Newbery Night

Thursday, March 17, was Newbery night for book group.  We talked all things Newbery including the history of the medal, the man the mental was named for, some "winners" and some "losers" and some controversies.  We lamented the fact that although adults generally LOVE the Newbery books, often kids don't (depending on the book).

A list of the Newbery winners can be found at http://is.gd/jAvtsW

We then had an enthusiastic discussion based on the following questions of one of the stellar Newbery winners, The Giver, by Lois Lowry.
 

Discussion Questions

1.Why wasn’t the title of the book The Receiver rather than The Giver?

2.What were some of the good things about Jonas’ society?

3.What are some of the things you would miss most living in Jonas’ society?

4.What is the significance of the eye color?

5.Sameness was an important goal in the society.  Lowry made an effort to make the gender of a character insignificant.  What are some examples of this effort, and what are some examples where the differences in gender retained their stereotypes?

6.Euthanasia is controversial. Did Jonas’s society condemn, promote, or conditionally accept the practice?

7.What on EARTH happens at the end of the book?

8. Describe to a partner what your perfect world would be like.

 We also discussed the great work the Children's Literature Association of Utah (CLAU) does in picking Beehive award books for the state.  A poetry book, chapter book, non fiction book, and picture book is picked each year in January.  You can see their list at:

http://www.clau.org/books