The Grey King by Susan Cooper

The Grey King by Susan Cooper (1976 Newberry Medal Winner)

This is a book that I wasn't expecting to find on the list. Sure I've seen books from a series, but all of the ones that I recognized were the first book in th the series. The Grey King is the fourth book in The Dark is Rising series. Susan Cooper, along with Madeline L'Engle, are both authors that I was disappointed not to see multiple times on the list as well. All mock bitterness aside, let's talk about this wonderful book.

Before we can get into the actual story, we have three books of background to address. I'll try to keep it short, but I definitely have to explain the major characters.

Will Stanton

We meet young Will in the pages of The Dark is Rising. On his eleventh birthday, he notices some very strange things in his neighborhood. He discovers that this is because he is the seventh son of a seventh son, and because of this he is actually part of a group called the Old Ones.

As the youngest of the Old Ones, it is Will's responsibility to prepare for the final battle with the Dark. In all but the first book of the series, Will is the person resposible for most of the action of the last four books. As an Old One, Will can travel to different times that are important to the Old Ones, freeze time, and an assortment of impossible things.

Will is guided by the first of the Old Ones, a man called Merry Lyons.

Merry Lyons

He was the first Old One and has been involved in all of the battles against the Dark. I won't say anything more to avoid giving away too much.

The Book

After suffering a major illness, Will is sent to Wales to recuperate. While he is there, he is also searching for the Sleepers who are being watched by a Dark agent, the Grey King.

Will meets a strange young boy named Bran, and the two of them join forces to solve the mystery in the verses that Will discovered in the previous books.

The book is filled with Welsh, problem solving, and a look into the past. This is a great book for anyone that enjoys adventure stories filled with Fantasy elements. You can also talk with young readers about the friendship as it develops between Will and Bran, as well as making judgements about people that you meet.

I expect that I will come back to talk about the other books in this series if I ever get through the Caldecott and Newberry books.

Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (2000 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Joseph had a Little Overcoat

Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback (2000 Caldecott Medal Winner)

I discovered this book when I was visiting my best friend in Alaska. One day I went with his wife and two sons to the library, and we got this book, among many others. The boys loved the song that was on the CD that came with the book.

It's a fairly simple formula story. We meet Joseph who has an overcoat that gets old, and rather than throw it out, he decides to recycle it into something else. He continues to recycle until he has nothing left except for a story, which he turns into the book. It's a great lesson for kids. It teaches them to wonder what else their broken things could become.

The song is also a great treat as it comes from a traditional Jewish song. You can use the song to talk about various forms of music, and some of the cultural traditions behind this story.

Take a look at this book, and I'm sure you will find plenty of applications for your classroom.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2004 Newberry Medal Winner)

I'm not really a good person to compare movies with the books from which they take their stories. I spent most of the time I was reading Despereaux thinking about everything that the movie got wrong. I do the same thing with every movie/book combination. I can't think of a single movie that I thought was better than the book.

One of the biggest differences is that Despereaux isn't brave. He does act bravely, but he isn't a brave mouse. In the movie, we see Despereaux carrying his sword from the beginning and stealing cheese from traps and not being bothered by the cat. This isn't the mouse we get in the book. In the book, Despereaux doesn't act like a frightened mouse not because of his bravery, but because of his wonder with the world around him.

Despereaux follows his wonder to reading the book in the library with the tale of a knight that fills his mind. His wonder also leads him to follow the music of the King. It also brings him into the presence of the Princess, with whom he falls in love.

These are some reasons why I enjoyed the book more than the movie. Let's talk about the book on its own though.

Despereaux is born as the last and smallest member of his littler of mice. He lives in a French castle, and his mother and father a dismayed at how unusual of a mouse he is. His is so small for a mouse. He doesn't tremble. He even opens his eyes and looks at the sun, which no mouse baby has ever been known to do. I mentioned the acts that get him banished from the mouse community because of his unmouselike behavior.

Meanwhile in the dungeon, there is a rat that becomes obsessed with the light of the world, but because he lives in the dungeon, he cannot share in the light. He travels to the banquet room of the castle and accidentally scares the queen to death when he lands in her bowl of beloved soup. He vows revenge.

There is also Miggery Sow to consider. Mig is a young girl whose father sold her to another man for a red table cloth, and a handful of cigarettes. Mig finds herself living and working in the castle which takes her one stop closer to her dream of becoming a Princess, but this makes her a bigger target for a certain rat.

Things get complicated, and I don't want to give too much away even if you have seen the movie. (Things progress differently than the movie suggests.) The important thing to know is that this story hinges on Despereaux overcoming his fears and becoming the hero he found in his books.

This is an important lesson for students to discover and can provide a great amount of discussion with your children.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead (2011 Caldecott Medal)

Let's take a journey through a typical day of zoo keeper, Amos McGee. He has a very specific pattern to his day. He makes tea, he gets dressed, he rides the bus to the zoo, then he spends time with each of the animals-play chess, reading stories, and many other things.

One day Amos gets sick and cannot go to work. His friends at the zoo miss him, so they take the bus to Amos' house to visit him. Amos gets to enjoy all of the activities that are usually only enjoyed at work, and it helps him feel much better.

Stead is both writer and illustrator, and the illustrations are breathtaking and yet simple. Stead does a great job of telling the story through the art and making the visuals compelling. Not everyone can act as author and illustrator, but Stead does a fantastic job with this story.

