Walk Two Moons

The most recent Newberry book I've read was Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, and it was a good one. I was not prepared for the stillbirth account, but the author did a great job showing how such a tragic event can affect a woman and her entire family. Be warned: There's more cause for grief here than the stillbirth, so this is definitely for older readers. I don't think I'd want my ten-year-old reading Walk Two Moons yet.

So many of these young reader books I've encountered tackle the subject of grief; it's heartbreaking to think that there are lots of kids out there who need to read these books to understand their own grief is okay to feel. My own children were so small when their brother was stillborn so many years ago, but I can see how these books for older children could help 8-14 year-olds work their way through feelings of loss. Still, I do wish for a few more books with lighter themes. It seems the Newberry medal is given to books about dealing with death or being forced to face huge obstacles with courage. Some of the books about being brave are great, but so many of these books are kind of heavy for kids.

That being said, I highly recommend The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo (Newberry winner, 2004). It's a sweet book about a mouse and a princess, perfect for eight-year-olds and up, I would think. In it, death is approached sensitively but with enough fairy-tale flair to make kids close the book smiling. Of course, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, by Robert C. O'Brien (1972), is pretty great, too. I guess you can't go wrong with a book about mice. Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992), is still my favorite so far. Beautiful story about a boy and a dog that takes me back to my own childhood of front porches and dirt roads.