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Page 25 Vol. 67, No. 1, Spring 2003 Mississippi LibrariesJOHN NEWBERY AWARDS, 2003On January 27th the annual awardsfor youth literature were announced at theAmerican Library Association’s MidwinterMeeting in Philadelphia. It was excitingto hear the enthusiastic cheers andapplause greeting most titles and thepolite applause responding to titles thatare lesser known.The John Newbery Awards are namedafter an 18th century British booksellerand entrepreneur. The Newbery Medal isgiven for the most distinguished contributionto American literature for children toage fourteen. The first Newbery Medalwas awarded in 1922 to Henrik Van Loonfor The Story of Mankind. Five HonorBooks may be named each year. Thesebooks are not intended to be runners-up,but each book is chosen for its uniqueness.NEWBERY MEDAL, 2003Avi. Crispin: The Cross of Lead. NewYork: Hyperion Books for Children,2002. 262 pp. $15.99.In England A.D. 1377 a young boy,Asta’s son, is declared a “Wolf’s Head”after his mother dies. The label means heis not considered human and anyone maykill him. Terrified, Asta’s son runs awayfrom his small village and meets Bear, aspy posing as a juggler. Bear reads thewords written on the lead cross worn byAsta’s son, and they journey on a circuitousroute to Great Wexly, where Bearis captured and tortured. Asta’s son, whonow knows that his name is Crispin andthat he is the bastard son of the tyrannousLord Furnival, sets out to save his friendand mentor, Bear. Readers will sympathizewith Crispin, an innocent, orphanedboy, brought up in poverty. Crispin’s willingnessto learn and his pure heart contrastwith the wickedness of men inpower. Avi’s story sparkles with the trappingsof the Middle Ages and with thetruth and idealism of a young boy.NEWBERY HONOR BOOKS, 2003Farmer, Nancy. The House of theScorpion. New York: A Richard JacksonBook/Atheneum Books for YoungReaders, 2002. 380 pp. $17.95.About Children’s BooksIn this realistic science fiction novel,young Matt Alacron lives in Opium, a tractof land between Mexico and the UnitedStates. Once he learns he is a clone whois being kept alive for the organs he canprovide to 142-year-old El Patron,Opium’s ruler, Matt runs. Matt leaves theonly world he has ever known only to faceyet another cruel existence. This unusualcoming-of-age story builds on ethical andscientific issues in a possible but scaryfuture. Winner of the 2002 NationalBook Award for young people’s literature.Giff, Patricia Reilly. Pictures of HollisWoods. New York: Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, 2002. 166 pp. $15.95.At almost thirteen years old, HollisWoods is a gifted artist with natural talentfor drawing and painting. Unfortunately,Hollis was abandoned as a baby and mustdepend upon foster parents. When Hollisgets too uncomfortable in a foster home,she runs. She even runs from the Regans,the one family that offers her a home. Hollisfinds refuge with Josie, an elderlywoman who teaches her about being anartist, and, more importantly, about familylove. Josie’s memory deteriorates, forcingHollis to make some desperate decisionsleading her back to the Regans and to ahappy resolution for everyone.Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. New York: AlfredA. Knopf, 2002. 292 pp. $15.95.In his first book for children, Hiaasenhas continued his tradition of eccentriccharacters and wild humor, yet he has providedplenty of heart for young readers.Roy Eberson has left Montana with hisfamily and landed in a small town in Florida.He is not happy with Florida or thebully he encounters at school. Everythingchanges for him once he sees a boy runningbarefoot and follows him. Roy learnsthat the boy is called Mullet Fingers and istrying to save a colony of tiny burrowingowls from being wiped out by the constructionof another Mother Paula’s All-AmericanPancake House. Roy joins forces withMullet Fingers and his imposing stepsister,Beatrice Leep, to stop the builders.Martin, Ann M. A Corner of the Universe.New York: Scholastic Press,2002. 189 pp. $15.95.Hattie Owens, a shy girl who loves toread, lives with her parents in a small-townboarding house, which they own. Theirboarders and Cookie, the cook, are part ofHattie’s family, but the one person whostands out clearly in her mind and in herheart is her Uncle Adam. Until he comesto live with her wealthy grandparents,Nana and Papa, she does not know Adamexists. Getting to know her manic-depressiveuncle changes her life. She andAdam become friends and their friendshipincludes a girl Hattie’s age whose fatherowns Fred Carmel’s Funtime Carnival.The carnival is the scene of a disastrousFerris wheel ride, partially caused by Hattie’sdisobedience to her parents. Adamchaffs under his limitations as a youngman living in his parents’ restrictivehome. Hattie is alternately delighted withand fearful of Adam while only partiallyunderstanding his problems. Hattie’s“corner of the universe” is lifted for havingknown a man like Adam.Tolan, Stephanie S. Surviving theApplewhites. New York: HarperCollins,2002. 216 pp. $15.99.Jake Semple is a juvenile delinquentwith spiky red hair, an eyebrow ring,numerous earrings, and the blame for settingfire to a school. His last chance beforebeing sent to a juvenile detention facility isto live with the Applewhites and be homeschooled at the Creative Academy. Jake ispaired with E. D., the normal and highlyorganized daughter in the family, and isexpected to follow the curriculum she hasplanned for herself. Jake tries to resist theApplewhites’s manic approach to life, butis soon caught up in the family’s productionof The Sound of Music. Despite apredictable plot, the creativity and crazinessof the family captures Jake and sets him ona path to self-discovery.Rosemary ChanceAssistant Professor, SLISThe University of Southern MississippiRosemary.Chance@usm.edu