newberies: father/son edition

It finally happened, the day I have been dreading since committing to this project. My random number generator turned up no. 56. The Bridge to Terabithia. My most hated childhood book. I am headed to the library to pick it up in a little bit, so wish me luck. Better now than ending on it, right? Wouldn't it have been a cruel twist of fate if 56 had been the last number drawn? Bleh.

So a few more reviews. I apologize that this is really all my blog has consisted of lately. I need to tell my kids to be more funny/cute so I have things to blog about again.

I had a rash of father/son books on my list lately, all from the emerging emotional awareness of the 50s and 60s. Two from the same author, even! (Yes, it is safe to say that Joseph Krumgold has daddy issues.) And some were definitely better than others.

Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (1960)

Joseph Krumgold won two Newberies - for Onion John in 1960 and also for ...And Now Miguel in 1954. (Too bad they weren't handing out Cheesiest Title Awards in 1954 because I am just sure he would have won!) One was pretty good and the other was pretty not so good. I just didn't really care all that much for Onion John. Generic suburban boy - Andy - in generic suburban town befriends the homeless guy who the town has dubbed Onion John and kindly permits to live in the local dump and rifle through their trash for food. Could this possibly be a social commentary about accepting those who are different (Onion John is from an unnamed Easter European country and no one can understand a word he says)? Or about waking up a suburban town to the realities of indigence and poverty? No. Not so much. It's about Andy trying to thwart the plans of his oddly jealous and controlling father who wants nothing more than for Andy to go to MIT and become an astronaut (can you tel this was written in the 60s? An astronaut!) Long story short, after the town ruins Onion John's life by building him a little suburban house (in the dump) and helping him to abandon his medieval ways (growing onions in his bathtub), the little house goes up in flame (Onion John doesn't really understand electricity and starts a fire.) Andy decides they should run away together. Andy's dad intervenes and stops their plans, Onion John leaves the little town he has lived in for 50 years because a little twerp messed up his life and his house burned down, and Andy goes back to bed. The end. The book was condescending and I didn't really get the odd Industry! Technology! theme that was probably much more relevant in 1960. And the relationship between Andy and his dad was creepy. Heck, the relationship between Andy and Onion John was creepy! Not really a book that would resonate with today's kids.

...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (1954)

I really dreaded reading this book, not only because of the title, but because I really didn't want to read another book by Joseph "I Hate My Father" Krumgold. But this book was surprisingly and happily a lot different from Onion John. Miguel is twelve and a middle child on a sheep ranch in New Mexico. The burning desire of Miguel's heart is to prove to his father that he is old enough to go with him and his older brothers on their annual three month trip to the mountains to let the sheep graze on the lush mountain grass. Miguel is a guileless and believable narrator as he describes the angst and humor of being twelve and not always taken seriously. The desert scenery is lovely and evocative. And Miguel's family is warm, loving, and waaaay more functional than Andy's repressed family. There is an odd bit at the end where Miguel and his older brother Gabriel have an existential discussion about God, fate, and the meaning of the universe. But even that was funny, too. The last few pages, where Miguel finally ascends the mountain with all the men of his family , was genuinely moving. Stick to this one and pass on Onion John.

It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville (1964)

This book rules the school! From it's crazy cool 1960's title to it's very teen narrator, 14-year old Dave Mitchell, it's a little slice of sixties awesomeness. The underlying theme is how Dave works out his troubles with his uptight, prone-to-lecturing attorney father... a little cliche, I know. But I love the setting, the language, the characters. It seems that most American kids' books in the preceding decades were set in little suburban towns or even the country. This seems to be one of the first to write about a kid who doesn't go hunting for arrowheads or swim in Farmer Brown's pond, but who walks down 42nd St to buy a Coke and who hops a subway to go to the zoo in Brooklyn. I love that Dave says stuff like, "My Pop's going to blow his stack!" and his dad says stuff like "Don't get fresh!" And they talk about Harry Belafonte records and the new show called West Side Story. It would seem so trite if the book was written as a nostalgia piece but instead it's the real thing. And enjoy the cool soundtrack that will inevitably play in your head while you read!