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1998

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic, $12.76, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0590360809.	The Medalist Hesse tells the coming-of-age story of a teen-age girl who lives through the horror of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma during the 1930s. Now that I teach 20th Century U.S. history, I have a far deeper understanding of the Dust Bowl and what a watershed event it was for the country. Hesse personalizes that tragedy and shows us what it felt to be a member of a family who stayed and didn't make the trek to California. This is a powerful book. Emotions are understated but still strongly felt. Life is lived moment to moment and each triumph or setback occurs on a small scale. Hesse boldly uses free verse to tell her story, a strategy that works for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the text mimics the clipped speaking style of people in pain and in need.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (HarperCollins, $12.76, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0060275103	Honor Book I am mystified why this book was so acclaimed. It stands far back in the line of rewrites, rehashes or re-inventions of the Cinderella story. The author uses a plot trick to tweak the story and fashions it as a prequel to the fairy tale. She wastes a wonderful character in Ella.
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff (Delacorte, $12.25, sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0613103505	Honor Book A girl who has a problem with lying learns about the power of honesty during a year in which her Hungarian family is nearly destroyed by World War II. The narrative is a little soft but the author makes up for it by conveying tremendous emotional power. She artfully shows that times of crisis force people, even children, to make decisions that can alter their lives for ever. A mistake at 10 can change a life for better or worse.
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli (HarperCollins, $12.76, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0060249137	Honor Book A sensitive boy in an insensitive town fights against tremendous social pressure and refuses to participate in a barbaric tradition. This is a remarkable book. It can be read on a dozen different levels and could generate discussion on peer pressure, community values, the Holocaust, social cohesion, coming of age, cruelty to animals, exploiting the environment, obedience to parents and tradition. On a basic level it's funny and touching. I once gave this book to a 12-year-old boy who had identified himself as a non-reader. He quickly became absorbed, one could say outraged, by the experiences of the main character, and sped through the novel. He went on to buy and read other novels by Spinelli. How's that for an endorsement of this novel's power?

Copyright David Ross 2003