I’m in the midst of another round of reading Newbery
Medal books. Two summers ago I set out to read or re-read all of them. I got
sidetracked – so many other books I wanted to read! – and my progress has been
sporadic. The books themselves aren’t
long. It takes time to compose my
thoughts and write a review of each one.
Walk Two Moons
(1995), by Sharon Creech
I found a copy of Walk Two Moons on the library book sale
rack. It was classified as Young Adult, which it really isn’t; there’s a copy
in the J Fiction section. In 1995 my
reading and library interests were on other things than elementary-grade books
and the Newbery Awards so I completely missed this one. Salamanca and her father move from their rural Kentucky
home to Ohio after Momma (wife) leaves them and goes off to Idaho. Gramps and Gram take Sal on a road trip to
find Momma and bring closure for all of them.
The grandparents’ long-standing devotion to one another includes
endearing sayings and little inside jokes. To while away the hours on the long
drive they ask Sal to tell them about her classmate and neighbor Phoebe
Winterbottom. Adult readers familiar
with magical realism might think that Phoebe and all the Winterbottoms are
made-up but in the end they’re not. And
in the end Sal finds out what happened to her mother.
This is a serious story effectively disguised as a quirky
tale.
# # # # # # #
The Matchlock Gun (1942), by Walter D. Edmonds
Trip a trop a troenje;
De varken en de boenjen . . .*
These words, set to music, are my Pavlovian response to The Matchlock Gun (thinking about the title or seeing the book). They are the first two lines of a Dutch folk song that figures in the story. In the mid-70’s I heard them sung frequently. I was the librarian at the public library in Brenham, Texas. The children’s collection included a set of filmstrip/cassette adaptations of Newbery books, including The Matchlock Gun. There was a self-contained projector so kids could sit at a table to watch and listen. The filmstrip and tape were coded so that the filmstrip advanced automatically. TMG seemed to be played every day during the summer.
The story is based on an historical incident in the Dutch territory in the Hudson River valley during the French & Indian War. The Teunis Van Alstyne has gone off to stand guard against the Indians. His wife Gertrude and children Edward and Trudy are alone on the farm. The Spanish matchlock gun came to the Colonies with Gertrude’s family. When the Indians make a raid Edward manages to fire the gun and save the family. Edmonds’ writing style is very measured and even the exciting passages (Indians nick Gertrude with a tomahawk!) don’t make the reader catch his (her) breath.
This is the only one of the audiovisual set that I recall. I have no idea why it appealed to those young library patrons for whom the setting and the situation were far out of the realm of anything they’d know about. Maybe it was just the first filmstrip in the box?
*It’s a baby-bounce song:
Up and down on a little throne
(parent’s knee), the pigs are in the beans…
# # # # # # # #
 |
| Original cover |
 |
| New cover, but old illustrations |
Amos Fortune, Free
Man (1951), by Elizabeth Yates
Another 18
th-century story, this time a
biography (or biographical novel). Amos Fortune was born in West Africa about
1710. In 1725 he and others from his village were captured by slavers and taken
to the United States. He was purchased by a tanner in Boston and
later sold to a tanner in Woburn. In 1760 he bought his freedom and relocated
to Jaffrey, NH, where he set up a tanning works. He was a respected member of
the community until his death in 1801.
The narrative refers to the miserable conditions on the
slave ship and the indignity and degradation of slavery, but the story is not
mired in the awfulness. The title, Free Man, indicates that better things will
happen and indeed they do. The writing
style is dated – turns of phrase that wouldn’t be used today (“In all his long
years as a tanner, Amos was never more glad than he was during the first months
in Jaffrey that so much of what he needed for his trade was at hand…”)
# # # # # # # #
Island of the Blue
Dolphins (1961), by Scott O’Dell
For more than 50 years I haven’t liked Island of the Blue
Dolphins because I didn’t like the cover art that depicted the disembodied head
of a girl who looked as though she was going to be sick. (The artist, Evaline Ness, was a Caldecott
medal-winner. She was married to Eliot Ness, I learned from Wikipedia.) Current editions have very different covers.
Now that I’ve
re-read it I appreciate the tale of a real-life Robinson Crusoe. “The lost woman of San Nicolas” lived alone
on the outermost of the California Channel Islands from 1835-1853.
When Russian and Aleutian otter-hunters threatened their
security, the native islanders agreed to let missionaries from California take
them to the mainland. Karana’s young brother missed the boat, literally. She
jumped overboard to save him and in turn also missed the evacuation. The sister and brother began a survival
existence. He was killed by wild dogs, leaving her to fend for herself for
nearly 20 years. A sea otter hunter
rescued her and took her to Santa Barbara.
Alas, she did not live very long afterward.
Archaeological research on the island in 1939 located her
whale-rib hut. In 2009 two native-made boxes containing artifacts were found and in 2015 the cave where it is
believed she took refuge was found.
# # # # # # #
Daniel Boone
(1939), by James Daugherty
James Daugherty both wrote and illustrated the
biographical novel Daniel Boone. His artistic style is distinctive: people
(and animals) are roundly-muscled, clothing is pleated and wrinkled,
backgrounds are busy, attacking Indians are fierce. Daniel Boone was a heroic pioneer who played
a tremendous role in the white settlement of Kentucky. He was always ready for a new opportunity –
fur trapping, settling Missouri, serving in Congress -- though he was not financially successful. The endpapers
are vivid Daugherty-drawn maps that show the rivers, hills, and frontier
towns. In 1939 it was acceptable to portray the
Indians as savages – and boy, Daugherty did so. This Newbery winner has not aged well, but the
pictures are memorable.
For more about Daugherty's art (in this case, a controversial mural):
http://collectingchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/2009/11/mural-in-gym.html
Cyndy, who blogs at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, offered to swap novelty prints for "happy pinks and yellows." I took her up on the deal. What she sent is a great addition to my novelty stash. I'm glad we could help one another out. 
I *must* get going on the AAUW holiday quilt. It needs to be done mid-October so I can sell tickets at the fall workshop. We'll be on vacation for two weeks in September so that reduces my sewing time. Every year I know I'll make a holiday quilt and nearly every year I have a heck of a time deciding what to make. 
(I meant to post this Monday afternoon.)
I went to a couple of estate sales on Friday. One was right here, in the town where I've lived since 2003, but I had no idea the house was there (nor did I know the family). The other was in Kenosha off a busy highway that I've traveled many times. I spent a total of $49.
The trims came with a useful plastic box, $5 for all. I sorted out the still-in-package from the wrapped-around-cardboard. I wasn't familiar with all of these brands. Note the rayon rick rack. Nowadays Wrights, etc., rick rack is polyester. Cotton rick rack is still available but it's more of a specialty item, not on the pre-packaged racks.
So what have I worked on the past two days? Nothing on the list!
I finished quilting the polka-dot circles. I'm auditioning bindings. 
(I bought these lighthouse fabric panels last year.)
The Matchlock Gun (1942), by Walter D. Edmonds
This is the only one of the audiovisual set that I recall. I have no idea why it appealed to those young library patrons for whom the setting and the situation were far out of the realm of anything they’d know about. Maybe it was just the first filmstrip in the box? 
Island of the Blue
Dolphins (1961), by Scott O’Dell
