Module 4
Newbery Winners
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Bibliography
MacLachlan, P. (1985). Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York, NY: HarperTrophy.
ISBN 0-06-024101-2
Summary
This is a beautiful love story of a family. It is not your typical love story; just about a couple, this is a story of the love of a family and more specifically, a mother. There lived a family in the prairie, Jacob, the father, and his two children Anna and Caleb. Their mother had died the day after Caleb was born. They all longed for the love of a mother, a female role model for them. Jacob puts an ad in the paper for a wife; he gets a response from Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton who lives in Maine. Jacob, Anna and Caleb write her back and Caleb asks if she can sing. She decides to give it a chance and come for a month, she tells them she is plain, tall, and yes she can sing. Once she is there, things change right away, the house looks better right away, with flowers being hung up, children are cared for, meals were ready for the whole family to enjoy, and the children get what they wanted a mother figure. Anna wanted someone to braid her hair and Caleb wanted someone who could sing, and Papa just wanted a nurturer, partner, and they get all of this in Sarah. Not to say that life in the prairie was easy for them, especially Sarah who missed her town where she came from, but she was starting to become a family with Papa, Anna, and Caleb.
My Impression
I love this book, the first time I read this book was when I was in the 7-th grade and I was in a ESL 3 class and our teacher made us all take turns and read aloud. I think this is a beautiful story about the need and the crave of a female role model in our families, mother for the children and a partner for the father who needed help raising his 2 young children. This book shows that no matter what a mother's presence in our lives makes everything so much better.
Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Glenn Close narrates Patricia MacLachlan's beautiful novels on this fine audio collection. Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of Sarah, who came from Maine to answer Jacob's advertisement for a wife and mother, all from the point of view of young Anna. The classic story continues in Skylark, as Anna and her brother, Caleb, must travel with their new mother, Sarah, to Maine when a terrible drought threatens their home. Caleb picks up the story several years later in Caleb's Story, telling of the return of his grandfather, who had abandoned the family when Caleb's father was a young boy. Close, who played the role of Sarah in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of the first book, creates distinct voices for each character without ever resorting to theatrics. Anna and Caleb's voices mature as listeners progress through the stories, and Close's carefully unobtrusive narration showcases MacLachlan's simple yet poetic words. An interview with Patricia MacLachlan at the end of the collection gives students more information about the author's life and writing process, and about the real-life inspiration for Sarah. A beautiful collusion of an excellent story with a perfect narrator, and a treat for all listeners.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Editorial Reviews
Use in Library Setting
I see this book everywhere, in public libraries and in elementary, middle, and high school libraries. In elementary schools it can be a good addition to any classroom collection or in the school library, it is a very nice story of love and family. In middle school it can be used for the ELD (English Learning Development) students for easy reading, and in high school just because it is a classic story.
Review. (n. d.). Sarah, Plain and Tall. [Review of the book Sarah, Plain and Tall].
Amazon.com.
Available from
http://www.amazon.com/Sarah-Plain-Tall-Patricia-MacLachlan/dp/0064402053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354768455&sr=8-1&keywords=sarah%2C+plain+and+tall
Review. (n. d.). Sarah, Plain and Tall. [Review of the book Sarah, Plain and Tall].
Barnes & Noble.
Available from
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sarah-plain-and-tall-patricia-maclachlan/1100488061?ean=9780064402057
Image from
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sarah-Plain-and-Tall/532536
Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
I liked it, I never read it until now, I read the first one Homecoming and I think it drags on too much, it's not as boring as it is slow. I think some kids might enjoy this. I think it's an appropriate book to have for all libraries, I don't know if lower grade students will take the time to read this, but it can be in middle and high schools. It is a Newbery Award Winner book.
Children's Literature
In the second book of Voigt's "Tillerman family" cycle, Dicey and her younger brothers and sister settle in with their grandmother on a stark homestead by the Chesapeake Bay. Their mother remains unresponsive in a Boston psychiatric hospital. Dicey is confused about where she fits into the family now that Gram has taken over responsibility for the youngsters, but she soon learns that the family still needs her resourcefulness and solid good sense. Dicey and Gram steady one another as each reaches out, breaking Tillerman tradition. Gram is a hard, proud woman who has lived to regret her isolation and the scattering of her children. Gram makes overtures to town folk and her world expands. Dicey tries to remain aloof at school, but neither Jeff the musician nor the forceful Mina relents until Dicey allows them into her circle of caring. In her spare time, Dicey is restoring a derelict sailboat, meticulously sanding down layers of old paint. Metaphorically, her emotional defenses wear away as she slowly opens to hope, friendship, expressive writing, and finally to an acceptance of her mother's death. When Gram and Dicey bring her mother's ashes home, the broken family is nearly healed. Written in fine, spare prose, this outstanding Newbery Medal winner belongs in every school and community library collection. Readers will be eager to pick up the rest of the series. 2003 (orig. 1982), Aladdin/Simon and Schuster, Ages 10 to 14. — Ann Philips
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Well-written, thoughtful, imaginative and haunting." Junior Bookshelf "The Tillerman series... is a tour de force" The Guardian
It can be used in school, middle and high school libraries, and it's a good novel to show kids that there are people out there who have it bad, and you shouldn't give up until you reach your destination.
Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
Bibliography
Voigt, C. (1982). Dicey's Song. New York, NY: Simon Pulse.
ISBN 978-0-689-85131-5
Summary
Dicey’s Song is
the sequel to the book Homecoming by
Cynthia Voigt. It follows Dicey
Tillerman and her siblings: James, Maybeth, and Sammy to the next part of their
life. They were abandoned by their
mentally ill mother and left to mend for themselves. They somehow managed to travel from
Massachusetts to their grandmother’s old farm in Maryland. It deals with the relationship they build
with their maternal grandmother and all of the Tillerman children must face
their own weaknesses as they adjust to their new lives, especially for Dicey
who must learn to be a teenager again and get used to her siblings not needing
her as much as they did before. Their
lives might be different but it’s not easy, they all have things they have to
do, chores, homework, and learn to trust people. They also hear about the whereabouts of their
mother in this book and learn about the relationship between her and their
grandmother.
My Impression
I liked it, I never read it until now, I read the first one Homecoming and I think it drags on too much, it's not as boring as it is slow. I think some kids might enjoy this. I think it's an appropriate book to have for all libraries, I don't know if lower grade students will take the time to read this, but it can be in middle and high schools. It is a Newbery Award Winner book.
Reviews
Children's Literature
In the second book of Voigt's "Tillerman family" cycle, Dicey and her younger brothers and sister settle in with their grandmother on a stark homestead by the Chesapeake Bay. Their mother remains unresponsive in a Boston psychiatric hospital. Dicey is confused about where she fits into the family now that Gram has taken over responsibility for the youngsters, but she soon learns that the family still needs her resourcefulness and solid good sense. Dicey and Gram steady one another as each reaches out, breaking Tillerman tradition. Gram is a hard, proud woman who has lived to regret her isolation and the scattering of her children. Gram makes overtures to town folk and her world expands. Dicey tries to remain aloof at school, but neither Jeff the musician nor the forceful Mina relents until Dicey allows them into her circle of caring. In her spare time, Dicey is restoring a derelict sailboat, meticulously sanding down layers of old paint. Metaphorically, her emotional defenses wear away as she slowly opens to hope, friendship, expressive writing, and finally to an acceptance of her mother's death. When Gram and Dicey bring her mother's ashes home, the broken family is nearly healed. Written in fine, spare prose, this outstanding Newbery Medal winner belongs in every school and community library collection. Readers will be eager to pick up the rest of the series. 2003 (orig. 1982), Aladdin/Simon and Schuster, Ages 10 to 14. — Ann Philips
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Well-written, thoughtful, imaginative and haunting." Junior Bookshelf "The Tillerman series... is a tour de force" The Guardian
Use in Library Setting
It can be used in school, middle and high school libraries, and it's a good novel to show kids that there are people out there who have it bad, and you shouldn't give up until you reach your destination.
Review. (n. d.). Dicey's Song. [Review of the book Dicey's Song].
Amazon.com.
Available from
http://www.amazon.com/Diceys-Song-The-Tillerman-Series/dp/product-description/0449702766/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books
Review. (n. d.). Dicey's Song. [Review of the book Dicey's Song ].
Barnes & Noble.
Available from
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/diceys-song-cynthia-voigt/1000232579?ean=9781442428799
Image from
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=667&tbm=isch&tbnid=jMaF4QbpfLpydM:&imgrefurl=http://www.uri.edu/library/cml/resources/newbery.html&docid=6b0RRgOTjjV0XM&imgurl=http://www.uri.edu/library/cml/images/newbery/1983.jpg&w=319&h=475&ei=fSnAUP20AsbligLylYCoCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=382&vpy=125&dur=1097&hovh=274&hovw=184&tx=85&ty=147&sig=116414518449124071077&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=97&start=0&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:126
No comments:
Post a Comment