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1995
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins, $12.76,
sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0060233346. The Medalist A teen-age girl travels across country with her
grandparents in an attempt to deal with the death of her
mother. The reader quickly gains the suspicion that all is not
well with the family and that there's something odd about
this journey. The reader gains knowledge at the same pace as
the girl, which means our dawning awareness allows us to
empathize even more deeply. This is a well-told tale, rich in humor and emotion. The
characters are clearly drawn. The novel is based, however
trite this may sound, on the old adage: Don't judge a man
until you've walked a mile in his moccasins. A good match from the Newbery canon would be
Missing May, Cynthia Rylant's Newbery medalist from 1993 Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Kushman (Clarion,
$11.96, seventh-grade level). ISBN: 0395681863 Honor Book A high-spirited and intelligent girl in medieval England
thwarts her rural knight father's ambitions to marry her to
the highest bidder. If J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield has any ancestors,
Catherine is surely one of them. She is one of the most
memorable characters in the history of the Newberys. She is
intelligent, witty, pompous, self-deprecating, a dry wit of
the highest order, self-conscious to the nth degree - in
short, marvelously complex. Catherine shares her thoughts through the journal she
keeps. Catherine, like many teens, has doubts about
religion, family, politics, a women's place in the world and
sex. She is also acutely aware of what life is like for
women in her era. This would be a marvelous book to add to
units on medieval Europe. The Ear, The Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer (Orchard
Books, $15.16, sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0531068293. Honor Book A sci-fi story of sorts in which three children go on a
wild adventure in Zimbabwe, circa 2194. This is a complicated book, much of which kids won't get.
They will enjoy the adventure, which is exciting.
However, the meaning and events can be interpreted on many
levels. I see similarities to Gulliver's Travels and
a Pilgrim's Progress. The children in the novel view a variety of cultural
possibilities, all of which have positive and negative
elements. They encounter evil in many guises, too much of it
in fact. Although I can hear grumbles from 12th-grade English
teachers, this would be a wonderful tie-in to units
on government.
Copyright David Ross 2003