Buster Midnight's Cafe

This isn't a Newbery book, but I like keeping track of other books I read, especially if it's a good one!  This is another must read by Sandra Dallas.  The names of the two main characters give me the giggles:  Effa Commander and Whippy Bird.  These are two ladies that are watching out for each other and the third friend in their group:Man Anna.  This is set in a mining town in Montana.  Their friend May Anna is discovered by a Hollywood agent and goes from being a hooker to a famous movie star.  They communicate by telegrams and an occasional long distance phone call from May Anna.  There is a murder and a scandal surrounding May Anna.  Effa Commander and Whippy Bird try to clear their dear friend's name.  The story is told from the perspective of Effa Commander and I literally laughed out loud many times at the quirky sayings and funny comments that are shared between Effa and Whippy.  There are touching moments to, as to be expected.  I became emotionally attached to the characters and wanted their story to continue as the book came to an end.

"Call It Courage"

Once again, another book I fell in love with.  I guess there is a reason all these are award winning books!  As short as this book was, I can't believe I haven't read it before.  I want all my kids to read it.  The title alone is enough to tell you it is worth reading.  Our family motto is : I Can Do Hard Things, It Will Make Me Stronger. This book could be our mission statement.  It's about a boy who over comes his fears.  He does hard things and it does make him stronger.  The things he goes through to survive and conquer his fears are impressive.  It made me want to do hard things, now I need to get moving!

"Julie of the Wolves"

I was skeptical of this book at first.  I find that I often am unsure and hesitant when choosing books.  I was immediately sucked into this book.  I often joke about my kids being sucked into "T.V. Land"... you know that non-responsive blank stare state they get in when they are watching Sponge Bob or Phineas and Ferb...  Well, I was like that with this book.  The main character basically runs away from her arranged marriage, at 13. Who wouldn't?!?!  She gets lost out on the tundra and lives near the wolves and learns how to survive from them.  She had already been taught many skills from her Dad on how to live off the land, because that was their way of life.  It follows her journey to get back to civilization, her struggle with wanting to live the Eskimo life she knows or go to San Francisco to live with her pen pal.  The pen pals life is filled with all kinds of exciting things:  television, carpet, wallpaper, etc...

She finds comfort in hearing the wolves talk to each other and to her. The journeys the author takes you on, physically, mentally and spiritually are amazing.  It's about survival, hard work, and doing everything you can to make it where you want to be.

"Onion John"

"Onion John is an unusual man: a European immigrant who lives in a hut made of stone and furnished with bathtubs. He befriends young Andy Rusch, the only person in Serenity who can understand his speech. As Andy comes to know Onion John (so named because he grows the best onions in town, and eats them like apples), he finds that the man believes some odd things. In Onion John's world, friendly spirits live in the clouds, and evil spirits can be banished by smoking them out. His needs are few, since the townspeople are happy to give him castoff clothing after someone dies, and he earns a little money by doing odd jobs around Serenity. Andy and his friends are always happy to go along with whatever Onion John says."

I liked this book.  There were many things to be learned while reading this book. 

1.  Just because someone is different doesn't mean you can't be their friend.  Andy is the only one who can understand Onion John's garbled speech but that doesn't stop him and his buddies from befriending him.

2. Just because someone chooses to live a different lifestyle (no electricity for example) doesn't mean they are miserable and that you need to change them.  The Rotary club decides to combine their efforts and build John a modern house and help him out.  It terrifies him and he doesn't know how to work the appliances and he burns the house down.  He runs away, afraid they will rebuild the house and he will have to live in it. 

3.  Sometimes the things we want for ourselves aren't always what everyone else wants or needs.

4.  Little acts of kindness go a long way.  John has some strange superstitions and Andy and his friends go along with John and help him act them out.  Andy's Dad thinks this is a ridiculous waste of time and is angry with Andy for falling prey to Johns superstitions.  The joy John feels when Andy supports him is worth every minute they spent creating what seems like silly superstitions.

Newbery NOT NewberRy

I feel a little ashamed since reading all the Newbery books is on my bucket list yet I don't know how to spell Newbery.  Well, I do now... but I just noticed on this last round of books I read that there is only one "R" in Newbery.  I am not going to go back and fix all my prior mistakes but just wanted to acknowledge that I am aware and from now on all future spellings of Newbery will be correct!

 Please forgive me John Newbery...

"Kira-Kira"

"At the beginning of the story, it is the 1950s, and Lynn taught Katie the word Kira-kira and she uses it to describe everything meaning "glittering". Her older sister Lynn, and their parents are living in Iowa and own a unique Asian supermarket. When the store goes out of business, the family moves to an apartment home in Georgia where Katie's parents can work at a hatchery with two other Japanese families. Lynn is Katie's best friend. Known for being remarkably intelligent, she can beat her Uncle Katsuhisa, a self-proclaimed chess grand master, at his own game."

