NB1967

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1967

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

Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (Berkeley Publishing Group, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0425188175

The Medalist

A young girl comes of age under the guidance of her stern aunt.

This is an excellent description of the maturation process of a girl. Nice humor, strong emotion, excellent characterizations.

Hunt does a marvelous job of detailing the ins and outs of complex human relationships. She also make a strong affirmation for the importance of family and the power of continuity.

The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell (Houghton-Mifflin, $17, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0395069637.

Honor Book

A young cartographer takes a mental journey back to his life among the Conquistadors while sitting in prison waiting for his trial for stealing from the Spanish king.

This would be a powerful addition to seventh-grade social studies units on the Spanish expansion into North America. The research, of course, is impeccable, and the writing is a little more poignant than we're used to from O'Dell.

Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (HarperCollins, $15.95, fourth-grade level). ISBN: 0060284773.

Honor Book

The author retells a collection of Yiddish and Jewish folktales.

These are remarkably dorky by modern standards. They will be of interest to fans of Jewish folklore, but they will fall upon extremely deaf ears if you trot this one out for today's youngsters.

The Jazz Man by Mary Weik (Peter Smith Publishing, $18.75, fourth-grade level). ISBN: 0844668826.

Honor Book

A nine-year-old boy who is lame amuses himself by viewing life through the window of his Harlem apartment until a musician moves in next door and transforms the boy's life.

The music that the man plays at all hours reaches Zeke's soul and captures the rhythm of life Zeke has been observing. Zeke draws close to the man, who eventually moves on.

Nice lessons about friendship across the generations and music's transformational power. I suppose it could be used to explain the basics of the Harlem Renaissance, but that's a stretch.