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2000
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte,
$15.99, fifth-grade level).ISBN: 0-385-32306-9. The Medalist An orphaned boy takes the initiative while trying to
locate his father during the Great Depression. Curtis, who received a Newbery Honor award for The Watsons
Go to Birmingham - 1963 reveals a fine gift for
humor in this wonderful book. The title character is
marvelously naive, in part because of his humble upbringing
and because of his positive outlook. He maintains a mental
list of rules to live by that are as hilarious as they are
heart-rending. Young Bud begins his adventure by escaping from the
orphanage and from foster parents who are intent on making
his life miserable. He encounters many helpful souls who
share, in part, his optimism, despite the horrific poverty
experienced by the masses during the 1930s. Curtis chips in
with enough historical information about the Depression to
warrant a look from U.S. history teachers. Bud, through an unlikely series of events, manages to
connect with his grandfather. The conclusion gives Curtis an
easy entree into a second book, which I would warmly
welcome. 26 Fairmont Avenue by Tomie DePaola (Puffin Books,
$5.99, paperback, fourth-grade level). ISBN:
0-698-11864-2 Honor Book In an autobiographical tale, dePaola relates his
experiences as a young boy when he and his family were
moving into a new home that his dad built for them. The author is more noted for his work in illustrated
books but does an admirable job of integrating simple text
with cute pictures to produce this chapter book. Students in
the primary grades will feel a kinship with young Tomie, who
experiences the usual vagaries of school life and parental
humor. The novel will reach a receptive audience among Asian and
Hispanic kids, who haven't forgotten the immigrant
experience and who enjoy life in a large, loving extended
family. Although the narrative is set in the late 1930s, the
stories, emotions and characters ring true for today. Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis (Putnam,
$17.99, sixth-grade level). ISBN: 0-399-23389-X. Honor Book Two sisters spend a summer with their over-organized
aunt, trying to recover from the death of their baby sister
and the emotional collapse of their mother. The story begins and ends with the girls sitting atop the
roof of their aunt's house, much to her mortification and
the amusement of the neighbors. They are, in a metaphorical
sense, trying to get close to their baby sister, who is with
the angels. Couloumbis fills in the blanks with a series of
flashbacks, some of them poignant, some humorous. Couloubmis is a poetic writer, deeply concerned with the
emotions of her characters. Because of that, the reader
sometimes gets lost in the narrative shuffle. However, the
author retrieves us with several beautiful, telling
passages. This is not the type of novel that most young male
readers will delve into, but it does seem to fit into the
growing trend among award-winning novelists who write small,
personal novels focused on loss and redemption. Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm (HarperCollins,
$15.95, fourth-grade level). ISBN: 0-06-027822-6. Honor Book A high-spirited Finnish girl has a knack for getting in
trouble, much to the disgust of her five brothers and her
pioneer parents in Washington state. This book fits snugly into a long Newbery tradition of
books about girls and their frontier experiences. May Amelia
is no less tough than her rough-and-tumble brothers, but she
is constantly being derided for being a female. She fights
back with all her considerable spirit. Holm breaks no new ground here, but she does employ and
interesting writing style. The book is obviously told from
May's perspective, almost in a stream-of-consciousness
style. Holm doesn't use quote marks for dialogue, so the
reader sometimes gets lost between thoughts, dialogue and
expositional scenes. Struggling readers will be at sea.
Copyright David Ross 2003