My Newbery Pie, started in the summer of 2010, was never properly baked. Over the last year, I have read three more of the 1922 books, but neglected my Pie something awful.
So let's do this right. First, an outline of exactly what I am doing here.
I have a master list of all of the Newbery titles, both winners and nominees/honors. It is heavily highlighted in both pink and yellow, indicating winners and titles I have already read. There are two different colors of blue dots indicating whether the titles are available at my library or in the metropolitan system, both, or neither.
My stats:
385: number of books on the list, as of 2011
22: number of Newberys read prior to project launch, 11 were winners, 11 were honors
56: number of titles not available anywhere in my metropolitan system
I was not prepared for dealing with the very rare books on this list. I thought that since nominees from the same year are "honor" books, and really considered to also be distinguished, this meant every book on the list would be somewhere in my area. Some research into the matter informed me that before 1971 the Newbery "Honor" title was not in use, and the other titles nominated each year besides the winner were just that - nominees. There was much less ceremony for runners-up before 1971. That, plus the passage of so much time since the birth of the Newbery equaled a dismal beginning for this project.
But still, I figured if I couldn't get them through my library system, I could purchase them! Why not! I am constantly jacking up my personal library with nerdier materials! But quick online search promptly demonstrated that I would be bankrupted by this move. Those sellers know those old Newberys are rare, and 56 is too large a number.
Then came my instruction on how to use I-SHARE, the huge 76 library consortium in Illinois. I quickly got my hands on what I needed.
Now it's on.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
1922 Winner - The Story of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon
I assigned myself a doozy of a goal for my 2010 summer reading.
It sounded adorable when I first decided to act on it. I'd wanted to tackle the Newberys for awhile, and after a long bout of reading various female targeted self-help books with titles like "Ten Stupid Things Women Do To Ruin Their Lives", I thought vacationing in the land of the creme de la creme of juvenile fiction would be enjoyable and as far from "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" as you can get. Refreshing, I thought.
Then I got a load of the first book.
The Story Of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon
(Winner 1922)
That last name. Really now, van LOON?
I promptly deflated when I pulled this hefty sucker off the shelf. I expected and delighted in the thought of reading works that were vintage in their voice and smelled of that delicious old book perfume. I knew it would take some shifting on my part mentally to get into this other, earlier era, and I was fine with it. But once I thumbed through chapters with titles such as "The Semitic Colony of Carthage on the Northern Coast of Africa And The Indo-European City of Rome On The West Coast Of Italy Fought Each Other For The Possession Of The Western Mediterranean And Carthage Was Destroyed" I knew this would be more work than play, for at least awhile into the project.
I checked the book out and let it sit, renewing it several times. I stuffed it away when I got too guilty looking at it, but it being out of sight didn’t really help. I would have to tackle it eventually and I knew it.
As its due date approached a few weeks later, I looked Henrick in the eye and pulled him out begrudgingly. I opened the book.
And so I embarked on what would be a very long, ugly battle spanning months. Yes. MONTHS. I was so disenchanted with this work that I avoided it at all costs, sometimes going weeks between single chapter readings. My co-workers would balk every time they came across me lugging it around or loudly complaining about how much I'd like old Loony to have been banished to some island where boring or annoying people ought to be deposited to live out the remainder of their lives.
When I finally won the battle (and the concept of "winning" barely applies here), I felt so exhausted by the exertion that I wondered how I could ever get my way through all of the books on the list, especially because I was starting graduate school shortly after.
But most of all - the prevailing feeling of GUILT. Couldn't shake it. Why didn't I like this book? Why couldn't I force basic tolerance when it came to evaluating it? Why wouldn't I particularly mind if someone used it as a coaster or to raise some piece of furniture? I don't feel that about ANY book. Well. Except Twilight and its ugly stepsisters.
Why I didn't like The Story of Mankind, in brief summary:
It is far too long.
It covers a very, very small corner of the world's history.
It is often politically incorrect.
It's all together dull style of writing makes me cringe and look for an escape at any chance.
