The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Once a year, the youngest baby in the Protectorate is taken and left in the woods for the witch.  The witch steals the baby and eats it . . . .

Once a year, a witch finds an abandoned baby in the woods and rescues it.  She takes it to a loving family on the other side of the forest . . . .

One year, Xan the witch discovers a baby girl that steals her heart.  That year, Xan falls in love with the baby and feeds it moonlight enmagicking her.  This is the year that everything starts to change . . . for Xan, for the baby, for the forest, for the Protectorate, for the world.


I have loved all of Kelly Barnhill's books.  They are very sophisticated original fairy tales for children.  So I was looking forward to reading her latest.  Then it was declared the winner of the Newbery Award and I immediately checked it out.  I absolutely loved this book.  It's probably my favorite Newbery winner since The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  The characters capture your interest while the plot twists keep you reading.  This is a great read for all children and teens.

FLora & Ulysses; The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

Flora is a lonely girl who spends all her time reading superhero comics.

Ulysses is a squirrel who is suddenly attacked by a vacuum cleaner.

Together they will a great adventure. 

Ulysses's mishap with the vacuum cleaner gives him the superpowers of understanding humans, writing poetry, and flying.  Flora is the one who discovers his greatness and appoints herself as the one to defend him against Ulysses' arch-nemesis -- her mother.

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo is a wonderful story of two misfits finding friends and fighting evil.  It was the 2014 Newbery Award winner.  A definite great read for all!

And the Winner Is . . . The Newbery Award

The Newbery Award is given annually for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.  This year's winner, Kate DiCamillo, won previoiusly for her book The Tale of Despereaux.  Also, Newbery Honor winner Kevin Henkes also won a Geisel Honor for his book Penny and Her Marble.

 2014 Newbery Award Winner

Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Comic book fan and natural-born cynic Flora Belle Buckman and Ulysses, a flying, superhero, poetry-writing squirrel, join forces to overcome Ulysses’ arch-nemesis, Flora’s mother and encounter a quirky cast of characters. Through poignant, laugh-out-loud episodes, this homage to comic books is a testament to the power of love.

Newbery Honor Books
Doll Bones by Holly Black
In this distinctive coming-of-age tale, best friends Zach, Poppy and Alice set out on a life-altering quest driven by the presence of a sinister bone china doll who haunts their dreams and waking hours. Black explores complex questions of sto-rytelling, imagination and changing friendships in this superbly haunting narrative.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but during the year he develops better relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents, and celebrates a quiet triumph of his own.

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
In 1871 Wisconsin, love, betrayal, grief and violence spur 13-year-old Georgie on a gripping adventure full of hardship, heartbreak and terror. As she tries to solve the mystery of her sister’s disappearance, Georgie and her brash, humorous voice pull readers along on her journey of self-discovery.

Paperboy by Vince Vawter
Little Man, a sensitive and resilient 11-year-old boy who stutters, ventures beyond the familiar and finds his voice while taking over his best friend’s paper route. Set in the summer heat of 1959 Memphis, “Paperboy” is a moving coming-of-age novel.

Books So Good . . . They Won an Award

The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the most distinguished children's book from the past year.  The year's winner will be announced in a couple weeks.  While we are waiting for the announcement, here are a few of my favorite Newbery Medal winners from past years.

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.

Books So Good . . . They Won an Award

The following books are considered some of the greatest children's books of all time.  They are all Newbery Award winners and several have won other awards as well.  Check them out!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.

Holes by Louis Sachar
As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself.

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay.