The Bronze Bow

A studious young friend recommended this 1962 Newberry winner to me, and I am glad she did. I would consider it a living book, which is a fictional book set in a historical period so that readers get a sense of life during that particular time.


In this case, the setting is Galilee, during Jesus' lifetime. The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare, follows the struggles of Daniel, a young outcast preparing for the big battle he knows will come when the promised Messiah leads the Jewish people, currently under the pain of Roman rule, to a new day with the establishment of a new kingdom. Daniel's family was destroyed by the Romans, and he can think of nothing else but defeating his oppressors. Daniel thinks he may indeed have found the leader of the new Jewish kingdom: Rosh, a Robin Hood of sorts who lives in the mountains with a band of outlaws. However, when a new Teacher begins gaining popularity, Daniel begins to question Rosh's motives and his own loyalties. Can Jesus' message of love really be more powerful than Daniel's desire for revenge against the Romans?


Elizabeth George Speare does an excellent job of placing the reader right in the middle of the sights, sounds, and smells of Jesus' day. Daniel's internal struggle is skillfully portrayed so that readers at once understand his torment and sympathize with his situation. If you want your kids to get an idea of what it might have been like to be a Jewish kid during Jesus' time on earth, this is the book for you.

A couple of books

I realize I'm waaaay behind on blogging lately, due mostly to a recent family trip (more entries on that soon), but I did want to take a moment and post about a couple of children's books I read recently.



The first one is called The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, originally published in 1961. I usually have a pretty good radar and can seek out quality children's books, but this one somehow got by me. I had never heard of it until W came home with it as assigned reading in his fifth grade advanced reading group. This is a gem of a little book that is rich in figurative language and vocabulary. It is the thought-provoking story of Milo, a little boy who takes off on a journey into worlds he never knew existed. Eventually he is tasked with saving Dictionopolis (the city of words) and Digitopolis (the city of numbers) by rescuing two princesses named Rhyme and Reason. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I love how figures of speech come alive with such literal meaning in this book. For instance, there is a "watchdog" named Tock who accompanies Miles on his journey. Tock has a clock where his belly would be and is in charge of guarding against people who waste or kill time. Then there's the Spelling Bee, who buzzes around annoyingly, and the land of the Doldrums, where Miles regrettably finds himself when he doesn't think. The author had a lot of fun with things like "eating your words" and the "whetherman." I think my favorite one was the vehicle that "goes without saying" (just be quiet and the car will move). Anyway, it's a sweet story with great literary quality. It will make your kids think.



Secondly, I did make it through another Newberry book a few weeks ago. The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman, is a good book, but it's in the young adult section for a reason. The characters and situations are harsh and often cruel. Still, one can't help but root for the heroine, an orphan without a name or a home who eventually finds a name and a place for herself in medieval England. The book gives readers a glimpse into the superstitions and survival mentality of the era, complete with all the sights, smells, and struggles one needs to imagine what it must have really been like at the time. It made me think of how The Witch of Blackbird Pond placed me right in the middle of a Puritan colonial settlement. I do recommend The Midwife's Apprentice for more mature readers; I think my eleven-year-old could handle it, but he wouldn't appreciate it quite yet. Maybe if he were a girl ... I don't know. I think it's a book that would have stuck with me had I read it at about the age of 13.

Newberry hits and misses

It's been a long, long time since I cried while reading a book. The last time I can remember shedding literary tears was when I read Lonesome Dove for the first time over ten years ago. Well, I had to pull out the tissues for Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (1978). It's an incredibly well-written book about a fifth-grade boy named Jess living in rural Virginia during the post-Vietnam 1970s. His friendship with a Leslie, a girl whose parents gave up life in the city to simplify things, changes Jess in profound ways. Leslie goes through a few changes herself as the two children build their own kingdom, Terabithia, in the woods near their homes. It's a beautiful book that teaches kids to be true to themselves and their dreams. A word of caution: The "Does God really send people to hell" question arises as Leslie visits church for the first time, so be prepared to discuss this if your kids read this book.

