I reread The Giver by Lois Lowry this week. It's a soon-to-be-released movie, yes!
Yes, I probably reread the book because it's a soon-to-be-released movie, and because I'd heard so much movie news about it-- but mostly - MOSTLY - I reread it because it is a Newbery winner. (Having attended the most recent ALA Annual and the Newbery Banquet, I think about the Newbery a lot.) The Giver won the Newbery in 1994, and the Honor Books that year were Crazy Lady (Harper Collins, 1993), Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery (Clarion, 1993), and Dragon's Gate (HarperCollins, 1993).
How I would have loved to have attended that Newbery/Caldecott Banquet!
I thought back to what I was doing then. Well, I wasn't watching the book awards (much less attending them like I do now). I was a reader then (as I've always been), but more than likely I was so focused on my first years of teaching that I didn't have time to think about anything else. I read the book, but I think -- I know -- I read it too quickly to process it. And then it became a part of a literary staples list. A solid title. A landmark book.
But I don't remember talking about the book with any other teacher readers. I thought about the reading community I am a part of now, and I asked myself: "What if I'd had a reading community like #nerdybookclub at the time I read the book? What if I'd had my Twitter PLN back then?"
That would have been a wonderful thing!
How I would have loved to have attended that Newbery/Caldecott Banquet!
I thought back to what I was doing then. Well, I wasn't watching the book awards (much less attending them like I do now). I was a reader then (as I've always been), but more than likely I was so focused on my first years of teaching that I didn't have time to think about anything else. I read the book, but I think -- I know -- I read it too quickly to process it. And then it became a part of a literary staples list. A solid title. A landmark book.
But I don't remember talking about the book with any other teacher readers. I thought about the reading community I am a part of now, and I asked myself: "What if I'd had a reading community like #nerdybookclub at the time I read the book? What if I'd had my Twitter PLN back then?"
That would have been a wonderful thing!
As I was rereading the book. my mind whirled with questions and more "what if" scenarios. But I also thought about the way the story was told. The narrative is straightforward and easy to follow. The tone is matter-of-fact, making the reader feel as if everything that happens in the book is the right way of happening (when it isn't). You feel completely taken into the world Jonas lives in. But none of it feels right, and every time you hear about one of the customs in the society, you cringe at the wrongness of it. As you get to know Jonas, you know he will do something about the wrongness he sees. You're taken in from the very beginning, and that's exactly what a good book does. Even though I'd read it before, I still couldn't put it down. This book stands the test of time. And rereads.
Now that this book has reentered my "reading life", I see it with new eyes. I see it as a librarian, a writer, and as a children's literature enthusiast. And I become very grateful that we have authors like Lois Lowry: authors that write their best work and make us think.
This video from ALA Annual was helpful and informative for me as I read the book this week:
Now that this book has reentered my "reading life", I see it with new eyes. I see it as a librarian, a writer, and as a children's literature enthusiast. And I become very grateful that we have authors like Lois Lowry: authors that write their best work and make us think.
This video from ALA Annual was helpful and informative for me as I read the book this week:
I may reread parts of the book before I watch the movie, and I know that will add to my experience.
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