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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Wow! What a beautiful and gentle children's chapter book, telling the story of a village coming together for a common cause. We both loved reading it. Yes, there are some unsafe situations that the children are in, but if you are used to reading fairy tales then these won't be alarming. I read it with my 6 year old. I think it would be appropriate for ages 5-10.
My son enjoyed it, so it gets a 4. I was ready to be done reading aloud, it had very minimal plot for the words it took, plus all the similar names, I couldn't keep my head around who was who with Lina, Lena, Linda, Jan, Jana, Janus, etc. Probably authentic to time/place but after a while I just didn't care to figure out who was who anymore. Probably would have been fine if I read to myself and could get through it quickly since I can read faster to myself....and a kid, not a book as an adult I would want to read if you want to be surprised by the story or really intrigued, just a decent story, but since my kid seemed to really like it and he's the intended audience, I'm going up in score. :)
I read this to my 6-year-old daughter and I think I enjoyed it as much as she did. It's a very sweet story and actually rather exciting in spots.
Meindert DeJong is kind of an interesting figure in the history of American children's literature. He was the undisputed rock star of children's publishing in the 1950's, winning four Newbery honors, along with the medal itself. In the 60's, he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and the National Book Award. He was clearly in the same echelon as his fellow Harper authors E.B. White and Laura Ingalls Wilder. But whereas the others are still household names, DeJong is now remembered primarily by overly enthusiastic children's librarians.
What happened? Could the "influential librarians"* of the 1950's have been so wrong?
My own interest in DeJong came as a result of reading Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom. The legendary editor's letters to DeJong are so full of confidence in his literary abilities that some of her excitement rubbed off on me and I ran straight to my library to find a copy of The Wheel on the School. (There were no holds.)
To glean any reading pleasure from The Wheel on the School, you have to accept one premise going in: having a pair of storks nesting on the top of your one-room schoolhouse would be the best thing that could ever happen to you or your town. So good that it makes you hyperventilate a little bit just thinking about it. So good that it will inspire legless men to leave their backyards and tie themselves to dinghies for the privilege of helping your wish come true.
Despite the odd premise, The Wheel on the School is actually a very good book. The sense of place is so strong that the book probably deserves its Newbery on the strength of setting alone. It's set in a Dutch fishing village similar to the one where DeJong spent his early years, and the descriptions of storms, dikes, and fishing life are obviously drawn from experience. Characters, especially the older inhabitants of the village, are depicted with humor and sensitivity.
The plot is skillfully structured and fast-paced as well - at least for Part One (Operation Get the Wheel). Judith Hartzell wrote, in a 2006 DeJong centennial article for the Horn Book, "This is an action book, built, as the title suggests, in the shape of a wheel. It begins with the hub—Lina. Like spokes running out toward the rim, the six children go on their separate adventures, and bit by bit, through the children, the whole rim of the village comes into play. Near the end, in a celebration-of-community scene, the fathers climb the schoolhouse roof on a stormy day to put the wheel in place."**
Ah, but there's the problem. That scene (Operation Put The Wheel on the School) is not nearly close enough to the end of book for my taste. There are still 70 more pages to go (comprising Operation Get Some Storks). Maybe it's my modern sensibilities, but by the time they finally heaved the wretched birds onto the wheel I was ready to get out my shotgun and start scanning the horizon for wings.
So, despite its strengths, this is probably not a book I'd hand to most kids I meet in 2012. Unless they're really, really excited about storks.
*A phrase that always makes me laugh.
**Hartzell, Judith. "Happy Centennial, Meindert Dejong!." Horn Book Magazine 82.2 (2006): 227. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.
What happened? Could the "influential librarians"* of the 1950's have been so wrong?
My own interest in DeJong came as a result of reading Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom. The legendary editor's letters to DeJong are so full of confidence in his literary abilities that some of her excitement rubbed off on me and I ran straight to my library to find a copy of The Wheel on the School. (There were no holds.)
To glean any reading pleasure from The Wheel on the School, you have to accept one premise going in: having a pair of storks nesting on the top of your one-room schoolhouse would be the best thing that could ever happen to you or your town. So good that it makes you hyperventilate a little bit just thinking about it. So good that it will inspire legless men to leave their backyards and tie themselves to dinghies for the privilege of helping your wish come true.
