Newbery 2011

Winner:  Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool

One of the Honors:  Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer L. Holm








Turtle in Paradise:  This was the first of the Newbery Honor books that I received from my local library.  This was a quick and entertaining read.  I would have loved this book when I was in middle school.  It tells the story of Turtle who spends the summer getting to know her mother's side of the family as she has come to stay with them while her mother works.  She has many adventures with her new found cousins and solves many mysteries along the way.  The ending was very interesting and fitting for the storyline.
     Links:  Author's Website
                A Great Review at: Welcome to my Tweendom

 Moon Over Manifest:  I had not heard of this book until it won the Newbery Award.  This was the author's first novel.  Imagine winning the coveted Newbery with your first novel!  I enjoyed this story which follows Abilene on her journey into her father's past.  She too has many adventures with her new found friends and solves several mysteries along the way.  I just loved how this one ended.  I found this book similar to the above mentioned novel, but they both were great reads.  I had to finish this one in one setting as I just had to know how it ended. It is very deserving of the Newbery Medal this year!
      Links:  Author's Website
                 A More Thorough Review at SemiColon

Other Newbery honors:  I plan to read the rest of the Newbery honors and will post about them soon.