As we go through a Mock Newbery year, we’re always trying to identify excellence in the books we read. And of course we pay particular attention to the Newbery Terms and Criteria, which define what excellence consist of…though not always as clearly as we wish, which leads to some debate and interpretation on our part. It’s important to try to find the words that best describe why the writing is deserving of high honors.
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But sometimes it’s even more useful to show, rather than tell. Finding short passages, or sometimes longer ones, that capture elements of the author’s skill in specific areas can really advance a Newbery discussion. It also helps to focus us on “the words on the page,” rather than the experience we had while reading those words, and after. Or the experience we imagine child readers will have. I don’t mean that we should ignore our personal responses, nor that we should only talk about these books in relation to direct quotes from the text. But going back and looking directly at the words on the page is a great way to try to filter out our personal response and drill down to exactly what the author does with language.
With that in mind, I picked out some passages from a few of this year’s possible contenders that have struck me during my reading so far this year. I feel like these capture and demonstrate some of the strongest elements of the writing in each book:
AND THEN, BOOM! by Lisa Phipps
The book conveys the devastating impact of poverty and hunger in a way that’s specific and personal. Here’s Joe describing how he and his grandmother deal with hunger: both need food, but both want the other to eat, and there’s just not enough:
Sometimes Grandmum acts busy
until
I’m done eating and then
she eats whatever’s left.
What she doesn’t know is
I never get my fill.
I stop eating
to make sure there’s food left for
Grandmum.
There’s one thing worse than hunger:
watching someone you love
go hungry. [from the chapter “Worse Than Hunger”]
THE COLOR OF SOUND by Emily Barth Isler
In this book Rosie decides to take a break from the violin, which baffles and upsets her parents. Her thoughts and reflections, naturally peppered with musical references, are especially interesting and well-rendered, like in this passage:
Dad arrives late that night, but when I come downstairs on Saturday he’s at the breakfast table, having coffee with Grandpa.
“There’s my girl,” he says, and I give him a hug. I’m happy to see him, but I can’t help missing my breakfast rituals with Grandpa. We’ve perfected every note, every measure. Now Dad comes in like a woodwind section that’s in tune with the rest of the orchestra, but not previously part of this particular piece.
“Have you started playing again?” is the first thing he asks me. Not “How are you?” or “What have you been up to?”
A page later she considers her Grandpa’s response:
Grandpa shoots Dad a look that I wish I could capture in a song; it’s admonishing and stern but also sympathetic – or maybe sort of wistful? I’m not even sure what color it is – it’s not something I’ve really seen before. [from the beginning of Chapter 11]
HOW IT ALL ENDS by Emma Hunsinger
Tara’s narration in this graphic novel is unique and memorable. She’s self-deprecating, easy to empathize with, and so imaginative. In this passage, she speculates (while dining with her family) how things might go when she visits her new friend, starting off reasonably, and then going over the top with her anxiety:
But what if outside of school it’s different, and I say the wrong thing...
What if I accidentally let her cat out and she runs away?
What if she wants to watch ‘Hot Nights?’…
What if our snack is everything bagels and I get poppyseeds in my teeth?
What if I accidentally punch her in the face when I put on my coat?
What if a long time ago bugs laid eggs in my body?
[Tara]: “Do you hear buzzing?…What’re these bumps?”
And the eggs have been dormant.
BUT THEN THEY ALL HATCH WHILE I’M AT LIBBY’S HOUSE.
Then it jumps back to the dinner table. with word balloons:
[Dad]: Something on your mind, Tara?
[Tara]: Oh! Yes. What are the odds of dormant bug eggs laid in your body long ago hatching in Ocotber?
[Dad]: Oh wow. Like here? In the USA? The odds are very low Tara.
The next day during her school day Tara keeps the anxiety/fantasy going, repeating to herself: “Bugs won’t fly out of me….Bugs won’t fly out of me….” At some point she tells her friend Jessup about her unreasonable worries and I love his not-at-all-reasonable-or-reassuring response:
[Jessup]: And your Dad was SURE it wouldn’t happen in the United States? [p 206-209]
MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller
The third-person narration captures Magnolia’s unique point of view. The language is fresh and fun, perfectly aligned with the character. A few short samples:
Usually, when Mrs. Wu tried to set Magnolia up with one of her friend’s kids, it was not good. That was called a forced friendship, and the chances that their stars would align were extremely low. Once, Magnolia met one of her mom’s friend’s kids named Kyle. Kyle showed her his and farm, and it looked like if you took the period at the end of a sentence and poured about two thousand of them into a glass box. All the ants were so dry and dead in there that Magnolia lost all trust in her mom to make proper friend arrangements. (p 8)
Magnolia watched from the hole in her sheet, wincing from the force of each word. If the woman had speech bubbles, they would’ve been spiky like sea urchins, jutting out like spears. (p 15)
Magnolia wondered why adults were always reminding her that she used to be smaller and was now larger. What else were they expecting to happen? (p 31)
All of the above are examples that I might use to demonstrate how the authors’ style choices and use of language contribute to the book’s excellence.
If you have a copy one of your top picks of the year handy, I bet it won’t take long for you to skim through and find a short passage that would serve the same purpose, representing the author’s artistry at its most effective. If so, feel free to share in the comments below. And I might add a couple more myself…