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[CCBC-Net] Wednesday Wars
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From: Kathleen T. Horning <horning>
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:28:17 -0600
Several people have mentioned "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary Schmidt as one of their favorite books of the year. I found it to be kind of a slow starter (how many times did the main character need to tell us he felt like his teacher hated him, for example), but once I got into it, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to.
I found a couple of problems that, for me, kept it from being distinguished. For one, the whole premise stretched credulity -- that of Holling being the only Protestant kid in his 7th grade class who was therefore forced to stay behind and read Shakespeare while his Jewish and Catholic classmates were excused for the afternoon to attend religion classes. It seemed to me to be an obvious, and rather clunky, device for working in Shakespeare. Also, it didn't seem very believable that the teacher would be able to arrange a visit with the Yankees for a couple of her students. I loved the Mickey Mantle scene that preceded it
(and was glad the author found an artful way to counter the internalized homophobia of the whole yellow tights thing), and think it would have been stronger if the author had left it at that.
Since I was about the same age as Holling in 1967, I enjoyed the historical time period and think he got most of the details right, but there were a couple of details I found jarring. For example, the author frequently made reference to the asbestos ceilings and $24,000 Major League salaries, and each time he did that, I was jettisoned right back to 2007 so I could wink back at the author over the child reader's shoulder. I can't recall ever even hearing or using the term "asbestos" as a child until they were their carcinogenic nature became front page news in the late 1970s. Also, it didn't seem right to me that Hollings' 16-year-old sister was a Monkees fan. I didn't know any self-respecting 16-year-olds in 1967 who were Monkees fans, especially not aspiring flower children. I would have expected her to be a Beatles fan. (There is a reference to the sister missing a Beatles TV special, but I'm not sure there was such a thing aired in the U.S. in early 1968.) In an odd way, I think the book would have more successfully given a sense of time period if those sorts of details had been left out. They felt tacked on or forced to me, and detracted from the story.
I thought "Feathers" by Jacqueline Woodson, set in 1971, did a much better job at capturing the era. Other than the mention of a few song titles, I can't think of any specific time period details that she used. She managed to recreate the feeling of the era through the concerns and social interactions of the characters.
KT
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:28:17 -0600
Several people have mentioned "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary Schmidt as one of their favorite books of the year. I found it to be kind of a slow starter (how many times did the main character need to tell us he felt like his teacher hated him, for example), but once I got into it, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to.
I found a couple of problems that, for me, kept it from being distinguished. For one, the whole premise stretched credulity -- that of Holling being the only Protestant kid in his 7th grade class who was therefore forced to stay behind and read Shakespeare while his Jewish and Catholic classmates were excused for the afternoon to attend religion classes. It seemed to me to be an obvious, and rather clunky, device for working in Shakespeare. Also, it didn't seem very believable that the teacher would be able to arrange a visit with the Yankees for a couple of her students. I loved the Mickey Mantle scene that preceded it
(and was glad the author found an artful way to counter the internalized homophobia of the whole yellow tights thing), and think it would have been stronger if the author had left it at that.
Since I was about the same age as Holling in 1967, I enjoyed the historical time period and think he got most of the details right, but there were a couple of details I found jarring. For example, the author frequently made reference to the asbestos ceilings and $24,000 Major League salaries, and each time he did that, I was jettisoned right back to 2007 so I could wink back at the author over the child reader's shoulder. I can't recall ever even hearing or using the term "asbestos" as a child until they were their carcinogenic nature became front page news in the late 1970s. Also, it didn't seem right to me that Hollings' 16-year-old sister was a Monkees fan. I didn't know any self-respecting 16-year-olds in 1967 who were Monkees fans, especially not aspiring flower children. I would have expected her to be a Beatles fan. (There is a reference to the sister missing a Beatles TV special, but I'm not sure there was such a thing aired in the U.S. in early 1968.) In an odd way, I think the book would have more successfully given a sense of time period if those sorts of details had been left out. They felt tacked on or forced to me, and detracted from the story.
I thought "Feathers" by Jacqueline Woodson, set in 1971, did a much better job at capturing the era. Other than the mention of a few song titles, I can't think of any specific time period details that she used. She managed to recreate the feeling of the era through the concerns and social interactions of the characters.
KT
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 Phone: 608-263-3721 FAX: 608-262-4933 horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/Received on Thu 27 Dec 2007 03:28:17 PM CST
