Newberry Medal Winners: 2005
© Mary M. Alward
Title: Kira-Kira
Author: Cynthia Kadshata
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher: Atheneum
ISBN: 0689856393
Ages: 11 & up
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Katie's first word is "kira-kira," the Japanese word for "glittering," and she uses it to describe everything she likes. It was taught to her by her older sister, Lynn, whom Katie worships. Both girls have trouble adjusting when their parents move the family from Iowa to a small town in rural Georgia, where they are among only 31 Japanese-Americans. They seldom see their parents, who have grueling jobs in chicken-processing plants. Then Lynn becomes deathly ill, and Katie is often left to care for her, a difficult and emotionally devastating job. When her sister dies of lymphoma, Katie searches for ways to live up to her legacy and to fulfill the dreams she never had a chance to attain. Told from Katie's point of view and set in the 1950s, this beautifully written story tells of a girl struggling to find her own way in a family torn by illness and horrendous work conditions.
This book is an interesting read. It focuses on how Katie's Japanese American family copes with poverty, racism and the death of a beloved daughter and sister. Very touching! Better for older kids.
Newberry Honor Book
Title: Al Capone Does My Shirts
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
Illustrator: N/A
Publisher: G.P Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 0399238611
Ages: 8 to 12
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Moose Flanagan is a 7th grader who is tall for his age. It is 1935, right in the midst of the Great Depression. Moose's father takes a job as a prison guard on Alcatraz Island. This means the whole family, including his mom and older sister, Natalie, have to live on the island, very near the prison. Their home will be an apartment in a building where other prison guards live with their families. Moose is not happy about leaving his home and friends in Santa Monica to take up residence next to a prison. The main reason for the move is so that his older sister, Natalie, can go to a special school in San Francisco. Natalie is considered different. Today, she would be diagnosed as Autistic, but in 1935, Autism had not been recognized.
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