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It's Never too Early to Start...
By Kristen · 214 posts · 780 views
By Kristen · 214 posts · 780 views
last updated Jan 02, 2014 08:10AM
What Members Thought
I waited anxiously for the ASLA to announce the awards in January and was surprised that
won. It seemed to sneak in from nowhere, possibly due to it being published later in the year. After picking it up from the library I excitedly started reading right away. Since I view the Newbery Award as being the best and most elite children's book of the year, I have to disagree with the ASLA on this choice.
* * spoiler alert* *
This book just really left a bad impression on me. While I loved the sma ...more
won. It seemed to sneak in from nowhere, possibly due to it being published later in the year. After picking it up from the library I excitedly started reading right away. Since I view the Newbery Award as being the best and most elite children's book of the year, I have to disagree with the ASLA on this choice. * * spoiler alert* *
This book just really left a bad impression on me. While I loved the sma ...more
I understand why this is the winner of the Newbery. Laughed my way through the book. Never have I wanted nose bleeding to cease more. Never expected to enjoy the jump in history as much as I enjoyed with this book. I really appreciated the touching connections between characters and the random jobs characters held in the small town. The only thing that frustrated me was resolved with a witty situation late in the book.
Favorite pieces of the book:
"It's like when you read a book and you know that ...more
Favorite pieces of the book:
"It's like when you read a book and you know that ...more
Our 2012 Newbery Winner
What I liked about this book:
While definitely not Newbery worthy, Dead End in Norvelt did have some really good moments. I think it was the promise of these good moments that left me so disappointed with the ending, and really the book as a whole. My favorite scene was when Jack, in order to check on whether an old lady who had been reported dead, was actually dead, snuck into her house in the only disguise he had available, his Grim Reaper costume. I also liked the huntin ...more
What I liked about this book:
While definitely not Newbery worthy, Dead End in Norvelt did have some really good moments. I think it was the promise of these good moments that left me so disappointed with the ending, and really the book as a whole. My favorite scene was when Jack, in order to check on whether an old lady who had been reported dead, was actually dead, snuck into her house in the only disguise he had available, his Grim Reaper costume. I also liked the huntin ...more
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. Still think that Okay for Now was more deserving of this year's Newbery in terms of the quality of writing, though I do admit that Dead End in Norvelt might be a little more accessable to the average child reader.
This book is filled with quirky characters, and that's fun. But by the time I reached the end of the book I reeally wasn't exactly sure what the central conflict had been. Was it the "murder mystery"? Not really a mytery until the la ...more
This book is filled with quirky characters, and that's fun. But by the time I reached the end of the book I reeally wasn't exactly sure what the central conflict had been. Was it the "murder mystery"? Not really a mytery until the la ...more
Although full of funny scenes and memorable characters, this Newbery Medal just didn't grab emotionally like some other books from this past year. Whereas Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt suffered from a preponderance of plot lines, this book seems to wander a bit in search of a plot. The narrative takes place in a1960's summer in a patch town founded by Eleanor Roosevelt, which is in danger of dying. The narrator, Jack Gantos, is grounded at the beginning of the summer and his only relief is when h
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We enjoyed the funny stories in this autobiographical memoir. The character of Miss Volker was endearing, though we didn't feel the same way about Jack's mom or dad. The other town characters, except for Mr. Spizz were not as well drawn as we would have liked and sometimes felt that the story's action lagged. Jack's antics were fun and liberating, especially for children who never get to fire rifles, drive cars on streets without licenses, and accompany the medical examiners to examine dead bodi
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A narrative of a boy living in 1962 in a town called Norvelt. Norvelt is a community town under Eleanor Roosevelt, where they built little communities and then poor people who had lost their jobs were invited to apply for a home.
All the old ladies are dying in the town. Jack helps his old lady friend write the local obit which are full of historical facts.
Funny. Different. Lots of history. Weird.
Trying to figure out who will read this at school.
All the old ladies are dying in the town. Jack helps his old lady friend write the local obit which are full of historical facts.
Funny. Different. Lots of history. Weird.
Trying to figure out who will read this at school.
The Newbery award winner is funny enough, but the emotional appeal of the book fell short for me. History is important, know the past, blah,blah, blah. Gantos' books are enjoyable and fun, but award-winning doesn't quite describe them for me. ...more
Jack Gantos writes a semi-autobiographical tale about growing up in the Midwest, being grounded all summer and writing obituaries for all of the old people who dropping like flies. Laugh out loud funny!
I guess that I liked it, the characters were colorful enough. And I enjoyed the small town history lesson, but I just don't understand why it won the Newbery.
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Feb 08, 2012
Annette
marked it as to-read
May 24, 2012
Liz
marked it as to-read-kid-lit
May 19, 2013
Sylena
marked it as to-read
