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114. Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

Fu leaves the country and heads to the city to serve as an apprentice to a coppersmith for seven years. Being in the city is a new experience for him. He must learn how to deal with the cruel remarks of his fellow apprentices and how to handle money, to stop thieves and to avoid those who would take advantage of him in the market.

115. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

I loved this book! Top notch characters, especially Bud and his foster parents and Herman E. Calloway.Bud’s mother has died, leaving his with a suitcase full of flyers advertising the amazing band of Herman E. Calloway. When another time in foster care ends up with Bud locked in a shed, Bud decides it is time to seek out Herman E. Calloway, who he feels must be his elusive father. Herman E. Calloway turns out to be one tough cookie and not at all what Bud had hoped for, but, in a roundabout way, everything works out in the end.

116. Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright I feel pretty sure I read Thimble Summer when I was a little girl. I have a memory of disappointment; I was always hoping the thimble the main character, Garnet, finds would turn out to be magic. It wasn’t. This book was one of my early attempts with and disappointments with realistic fiction (though I have learned to love it in recent years.)The story is of a girl who discovers a thimble, a thimble that leads to a whole summer of good things. An orphan boy comes to live with Garnet’s family, to help out during a time of drought on their farm. Garnet raises a pig that goes on to win the blue ribbon at the fair. It’s good times for all.

 117. Up a Road Slowly by Irene HuntJulie’s life changes completely when her mother dies and she is sent to live with her cold, school marmish Aunt Cornelia. At first, Julie hates her new life, but, as time passes, she grows to love and respect her aunt and to love her life in the country. Many years pass as Julie grows from a young child into an adult, as her sister marries, leaving Julie despondent for a time, as she develops friendships and romances.A very good coming of age novel, but I will always love Irene Hunt’s Across Five Aprils best.

118. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant  Why is it that I have become such a big Cynthia Rylant fan, especially loving her Mr. Putter and Tabby series, a series of very short chapter books, and yet I found this book too short?  Missing May is the story of a girl, Summer, who lost her parents and thought she’d never find love again. Then she came to live with Aunt May and Uncle Ob. May and Ob were the embodiment of love. Summer was rapturously happy until one day May collapsed and died while working in her garden. 

Ob and Summer were filled with despair. They frantically tried to contact May in the spirit world, but everything they tried failed. It is only with the help from a boy from Summer’s school, Cletus, that Ob and Summer begin to heal and find a way to miss May without falling into despondency.

119. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson

Louise and Caroline are twins, but they are nowhere near identical. In Louise’s eyes, it is Caroline who is brilliantly talented and it is Caroline who is beautiful; Louise finds it is Caroline who is given special priviledges and treats while Louise is given nothing. The story is told from Louise’s point-of-view so it is hard to tell whether Caroline’s special treatment is real or is just the way it is seen from the eyes of a jealous sister. In some ways, it is obvious that Louise is cast aside; Louise’s grandmother has nothing but disdain for her. Whatever the reality of the preferential treatment, it is very real to Louise. I couldn’t help feeling deep sorrow for Louise as she is continually set aside and set aside for a lovelier and gifted sister.

120. Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

Oh, golly, not another book about a doll! This is not the world-traveling china doll of other Newbery books. No, this is the creative Miss Hickory, with a body made of a twig and a head made of a hickory nut. Miss Hickory is able to conquer potential predators like Squirrel using her clever little hickory mind. She visits the barn at Christmastime and sees a glorious sight. She helps the Hen-Pheasants figure out a way to make it through the winter without their husbands. And when she loses her home to Robin and his family she uses her ingenuity to figure out a new place to live.

121. The White Stag by Kate Seredy

 The White Stag is the story of a culture of which I know little, that of the tribes of the Huns and the Magyars. The two tribes were once one, but split to follow two brothers, one adventurous, the other less intent on fighting. Both tribes roamed westward, in search of the white stag, and were eventually reunited under the leadership of Attila.  

This story had a surprising rhythm, a cadence almost like a fairy tale, filled with battles and power struggles and wanderings.

122. Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James

 A story of a great horse. Smoky is taught to be an excellent cowhorse, but even in his training, the cowboy teaching him sees the unusual abilities of this horse. Smoky spends many years as a cowhorse with Clint and the other cowboys, but one year, he is stolen by a renegade. The renegade treats Smoky harshly and turns Smoky into a bucking bronco, the fiercest horse in the West. Smoky spends many years establishing a reputation as a killer bronco, but gradually he grows old and tired and is sent to serve as a horse providing pony rides for children and old people. Somehow Clint finds Smoky again and the story ends happily ever after. 

The most fun part of the story is the way the whole book is written in cowboy dialect. The parts with the renegade have lots of racial slurs and can be difficult for a modern reader to get through.

123. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins

What a contrast between a contemporary Newbery and an old Newbery! Where the main character in Smokey the Cowhorse has adventure after adventure, facing death over and over, the main characters in Criss Cross do almost nothing. The kids sit around and talk and sunbathe and listen to the radio and think. That’s about it. It’s Perkins’ unique way of looking at the world that gives this book its surprising fun feel. And the pictures are great, too.

124. Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer

This is the coming-of-age novel of a young Navaho boy, Younger Brother, as he learns the world of his people and learns the secrets of his tribe’s wiseman and learns the ways of the larger world. Younger Brother helps a friend, The Big Man, with car problems. He goes on a long quest and finds he can survive on his own. He saves his horse from thieves. All the tales are told with a background of magic and mystery, with the mountains and desert as a magnificent setting.

125. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

My favorite children’s mystery of all. All the characters of the book are given clues and are told to work together as the terms of the will of a rich dead man. The characters’ lives are all intertwined and the clues often come to nothing. Yet the story twists and turns and all comes together into a perfect and satisfactory ending.

126. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth

This story was a lovely little folk tale that reminded me of all the best of the Newbery books. A young man has been commissioned by the temple to paint a picture of Buddha as he blesses the animals. He slowly adds animals, telling the tale and the strength of each. Then the artist comes to the cat, an animal which had, by tradition, rejected the Buddha and thus was excluded from heaven. But it is the artist’s cat that has inspired him in his work and the artist knows it is the cat’s greatest wish to be included in the painting. At last, the artist makes the difficult decision to include the cat in the painting. The ending is surprising and lovely.

127. A Visit to William Blake’s Inn by Nancy Willard

Am I missing something? Why in the world was this book chosen for the Newbery? What do any of these poems have to do with William Blake? Did he have an inn? If he did not have a real inn, what is meant by his imaginary inn? Tedious. Boring, boring, boring.

I must find someone who loves this book to share what he loves about it.

128. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

Mafatu is afraid. His mother died in the sea and now he fears it. All his people know of his fear. His father is saddened by his fear.

At last, Mafatu decides to face his fears. He sails off into the sea and ends up on a remote island. He must confront sharks, dangerous man-eating people, lack of food and water, an octopus, and a lack of a ship to return home.

129. Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb

Lilly’s parents, British citizens, lead a life of reckless wanderings. While the family is traveling in Ethiopia, Lilly’s parents are killed and Lilly is sent to stay with the Great Abdal, a teacher and leader of his people. She is taught to be a devout Muslim by Abdal and she learns much about literature and art by visits from a great teacher, Muhammed Bruce. Eventually she is sent to live with a young mother, Nouria. Lilly finds she can supplement the income of Nouria and her children by teaching the children the Koran. Lilly comes to know a handsome doctor, Aziz. As Lilly grows older, she and Aziz become friends and then fall in love.

The story brought together so many unexpected elements—a young British girl who becomes an ardent Muslim…a devout Muslim who risks it all for the sake of being with the man she loves…the complex ancestry of the doctor, with both desirable and undesirable parents—that it felt like a memoir. It has left me thinking about cultural identity and religious belief; thinking about a book even after finishing it is always a sign to me of an excellent read.

  

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