I also read the 2005 Newberry award book, Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata, and was disappointed. There was rich content in this book that was handled poorly. The writing was a bit choppy and fragmented. It was as if Kadohata tried too hard to speak as she thought an elementary-school-aged girl would. She never quite captured a believable voice to me. The story itself and the setting are good, but the presentation was lacking. Not sure how this one won the Newberry. There had to be better books eligible for the award last year.

I really enjoyed The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare (1959). Set in New England during the 1680s, it follows the trials and triumphs of Kit Tyler. Kit had to leave her home in Barbados to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a Connecticut Puritan community. She soon realizes that it can be dangerous to be different in a place where people fear and kill "witches." This book takes kids right into a Puritan home and shows them just what life was like there, complete with descriptions of daily chores and routines. I highly recommend this one.

The Giver, by Lois Lowry (1994) is one of those books that will stick with you and may even haunt you. It's shelved in the young adults section of our library, but I think my ten-year-old is mature enough and has the mindset to handle it. My eight-year-old isn't ready for it and may not be for some time, just because of how deeply some things affect him. This one will keep him awake at night. The story is about Jonas, a 12-year-old boy who lives in a perfect world, literally. There is no poverty, no crime, no hardships at all. The price for this utopia is that there is also no independent thinking. Jonas reaches the age where all children are given their life assignments, and he is chosen as Receiver of Memories. His new job opens his eyes to the hefty price his world has paid for its perfect stability, and Jonas must decide if his perfect life is worth the sacrifice of humanity. The ending is a little strange to me, but if you're a George Orwell fan or enjoyed Brave New World, this is your kind of book.

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin (1979) was just a whole lot of fun. It's a good book for your young mystery lover, set in an apartment building whose residents are all suspects in a murder that isn't all it appears to be. Sometimes it was a little hard for me to follow all the twists and turns, so stay alert if you read The Westing Game.

Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorenson (1957) is a good choice for the young nature lover. It's a sweet little story of a family who moves from the country to the city and how the new surroundings slowly change the family in positive ways. Not all that gripping, but an easy read filled with detailed descriptions of nature's beauty.

The White Stag, by Kate Seredy (1938) is an okay choice for the kid who enjoys mythology. It's a pretty mystical, mythical account of how Attilla the Hun came to be and then conquered. Not my favorite, but I think it would be okay for the right kind of audience.

I read some good books after this most recent trip to the library, but I still have to say that Shiloh is my favorite.

More Newberry reviews

I finished Out of the Dust, by Karen Hesse, this week at LOVED it! It was shelved in our library in the young adults section instead of the children's section, and for good reason. There's an awful, heart-breaking, fire-related tragedy in the book that will haunt younger readers, so unless you're ready for some tears and sleepless nights, I wouldn't let your pre-teen read this book. However, for a more mature mind, this book is touching and beautifully written. Ms. Hesse chose to present the story in a rambling sort of poetry instead of standard prose, and the effect was perfect for the subject matter. It's amazing how much she could say in just a couple of lines. Set in the Oklahoma dust bowl during the Great Depression, Out of the Dust takes you to a time and place of alternating hope and despair, with hope eventually winning out in the end. Maybe the main character's love of piano struck a chord (no pun intended) with me, but even without that element, I still think it would be a wonderful book.

I also finished Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes. It won the Newberry in 1944 but stands the test of time. I started this book with my boys last year while we were studying the American Revolution during homeschool, but we didn't finish it. The kids had a little difficulty with the old-fashioned wording. I see now that if we had stuck with things just a little longer, the story would have pulled us in, regardless of the wording. My oldest son just finished studying the American Revolution again in public school (fourth grade). I'm going to encourage him to give Johnny Tremain another try. It's a good example of a living book that puts kids in the middle of a place in history so that dry textbook stories will have deeper meaning for them. After reading Johnny Tremain, I was ready to find a Paul Revere biography and dive in. However, there are still plenty of Newberry books to conquer, so I'm afraid Mr. Revere will have to wait.

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.

Kid books

I haven't made it a New Year's resolution or anything, but I've found myself drawn to the children's section of the library lately in hopes of reading most of the Newberry award books. I read a lot of them when I was in elementary school, but I forgot what they were all about. Now my kids are reading them in school, and I decided it might be a good idea to know what my kids are reading. I've been pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable this project has become. I've found that kid books are a lot more fun than grown-up books.