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readallthenewberys2013-06-15 11:12 am
justice_turtle) wrote in readallthenewberys2013-06-15 11:12 am
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The 1926-1928 Newberys Summary Post
First, an ANNOUNCEMENT: I have discovered that Emily of New Moon by Lucy Maud Montgomery was published simultaneously in the US and Canada. Therefore, by the modern Newbery rules (which I use), it's eligible for consideration as a Mock Newbery of the Past opposite The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes! :D I will be reading and reviewing it sometime soon.
Now to the actual business of this post:
1926
* I gave The Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum four of five stars (you can read my full review at that link). It's a collection of various translated and slightly retold stories about the "discovery" of the Americas by European people, covering the story of Atlantis plus the thousand-year span from St Brendan (6th century Irish, legendary) to Jamestown (17th century English, historical). I was most struck by how closely the author stuck to the original writings -- the Atlantis story, for instance, may actually be a direct translation of Plato's version, though I haven't read the original Plato and can't swear to the accuracy of all details.
I docked it one star precisely because it stuck so closely to the European accounts of "Atlantic Discovery" and didn't question the behavior of white people at all, even though the author did also make an effort to portray the native people as sympathetic. Therefore I'm hesitant to give it a Mock Newbery here; I may be holding Padraic Colum to a much higher standard than any other author thus far, but "Golden Fleece" was so good. So amazingly good. "Voyagers" isn't up to that standard, so I feel rather like giving it a Mock Newbery would be settling for something inferior. :S
* There wasn't much competition that year, though. Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman got no stars from me. It's a collection of ridiculous made-up "Chinese" folktales written in a chinoiserie style by a man who had never been to China, didn't speak Chinese, and barely even knew any Chinese people.
I was most struck by the INCREDIBLY BLATANT MISOGYNY, the horrible cringe-inducing use of Pidgin English narration, the use of woman-on-man domestic violence as comedic material... and then I stopped reading after four of the twelve stories. ;P I gave it no stars, because no. Not recommended, did not deserve to be on the Newbery list, does not deserve to be still in print and recommended to school libraries!!!! O_O
1927
* Smoky the Cow Horse, 1927's Newbery Medal winner, got four of five stars from me. It's the story of a horse's life, similar to Black Beauty in structure and themes, but set in the American West and told in a "cowboy slang" style. (I thought the style might grate at first, but it's so clearly the way the little-educated cowboy author actually talked that I quickly got used to it and even came to like it, where I'd be much more judgy if an Easterner used the same style.)
I was most struck by how extremely well-written and tightly plotted the book was. I felt I had to dock it one star because no awesome female characters or non-evil humans of color were actually portrayed, even though the author repeatedly noted that he wasn't generalizing and that other women or PoCs were definitely quite awesome. (Do you know how rare it is for an author to feature a "half-breed" character and NOT generalize about the evilness of all half-breeds? VERY VERY RARE.) I still wholeheartedly agree with its Newbery Medal Winner status, though. Highly recommended.
1928
* The Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young got five of five stars from me. It's a set of traditional Irish folktales about the life of the powerful smith and builder called the Gubbaun Saor (identified in the book with Mananaun mac Lir), which stories Ms Young collected, translated, and pieced together into a coherent narrative.
I was most struck by the uniformly high quality of the writing and artwork; the only very tiny complaint I would make is that the evil king of the icy north seems unlikely to have black slaves. (I know there were people of African descent living in the British Isles around the time the Gubbaun Saor is supposed to have lived, but having the only dark-skinned people in the book be specified as slaves, even if of an evil ruler, struck me a bit awkward.) But that was one word, so.
Despite the male-centric title, a good portion of the book deals with the cleverness of the Gubbaun's daughter Aunya, who is the cleverest woman in all of Irish folklore, and therefore possibly in all the world. ^_^ Highly recommended, five stars, should have taken the Newbery Medal. But it didn't, and is now out of print, because there is no fairness in the publishing world. ;P *has opinions*
* Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji was the 1928 Newbery Medal winner. I gave it three of five stars. It's the story of a prize carrier pigeon's life: hatching and growing up in India, battlefield work in World War I, then returning to India and finding inner peace with his trainers at a Buddhist lamasery.
I was most struck by the way the principles of peace and love and unfearfulness, which form the core of the book, are reflected in its tone and slow-moving trajectory. It's very much not A Thriller the way most Western war stories are; it's clear that Mukerji had a different goal than exciting his readers.
I gave it three stars because I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either -- the sections where the narration digressed into the bird's POV just didn't feel convincing to me, and I found them boring and strained. But I can see why it took the Newbery Medal, even though I personally would have given it to Wonder Smith.
* Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker got two of five stars from me. It's the story of a Quaker girl's dysfunctional relationship with a manipulative orphan boy and also with the more stifling parts of her own religion - both of which are portrayed as unequivocally good things for her to submit to and be controlled by.
I was most struck by the really well-done quasi-stream-of-consciousness narration which clearly evoked Dencey's emotions at every turn, and by the obviously thorough research. I gave it two stars, one each for those two things, and I wouldn't say it didn't belong on the list, but. If you're bothered at all by the bad facets of organized religion, by unloving family relationships, by power imbalances in romantic or proto-romantic relationships, or by female characters without agency, DON'T READ THIS BOOK. It will upset you.
