in wich I put you to sleep talking about Newberies

I have been absent from my blog for over three weeks now. That's a long time! I'm sure both my loyal readers (hi, Mom!) have been pining away for news but I have been too hot and lazy to post. It's my summer vacation, too! I have trip pictures to post (remember that trip? It was three weeks ago), a gazillion Newberies to report on, two birthdays, swim lessons, and a dozen anecdotes about how awesome/awful it is to have my kids home for the summer, depending on the day.

I think I will start with Newberies. Mostly because I can't access my pictures at the moment. And because you are dying to know what obsolete children's books I've been reading!

I read six Newberies over the course of our trip to Colorado and haven't read any since, mostly because our swim lesson schedule kept us from getting to our library during it's pathetically limited hours of operation. (I took a break to read Percy Jackson and the Sorcerer's Stone. I mean, Harry Potter and the Lightening Thief. I forget which. My 10 year old neighbor made me.) The six I read were:

• Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (1930) The story of a wooden doll as she passes through numerous owners and eras of history. For one of the older Newberies, this book holds up really well. I liked it as a kid, liked it again rereading it, and Eve even picked it up and really liked it. If you are weird like me and have a fascination with the stories behind old inanimate objects (really? She was buried in a hayloft for thirty years?), then this is the book for you.

• A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001) I didn't know books like this were still being written. A heart-string-tugging vignette style story about a girl spending a year with her crusty grandmother in rural Illinois during the Depression. (Spoilers: crusty grandma really has a heart of gold!) I laughed out loud several times. Turns out this is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago, a Newbery honor book that I now have on hold at the library.

• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1968) Everyone knows and loves this book. And if you don't, you should join the rest of us! It's a great book. At 9, I found it a fascinating adventure about hiding in a museum. A few decades later, I found it a poignant story about trying to discover your real self on the cusp between childhood and adolesence. Maybe it's because I have a quirky nearly eight year old daughter with the same searching, impatient attitude toward life as Claudia. I hope she doesn't run away to a museum. Because there aren't any in Medford.

• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (1936) One of my favorite books as a girl. Like Laura Ingalls, but with more testosterone! The author tells the story of her very tomboy grandmother growing up in the wilds of Wisconsin.

• Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Clearly (1984) I really didn't care for this book all that much as a kid. It seemed so dreary and depressing compared to all her other books! Instead of the adorable antics of Ramona, this book follows the fan letters of Leigh to his favorite author as he deals with a move and his parent's divorce. I really liked it this time around but when Eve saw me reading it, she told me her teacher had read it to them and she hadn't like it because it was too sad. Hmmm...

• Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1944) I know I read this as a kid but I had no memory of it. Well, besides the part where Johnny pours molten silver on his hand. Spoilers! ("This book should be called Johnny Deformed!") I happened to read this the week of July 4th, of all happy coincidences, so I enjoyed it. Had it been a different time of year, I would have had a hard time over looking the fact that Johnny is kind of an arrogant prick. You'd think melting a hand off would change a guy, but no!

That's all for now. I managed to swing by the library and pick up a new batch of randomly generated books (a little heavy on the oldies), so I should have more to report on soon. If I don't get loaned more Harry Jackson... I mean, Percy Potter.

And The Story of Mankind? Want to hear how that saga ended? Turns out I forgot to renew it before we left town and I racked up $6 in late fees. No, not a terrible amount, but more than that book of all books should have cost me! So I skimmed the next... oh, 500 pages and returned it. I am considering it read. If you would like to dispute that, feel free to send me a letter explaining your reasons. Don't forget to include $6.