Module 4 * Newbery Winners * Feb. 3- Feb. 9

The Door in the Wall

byMarguerite de Angeli

Bibliography: de Angeli, M. (1949). The Door in the Wall. New York, NY: Dell Laurel-Leaf.

Summary: Young Robin lives in Medieval England and is taken ill by a plague soon after his parents leave him to go begin his time as a page for a knight.  This illness effects his back and legs and he fears he will be lame and useless the rest of his life; not to mention that his parents (when he sees them again) will not recognize or love him.  Brother Luke, a monk from a nearby monastery takes him in and he and his brothers care for Robin and help him recover.  They later take him to the holding of the knight he was to serve before he was taken ill and Robin improves further.  He is able to become the hero who saves his new home from invasion and makes his returning parents proud.

My Take: This book has a beautiful message and enough action to keep the story interesting.  The medieval language it is written in would be difficult for an elementary student to read on their own without a lot of background knowledge and pre-teaching.  Because of that, it would be more appropriate for a middle school student to read on their own.

Reviews: 
Grade 4-8-This Newbery Medal winning story, set in medieval times, is about a boy who learns his own strength when he saves the castle and discovers there is more than one way to serve his king.

-School Library Journal

retrieved from Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Door-Wall-Marguerite-Angeli-ebook/dp/B005LALDN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392010383&sr=8-1&keywords=the+door+in+the+wall

"An enthralling and inspiring tale of triumph over handicap. Unusually beautiful illustrations, full of authentic detail, combine with the text to make life in England during Middle Ages come alive".  

— The New York Times

Retrieved from scholastic.com

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/door-wall#cart/cleanup

(**NOTE: Professor permission was given for this one-time use of Amazon/Scholastic professional reviews)

Use in a School Library:  This book would be great as a read-aloud for a class that is studying this time in history.  It is short enough that it is manageable to read the whole thing over a period of time, and it would give the librarian a chance to really get into the voices and language of the time.  This would also be a fun book to do a "what happens next" activity with when finished reading it.

The Graveyard Book 

by 
Neil Gaiman

Bibliography: Gaiman, N. (2008). The graveyard book. New York, NY: Harper.

Summary: A young boy's family is killed for unknown reasons when he is a toddler.  By chance, he escapes the killer and ends up in an old graveyard whose ghostly inhabitants agree to care for him when the spirit of his mother begs.  So Nobody Owens is named by the ghost family who become his parents and lives in the graveyard, learning ghostly skills, history and handwriting while his part-human guardian Silas brings him food and teaches him to stay within the safety of the graveyard.  Like all children, Bod grows up and needs more than the graveyard can give him, but in doing so he inadvertently invites the attention of the killer who is still searching for him to finish the job from years ago.  With the help of his graveyard family and friends, along with a few others, Bod is saved and the threat is forever neutralized.  This is a story of growing up in different and difficult circumstances, but finding that a child's needs are the same as they grow, no matter what.

My Take: This book is a fun, mysterious read.  I was never quite sure where it was going to take me and some of the twists were major surprises!  I wish the author had given us more information about Silas and his group- I would have liked to know more about what they did.  Seems like a great opportunity for a sequel that I hope Mr. Gaiman takes!  It is a strange thought, a toddler growing up among the ghosts and other ancient mysteries in a graveyard.  A little macabre, but fascinating.  I know there was something special about Bod's family- what got them killed, but I never really figured it out.  I need another book so that I can have more detail!

Reviews: 
“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife.” When the man Jack murders the family of young Nobody Owens with that very knife, leaving him to be raised by the denizens of the nearby graveyard, it is only a matter of time before he must grow up, forsake the safety of the graveyard, and embrace life to the fullest. With gorgeously wrought prose, Gaiman imbues his classic story with these profound truths.

Hunt, J.  (2010) The graveyard book (review). The Horn Book Magazine, 86(1), 18.

Gr 5-8-- A baby, orphaned when his family is murdered, finds his way to a graveyard and is raised by its ethereal inhabitants. Gaiman is a master storyteller and this tale won him the 2009 Newbery Award Medal.

Honig, M. (2009). The graveyard book (review). School Library Journal, 54(10), 144.  

Use in a School Library: This would be a good book to include for older elementary/middle school readers in a Newbery winner study.  Especially since the author has said that he is writing a sequel, there will be another book to hook them into.  These types of fantasy books with mysterious, dangerous and magical happenings are very "in" right now!