My library's 550 page copy was reprinted in 1962 as a "black and gold edition", and this version boasts in red on the cover that it is "NEW AND ENLARGED". Just my luck. In my research, I've found that this work has been updated and added onto heavily by others, including van Loon's son, Gerrit, since its original incarnation. Old Loony himself added a portion called After Seven Years onto the end of the book after World War I had its effects. During my reading I chose to stick only to the original text. Didn't have anything to do with how cranky the whole process was making me! :)
When it really comes down to it, this work is far too lengthy to engage most children in any meaningful way. When discussing what possible merit this could have had to win the medal, my coworker Jackie and I concluded that it must have been a hallmark of its time in its approach to history for children, and that as it was a newly established award, the standards the award has today were not yet refined.
Hooey.
I don't know why this book was chosen as a winner, especially compared to the other works in the running that year, but I do know it is appalling in its narrow, narrow slit of human history. It's political incorrectness ties into this as well. Now, I know, 1922 was quite a different time than ours, before the civil rights movement, and hardly two minutes after women's suffrage was granted. But Mr. van Loon could have refrained from bits like this
In Mecca, their holy city, stood a little square building, the Kaaba, full of idols and strange odds and ends of Hoo-doo worship. (page 139)
"A Zulu in a frock coat is still a Zulu. A dog trained to ride a bicycle and smoke a pipe is still a dog. And a human being with the mind of a sixteenth century tradesman driving a 1921 Rolls-Royce is still a human being with the mind of a sixteenth century tradesman. If you do not understand this at first, read it again."
And my favorite:
"They were really barbarians who posed as civilised people. Charlemagne and Otto the Great were called "Roman Emperors," but they had as little resemblance to a real Roman Emperor (say Augustus or Marcus Aurelius), as "King" Wumba Wumba of the Upper Congo has to the highly educated rulers of Sweden or Dennmark. (page 193)
Really? "King" Wumba Wumba? I tell you, this one made me shudder.
Of course, the whole thing is full of dismissal during the brief mentions of the world beyond the Europeans and Indo-Europeans. I have to say, as a Mexican/Puerto Rican little girl, and an avid reader and thoroughly hopeless nerd, this book would have given me a distinct sense of alienation and even a little shame because there is none of me represented in any way. It's a book about the story of MANKIND. That's a big word there. We are including humans as a species there, unless, of course, you are really putting emphasis on the "man" part. Then we can leave out women, anyone from the entire rest of the globe, and of course, the Upper Congo. Those others aren't men.
But perhaps the greatest crime here is an absolutely insufferable writing style. I understand that the story of mankind, even his tiny portion of it, is a big undertaking. But this dude could turn the most energetic person into a narcoleptic. I think at times he is trying to be witty. I think he tries to be cute. Different. Helpful. But it blows up in his face every time. From the eighteen mile long titles to the fact that he somehow spends only half a sentence on important figures and events (Joan of Arc's six word mention, anyone?), van Loon's focus leaves so much to be desired.
Maybe he should have used some of that Hoo-doo stuff to fix matters.
All in all, this book is one that will most likely be a struggle and a pain for you to get through. It derailed me from my project immediately, and I can still feel its effects. But at least it speaks to one's endurance. If you can swallow it.
It sounded adorable when I first decided to act on it. I'd wanted to tackle the Newberys for awhile, and after a long bout of reading various female targeted self-help books with titles like "Ten Stupid Things Women Do To Ruin Their Lives", I thought vacationing in the land of the creme de la creme of juvenile fiction would be enjoyable and as far from "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" as you can get. Refreshing, I thought.
Then I got a load of the first book.
The Story Of Mankind by Hendrik van Loon
(Winner 1922)
That last name. Really now, van LOON?
I promptly deflated when I pulled this hefty sucker off the shelf. I expected and delighted in the thought of reading works that were vintage in their voice and smelled of that delicious old book perfume. I knew it would take some shifting on my part mentally to get into this other, earlier era, and I was fine with it. But once I thumbed through chapters with titles such as "The Semitic Colony of Carthage on the Northern Coast of Africa And The Indo-European City of Rome On The West Coast Of Italy Fought Each Other For The Possession Of The Western Mediterranean And Carthage Was Destroyed" I knew this would be more work than play, for at least awhile into the project.
I checked the book out and let it sit, renewing it several times. I stuffed it away when I got too guilty looking at it, but it being out of sight didn’t really help. I would have to tackle it eventually and I knew it.
As its due date approached a few weeks later, I looked Henrick in the eye and pulled him out begrudgingly. I opened the book.
And so I embarked on what would be a very long, ugly battle spanning months. Yes. MONTHS. I was so disenchanted with this work that I avoided it at all costs, sometimes going weeks between single chapter readings. My co-workers would balk every time they came across me lugging it around or loudly complaining about how much I'd like old Loony to have been banished to some island where boring or annoying people ought to be deposited to live out the remainder of their lives.
When I finally won the battle (and the concept of "winning" barely applies here), I felt so exhausted by the exertion that I wondered how I could ever get my way through all of the books on the list, especially because I was starting graduate school shortly after.
But most of all - the prevailing feeling of GUILT. Couldn't shake it. Why didn't I like this book? Why couldn't I force basic tolerance when it came to evaluating it? Why wouldn't I particularly mind if someone used it as a coaster or to raise some piece of furniture? I don't feel that about ANY book. Well. Except Twilight and its ugly stepsisters.
Why I didn't like The Story of Mankind, in brief summary:
It is far too long.
It covers a very, very small corner of the world's history.
It is often politically incorrect.
It's all together dull style of writing makes me cringe and look for an escape at any chance.
My library's 550 page copy was reprinted in 1962 as a "black and gold edition", and this version boasts in red on the cover that it is "NEW AND ENLARGED". Just my luck. In my research, I've found that this work has been updated and added onto heavily by others, including van Loon's son, Gerrit, since its original incarnation. Old Loony himself added a portion called After Seven Years onto the end of the book after World War I had its effects. During my reading I chose to stick only to the original text. Didn't have anything to do with how cranky the whole process was making me! :)
When it really comes down to it, this work is far too lengthy to engage most children in any meaningful way. When discussing what possible merit this could have had to win the medal, my coworker Jackie and I concluded that it must have been a hallmark of its time in its approach to history for children, and that as it was a newly established award, the standards the award has today were not yet refined.
Hooey.
I don't know why this book was chosen as a winner, especially compared to the other works in the running that year, but I do know it is appalling in its narrow, narrow slit of human history. It's political incorrectness ties into this as well. Now, I know, 1922 was quite a different time than ours, before the civil rights movement, and hardly two minutes after women's suffrage was granted. But Mr. van Loon could have refrained from bits like this
In Mecca, their holy city, stood a little square building, the Kaaba, full of idols and strange odds and ends of Hoo-doo worship. (page 139)
"A Zulu in a frock coat is still a Zulu. A dog trained to ride a bicycle and smoke a pipe is still a dog. And a human being with the mind of a sixteenth century tradesman driving a 1921 Rolls-Royce is still a human being with the mind of a sixteenth century tradesman. If you do not understand this at first, read it again."
And my favorite:
"They were really barbarians who posed as civilised people. Charlemagne and Otto the Great were called "Roman Emperors," but they had as little resemblance to a real Roman Emperor (say Augustus or Marcus Aurelius), as "King" Wumba Wumba of the Upper Congo has to the highly educated rulers of Sweden or Dennmark. (page 193)
Really? "King" Wumba Wumba? I tell you, this one made me shudder.
Of course, the whole thing is full of dismissal during the brief mentions of the world beyond the Europeans and Indo-Europeans. I have to say, as a Mexican/Puerto Rican little girl, and an avid reader and thoroughly hopeless nerd, this book would have given me a distinct sense of alienation and even a little shame because there is none of me represented in any way. It's a book about the story of MANKIND. That's a big word there. We are including humans as a species there, unless, of course, you are really putting emphasis on the "man" part. Then we can leave out women, anyone from the entire rest of the globe, and of course, the Upper Congo. Those others aren't men.
But perhaps the greatest crime here is an absolutely insufferable writing style. I understand that the story of mankind, even his tiny portion of it, is a big undertaking. But this dude could turn the most energetic person into a narcoleptic. I think at times he is trying to be witty. I think he tries to be cute. Different. Helpful. But it blows up in his face every time. From the eighteen mile long titles to the fact that he somehow spends only half a sentence on important figures and events (Joan of Arc's six word mention, anyone?), van Loon's focus leaves so much to be desired.
Maybe he should have used some of that Hoo-doo stuff to fix matters.
All in all, this book is one that will most likely be a struggle and a pain for you to get through. It derailed me from my project immediately, and I can still feel its effects. But at least it speaks to one's endurance. If you can swallow it.
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