And the winner is......

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman wasn’t even on our Mock Newbery radar. I think the main reason was that we thought of Mr. Gaiman as a Brit and therefore ineligible, but now that he is a US resident his eligibility status has obviously changed. I did read his book and enjoyed it quite a bit and there is no doubt that children will love it. (Guess it’s been on the best seller list for some time.) I especially liked the humor and the characterizations of the all too ‘human’ ghosts in the graveyard. I’m just not sure it’s “the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature” this year. It is a coming of age story like no other and be warned ….the opening scene is pretty scary stuff, not for the sensitive child prone to nightmares.

As for the Honor books, we didn’t read After Tupac and D. Foster (Woodson) or The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom (Engle). I can only imagine how many books Newbery committee members read ….. many, many more than our mock committee did. We did read Savvy (Law) and The Underneath (Appelt). While Savvy was discussed, there wasn’t much enthusiasm for it in our group. I think the magical realism aspect of the story was off-putting to some but there is much to admire about it. Character, setting and voice ring true and are memorable, and the idea that everyone has his/her own special savvy to be cherished and shared wisely may set a young reader on a journey of self-awareness. The Underneath is an entirely different matter. All of us found the plot to be difficult … both confusing and very dark. It is true the language is lyrical, the characters engaging and the setting a palpable presence. These are the novel’s strong points and strong they are. But the story is hard to follow as it jumps through time and space and the cruelty of several characters will be (or should be) disturbing. Yes, it all turns out well in the end but I wonder how many young readers will get that far. One of the biggest problems in my opinion is the adorable cover art by David Small. Many teachers and parents will think the book is a sweet animal story ….not!

So, the only title that I mentioned before which showed up on the winners list is Waiting for Normal (Connor). It is the middle school Schneider Family Book Award winner for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. This and the other books mentioned in my previous blog about the Newbery I recommend without reservation.