the view from saturday, in september

I've been pretty good about keeping up with my rereading goal this year, and in September I reread The View From Saturday, by E.L. Konigsburg. I've return to this book fairly regularly and find myself thinking of it frequently. As a kid I loved the idea of the Academic Quiz Bowl and, as it turns out, I still love it. It's a bit gimmicky having so many of the quiz bowl questions correlate so perfectly to The Souls own journeys, but at the same time I don't think there's a better way to segue into each of the characters' own stories.

One thing that struck me reading the book this time around is how important Mrs. Olinski's journey is to the book as a whole -- in fact (mild spoiler here) the book ends with her, not the students, finding her place. When I reached the end of the book I thought to myself that hey, maybe this is Mrs. Olinski's story after all.

And in some ways it is. It's the story of her coming back to teaching and finding students that inspired her. It's a story of her feeling more comfortable as herself after becoming paralyzed, and being brave enough to stand up for herself and listen to her gut.

But in other ways it's the story of Nadia, Noah, Julian, and Ethan -- the sixth grade students who are competing in the Academic Quiz Bowl state finals against an eighth grade team. It's the story of how they know each other, how they were brought together, and the things that happened before the school year that helped them discover a bit more of who they are and come out of their shells. For Nadia it's a tale of saving turtles. For Noah it's learning calligraphy.

This tidy little book has a lot of levels to it. There are the interlocking stories, the characters journeys, and not to mention the quiz-bowl-style information. Reading this book the very first time was how I learned about the life cycle of turtles, the origins of the words posh and tip, and more about calligraphy than I will possibly ever need to know.

While I'm not sure I loved this book quite as much as the first time I read it, it's a book that remains great through the years. And honestly I can't expect it to be as amazing as the first time I read it, because reading The View from Saturday for the first time, as a kid, is an experience that made a big impact.

Giveaway: Walk Two Moons (US ONLY)

I don't know how it happened that I never read Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech, as a child. I read many of her other books but somehow completely bypassed the one that won the Newbery. However, I picked up a copy at ALA recently and sat down to read it, a little worried that, because it's not a book full of childhood nostalgia, I might not love it the way I love other Creech novels such as Bloomability or The Wanderer.

I shouldn't have worried. At all. Walk Two Moons completely, utterly blew me away. It's the kind of children's (MG?) book that everyone should read. Sharon Creech has a way of writing messy, realistic human beings with such love. She tackles profound truths about life and people, family and love, with such simplicity and leaves you feeling so very, very alive.

I finished this book at midnight, tears falling down my face, and so full of good feelings. Like love, understanding, forgiveness, and hope. I totally get it now. I totally get why this is the book that won the Newbery; it's beautiful and so hugely affecting in the best sort of way. Walk Two Moons is the type of book that reminds me things, even very difficult things, are possible. It's possible to go through hard things and come out okay. It's possible to make a mistake and not let it ruin you. It's possible to become a better person, the kind of person you really wish you were.

I know this is a lot for a story, but it's how it made me feel and it's such a huge reason that I love stories so much: they can affect you. They can change you. It's why I'm picky about what I read and crazy for the books I love; I want to be affected by stories, but I want to be affected in good ways and by good stories.

Today I found an older copy of Walk Two Moons at the used bookstore and I'd love to give it away here.

Giveaway Rules:

US Only

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Deadline July 13th, 2012

Tuesday Ten: Childhood Favorites

This week is a "rewind" week for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish (choosing a topic you previously missed out on). I've decided to go with ten of my childhood favorites. Reading now is awesome, don't get me wrong, but there's so much truth in that line from You've Got Mail (my FAVORITE movie): "When you read a book as a child it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does."

1. At Play

I can't find this book anywhere. I don't know who wrote it and as much as I search it's almost like this particular book doesn't exist. But it did! This was a reader from the '40s or '50s and the first book I ever read. I think my mom picked it up at a thrift store and it had those really simple Dick-and-Jane type stories in it, but I read it over and over and over again. (And then the book got lost and never found.)

2. Once There Were Giants

Martin Waddell

This is one I still have (minus the dust jacket). It's one of the most simple but honest and a little bit sad picture books I've come across: it tells the story of a girl, from birth until she becomes a mother herself, in simple words and detailed pictures. My mom gave it to me when I was five years old and wrote a wonderful inscription inside. It's always been one of my favorites and one I've reread throughout my life, always measuring my growth against the girl in the story.

3. The Long Winter (and all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

In first grade I got completely hooked on the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. There's an old-fashioned-ness and simplicity to them that really really appealed to me (and still does, honestly). The Long Winter was probably my favorite and is definitely the one I remember best. These were books I could always slide easily into and know exactly what I was getting.

