoman by Night (Gone to the Dogs)"
--------------------------------- Brings words and photos together (easily) with
PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail.
Received on Thu 16 Feb 2006 12:56:34 PM CST
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 10:56:34 -0800 (PST)
A heatfelt thank you for this discussion about CRISS CROSS! I am the person who posted the original 5 star review on Amazon, because I loved the book so much when I read the pre-publication copy I received last September (in fact, I was so happy to see it advertised in the Greenwillow fall catalog, because I really enjoyed ALL ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE too.)
Then, for months, the only other reviews on Amazon were from two young readers who hated the book. While I appreciate that Perkins's style is different, and that it takes a few pages for the various connections to begin, I was upset that young readers (and since then, various older readers too) were not seeing all of the things I'd delighted in while reading the book, and I don't think it resonated with me only because I was Debbie's age, in a Midwestern city (larger than Selden, but it sure felt small to me), in the time this novel is set, and remembered the thrill of hearing coffee house folk musicians, as well as the day I frayed the hems of my bell-bottomed jeans. I began to wonder if today's young readers could not handle subtlety.
Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear it won the Newbery (I loved THE HELLO, GOODBY WINDOW too, and had the fun of presenting it at two Mock Caldecotts), because I do think it deserves to be read and discussed. I will hold off any other comments until I have reread it. I'm planning to call the teacher in charge of 7th and 8th grade English at a nearby private school, to see if some of her students would like to read and discuss with me. Of course, that will take a while to organize. My thanks to Ginny, Monica and others for giving me lots of discussion fodder, should I pull this off.
Carla Kozak, Children's Librarian
Chinatown Branch, San Francisco Public Library
Carla Kozak "Librarian by Day, Catwoman by Night (Gone to the Dogs)"
--------------------------------- Brings words and photos together (easily) with
PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail.
Received on Thu 16 Feb 2006 12:56:34 PM CST
