Newbery Medal Award, Dead End in Norvelt


Wow, this is a tough one. I’m going to begin with my thoughts on Jack Gantos’ Dead End in Norvelt. I thought it was an odd read. I wasn’t fond of it. So upon completion, I searched to see what other readers thought about the book, as well as reviewers.
It was a mixed bag. I just thought maybe I was missing something, because many thought the book was funny, even hilarious. There were very few times in which I thought the book was funny. 
Maybe it was the time in which the story took place that didn’t interest me. It bothered me the way that Jack’s mother treated him. There could have been some teachable moments, but she seemed to have few, if any, meaningful conversations with him. I felt that she demeaned him about his nose bleeds. I thought the nose bleeds were gross. I was also bothered by the fact that the father didn’t stand up for Jack. His summer punishment was basically due to the fact that he disobeyed his mother, but he followed his father’s orders. Why didn’t his parents discuss this and act accordingly? It seems as they both were afraid of Mom! 
There were some hard facts in the story. When Jack’s dad was talking about war, he was speaking of how you look someone right in the eye when you kill them. Jack talked about magazines and news making this seem exciting. Jacks’ dad made a solemn and hard statement when saying, “Don’t ever go to war. Even if you win, the battle is never over inside you.” That is a hard truth, of course not from my personal experience, but from what we hear from war veterans. Jack certainly had experience with that also when he was hunting with his dad. He didn’t want to look the deer in the eye, he thought the deer was beautiful and peaceful in its own home. I think Jack was conflicted with war stories sounding brave but when seeing the eyes of an innocent creature he was confused. 
Mrs. Volker, another oddity, is a character that I didn’t enjoy either. The waxing of her hands was bizarre and actually scary the first time that was described. Maybe this is something that other readers thought was funny, I didn’t. I thought it was unique the way she wove the obituaries with a history lesson, but it was sad the excitement that an obituary brought to her. I wasn’t interested in her hopefulness of the continued deaths in Norvelt.
I was confused as to why Jack’s dad called Norvelt a commie town. Maybe I missed something with all of the reading that I have been doing. I even looked up Eleanor Roosevelt to see if there was something I didn’t know. I did think the town was a clever name being named after Eleanor Roosevelt. 
I am honestly not sure why this book won the Newbery. In reading (Gauch, 2011), it confirmed to me that maybe Norvelt was an odd choice for a Newberry winner. “Recent Newbery committees seem dismissive of popularity, a quality which should be an asset. They seem to be hunting for a special book, one with only a few readers, rather than a universal book” (Gauch, 2011). These are just opinions I know, but I wasn’t sure what I was missing when I read Norvelt. I’m still confused as to why so many reviewers thought the book was hilarious. This book may appeal to some boys, I’m not sure the level that it is written for would fully understand it. I look at a recent winner, Last Stop on Market Street, and don’t even consider Dead End in Norvelt in the same stratosphere. 
I definitely wouldn’t put this on the shelf in my library. We are a PK-3rd school, so I won’t have to put a lot of thought into it as I would if we were K-6. In reading (Gauch, 2011), many librarians don’t feel the need to put all of the Newbery winners on their shelves. They don’t have the budget for it and want to put books on shelves that their readers will desire. This is all new to me, being that I am only in my third year as media coordinator. This information is so valuable when trying to make my decisions. I definitely want to use my budget for relevant titles and titles that will appeal to my readers! When I am considering a book that I am not sure about, of course I read what the book critics have to say. I also look for reader reviews though, because readers are who I a purchasing my books for.

Comments

  1. Dr. MoeSeptember 17, 2019 at 12:34 PM

    I appreciate your insightful analysis. I think your focus on finding a balance between quality and interest is great. 5/5

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AR . . . to use or not to use . . .

Image
This is really a topic that I am passionate about. At South Elementary, we have always used AR until this year. The teachers that fought to keep it were told at the beginning of the '18-'19 school year that we would not continue it after the end of that school year. A few in 2nd and 3rd grades are fit to be tied about it. Dr. Cottone, our principal, has asked for me to come up with some alternatives to AR testing. I am working on that and plan to lead some PD in November.  Because of this, I have done a lot of reading and digging into the topic of AR. Most research states (at least what I have found) that AR has not prompted a large increase in reading achievement. The growth is higher in 3rd and 4th grades, but not much at all as students move higher. I think that one of the large problems with AR is how some teachers use it. I don't agree with reading within a level range. I feel that students should be given voice and choice. If focusing solely on AR, students ...
Read more
Image
I was very interested in learning the detail and collaboration in which the book And Tango Makes Three came to fruition. The thought and detail with all that were involved makes the book all the more special (Young, C. A. 2011). To be honest, I had heard of the book, but I hadn't read it before this class. I love the book for many reasons, the biggest being that I love animals. It is such a natural response to the love that the penguins have for each other. I’m bummed that parents wouldn’t want their children to see this and see natural responses from animals in a true setting. In reading a response from a parent that by reading this book, her child may be encouraged to be gay, I am amazed that a parent would think this. How can a children's picture book encourage the sexual orientation of a child? I need to become more familiar with responses and situations that I may become confronted with. I have had two situations in which a parent has complained. One was a note fro...
Read more

Global Perspectives . . .

Image
       I have always been a huge proponent of teaching global awareness to my students, and in my role now, I largely encourage my teachers to do the same. In fact, I was leading a professional development last week about making global connections, and I had these on a slide:  • Integrates global awareness activities throughout lesson plans and classroom instructional practices. • Promotes global awareness and its relevance. I asked the the participants if these words looked familiar. A few responded that this is part of the teacher evaluation instrument. Yes, it is, and it is our job to integrate global teaching. I wanted to point that out.      In a Skype with a class from Ireland, we were once sharing what our favorite foods were to eat lunch at school. Of course my students said pizza. Their class favorite was sausage and boiled cabbage. My students didn't think that sounded too yummy. We were Skyping with a class fro...
Read more