Great fiction

Children's fiction authors hate it when people imply they write for young people because it's easier. They also know it's not true. Writers of children's books must use fewer words to say more. They must remember vividly what it felt like to be a child. And young readers are less patient with a story that gets off to a slow start, so writers must capture them quickly.

The 2001 Newbery awards were announced earlier this month, making it a fine time to take note of some of the best children's fiction. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year.

This year's medal went to "A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck, a linked series of vignettes set in rural Illinois during the Depression, when 15-year-old Mary Alice leaves Chicago to spend a year with Grandma Dowdel. Four Newbery Honor books also were named. Three of them, "Because of Winn-Dixie," "The Wanderer" and "Joey Pigza Loses Control" are reviewed here. The fourth, "Hope Was Here," by Joan Bauer, is the story of 16-year-old Hope and her aunt who move from New York City to run a diner in rural Wisconsin.

If you haven't read a great children's or young adult novel since you were a child, try one of these terrific reads. Or route one to your favorite young person.

* "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo: "My name is India Opal Buloni, and last summer my daddy, the preacher, sent me to the store for a box of macaroni-and-cheese, some white rice, and two tomatoes and I came back with a dog." That's the very first sentence of this funny and heartwarming little book by a first-time author. See what I mean about getting right into the story?

With ribs poking out and bald patches all over, the dog who wanders into the Winn-Dixie that day looked like "a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain." He wags his tail and sends a pile of oranges rolling everywhere. But he smiles at Opal (that's what her daddy calls her), and she makes a quick decision. When the manager pleads "Somebody call the pound," Opal hollers: "Wait a minute! That's my dog."

Opal heads home to convince her father that his sermons on helping the less fortunate apply specifically to the dog she has named Winn- Dixie. The mutt tips the decision in his favor when he wags his tail and pulls back his lips to show the preacher the same yellow-toothed grin that won Opal's heart. Opal tells the dog everything: how lonely she has been since she and her father moved to Naomi, Fla., to start a new church; how she misses the mother who left when she was 3; how she is afraid her father will get mad if she asks about her mother. Winn-Dixie is such a gregarious dog that amazing things begin to happen. He and Opal explore the town, making new friends of all ages. The preacher begins to come out of his shell. Together the father and daughter come to realize that although they have had sadness in their lives, they also have much love and much to be thankful for. (Candlewick Press, ages 10 and up, 182 pgs., $15.95)

* "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan: Koly, a 13-year-old girl in India, is part of a family where there is never enough food for everyone. Her parents love her, but like other families with too many mouths to feed, they decide she is old enough for them to find her a husband. With the modest dowry her parents are able to raise, the match they find is a sickly boy younger than Koly. His parents want the dowry money so they can take him to the river Ganges in hopes of a cure. There is no cure. Young Koly is left a widow, forced to wear a white sari and serve her bitter mother-in-law. Later, the older woman abandons Koly in the holy city of Vrindavin, a place where many white-clad widows end up, castoffs from society. After a few days of sleeping in the streets, Koly meets a boy, Raji, who helps her find a refuge for young widows. She finds a safe place to sleep, food and a job that will help her become independent. She also discovers her skill at embroidery is regarded as artistry by others. She breaks from the fate set out for widows by finding love with Raji.

The beautifully written, inspiring story is set in modern-day India but depicts an age-old culture. "Homeless Bird" won a National Book Award for children's literature. A glossary explains the Hindu words and phrases. (HarperCollins, ages 10 and up, 216 pgs., $15.99)

* "The Art of Keeping Cool" by Janet Taylor Lisle: The year is 1942; the place Rhode Island. Nazi submarines are hitting U.S. ships with torpedoes not far off the coast. Fort Brooks is marshaling its defenses, bringing in huge guns in case the attacks get closer. Robert, his mother and 5-year-old sister have left their farm in Ohio after Robert's father leaves for England to fight. They come to live near his father's parents, and his mother takes a factory job. Robert had never met his grandparents, aunt or his cousin Elliot because his father left his parents' home as a teenager and never returned.

As Robert and Elliot, a gifted artist, grow close, it becomes clear that there are dark family secrets swirling around his stern grandfather and passive grandmother, neither of whom ever mention his father.

