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Great Books that Aren't Caldecott
Winners
By Holly E. Newton
The highest
— and most notable — children’s book awards, the Caldecott and Newbery
Awards, were announced on Monday. The Newbery winner went to The
Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron, and illustrated
by Matt Phelan. The three honor books went to Penny from
Heaven, by Jennifer L. Holm, Hattie Big Sky,
by Kirby Larson, and Rules, by Cynthia Lord.
The Caldecott
winner is Flotsam, by David Weisner
and the two honor books are Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal
Alphabet, by David McLimans and Moses: When Harriett
Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
and written by Carole Boston Weatherford.
But here
are two incredible books the American Library Association award
review committee somehow overlooked. And, hopefully, my book review
will motivate you to read both of these great books. That is truly
the only way to really see how wonderful they are!
All
of the Above, by Shelley Pearsall, is based on a true story
about an inner city group of students and their teacher building
the world's largest tetrahedron. Ms. Pearsall incorporated fictional
characters that reflect the lives of lower income kids and how they
overcame huge personal obstacles to build this mathematical object
in order to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.
The heart of this book lies in the souls of these kids.
Each chapter
is told from the point of view of one of the four students, the
teacher, or a parent. By the time you’ve read just the first two
chapters, you already know smart-aleck James and his rude attitude
by the way he treats Mr. Collins, the math teacher.
Actually,
it’s Mr. Collins you first meet — and your heart immediately goes
out to him. He begins the book by briefly defining a tetrahedron.
(It’s a geometric solid shape that has four equal faces and appears
from the onset to look somewhat like a pyramid. But small tetrahedrons
can be joined together in order make larger ones.) By the last
part of this very brief chapter (less than two pages) you learn
that his “idea for the tetrahedron project began with one of my
worst classes in twenty years of teaching.”
James tells
about how the project came to be in the next chapter. He is bored
to death, as is the rest of the class. Mr. Collins is teaching
about shapes and pointing out different shapes all while James thinks
about how much he’d rather be somewhere else. Only four students
turned in their homework for the week, and practically all failed
the quiz.
Mr. Collins
is becoming very frustrated when he asks James, “What would make
you care about being here?” James immediately tells him, “Nothing.
I hate math.” Of course Mr. Collins has to put up with the class
laughing, but he keeps his cool. He states that he’s sorry to hear
that and turns to James' friend, Terrell, and asks him the same
question. Terrell finally answers that maybe a contest would help.
And, so
begins the inception of the tetrahedron project. As he writes the
word on the board, the teacher asks if anyone knows what it means.
Of course, no one raises a hand. Mr. Collins tells the class about
the contest and forming a new math club and invites everyone to
join. James begins to make fun of Mr. Collins by drawing cartoons
of him in his notebook, which Mr. Collins notices. Now James has
to come after school to this new math club because of his bad behavior.
Only three
kids show up to become part of the club, along with troublemaker
James, who acts like he would rather be anywhere but there. But
as you read more about James, Mr. Collins and the other three students,
you begin to really care about all of them. Eventually, James becomes
interested and involved in the project.
Another
student, Sharice, lives with a foster parent and is sadly neglected.
She rides around on the city bus and sits at the public library
for hours because this neglectful adult won’t let her in the house
until she comes home.
The contest
becomes much more than a club. Each chapter is short, but full
of insight, in the struggles and difficulties of inner city life.
This powerful book will leave you with so much more than an understanding
of the struggles of kids living in the inner city. It will leave
you with a desire for kids to have a chance at a better life. The
story is so well written and the characters so real, I couldn’t
put it down until I’d finished it. The pencil drawings, by Javaka
Steptoe, of each of the protagonists, along with other drawings,
go perfectly with the storyline! This is a heartfelt story for
all ages!
Click to
Buy
 And
while I’m on the topic of missed awards, here’s the other book I
would have included in the Caldecott awards. Once Upon a
Banana, by Jennifer Armstrong, and masterfully illustrated
by David Small, is a hilarious and ingenious wordless picture book.
The only text is the rhyming sign displayed on each page.
The precarious
misadventures begin with a monkey dashing away from his owner/juggler
and grabbing a banana from a vendor. After the monkey takes the
peel off, an unknowing biker slips on the peel and knocks over a
ladder that is holding a painter — and so on. Each page sets the
next catastrophe about to take place as you see objects, people
or animals about to enter the mess. The banana begins this adventure
and ultimately ends it as well.
If you’ve
ever doubted that a wordless book could be so fun, think again!
More than likely, you’ll find yourself turning the pages back again
and again to find more about what just took place! This book will
appeal to all!
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Meridian Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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