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2002
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (Clarion, $15,
fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0-395-97827-0. The Medalist An orphaned boy growing up in 12th century Korea earns
his place in the world after becoming an assistant for a
master pottery maker. The Newbery committee went retro in selecting this novel
as the medal winner for 2002. The story hearkens back to
similar novels from the '30s and '40s in its depiction of
Asian culture and the glorification of humility and hard
work. Young Tree-Ear lives under a bridge with a crippled man.
They eke out a living by making meals of spilled rice,
boiled roots and the sporadic kindness of the local
villagers. It's a hard life but Tree-Ear thrives under the
moral guidance of Crane-Man, his ageless companion. Tree-Ear's life begins to change when he becomes the
assistant of Min, a brilliant but cranky artisan. Tree-Ear
wiggles himself deeply into Min's life when he volunteers to
bring pottery samples to the royal palace, beginning a
journey that results in the novel's title. First the good news. Park writes cleanly and has produced
a narrative that moves at a brisk pace. She dots the novel
with tidbits of historical fact and a great deal of detail
about the celadon pottery that was Korea's claim to fame.
Kids will cheer the exploits of Tree-Ear. That said, A Single Shard is at best a lukewarm choice.
The characters are thinly drawn. Every mild turn of the plot
is exceedingly easy to predict. This is Horatio Alger in a
different garb. Maybe that was its appeal to the committee. After years
of selections that wallowed in the decaying American family
and the moral ambiguity that grips our country, "A Single
Shard" leaves no doubt who the good guys are. Everything on A Waffle by Polly Horvath (Farrar Straus
& Giroux, $16, sixth-grade level). ISBN:
0-374-32236-8. Honor Book A girl is orphaned when her parents are lost at sea, and
so begins an eventful year living with an odd uncle while
becoming friends with the owner of an unusual
restaurant. We're on familiar territory here, too. This book reminds
me so much of Hope Was Here, a 2001 Newbery Honor book,
it's disturbing. Primrose Squarp learns to navigate the treacherous waters
inhabited by adults when she goes to live with her Uncle
Jack, dodges the evil-minded social worker Miss Perfidy, and
learns homey wisdom from Miss Bowzer, who serves every item
on her menu atop a waffle. Primrose never loses hope that her parents are still
alive despite much evidence to the contrary. This makes her
a perfect foil for the machinations of the adults, who are
in turns greedy, conniving and dishonest. Primrose is fond
of asking adults if they ever believed in something just
because they felt it was right or true. They seem to have
lost that ability, which is a point Horvath drives home. Primrose achieves a certain truth through food, much the
way the character Hope did last year while observing the
eating habits of her diner's patrons. Everything on A Waffle is entertaining and on occasion
provokes a thought and more than one chuckle. That's enough
for most readers. Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson (Front
Street, $16.95, eighth-grade level). ISBN:1-886910-53-7. Honor Book The life and accomplishments of George W. Carver are
detailed in a series of poems. This, my friends, is one of the best Newbery Honor books
in years. Nelson has been winning acclaim for her poetry
over the last decade so this effort should propel her to
fame. This is a stunning, deeply moving, thought-provoking
book. The poem that describes Carver's reaction to his
impending death is so compelling that I have typed it up and
posted it in front of my desk. I'm not kidding. Nelson traces Carver's "adoption" by a white family after
his mother died under mysterious circumstances. She then
provides poetic snapshots that led to his success at
Tuskegee Institute and his enduring friendship with Booker
T. Washington. I marvel at Nelson's ability to turn a phrase and indict
American culture for its lapses in one stanza and then
return a few lines later to praise human nature and the
wondrous bounty of the world at large.. There are lines from this book that still ring clearly in
my head. On poverty: "concentrating on that needle's eye
into eternity." On World War I: "All of the dead are of the
same nation". On setting an example: "Your life may be the
only Bible some people know." This book is probably too deep to use in elementary
school and I think only the more gifted students in middle
school will appreciate it's worth. Turn it loose on your
high schools students. Even better, turn it loose on
yourself.
Copyright David Ross 2003