Another thread skillfully woven through the book involves the boys' relationship with a famous German artist who fled his country when the Nazis took over. Is he the enemy, as many in town believe, or simply an artist searching for the freedom to paint? (Atheneum, ages 10-14, 207 pgs., $17)

"The Wanderer" by Sharon Creech: In this book, Creech, who won a Newbery Medal in 1994 for "Walk Two Moons," blends high adventure with family dynamics. Thirteen-year-old Sophie has talked herself onto the crew of "The Wanderer," a sailboat that her three uncles and two cousins are sailing across the Atlantic to England to see Bompie, the cousins' grandfather. Everyone on the boat is carrying emotional baggage, but Sophie carries the most. Everyone else's issues are pretty obvious. One uncle is hoping to find a lost love. Another is in the wrong career. The two cousins, Brian and Cody, rub each other the wrong way. But it takes a while for Sophie (and the reader) to get to the bottom of her story. If she was adopted into this family only three years ago, why does she remember so many wonderful Bompie stories? Her real parents died when she was 3, so where was she for seven years? Why is she drawn to the sea and terrified of it at the same time? Written in the form of alternating trip logs by Sophie and Cody, Creech skillfully sketches each youngster's point of view, captures the excitement and danger of the voyage, and tells the tender story of an unusual family. (HarperCollins, ages 8 and up, $15.95, 305 pgs.)

"Joey Pigza Loses Control" by Jack Gantos: For Joey, control is a tenuous thing. He finally has it after spending some time in special ed and getting on the right medications for his ADHD. Those experiences were documented in Gantos' earlier book, "Joey Pigza Loses the Key." In this book, his mother has finally decided Joey can spend the summer with the father he hasn't seen for years. His dad is a grown-up version of Joey's old hyperactive self. During their summer together, Carter wants to make up to Joey for his past wrongs. He wants to teach him to be a winner and makes him pitcher of the baseball team he coaches. Trouble is, Carter hasn't really stopped drinking, and he decides that Joey would be better off without his medication. Gantos does a skillful job of showing the reader what it's like inside Joey's head when he's in control and when he's not. You'll be proud of him as he figures out how to take charge of his own life. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ages 12 and up, 196 pgs., $16)

"Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry: Many young people have been disturbed and intrigued by "The Giver," Lowry's Newbery Medal story of a future society where everything seems perfect. This book was rumored to be a sequel to "The Giver," which ends ambiguously. Since the book was published in 1993, readers have been debating what really happened. Lowry politely declines to explain when speaking publicly.

Sorry to say, the discussions will have to continue. "Gathering Blue" has no apparent connection to "The Giver," except that it also is set in a future, where things might not be what they seem. It also raises interesting questions about community, creativity and individual value.

Kira's civilization is primitive compared to ours. Something has happened to the high-tech society that no longer exists. Only a few buildings and artifacts remain. As the novel opens, the mother of the book's main character (Kira) has just died. Kira, who is disabled and has few worldly assets, is destined to be left in a field to be eaten by beasts. She is saved by a kind community leader who recognizes that she is a highly gifted weaver. She is brought to luxurious surroundings and set to work on an important task, along with a talented boy woodcarver and a tiny girl who sings beautifully. Their parents also died suddenly.

Suspicious? You should be. "The Giver" won a Newbery Medal, as did "Numbering the Stars," Lowry's 1989 book about Jews in Denmark helped to safety during World War II. She is a brilliant writer who hasn't a bad book to her name. Look also for her funny and real books about Anastasia Krupnik and her family. (Houghton Mifflin, ages 10-14, 215 pgs., $15)

"Forgotten Fire" by Adam Bagdasarian: Be forewarned. This National Book Award finalist might not be a wise choice for especially sensitive young people because of the horrific events it describes. At times, it's hard to keep reading. But it also is so compellingly written that it's tough to put down.

Young Vahan Kenderian is a survivor. Before the events in 1915 Turkey, his life was pleasant and pampered. The youngest son in an influential Armenian family, his biggest concern as a 12-year-old was what mischief to get into next. That is before the genocide of Armenians in Turkey, an ongoing event in World War I that eventually led to more than 1 million deaths. In three weeks, Vahan watches every member of his large extended family disappear or die. Some of the deaths are described in detail. He spends days wandering and hiding, hungry and scared. He becomes a beggar and a servant to a murdering Turkish governor. He lives in a Turkish village by posing as a deaf mute. He works as a stable boy and falls in love with a young Armenian girl who is being kept by a pompous German official. The book is based on the experiences of the author's uncle. The good news is that the story ends on a hopeful note. People can survive terrible experiences with their spirits intact. (Dorling Kindersley, ages 12 and up, 273 pgs., $17.95)

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
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