4. The Gadget

Paul Zindel

When I was in second grade I started giving my dad books to read and this was the first one I told him he had to read. It's an odd blend of historical and science fiction that takes place during the testing of the atomic bombs in New Mexico. To this day I still remember it as one of the weirder books I've read and because me and my dad both loved it so much it's earned a special place in my personal reading history.

5. Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson

I don't quite know what it is about this book, but from the moment I started reading it back in third grade I just fell completely in with Jess and the heartbreaking tale. This is one of those books that's just so incredibly sad and there's no other way to look at it; from an adult perspective I can easily see how some might not understand the appeal -- why on earth would an elementary age kid want to read something so horribly sad? The thing is though as you grow up I think it's easy to forget that childhood isn't perfect. There are problems and they're no joke. When I was eight years old, dreading P.E. class and hating the boy I rode the school bus home with, this book was something of a you are not alone lifeline. It didn't pretend things were perfect and it didn't pretend its readers didn't have hard stuff to deal with in their own lives.

6. Gone-Away Lake

Elizabeth Enright

I don't remember the first time I read this book about two kids and their perfect, magical summer, but I know that it stuck with me. For years after I'd scan the library shelves, looking for this book I felt like I'd made up in my mind. I couldn't remember the title or the cover, only a vague memory of a lake and two siblings. I finally did manage to find it, reread it, and then reread it again. When I found a copy in a thrift store as a teenager, I snapped it right up.

7. The Great Bamboozlement

Jane Flory

As with other books on this list, here's one that seems to have disappeared. I can't find a cover for it anywhere, though Goodreads does have a short description up, which is more than I can say for At Play. Anyway, this is another book I pulled from the library as a kid and OH MY WORD. It was incredible. A story about this family floating down the river on their boat that doubled as a "traveling emporium" and -- if I remember correctly -- some guys who try to swindle the kids out of something but then in the end the kids win! Yaayyyy!! It was honestly amazing. Another book that for years I was convinced I'd only imagined or maybe it was in my dream or something. But no, this is a real book, and if I ever find it I am taking it home with me.

8. The View from Saturday

E. L. Konigsburg

You know how there are some books that just feel like you, sort of? Well, when I was in whatever grade I was in reading this book, that's how it felt. Somehow the intertwining stories of these four characters just felt, somehow, like me. And I'm not going to bother giving a description of this one because it's such a stand out, so great for whatever age you are, and such a classic that if you haven't read it I'm just going to say DO IT.

9. The Great Good Thing

Roderick Townley

This is a book that -- aside from being freakin' insanely genius -- is one I associate so strongly with the time in my life when I discovered it. It was another that I found at the library originally. It's also one of the books my aunt sent me when I was in the hospital and this strange, wonderful little fairy tale-fantasy-science fiction mix is one of the books that helped me get through what was a fairly tough time in my childhood (hospitals, ugh). (This is also the book I'm going to be rereading this month, so there'll be a bit more about it later on.)

10. The Baby-Sitters Club

Ann M. Martin

Somewhere between fourth and seventh grade I became obsessed with these books. I can't even explain it, but if you grew up reading these books you know exactly what I mean. They were weirdly addictive and at one point I think I owned the whole series (which, if I'm being honest, might still be in boxes in my grandparents' garage somewhere), though it's now been slimmed down to a mere shelf of ones I've found in used bookstores the past few years.

My Favorite Newberries

Last night I dreamt I got in a fight with someone because they called Children's/YA books "trite." What they actually said was, "touche," but you know how sometimes in dreams things mean something else and you know it even though it doesn't make any sense? It was like that.

Anyway, in honor of "touche" children's literature, a list of my five favorite Newbery Winners.

1. Bridge to Terabithia 

Katherine Paterson

I swear, this book ends up on every "favorites" or "top 10" list I make that it's eligible for. I love it so much. If you haven't read it yet, buy yourself a box of tissues and sit down and read it. Because it's amazing. And the movie is pretty good too, actually.

2. Criss Cross

Lynne Rae Perkins

One of the more recent winners (2006), this book seriously deserved it. Perkins is a master of words and this book, like her earlier All Alone in the Universe completely resonated with me. It's a very character-driven story that sometimes seems to be lacking in plot, but all the different threads of this book come together so perfectly. It's incredible.

3. The View from Saturday

E. L. Konigsburg

Please don't ambush me for thinking this is better than the formidable The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Because it really is the best.

4. The Higher Power of Lucky

Susan Patron

There's just something wonderful about this book. Probably, um, the whole entire thing, actually.

5. Ginger Pye

Eleanor Estes

This book is definitely the oldest on my list -- it won in 1952 -- and I haven't read it in ages, but I remember absolutely loving it.

What are your favorite Newberries?