Despite the odd premise, The Wheel on the School is actually a very good book. The sense of place is so strong that the book probably deserves its Newbery on the strength of setting alone. It's set in a Dutch fishing village similar to the one where DeJong spent his early years, and the descriptions of storms, dikes, and fishing life are obviously drawn from experience. Characters, especially the older inhabitants of the village, are depicted with humor and sensitivity.
The plot is skillfully structured and fast-paced as well - at least for Part One (Operation Get the Wheel). Judith Hartzell wrote, in a 2006 DeJong centennial article for the Horn Book, "This is an action book, built, as the title suggests, in the shape of a wheel. It begins with the hub—Lina. Like spokes running out toward the rim, the six children go on their separate adventures, and bit by bit, through the children, the whole rim of the village comes into play. Near the end, in a celebration-of-community scene, the fathers climb the schoolhouse roof on a stormy day to put the wheel in place."**
Ah, but there's the problem. That scene (Operation Put The Wheel on the School) is not nearly close enough to the end of book for my taste. There are still 70 more pages to go (comprising Operation Get Some Storks). Maybe it's my modern sensibilities, but by the time they finally heaved the wretched birds onto the wheel I was ready to get out my shotgun and start scanning the horizon for wings.
So, despite its strengths, this is probably not a book I'd hand to most kids I meet in 2012. Unless they're really, really excited about storks.
*A phrase that always makes me laugh.
**Hartzell, Judith. "Happy Centennial, Meindert Dejong!." Horn Book Magazine 82.2 (2006): 227. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.
This cute book won the Newbery Award in 1955. It is illustrated in black and white by Maurice Sendak.
This story takes place in the small village of Shora in the Netherlands. Theonly girl of the 5 students at the town school, Lina, writes a story wondering why Shora doesn't have storks like the neighboring towns. The teacher tells the kids to wonder about it. Which leads to their discussing it. They learn that Shora did have storks, and their oldest neighbors remember them. The students learn they need a wheel on the roof, for storks to nest on. They search for a wheel, and pretty soon the whole town (and neighbors from another town) is involved. They meet older neighbors they have been afraid of or just never spoke to, they have adventures, and they learn each others' strengths. A very sweet story about how you can accomplish something if you work hard, work together, and think outside the box.
This story takes place in the small village of Shora in the Netherlands. Theonly girl of the 5 students at the town school, Lina, writes a story wondering why Shora doesn't have storks like the neighboring towns. The teacher tells the kids to wonder about it. Which leads to their discussing it. They learn that Shora did have storks, and their oldest neighbors remember them. The students learn they need a wheel on the roof, for storks to nest on. They search for a wheel, and pretty soon the whole town (and neighbors from another town) is involved. They meet older neighbors they have been afraid of or just never spoke to, they have adventures, and they learn each others' strengths. A very sweet story about how you can accomplish something if you work hard, work together, and think outside the box.
This simple but charming book is a classic. Written in 1054, it tells the story of Lina and her classmates in a small seaside town called Shora. Lina writes an essay asking why there are no storks in the town, she and her friends go about fixing that problem. The answer harks back to the title of the book- they need safe places to nest, and wheels on the top of houses provide a place for them. Lina and her friends tackle the problem from start to finish together, and their story ends in success. Along the way several interesting characters are introduced. Overall the family and friendship dynamics are wholesome. I loved this book for what is it, an entertaining story with an interesting cast of characters.
Approximate date of first read: 1984
Impressions: A project can bring a community together. Old people have wisdom. Stork nests are something you want on your house, to the point you should risk your life to provide a nesting place. These are the lessons of The Wheel on the School. More false endings than Lord of the Rings, but overall, a nice nostalgia trip.
How it warped me: I feel like I read a few books about magical, darling Dutch people in my childhood. At least one involved ice skating, but that's all I remember. So this probably reinforced a desire for wooden shoes that I have filled with Dankos clogs.
Impressions: A project can bring a community together. Old people have wisdom. Stork nests are something you want on your house, to the point you should risk your life to provide a nesting place. These are the lessons of The Wheel on the School. More false endings than Lord of the Rings, but overall, a nice nostalgia trip.
How it warped me: I feel like I read a few books about magical, darling Dutch people in my childhood. At least one involved ice skating, but that's all I remember. So this probably reinforced a desire for wooden shoes that I have filled with Dankos clogs.
So good, and the perspective of the kids is strong. It is a joy to see this community work towards a common goal.