Newbery – Page 2 – Hibernator's Library

2012 Book 20: Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli (1/30/2012)

When homeless runaway Jeffrey “Maniac” Magee arrives in the highly segregated town of Two Mills he meets Amanda Bealle, an African American girl who shares his love of reading. Soon, Maniac Magee moves in with the Bealles, enraging racial tensions among their African American neighbors. He ends up sleeping on the streets, or sometimes with other down-and-outs, all the while amazing everyone with his friendly nature, athletic feats, and complete color-blindness. Maniac Magee’s story is engaging not only because of the positive social theme, but also because of the delightful prose and wonderful characters. A wonderful book for kids around the age of 9-12, I’d say. 5/5 stars

2012 Book 2:Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, by Gary D. Schmidt (1/3/2012)

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a children’s historical novel about a minister’s son who must confront narrow-mindedness in the townspeople and even his own father when his family moves to a small town in Maine. This book gives a “realistic” look at how blinded people can be by their own prejudices. I listened to it as an audiobook, and found myself in the awkward position of tearing up in public while I was listening to it on a walk. Luckily I pretended it was the sharp winter air that was giving me the sniffles. This book’s reading level is appropriate for perhaps 5th graders, but the content is a bit mature. I hated depressing books when I was that age! I gave this book 3.5/5 stars (it lost half a star for making me cry!)