Home/Newbery by Year/Newbery Title Index/Newbery Subject Index/Newbery Author Index

1948

Editor's Note: Many of the books are out of print. The header information will be as complete as I can make it.

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois (Viking, $13.59, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0670734411.	The Medalist A retired teacher sets off on an around-the-world journey only to crash land on Krakatoa just weeks before the earth-shattering explosion. Weird story with parody of utopias thrown in. Humor may escape most kids. Kind of a Jules Verne feel to it.
Pancakes-Paris by Claire Hutchet Bishop (Viking, fourth-grade level). Out of print	Honor Book Shortly after the end of World War II, a poor French family is befriended by a pair of American soldiers. This book provides an unusual perspective on the aftermath of WWII and the fierce pride of those who survived it. The kids are struggling to live with the help of their widowed mother and keep speaking about "BEFORE," as in the wonderful time before the war. Enter two GIs, who grow more and more deeply involved with the family. This is a wonderful affirmation of people helping people in need. And it's more poignant because it's told through the eyes of a boy.
Li Lun, Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger (Econo-Clad, $13.35, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0785780327.	Honor Book A Chinese boy who fears the water is shunned by his fisherman father and told to climb to the top of a mountain and grow rice. He succeeds and his rewarded by the respect of his village. Flat story that contains little drama or excitement. The boy's extraordinary accomplishment and sacrifice sounds understated to modern ears. It almost reads like child abuse.
The Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot by Catherine Besterman (E.M. Hale and Co., fifth-grade level). Out of print	Honor Book A plucky boy has a series of fanciful adventures while spending the summer with his miserly uncle. Most readers will be tempted to stop reading after the first 20 pages because the story drums up little interest and sounds more like a subdued study in child abuse. Shortly thereafter, Besterman switches gears and starts cranking out a marvelous fantasy story. Johnny is an intrepid lad, rich in courage and smarts. He manages to convince a bunch of different animals, all of whom can talk and think, to help his on his various tasks. This too is an old book that would find a welcome audience among new readers.
The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories by Harold Courlander (Econo-Clad, $17.95, fourth-grade level). ISBN: 080859320X.	Honor Book A collection of West African folktales ably retold by Courlander and his pals. Nice book for seventh-grade social studies. Easy to read and quick ties to the curriculum in relation to the kingdoms of ancient Africa.
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry/illustrated by Wesley Dennis (Simon & Schuster, fourth-grade level). ISBN:  0027436225.	Honor Book A boy and his sister work all summer to earn enough cash to buy a legendary wild horse and her colt which were rounded up from a herd of wild ponies that live on Chincoteague Island off the Maryland shoreline. The horses are the descendants of a small herd of ponies that escaped a sinking Spanish ship nearly four centuries earlier. The ponies run wild on Chincoteague, which is uninhabited and functions as a wildlife sanctuary. Once a year the folks from nearby Assateague visit the island to gather horses for a sale that supports the local fire department. Paul and Maureen are determined against all odds to land the Phantom and her colt, and they do. This is an easy reader that fits into a long but now diminished tradition of animal stories cherished by children. Where have all the animal stories gone, by the way? Henry was a prolific writer in this genre. She knows how to pull all the right emotional strings. The kids are real, but not as real as their attachment to the horses. I applaud their determination and hard work, two values sadly missing from modern juvenile fiction. This is not great fiction, but its enduring appeal is unquestioned.

Copyright David Ross 2003