I was working in a children’s library the other day and happened to notice a list of books that had received the Newberry Medal.  At the top of the list was this description:  “The Newberry is awarded each year to the author whose new book makes the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”  The list went way back to the early 1900’s.  I decided I’d read the book that won the award the year I was born and the most recent award winner to see what kinds of differences had occurred during my lifetime.  And no, I wasn’t born in the early 1900’s; I’m more a mid-century kind of girl.

I kind of expected the older book to read older, maybe more stuffy, less fun, less adventurous.  But no!  I really enjoyed “Carry On, Mr. Bowditch” which was written by Jean Lee Latham in 1955 and won the award in 1956.  It’s the story of a young boy who arrived in Salem MA in 1779 with his family to begin a new life after his father, a ship’s captain, lost his ship at sea.  The book tells his story right through adulthood, when he goes to sea himself.  It’s an intriguing tale and one I couldn’t put down.

The book that won the 2008 award is “Good Masters!  Sweet Ladies!  Voices from a Medieval Village” written in 2007 by Laura Amy Schlitz.  It’s a series of poems written about individuals that live within a medieval village.  There are little snippets of information about  farming  and town life, but the majority is poems that tell stories told by individuals; the shepherd, the knight’s son, the glassblower’s daughter etc.  I have to admit, I found this format less compelling, but I think that has more to do with my reading style and that I’m less of a poetry fan than a narrative reader.

Both books add a huge amount of knowledge about another place in time for any young (or old) reader and I’m glad I spent a bit of time reading outside my box.

What’s Katie got to do with this story?  Well, as soon as I put the books on the floor to photograph them she plopped down too and looked at me expectantly.  She’s a photo-hog.