Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

This Newbery Award-winner is a GREAT book! It's that rare combination of great writing, great characters, great plot, good message, and high engagement. This book deserves my highest rating and any adult would enjoy this too. I read one chapter out loud to Leonard, and he commented on how well-written it was as well as how original and funny. That's a lot for one chapter! I read it to him because there were some baseball terms in it that I didn't understand. It was fun to tell him about the story.

Maniac's love for books and learning and helping people is great role modeling for kids as well. He's so capable and unassuming. 

Ann recommended this book to me to get for Gabriel. I always like to read them before giving them to him. I think this is one that he will really enjoy. There's a lot in this book for a fourth grader to connect with. I think I will give him this one at Easter. Maybe he'll have plowed through his birthday books by then!

I especially liked the growing understanding that Maniac has about people, about families, about racism, about himself. There are many humorous subtleties that would make this book equally enticing and enjoyable for an adult. It's not kiddie lit...it's deep, rich, and wise. I will read this one again.

The Cricket in Times Square by Geroge Selden

My kids read this little gem when they were little, so it was a joy to rediscover it for Gabe's tenth birthday. Ann recommended it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet little story of the cricket who comes to live in a New York subway station. The cricket, Chester, is helped along by his friends Tucker (a mouse) and Harry (a cat). The drawings by Garth Williams are especially poignant and capture the sweetness of the story and add a delightful dimension. I especially loved the descriptions and longing Chester had for his rural roots! And I also loved how the author described the effects of Chester's music on the city crowds. Delightful in every way. Not a long or involved story, so I think Gabriel will enjoy it and devour it quickly. It's only 134 pages long...he'll get through it in no time flat!

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

This is the second book from Ann's recommendation list that I have read. Another gem! She thought I would enjoy its Berkeley setting, and I did. The milieu is very familiar and enjoyable! The time (1967) is also familiar, and I love the occasional sixties lingo, like "fink" which I had totally forgotten! But most delightful are the characters. In particular, Melanie is a true and gifted friend to troubled April. They are sixth graders, and their ups and downs feel authentic. There's also lots of wisdom sprinkled in the story;  for example, Melanie says, "It's sort of like what you do in nonviolence. My mom says it's appealing to their better natures."
The impressionistic grey scale illustrations are a nice addition to the story. I also enjoyed the opportunity to learn about Egyptology, though not in any depth. It might be enough to spark a young person's interest, though, to delve into this study after reading the book. I liked how imaginations, costumes, and inventions (like the hieroglyphic code and names) were so enthralling to the kids. It will be interesting to see if Gabe likes it. I wonder if he'll be able to relate to kids who have nothing to do with technology! I think he'll enjoy the suspense, and the fact that these are sixth graders. Since he's a fourth grader, he'll enjoy looking up a grade or two. He may also enjoy Melanie's little brother Marshall, who is a wise four-year-old. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to the girls' getting the two sixth grade boys involved in their Egypt game. I wonder if he will feel that this is true to life, because I wondered about that. Would boys really choose this intriguing activity over basketball? I think all kids enjoy adventure...which is what the Egypt Game and this book have.

The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

The paperback edition of this book has very sweet and expressive illustrations by Fred Marcellino and they definitely enhanced the story for me.
My sister Ann is a fourth grade teacher and when I visited her recently, she gave me a whole list of books she  thought I would enjoy. We always talk books, and she knows I like to put good books in Gabe's hands as well. This happens to be the first one of her recent recommendations that I read. It's a sweet and tender story about a swan who doesn't have voice. His friendship with a thoughtful boy develops over the years and incredible things happen. These incredible developments don't seem unrealistic or incredible, though, within the context of the story. They just feels kind of natural as the story weaves its comfortable way along.
While the story has a wonderful message about overcoming difficulties and being observant, what I especially enjoyed was White's love of the natural world. His descriptions of the lakes and marshes are lyrical and are obviously the work of a man who loves nature. He also shares wonderful and useful information about the species he's describing.
There's also something very endearing about the somewhat formal voice of Louis, the swan, particularly when he's staying at the Ritz. Quaint and gentlemanly and reminiscent of a forgotten era! I enjoyed that part a lot. It felt a little like going back in time to a gentler era.
I also liked the character of Sam Beaver. He's an inquisitive, patient boy who's very observant. I loved his practice of journaling every night, and ending each journal entry with a question to ponder. I'm hoping Gabe will like this practice, too, and maybe understand why I frequently ask him, "Did you ask any good questions at school today?" Maybe this book will awaken some inquisitive impulses in him, too! I know he's inquisitive, but for some reason, he doesn't like to show it.
Here's what I plan to write in the front of the book: Dear Gabriel, I hope you like this book as much as I do! Your Aunt Ann recommended it to me. I think you will like it because you love animals, and this book has a lot of very interesting animals in it. I also think you will like Sam Beaver, one of the main characters. He's a loyal friend, and I think you will like him, too. Enjoy!

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

This was a difficult book for me to read! It was short and accessible, but I didn't like the setting and I could tell it wasn't going to be a "nice" story.  Everything told me it was going to be sad, sad, sad. And it was. I knew it was "just a story" but I really care about characters, even fictional ones, and I hate to read about suffering. Yet, Kristine told me she had really liked it, so I felt like I should read it to sense more about what she likes. And of course Steinbeck reading has to be good for you, so even though it was hard, I soldiered through it.

Actually, I'm glad I did. I wouldn't choose to read it again...but in thinking about it, it has a most wonderful message. Among them are...listen to the your intuition or Holy Spirit or whatever sense you want to call it. But when it calls, you need to listen. Another message is that there's no use in trying to fool yourself that one simple thing will end all of your problems. Life is never that simple. This was a short but very meaty story. Thank you, Steinbeck, and thank you Kristine.