Gay Neck

The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
March 2013

I've been adding books to this blog, just not posting them or writing commentary. So, it's time to catch up.

My goal for 2013 has been to read as many Newbery winners as possible.  Strange, but the old, musty winners are the ones I've really enjoyed reading. I haven't bothered to pick up the more popular titles.  Gay-Neck is one of those that I'm surprised is still sitting on library shelves.  It won the 1928 Newbery medal. While the less than exciting cover is not the original one, it hasn't changed in many years.
And, it's about a pigeon.   Named "Gay Neck."

So, with all of those things against it, I still picked it up and jumped right in.  It isn't so much the story of a pigeon as it is the story of a boy and his bird.  Gay Neck is a carrier pigeon. His name comes from the beautiful colors that shine on his head and neck.

Gay Neck's mother is killed by a hawk and his father dies in a storm. Traumatized by these experiences, the bird receives special care from his master, an Indian boy.  The action moves to a lamasery where the Buddhist monks help him to heal from his fears. He then becomes a messenger in World War I.

A couple of the chapters are told from the point of view of the pigeon, which is rather odd. I'm not sure why the author made this choice.  But, it works pretty well and helps to make this the pigeon's story.

I'd be willing to book talk this to a child reader. It isn't for everyone, but it was surprisingly enjoyable.

Dead End in Norvelt

by Jack Gantos
February 6, 2012

This is the Newbery Medal Winner for 2012 (for the "most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children" among those book published in 2011).  I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author, Jack Gantos.

The only reason I chose the audiobook is that I couldn't get my hands on the print version.  It started out just a little slowly, but quickly hooked me.  I've been telling people that they'd enjoy this if they enjoyed A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck or Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen.  It's a nostalgic story, in this case of the author's boyhood in a small town in Pennsylvania.  Gantos says that the book isn't completely autobiographical. Parts of it are based on his experiences but it is truly fiction for the most part.

Like life itself, the book is funny, sad, mundane and exciting all at the same time.    Jack Gantos is ready to spend a typical summer in his hometown of Norvelt - named after EleaNOR RooseVELT who founded the town.  But after he's grounded the only opportunity he has to get out of the house is to help the elderly but feisty Miss Volker. His job is to type and deliver the obituaries she writes for the local newspaper.  Jack learns the history of his town and learns about his life and life in general through the adventures he never expected to encounter in such a dead end town.

I especially liked hearing Jack Gantos read this.

When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

Finished March 2, 2010

This book won the 2010 Newbery Medal. I had noticed it a few months before the medal was announced. It looked good, but I didn't read it, obviously, until afterwards.

I enjoyed it but have no opinion on its worthiness to win a Newbery. I'd hate to be on the committee that determines that award. I just wouldn't know how to pick one winner from among hundreds of books published in a single year.

The story is about twelve-year-old Miranda and her friendships and family relationships. I would have liked this story when I was ten, eleven, twelve. It's one of the genre tht I liked back then - what I call "school stories." Miranda is best friends with Sal. That relationship is broken when Sal gets punched in the stomach, for no reason, by another kid from their school.

Miranda must make new friendships and she finds just that with Amanda and Colin. They strenghten their bonds when they all take lunch-time jobs at Jimmy's sandwhich shop.

Meanwhile, Miranda's mother is practicing for an appearance on the $20,000 Pyramid game show (this book is set in 1979). I was thrown for a loop when a mysterious, science-fiction element pops into the story. Miranda keeps finding strange, anonymous notes that seem to predict the future. The book turns from just a "school story" into a science-fiction story. I would have liked that when I was ten, eleven and twelve, too.

In all, I liked this book but it didn't wow me. I wish she had dropped the sci-fi theme and just concentrated on the relationships between her many great characters.