#42 - Call It Courage, by Armstrong Sperry
Finished 8/17/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 116
Reason for Reading: Newbery Challenge
REVIEW: A delightful adventure, and a most deserving winner of the Newbery Award. Ten-year-old Mafatu, a boy from a Polynesian Island tribe, doesn’t seem to measure up to the standards set for being a “man” in his tribe. Most troublesome at all is his fear of the water. How can he grow up to be a powerful, confident, courageous chief if he is afraid to paddle out to sea and go fishing with the other boys? A wonderful tale of overcoming challenges and reaching through barriers to achieve your goals. Every child could benefit from this inspiring read.
Showing posts with label newbery challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newbery challenge. Show all posts
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
"It's Simple Mathematics"
#34 - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham
Finished 6/19/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 251
Reason for Reading: Newbery Challenge
REVIEW: I loved this book about the life and times of Nathaniel Bowditch, a mathematical wizard as a boy who became a navigating genius. The setting is the turn of the 19th century, and the story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, and on the high seas. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of how to sail by the stars, how to use a sextant, and how to calculate latitude and longitude long before the advent of modern-day instruments. It gave me new appreciation for the difficulties involved in navigating sailing ships and the ins and outs of the high seas trading industry. I loved the book now, and I would have greatly loved it as a teen as well. It was books like this in my early years that fuelled my love of adventure and my belief that anything is possible, if only you want it enough and are prepared to do what it takes. I now have an unexplainable urge to watch Master and Commander. LOL! Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t read this as a teen. Who knows what line of work I might be in now if I had? *grin* Storytelling at its finest. Highly recommended.
* * * * *
Sadly, Nattie, the host for the Newbery Challenge, was unsuccessful in her battle against the cancer that took her life on June 7. It is my intention to complete this challenge in her honour. My deepest sympathies to her family, especially her son Jonathan, age 9, and her daughter Anna, age 6.
Listening to: Iapetus (Enya)
Finished 6/19/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 251
Reason for Reading: Newbery Challenge
REVIEW: I loved this book about the life and times of Nathaniel Bowditch, a mathematical wizard as a boy who became a navigating genius. The setting is the turn of the 19th century, and the story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, and on the high seas. I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of how to sail by the stars, how to use a sextant, and how to calculate latitude and longitude long before the advent of modern-day instruments. It gave me new appreciation for the difficulties involved in navigating sailing ships and the ins and outs of the high seas trading industry. I loved the book now, and I would have greatly loved it as a teen as well. It was books like this in my early years that fuelled my love of adventure and my belief that anything is possible, if only you want it enough and are prepared to do what it takes. I now have an unexplainable urge to watch Master and Commander. LOL! Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t read this as a teen. Who knows what line of work I might be in now if I had? *grin* Storytelling at its finest. Highly recommended.
* * * * *
Sadly, Nattie, the host for the Newbery Challenge, was unsuccessful in her battle against the cancer that took her life on June 7. It is my intention to complete this challenge in her honour. My deepest sympathies to her family, especially her son Jonathan, age 9, and her daughter Anna, age 6.
Listening to: Iapetus (Enya)
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Vacation Reading
I finished all four books that I took with me on vacation. Ahhh.....the glory of long days filled with zero responsibilities and good reads.... Life is good. *smile* Here are my reviews:
#29 - The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, by M.G. Vassanji
Finished 6/7/07
Rating: 4/5
Total Pages: 436
Reason for Reading: 2003 Giller Prize Winner
REVIEW: Although I found the book long and tedious from time to time, I quite enjoyed the story of Vikram Lall and his family. The story is set in Kenya, yet told from the perspective of a narrator (Vikram) who now lives in Toronto. It tells of a third-generation Indian family, still struggling to find their true place under the remnants of colonial rule. The politics of the time are well represented, although they serve more as a counterpoint to the lives of the Lalls than as the central feature. Vassanji succeeds in developing a family story that acts as a microcosm to the national events surrounding them. Well-told with interesting and captivating characters.
#30 - The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Finished 6/7/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 74
Reason for Reading: Newbery Challenge
REVIEW: A delightful fable about a poor painter who is commissioned to create a masterpiece of the dying Buddha for the village temple. The artist ponders and meditates on each element of the painting. He spends time contemplating the meaning of each animal to be added, but is unable to include the cat, as legend tells that only the cat of all animals refused the teachings of Buddha. When the painter rebels against tradition, and includes a cat in the painting, he is rewarded with a miracle. A very good primer on the meaning of life, compassion, and love in the Buddhist religion. Every word masterful and meaningful. Highly recommended.
