storks and clogs

Read another groaner of a Newbery winner: The Wheel on the School, Meindert DeJong, illus. Maurice Sendak (1955 Medal Winner).

Remember how Maurice Sendak admitted to not liking children?--it's evident in his participation in this book. To be fair, this book was written in that black hole of children's literature known as the 1950s when people still didn't understand that children wanted to read books that aren't boring as hell.

The book opens with Lina sharing an essay about storks (they live in a small Dutch fishing town). The kids decide to bring storks back to their village, deciding they must find wheels for the storks to nest in. Can they find a wheel for the storks? Will the people in town lend a hand? It took DeJong FOREVER to unlock these mysteries...

Cons:
It was so damn long: 298 pages (over 300 in some editions)
It is boring as hell
It has that 1950s girls vs. boys mentality

Pros:
Best line of the book, "We've done so much that's illegal the last hour, a little more won't hurt, I guess." (said by an adult)
Not everything is honkey dory, there are some dead storks
I did appreciate that old people actually participated and were the catalyst for most of the action (alongside the children) and weren't just geezery

Amazon recommends grades 3-6; I wouldn't recommend it...unless you LOVE storks. (To be fair, a ton of people gave it good ratings on Goodreads.com)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"howl the eternal yes"

Image
Just read a CNN article this morning about the Aurora Borealis making an appearance. It reminded me of Northern Exposure and Chris the DJ. So, thought I would share a quote as I reminisce about the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. The Northern Lights, which I saw my first year at the Farm in Massachusetts, which I actually saw on my 23rd birthday!--the best birthday present I ever got!! "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!" ~ Chris, Northern Exposure, "Aurora Borealis (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups).” It feel...
Read more

sample retirement acceptance letter

Image
The hardest part of being the Director in a small library is that we don't have an HR person, so on top of everything else we do we also get to do the paperwork for the new hires, and retires. Thank God for the internet or these processes would take a lot longer!  One of my board members pointed out that though I'd been informed of staff retirements, I had to officially accept them with a letter...I am finding that a paper trail is an important thing. So, I found a short and simple letter on one university's HR website (sorry forgot which!?) and honed it to work for us. Attached is my sample of a retirement letter.  Is anyone else out there going through this process too?
Read more

eggnog with lighter fluid and other cherished Christmas memories

Image
I started digging to find my favorite Christmas-esque scenes/lines from movies and I was pleased with what I found. In spirit of my 14's lists, here goes: 1. Charles De Mar: "Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid." ~ Better Off Dead I also love the present opening scene on Christmas day, where his mother is dressed like a reindeer, his father gets an ardvark jacket and the kids get freezer dinners. Pan out to the neighbors Christmas when the French foreign exchange student gets a framed picture of Ricky. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! 2. When Zuzu says to George Bailey, "Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings." George quietly agrees, "Attaboy, Clarence," as "Auld Lang Syne" rings out. That scene makes me cry everytime. (I also love that if George had never been around, Mary became a spinster librarian--see pic) ~ It's a W...
Read more