Feeling almost human again, and a new book challenge

I've emerged from my lair for a brief moment to catch up on some correspondence, make some entries in my book journal, and do some much needed blog updates. My big news for today is that I've joined the Newbery Challenge. (Well, actually I joined a few weeks ago but haven't had the opportunity to tell anyone.)

The challenge is to read six books from Newbery Medal Award Winners list by the end of 2007. Following are my choices, plus the Amazon blurbs that helped me pick. I tried to choose a wide variety of topics and a wide timeframe as well. The books will all be passed down to my granddaughter. :)

1923 - The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting
(This is the only one on my list that I'm already familiar with -- one of my all-time favourites from my childhood reading days.)
Doctor Dolittle and all his animal friends head for the high seas in this amazing adventure. Told by 9-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins, crewman and future naturalist, Doctor Dolittle and company survive a perilous shipwreck and land on the mysterious, floating Spidermonkey Island. There he meets the Great Glass Sea Snail who holds the key to the biggest mystery of all.

1931 - The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
This short tale is about a poor artist in Japan who is commissioned to paint a picture of Buddha's death. The story teaches children a little about Buddhism and about the concept of reincarnation. The artist paints pictures of the animals coming to be blessed by Buddha. But legend said that cats never came. The artist's cat, Good Fortune, wishes to be included in the painting. Finally, the artist relents and Good Fortune dies from joy. But the priests now no longer want the painting since it doesn't agree with legend. The next day, however, they change their minds when a "miracle" occurs. Coatsworth was well-known for her children's stories and this short story is one of the classics of children literature.

1941 - Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
Mafatu lives in Polynesia. He has been afraid of the ocean since being a young child. Now his peers are teasing and saying cruel things to him about his fear. He knows that he must overcome his fear, so he sails out alone on the sea to prove to all that he is brave. This is an exciting tale of courage of a young boy who is trying to prove that he has a "stout heart." Enjoyable!

1956 - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
The story of a boy who had the persistence to master navigation in the days when men sailed by "log, lead, and lookout," and who authored The American Practical Navigator, "the sailor's Bible."

1989 - Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, by Paul Fleischman
A children's book of poetry about insects that was designed for two readers to enjoy together. On each page are two columns of verse for children to alternate reading aloud about the lives of six-legged creatures ranging from fireflies writing in the sky to a love affair between two lice, crickets eating pie crumbs and the single day in the life of a mayfly.

1998 - Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse
A book so evocative you'll feel grit and dust in your teeth for a week. Karen Hesse has taken the Dust Bowl and narrowed her focus to a single family living in Oklahoma in 1934. Through the eyes of 14-year-old Billie Jo, the reader is treated to a series of poems describing the catastrophic events that come from living in a world of dust. Each poem is a small masterpiece, slowly expanding to give the inhabitants of Billie Jo's small Oklahoma town depth and purpose. You meet families migrating west to California, bums on railroad tracks. There are abandoned babies and musicians with names like Mad Dog Craddock and the Black Mesa Boys. To read this book is to find yourself completely immersed in the Depression with Hesse's voice ringing true on every page. The form of this book is perhaps the most impressive. Pulling off a successful book with a plot made entirely in verse is incredibly difficult. Imagine trying to write convincing character development through poetry alone. Fortunately, Hesse is up to the challenge and goes above and beyond the call of duty. You're in safe hands with this adept author. Just don't feel surprised if you suddenly find yourself fighting urges to shower after every dust-thickened line.

The Newbery Challenge is hosted by Nattie (click here). I was saddened to read on her blog this morning that she is being treated for cancer. My best wishes go out to her and her family.