We used this with preschooler when we were talking about being thankful and talked about being thankful for being healthy, but you can also hit on friendship and the things that friends might do. It would also be great to combine with a trip to the zoo. You can talk about the animals you might see at the zoo, or what animals you had seen at the zoo after you had already been there.

*A quick correction-The Caldecott list shows Erin E Stead as the illustrator, and I just noticed that so does the picture of the cover I have listed. Sorry for the confusion.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (1995 Newberry Medal Winner)

I've know about Sharon Creech for several years. I first encountered her from reading Love that Dog, a collection of poetry written by a young boy learning about poetry in school, and followed closely by Hate that Cat a continuation of that tale. I also stumbled upon Heartbeat, the story of a young girl who loves to run, but doesn't want to be a runner, also told in poems.

When I saw her name on the list of Newberry Medals, I half expected to find a book of poetry, but instead we get the tale of Salamanca Tree Hiddle as she travels with her grandparents telling them the story of her friend Phoebe and her mother. This story helps to illuminate Sal's own troubles with her mother leaving their family.

Sal and her father have moved from Bybanks, Kentucky to Euclid, Ohio to be near a woman, Mrs. Margaret Cadaver with whom her father has become attached. Sal hates leaving her home and the connection that home has with the mother she loved so dearly.

Sal believes that if she can arrive in Lewiston, Idaho by her mother's birthday, then Sal will be able to bring her home. Sal knows that this is a foolish belief, but that doesn't stop her from wanting it to be true. She is travelling with her grandparents on her father's side. They are an odd duo, and they love listening to the story of Peeby (the name they use for Phoebe) and Sal's part in that story.

Phoebe is a fun character to read about although I'm not sure that I would actually want to spend much time with her. Her first reaction to most situations is to come up with a horrible explanation. What happened to Mrs. Cadaver's husband? She killed him and buried him in the back yard. Why did her mother disappear? A lunatic took her away.

Phoebe is the perfect foil to unravel the story of Sal's mother's disappearance. Both girls have similar stories about mothers that leave, and we get to understand Sal much better because of this parallel.

Oh, I should talk a little bit about Sal. She is an only child although her parents had wanted to have a large family. She loves the outdoors, especially the outdoors of her home in Bybanks, Kentucky. She misses her mother, and can't let go of the past because of that love.

This is a fun adventure. I especially enjoy getting to know Sal's grandparents. They also have a fun story to experience. Even several days after finishing the book, I still find myself saying, "Huzzah, huzzah."

A Ball for Daisy (2012)

A Ball for Daisy by Christopher Raschka (2012 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Generally a Caldecott winner is picked because of the combination of image and text. In this case, though, there are no words. I was surprised by this narrative choice, but it works out extremely well. Although there are no words, it isn't very hard to figure out the story.

I took this to the day care where I work, and "read" it with one of the classes, and worked with them to tell the story. It worked out great. Even at 3-4 years of age, they had little trouble working out the story.

So what is the story? Daisy is a dog with a red ball. Daisy really loves her ball, and doesn't really want to be without it. One day, Daisy's owner takes her to the park. They play catch, and have a great time until another dog gets Daisy's ball. While this other dog is playing with the ball it bursts. Daisy is heartbroken and is miserable until the next day when they go to the park and the girl that owns the other dog offers Daisy and new blue ball.

All of this story is done without a single word. There isn't even a sound effect for the ball popping. It is just a great example of visual story telling that can be a great lesson for kids. This is something that has been popping up in shorts before animated movies this past summer, where there are shorts with little to no words, maybe just some sound effects. This allows children to practice creating a story.

Check out this book for yourself, and any kids in your life.

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (1945)

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (1945 Newberry Medal Winner)

It's hard to believe that this is the book that started off the Newberry Medal. It is much shorted and less complicated than modern winners, but more importantly, it follows a very strange format and story. This story is similar to the ending of The Big Snow because it seems to be about people being responsible for providing for the needs of animals.

All the animals of Rabbit Hill are excited because there are New Folk comin' to the old house. Lots of other human characters get names, but even after we learn the couple's names, they are still called New Folk. The main conflict seems to be whether the New Folk are also Nice Folk and Planting Folk but not Trap-Setting Folk or Hunting Folk.

The 'adventures' are weak and the characters are shallow. Mother is always afraid, and Father is obsessed with Kentucky Blue Grass. In one moment, the animals act like they can't do anything without humans and the next they are decrying humans for trying to take care of what the humans have worked to produce.

The New Folk are just confusing. How do they hear a field mouse fall into a rain barrel and call for help? What is their motivation for doing nice things for animals besides following the model of Francis of Assisi?

The best comparison I can find is think about the Redwall books. What if there were humans, and the animals of the Abbey decided not to do any work and let the humans take care of everything instead? Redwallers get stuff done, and even when times are hard, they work to find a way through the problems. The animals in Rabbit Hill do not.

I do want to make on quick comment on Little Georgie's song. Why is everyone singing it? How do the humans pick up on it? What is the point aside from adding a chapter to the book? It's just "New Folks comin', oh my!" over and over again. Is this where pop songs came from?

Look, Rabbit Hill is an important book since it was the first book to win the Newberry Medal, but that doesn't mean it has continued to be a good book after all this time. Animals can fend for themselves most of the time, and it's a shame to see them brought so low.

Although this blog is called Excellent Children's books, I wouldn't recommend that you check this one out of the library, and certainly don't spend money on it.