Plainsong

Plainsong
by
Kent Haruf
adult fiction

I saw a list of books that Barack Obama has read since becoming President. Most of them were about history or economics, but then I saw this fiction book among the nonfiction books. I remembered that this book had been considered for our library's "One Community One Book" book as well, so it must have some kind of universal appeal. When I checked it out I also saw that it was a National Book Award finalist.
Those are impressive credentials, so I had high hopes for this book. It is a well written book, but in a quiet way. There are no car crashes or terrorists or murders, although there are some nasty school bullies.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/08/13/obama-reading-the-complete-list-of-his-favorite-books.html
The exact time period of when this is set is not mentioned, but it is probably in the 1970's or 1980's in rural Colorado. A few stories of people in the same small town overlap. There is the teacher whose wife is having a breakdown and is left with his two sons. There is another teacher who is trying to help a young, pregnant teenager. There are also the elderly bachelor brothers who I could not help but thinking of as, in the words of Garrison Keillor, "Norwegian bachelor farmers, so you know they're not only good for you, but also pure, mostly".
They are all trying to get through life as well as they can with the twists and turns that life sends them. They are everyday people in an average American town. You get the idea that they would all be pretty good neighbors to have. That is why the book is entitled "Plainsong". It is just another typical day in late 20th century America. If this book is overlooked in 2011, it might be worth re-reading in 2061 to see how America has changed or is the same.
Already, from the time period in which it is set to today, we can see that unwed mothers are more frequent, divorce is more commonplace, and telephone booths have gone the way of the telegraph.
One thing about the book that struck me right away is that, for some reason, the author has decided not to place any dialog in quotation marks. Why? Probably to keep the flow of the book going. As I said, it is a quiet book that flows like a tide going in and out. Each ebb and flow is the same, but not really. Each time it is slightly different. That's how life in America goes - new people, same old stories.
If I were a teacher I might have students "compare and contrast" this book and its setting and characters to "Our Town" or "Spoon River Anthology" or Keillor's "Lake Wobegon" world.
This book will probably appeal most to a middle-aged or older audience with more female than male readers, although the author is male and the number of male and female characters are fairly well balanced.

Wednesday Wars

Wednesday Wars
by
Gary Schmidt
(This author has won the Newbery Honor award and the Printz Honor award)
young adult fiction


Holling is growing up in Long Island in 1967. He is a Protestant 7th grader in a class full of Catholics and Jews. On Wednesday afternoons the Jewish and Catholic kids all leave for Wednesday religious classes. Holling is the only one left in Mrs. Baker's English class. She has him takes on assignments reading Shakespeare. He is reluctant, but at first learns to love Shakespeare's curses and uses them under his breath. As time goes by he appreciates more about Shakespeare, even acting in a play.
Since he is in 7th grade, he is learning a lot about himself and who he wants to be. His older sister is a flower child. His father wants Holling to be an architect like he is. Holling doesn't know what he wants, but a girlfriend would be nice!
A colleague of mine recommended this book and said that it should have won the Newbery award instead of getting runner-up status.
This is the kind of book that English teachers and librarians love to recommend, but children don't always want to read. The year 1967 is before today's 7th graders were born, and even before many of their parents were born, so this book may need some "selling" on the part of adults getting students to read it.
Once they do crack this book open, however, they will find that some thinks about 7th grade remain the same - the jokester in class, the awkwardness, the "what-if" of early adolescence, and more. In constrast, some aspects of this book are very 1967 - hippies, atomic bomb drills, and the Vietnam conflict. I can see that an essay would compare and contrast 1967's hippies with today's Goths, atomic bomb drills with today's lockdowns, and the Vietnam conflict with today's Afghanistan and Iraq.

First Day of School: All about Shapes and Sizes

First Day of School: All about Shapes and Sizes
by Kirsten Hall and Bev Luedecke
A Beastieville book.
Ages 3-6.

Mr. Rigby wants to make sure the school is ready for his students. This cheerful teacher carefully plans for the first day. Everything seems to go wrong on the first day, though. Thankfully, through Mr. Rigby's thoughtfulness, day two is much better.
I felt bad for this teacher. He was so conscientious! It has a happy ending, though.

I really like this series of books. The Beasties are Hallmark cute! I think I have read about 4 of these books so far. There is a reading comprehension quiz in the back, as well as a vocabulary list.