*************
And that is all the years of Newberys that I have finished! The next Newberys summary post will appear after I get the remaining three books of 1929 (Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs, The Boy Who Was by Grace Hallock, and The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo by John Bennett) on interlibrary loan and read them.
Now to the actual business of this post:
1926
* I gave The Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum four of five stars (you can read my full review at that link). It's a collection of various translated and slightly retold stories about the "discovery" of the Americas by European people, covering the story of Atlantis plus the thousand-year span from St Brendan (6th century Irish, legendary) to Jamestown (17th century English, historical). I was most struck by how closely the author stuck to the original writings -- the Atlantis story, for instance, may actually be a direct translation of Plato's version, though I haven't read the original Plato and can't swear to the accuracy of all details.
I docked it one star precisely because it stuck so closely to the European accounts of "Atlantic Discovery" and didn't question the behavior of white people at all, even though the author did also make an effort to portray the native people as sympathetic. Therefore I'm hesitant to give it a Mock Newbery here; I may be holding Padraic Colum to a much higher standard than any other author thus far, but "Golden Fleece" was so good. So amazingly good. "Voyagers" isn't up to that standard, so I feel rather like giving it a Mock Newbery would be settling for something inferior. :S
* There wasn't much competition that year, though. Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman got no stars from me. It's a collection of ridiculous made-up "Chinese" folktales written in a chinoiserie style by a man who had never been to China, didn't speak Chinese, and barely even knew any Chinese people.
I was most struck by the INCREDIBLY BLATANT MISOGYNY, the horrible cringe-inducing use of Pidgin English narration, the use of woman-on-man domestic violence as comedic material... and then I stopped reading after four of the twelve stories. ;P I gave it no stars, because no. Not recommended, did not deserve to be on the Newbery list, does not deserve to be still in print and recommended to school libraries!!!! O_O
1927
* Smoky the Cow Horse, 1927's Newbery Medal winner, got four of five stars from me. It's the story of a horse's life, similar to Black Beauty in structure and themes, but set in the American West and told in a "cowboy slang" style. (I thought the style might grate at first, but it's so clearly the way the little-educated cowboy author actually talked that I quickly got used to it and even came to like it, where I'd be much more judgy if an Easterner used the same style.)
I was most struck by how extremely well-written and tightly plotted the book was. I felt I had to dock it one star because no awesome female characters or non-evil humans of color were actually portrayed, even though the author repeatedly noted that he wasn't generalizing and that other women or PoCs were definitely quite awesome. (Do you know how rare it is for an author to feature a "half-breed" character and NOT generalize about the evilness of all half-breeds? VERY VERY RARE.) I still wholeheartedly agree with its Newbery Medal Winner status, though. Highly recommended.
1928
* The Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young got five of five stars from me. It's a set of traditional Irish folktales about the life of the powerful smith and builder called the Gubbaun Saor (identified in the book with Mananaun mac Lir), which stories Ms Young collected, translated, and pieced together into a coherent narrative.
I was most struck by the uniformly high quality of the writing and artwork; the only very tiny complaint I would make is that the evil king of the icy north seems unlikely to have black slaves. (I know there were people of African descent living in the British Isles around the time the Gubbaun Saor is supposed to have lived, but having the only dark-skinned people in the book be specified as slaves, even if of an evil ruler, struck me a bit awkward.) But that was one word, so.
Despite the male-centric title, a good portion of the book deals with the cleverness of the Gubbaun's daughter Aunya, who is the cleverest woman in all of Irish folklore, and therefore possibly in all the world. ^_^ Highly recommended, five stars, should have taken the Newbery Medal. But it didn't, and is now out of print, because there is no fairness in the publishing world. ;P *has opinions*
* Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji was the 1928 Newbery Medal winner. I gave it three of five stars. It's the story of a prize carrier pigeon's life: hatching and growing up in India, battlefield work in World War I, then returning to India and finding inner peace with his trainers at a Buddhist lamasery.
I was most struck by the way the principles of peace and love and unfearfulness, which form the core of the book, are reflected in its tone and slow-moving trajectory. It's very much not A Thriller the way most Western war stories are; it's clear that Mukerji had a different goal than exciting his readers.
I gave it three stars because I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either -- the sections where the narration digressed into the bird's POV just didn't feel convincing to me, and I found them boring and strained. But I can see why it took the Newbery Medal, even though I personally would have given it to Wonder Smith.
* Downright Dencey by Caroline Dale Snedeker got two of five stars from me. It's the story of a Quaker girl's dysfunctional relationship with a manipulative orphan boy and also with the more stifling parts of her own religion - both of which are portrayed as unequivocally good things for her to submit to and be controlled by.
I was most struck by the really well-done quasi-stream-of-consciousness narration which clearly evoked Dencey's emotions at every turn, and by the obviously thorough research. I gave it two stars, one each for those two things, and I wouldn't say it didn't belong on the list, but. If you're bothered at all by the bad facets of organized religion, by unloving family relationships, by power imbalances in romantic or proto-romantic relationships, or by female characters without agency, DON'T READ THIS BOOK. It will upset you.
*************
And that is all the years of Newberys that I have finished! The next Newberys summary post will appear after I get the remaining three books of 1929 (Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs, The Boy Who Was by Grace Hallock, and The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo by John Bennett) on interlibrary loan and read them.