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One 11 year old's review of ALA winners
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From: Maia Cheli-Colando <maia_at_littlefolktales.org>
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:39:09 -0800
My 11 year old has been reading many of the ALA winners and following the discussions here on CCBCnet. I asked her for her comments on three of the books that moved her most strongly: Charles & Emma, Return to Sender, and Almost Astronauts.
Cheers, Maia
********************
I thoroughly enjoyed Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, and am delighted that it won the YALSA award as well as a Printz honor. I read Charles and Emma partly out of curiosity because of a childlit discussion, and partly because it was an ALA award winner. In the beginning of the story, it was not a very enthralling plot. It felt like a book with which you quietly settled down for a restful evening. Toward the middle of the book I found I could not put it down, I was so invested in the Darwins' and their children's story. The ending was satisfying and well deserved, (even though I cried through the last three chapters). On the whole it is a very good book, and fully deserves the YALSA award.
I also enjoyed Return to Sender, winner of the Pura Belpre award. This poignant story is an amazing picture of the lives of immigrant Mexican workers, as well as those who hire them. Some local businesses in our area have had legal problems with the court for having hired illegal immigrants, so the problem is not a new one to me. Mari’s pain for her mother and dedication to her sisters makes her a beautiful and believable character, the way Tyler’s own struggles make him a realistic and intriguing character.
After I read Almost Astronauts, it became very strange hearing the names of Alan Shepard and John Glenn, now that I know some of the things that they said to women who tried to get into the NASA astronaut programs, and how unjust they have been. It has also given me a new way to look at other historical space flights, like the Lunar Lander – realizing that not one of those astronauts was a woman. And, that the astronauts of those missions may not have wanted women in their space world either.
It’s also interesting to look at how much we have glorified the astronauts from the moonwalk, and haven’t given half as much attention to Sally Ride or Eileen Collins. I feel more of a draw to astronomy after reading AA, if only to prove those who denied women access into NASA wrong. Reading Moonshot, I almost felt like the authors were only writing about half of the space story, and they probably didn't know and/or didn't want to know what else had gone on.
The song Footsteps on the Moon (from the cd Journey into Space), annoys me ~ particularly the line, "Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong, they are the heroes of our song"… the feeling is like a little itch in my side, because they are not the only heroes.
-- Ciara A. Cheli-Colando
********************
-- Maia Cheli-Colando Arcata, Humboldt Bay, California -- blogging at http://www.littlefolktales.org/wordpress -- -- or drop in on Facebook! --
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Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:39:09 -0800
My 11 year old has been reading many of the ALA winners and following the discussions here on CCBCnet. I asked her for her comments on three of the books that moved her most strongly: Charles & Emma, Return to Sender, and Almost Astronauts.
Cheers, Maia
********************
I thoroughly enjoyed Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, and am delighted that it won the YALSA award as well as a Printz honor. I read Charles and Emma partly out of curiosity because of a childlit discussion, and partly because it was an ALA award winner. In the beginning of the story, it was not a very enthralling plot. It felt like a book with which you quietly settled down for a restful evening. Toward the middle of the book I found I could not put it down, I was so invested in the Darwins' and their children's story. The ending was satisfying and well deserved, (even though I cried through the last three chapters). On the whole it is a very good book, and fully deserves the YALSA award.
I also enjoyed Return to Sender, winner of the Pura Belpre award. This poignant story is an amazing picture of the lives of immigrant Mexican workers, as well as those who hire them. Some local businesses in our area have had legal problems with the court for having hired illegal immigrants, so the problem is not a new one to me. Mari’s pain for her mother and dedication to her sisters makes her a beautiful and believable character, the way Tyler’s own struggles make him a realistic and intriguing character.
After I read Almost Astronauts, it became very strange hearing the names of Alan Shepard and John Glenn, now that I know some of the things that they said to women who tried to get into the NASA astronaut programs, and how unjust they have been. It has also given me a new way to look at other historical space flights, like the Lunar Lander – realizing that not one of those astronauts was a woman. And, that the astronauts of those missions may not have wanted women in their space world either.
It’s also interesting to look at how much we have glorified the astronauts from the moonwalk, and haven’t given half as much attention to Sally Ride or Eileen Collins. I feel more of a draw to astronomy after reading AA, if only to prove those who denied women access into NASA wrong. Reading Moonshot, I almost felt like the authors were only writing about half of the space story, and they probably didn't know and/or didn't want to know what else had gone on.
The song Footsteps on the Moon (from the cd Journey into Space), annoys me ~ particularly the line, "Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong, they are the heroes of our song"… the feeling is like a little itch in my side, because they are not the only heroes.
-- Ciara A. Cheli-Colando
********************
-- Maia Cheli-Colando Arcata, Humboldt Bay, California -- blogging at http://www.littlefolktales.org/wordpress -- -- or drop in on Facebook! --
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