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[CCBC-Net] 2006 Newbery Award
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From: Cassie Wilson <cassiewilson>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:25:24 -0500
"Criss Cross" is undoubtedly the most artistic of any children's book in recent times. There is so much in it to show to children about literature and to discuss with them that , while I hope it is used for class discussion, teachers don't teach it to death as has happened so many times to "The Pearl." The title is the first clue to the tale of the threads of life that come forward, hold back, turn back on themselves, and interact to weave a firm pattern in what could otherwise seem to be a meaningless intersection of lives, just like the lives we actually inhabit. Our lives also interact, but we are too close to them to ever see the full fabric, the whole pattern. Because Lenny likes Debbie, he teaches her to drive a stick shift and start a car with a dead battery which saves the life of a woman he's never met but causes Lenny to end up with a movie date with Patty, partially because Debbie has met and impressed (with her abilities with a car) a boy from California who is the grandson of the woman whose life was saved. A necklace comes full circle because its clasp doesn't always hold, and, while Debbie is changing clothes because her mother won't let her wear the clothes she wants, is stolen by a passing chipmunk (I think) and goes through a series of adventures with various people, each person showing a great deal about his character by his reaction to the necklace and treatment of it. Sound like a soap opera? The plot is intricate. If there is a plot, how can nothing have happened?
One thing I liked about the book was that no one loses anything, not a friend, not a parent, not virginity, not a limb, not freedom. Even the necklace comes back. There is no great trauma. Are we so used to hype that we can't see the reality of life without crises?
It's late here, I'm taking medication and have a cold; I'm not sure this is making sense or that my sentences are not becoming so convoluted that they can't be followed. Ginny Kruse already said everything that needs to be said anyway: this book is wonderful.
Peace,
Cassie Wilson
Received on Thu 16 Feb 2006 09:25:24 PM CST
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2006 22:25:24 -0500
"Criss Cross" is undoubtedly the most artistic of any children's book in recent times. There is so much in it to show to children about literature and to discuss with them that , while I hope it is used for class discussion, teachers don't teach it to death as has happened so many times to "The Pearl." The title is the first clue to the tale of the threads of life that come forward, hold back, turn back on themselves, and interact to weave a firm pattern in what could otherwise seem to be a meaningless intersection of lives, just like the lives we actually inhabit. Our lives also interact, but we are too close to them to ever see the full fabric, the whole pattern. Because Lenny likes Debbie, he teaches her to drive a stick shift and start a car with a dead battery which saves the life of a woman he's never met but causes Lenny to end up with a movie date with Patty, partially because Debbie has met and impressed (with her abilities with a car) a boy from California who is the grandson of the woman whose life was saved. A necklace comes full circle because its clasp doesn't always hold, and, while Debbie is changing clothes because her mother won't let her wear the clothes she wants, is stolen by a passing chipmunk (I think) and goes through a series of adventures with various people, each person showing a great deal about his character by his reaction to the necklace and treatment of it. Sound like a soap opera? The plot is intricate. If there is a plot, how can nothing have happened?
One thing I liked about the book was that no one loses anything, not a friend, not a parent, not virginity, not a limb, not freedom. Even the necklace comes back. There is no great trauma. Are we so used to hype that we can't see the reality of life without crises?
It's late here, I'm taking medication and have a cold; I'm not sure this is making sense or that my sentences are not becoming so convoluted that they can't be followed. Ginny Kruse already said everything that needs to be said anyway: this book is wonderful.
Peace,
Cassie Wilson
Received on Thu 16 Feb 2006 09:25:24 PM CST