#31 - The Monk, by Matthew Lewis
Finished 6/10/07
Rating: 4/5
Total Pages: 1452 (Palm Pilot)
Reason for Reading: 18th/19th Century Novel
REVIEW: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s entirely different from anything else I’ve read from this era. Hard-hitting, tough, violent, judgmental, lusty. It’s all about sin and temptations. There are a variety of characters that tell their stories throughout the course of the book, and all the stories converge in surprisingly unique ways. Recommended.
#32 - Women with Men, by Richard Ford
Finished 6/12/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 255
Reason for Reading: Recommended by a friend
REVIEW: My first by Richard Ford and amazingly good. Loved the insights into the male psyche of his main characters. This is a collection of three short stories, connected by themes of marriage and infidelity, the search for love (or conversely, the seeming avoidance of it), and how human relationships work (or rather, how they don’t). The three main adult male characters are very well depicted, fully three-dimensional, and memorable, but each of them is also distinctly unlikable in their own fashion. Fascinating material.
I earmarked a number of striking passages, including these two...
“Obviously she was more complicated, maybe even smarter, than he’d thought, and quite realistic about life, though slightly disillusioned. Probably, if he wanted to press the matter of intimacy, he could take her back to his room – a thing he’d done before on business trips, and even if not so many times, enough times that to do so now wouldn’t be extraordinary or meaningful, at least not to him. To share an unexpected intimacy might intensify both their holds on life.” [p. 7]
“In that way, he felt, it was a typical academic marriage. Other people forged these same accommodations without ever knowing it. His parents, for instance. It was possible they hated each other, yet hating each other was worth more than trying to love somebody else, somebody you’d never know in a hundred years and probably wouldn’t like if you did. Better, they’d found, to focus on whatever good was left, set aside all issues they would never agree on, and call it marriage, even love.” [p. 159]
#29 - The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, by M.G. Vassanji
Finished 6/7/07
Rating: 4/5
Total Pages: 436
Reason for Reading: 2003 Giller Prize Winner
REVIEW: Although I found the book long and tedious from time to time, I quite enjoyed the story of Vikram Lall and his family. The story is set in Kenya, yet told from the perspective of a narrator (Vikram) who now lives in Toronto. It tells of a third-generation Indian family, still struggling to find their true place under the remnants of colonial rule. The politics of the time are well represented, although they serve more as a counterpoint to the lives of the Lalls than as the central feature. Vassanji succeeds in developing a family story that acts as a microcosm to the national events surrounding them. Well-told with interesting and captivating characters.
#30 - The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Finished 6/7/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 74
Reason for Reading: Newbery Challenge
REVIEW: A delightful fable about a poor painter who is commissioned to create a masterpiece of the dying Buddha for the village temple. The artist ponders and meditates on each element of the painting. He spends time contemplating the meaning of each animal to be added, but is unable to include the cat, as legend tells that only the cat of all animals refused the teachings of Buddha. When the painter rebels against tradition, and includes a cat in the painting, he is rewarded with a miracle. A very good primer on the meaning of life, compassion, and love in the Buddhist religion. Every word masterful and meaningful. Highly recommended.
#31 - The Monk, by Matthew Lewis
Finished 6/10/07
Rating: 4/5
Total Pages: 1452 (Palm Pilot)
Reason for Reading: 18th/19th Century Novel
REVIEW: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s entirely different from anything else I’ve read from this era. Hard-hitting, tough, violent, judgmental, lusty. It’s all about sin and temptations. There are a variety of characters that tell their stories throughout the course of the book, and all the stories converge in surprisingly unique ways. Recommended.
#32 - Women with Men, by Richard Ford
Finished 6/12/07
Rating: 5/5
Total Pages: 255
Reason for Reading: Recommended by a friend
REVIEW: My first by Richard Ford and amazingly good. Loved the insights into the male psyche of his main characters. This is a collection of three short stories, connected by themes of marriage and infidelity, the search for love (or conversely, the seeming avoidance of it), and how human relationships work (or rather, how they don’t). The three main adult male characters are very well depicted, fully three-dimensional, and memorable, but each of them is also distinctly unlikable in their own fashion. Fascinating material.
I earmarked a number of striking passages, including these two...
“Obviously she was more complicated, maybe even smarter, than he’d thought, and quite realistic about life, though slightly disillusioned. Probably, if he wanted to press the matter of intimacy, he could take her back to his room – a thing he’d done before on business trips, and even if not so many times, enough times that to do so now wouldn’t be extraordinary or meaningful, at least not to him. To share an unexpected intimacy might intensify both their holds on life.” [p. 7]
“In that way, he felt, it was a typical academic marriage. Other people forged these same accommodations without ever knowing it. His parents, for instance. It was possible they hated each other, yet hating each other was worth more than trying to love somebody else, somebody you’d never know in a hundred years and probably wouldn’t like if you did. Better, they’d found, to focus on whatever good was left, set aside all issues they would never agree on, and call it marriage, even love.” [p. 159]
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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.
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.
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