The Feisty Girls

Who is your favorite feisty Newbery girl? There is Karana (Island of the Blue Dolphins, 1961 Newbery award winner) who survives the death of her family, hunts wild creatures, provides shelter for herself, and lives on an island without human companionship after the death of her brother.  Caddie Woodlawn (1936 Newbery award winner) is the pioneer story of a young girl who runs wild with her brothers as she resists the traditional ladylike role that her mother and older sister envision for her. Garnet in Thimble Summer (1939 Newbery Award winner) is an independent young girl who does chores with her brother on the family farm, hitchhikes to a town miles away from home, and dreams of owning a farm someday. Marly in Miracles on Maple Hill (1957 Newbery award winner) manages to convince a traditional 1950s school truant officer that girls should also be included in collecting sap during an educational maple sugaring event. There was an outcry during the 1970s for children's literature to contain more positive portrayals of females and less stereotyping of both genders. While many of the feisty Newbery girls engaged in traditional activities such as washing dishes and helping mother in the kitchen, they also possessed an independent spirit, a sense of self-worth, and were active adventurers in contrast to other female characters portrayed in children's Literature before 1970.  How do these characters compare to the female protagonists in the Newbery award winning books published in the past twenty years?

Honor Books with Staying Power

In a previous post, Shelf-Employed talked about a book’s staying power and asked why it is that certain Newbery winners have greater staying power than others.  I’d like to take this a step further and look at honor books that have, for one reason or another, become more popular over the years than their winning counterparts. 

I’ve found several examples dating back to the 1930s.  Here are just a few:

1988 Winner:             Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman                              

1988 Honor Book:      Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

1982 Winner:             A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard

1982 Honor Book:      Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

1953 Winner:             Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

1953 Honor Book:      Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

1942 Winner:             The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds

1942 Honor Book:      Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

1939 Winner:             Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

1939 Honor Book:      Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

Perhaps you recognize some of these Newbery winners, but if you ask a group of children, they will probably be much more familiar with the honor books.

So why do we still know and love these honor books even though the winners have fallen into obscurity?  Perhaps it has something to do with an author’s work after winning an award.  Some may continue writing but never receive the same level of recognition with their later works.  Others, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, may go on to publish a multitude of much-loved stories that push them to an even higher level of regard.  If Little House on the Prairie was not part of the Little House series, would we still remember it today?


Technology may also play a role in a book’s staying power.  Your library surely saw an increase in requests for Mr. Popper’s Penguins after the 2011 movie was released.  Would Thimble Summer see a surge in popularity if it too was made into a movie?  Or are books made into movies because they are popular?  Along the same lines, I wonder if nonfiction titles and books of poetry are at a disadvantage if they cannot be translated to the big screen.

Could it be that the Newbery committees were flat wrong with their selections?  Probably not.  In 1942, The Matchlock Gun, a story about ten-year-old Edward Van Alstyne defending his family with a gun during the French and Indian War, likely rang true to an audience struggling with their own fear of Nazi invasion.  Today, when the threat of war does not weigh as heavily on the minds of our youth, children may have a hard time relating to Edward’s peril.  Or perhaps this book has lost popularity due to its negative portrayal of Native Americans.  I think we can all agree that a book’s success goes hand in hand with the social and cultural climate of its time.  When this climate changes, some books may no longer connect with readers.  

Why do you think certain honor books have greater staying power than winners?  Should the Newbery committee be concerned with a book’s staying power when making their selections?    

Reflections on Reading



Photographer: Nitric Flog Fish,Title: Loch Laggan,,Taken on: April 22, 2006

Before I get started I have a couple of questions for you all. Does how you feel about A Wrinkle in Time affect your reaction to When You Reach Me? I made a snap decision to write about these books when we were sitting around trying to decide what we were going to cover here, but I'll admit it has been years since I've read either. No book has been more hotly contested at the kid lit discussions I attend than When You Reach Me. Some love the book - plot, setting, characters. Others take issue with the mechanics of time travel as they play out. And it keeps coming up. Fuse 8 has been debating its longevity, but unlike Lisa, that's not an issue that I'm particularly concerned with. It is of note that When You Reach Me is on her current poll at #11. and A Wrinkle in Time will most likely fall in the top 5, I'm guessing #1. Clearly, these are books that people feel strongly about. Reflecting on the conversations that we keep having about this book they are excellent reminders of things I'm learning about reading for more than my enjoyment. It's all about knowing yourself as a reader. Know your bias and your deal breakers. What are you predisposed to love? For me it is fantasy, SF, and time travel. (I blame A Wrinkle in Time, by the way.) On the other hand, I'm also predisposed to hate such heavy handed religiosity, and in some books that might be a deal breaker for me. So, yes I was prepared to love When You Reach Me, but it also does plot, characters, and setting so well that I can forgive it breaking the rules of time travel. Likewise, A Wrinkle in Time is such a distinguished book that I can forgive it's religion. Do you just not get fantasy and/or SF? For me it's mysteries. A mystery has to be an over the top amazing book for me to enjoy it, but I'll take hackneyed SF any day. Oh, and I hate talking animals. Yet there's a talking animal book on our list right now that I might advocate for.

Reading is mostly a solitary pursuit, and yet we turn it into this wonderful community activity. As I read I have to remind myself I'm not always reading purely for my own enjoyment, but for that of the children and families I serve. And sometimes I'm selfishly reading just so I can join the conversation. I'm just learning how to better prepare myself for those conversations.