NB1928

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1928

Editor's Note: Many of the books are out of print. The header information will be as complete as I can make it.

Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji (Dutton, $12.79, sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0525304002.

The Medalist

A story, partly autobiographical, partly fantasy, describes the escapes of a remarkable pigeon.

This story did not age well. The narrative jumps between first person from the human perspective to third-person from the pigeon perspective. The writing style is horribly dated.

If you're determined, you can mine a few cultural facts about India and Pakistan.

The Wonder Smith and His-Son: A Tale from the Golden Childhood of the World by Ella Young/illustrated by Boris Artzubasheff (Floris Books, paperback, fifth-grade level). ISBN: 0863155219..

Out of print

Honor Book

A collection of tales about a mythic Irish giant.

This material is extremely dated and of little interest to anyone but scholars of children's literature or Celtic mythology.

Downright Dencey by Caroline Snedeker. (Recently reprinted by Bethlehem Books, $7.99, sixth-grade level)

Honor Book

A high-spirited Quaker girl makes it her personal mission to salvage the life of a half-breed boy who's ostracized in the rigid world of Nantucket, circa 1810.

Dencey, whose real name is Dionis, is a member of the Coffin family, which was unofficial royalty on the island during its whaling heyday. The aptly named Sam Jetsam is a rough-and-tumble kid who lives with a drunken Indian woman on the edge of town. The two participate in many melodramatic adventures and share many melodramatic emotions before they finally express their true feelings toward each on the last page of the novel.

Snedeker's narrative contains little of interest for the modern reader. For those who want keen insights into the Quaker and Puritanical mindsets of early New England, it is a treasure trove. I've read no other book in my research on U.S. history (or in grad school, for that matter) that so clearly limned the world view of New Englander. Kudos to Bethlehem Books for reprinting it.