I loved this story as sad as it was. It was just real life for this real little family.  I connected with the characters and I couldn't put this book down.  Especially right now, with the economy suffering as it has and people and families being impacted in ways that they haven't felt before, this book, was very real to me.  The family loses their supermarket and are forced to move to another state to find work in a chicken hatchery.  Their two daughters are young and the parents work basically two full time jobs each.  They do what they have to in order to support their family.  They have a baby during this time of trial... which just goes to show that life goes on and you just do the best you can.  The oldest daughter is sickly and that is a constant struggle for them too.  The parents are gone nearly all the time, night and day to work and they feel the longing to be home when their daughter is sick.  They rely on family, friends, neighbors to help and they help others too.  One significant part of the story was when the Mom had to be to work all day and had no where for the middle daughter and the young son to go for the day.  So, their plan was to ride with her to work and wait in the car during her 8 hour shift!  They packed  a lunch and some books and just hung out in the car all day.  The kids knew the importance of just doing what you have to do.  Again, another book that makes you think.  Makes you realize that often your trials don't seem as bad when you can imagine what others might be suffering.  Yes, what we go through is hard, but when we can reach out to others and take the focus off our pains for a time it can ease our plight.

"Crispin" by Avi

I was pleasantly surprised while reading this book.  I had passed over it many times on the library shelf, the cover didn't interest me nor did the synopsis of the book.

Part of the synopsis is:

"In 1377 England, a 13-year-old boy, known only as Asta's Son, lives as a peasant in a small village. His village is part of the territory of the feudal Lord Furnival. As the lord has been away for years fighting in a war in France, the village has long been under the direct control of the steward, John Aycliffe. When his mother dies, Asta's Son is left alone as he has no other known relatives. Shortly afterwards, John Aycliffe falsely accuses him of theft, and declares him a Wolf's Head, one who may be killed on sight. Asta's Son turns to the village priest, his only friend, who gives to him a lead cross that belonged to his mother, and reveals that his true name is Crispin. The priest promises to reveal to Crispin the truth of who his father was, but before he can, Aycliffe's men murder him, forcing Crispin to flee the village by himself, pursued by the steward."

Now, after reading the book, the synopsis is very intriguing.  I can't imagine why I turned this book down so many times.  I loved this book.  I couldn't put it down.  I loved the imagery of life in the 1300s and realizing how blessed I was to be born in the late 1900s.  I would never have survived or wanted to survive in their living conditions.  The things that were normal for them seem torturous to me.  I felt so much for this boy, realizing that he was just barely older than Maddy, on his own, trying to survive.   Whenever I read books set in olden times, and I mean anything older than 1950, I truly appreciate my life, the conveniences I have and the technology we have been blessed with.  The simplicity of going to the store to buy food, while riding in my air conditioned car, is something I often take for granted.  Or relaxing at home watching tv on my comfy couch in my air conditioned home... yes, it is hot and I am so grateful for air conditioning right now!  They lived their life to survive and some days I am not sure what my intent for the day is.  I know my ultimate goal is to get my family to the celestial kingdom but do I put the intensity into that these people did in order just to survive.  Isn't that what we are trying to do... survive the evil influences and rise above.  I need more intensity.

"The Summer of the Swans"

I truly enjoyed this book.  It was an easy quick read.  It is by Betsy Byars and I enjoyed her writing style.  Sara has a younger brother, Charlie, who is developmentally disabled.  She loves him and takes care of him but often loses her patience with him.  The swans come to visit their lake and she takes Charlie.  She becomes annoyed when she is ready to leave and he wants to stay. One night he wanders away to find the swans and becomes lost.  Sara has to allow others that she had previously thought didn't care for Charlie to help her.  I liked this book, not loved, but liked it.

"Secret of the Andes"

This book by Ann Nolan Clark takes place in the Andes mountains.  It is about a boy and an old man who tend to a herd of llamas.  He hasn't left is little valley for years.  He doesn't know what a family is or friends are.  He discovers there is a secret to his life and he sets out on a journey with his pet llama.  His mission is to find a family.  He searches and searches and finds a family that takes him in.  He finds that he doesn't fit in so he leaves them.  He realizes that he had his own "family" with the old man who has taken care of him.  He returns to his valley in the mountains. 

I  enjoyed this book but I think it would be harder for kids to follow.  I liked the message that we often think the grass is greener on the othr side but actually we truly love what we have.  It often takes us leaving or missing them to truly appreciate what we have.  This was an easy read and I enjoyed this book.

"The Wheel on the School"

This Newberry book is by a Dutch author, Meindert DeJong.  This was actually picked by the book club in my ward.  I was really excited that they picked a Newberry book because I haven't read one for a long time and I wanted to get back to reading them.  I was very intrigued that it was by a Dutch author since Norm's Mom is Dutch.  I had Norm ask her if she had read it and she, of course, said "many times".  I was surprised I had not heard of it or read it before.  So, I quickly began reading.  I must admit this was not my favorite Newberry book.  I was intrigued by the Dutch-ness of the story because of my Hans, my mother-in-law.  So I did read the whole thing.  I just truly didn't enjoy the writing style.  The story is very endearing though and you do feel for the little kids.  I appreciated their perseverence and I wished that I had the drive to accomplish something like them.  Their desire to have storks nest in their town became all consuming.  They searched unceaslingly until they found the needed wagon wheel.  The whole town became involved and worked together to find all the items needed for the storks to make a nest.  Overall, I enjoyed the book.  It took me several weeks to read through it though, when most Newberry's I plow through in a day or two!