Well, maybe I’m just in a sourish mood. Lots of people seemed to be quite taken with Ms. Dowell’s Vietnam-war-from-the-homefront novel, Shooting the Moon. I thought it was O.K.

The best part of the novel is the main character, twelve year old Jamie. Jamie’s brother, T.J., has just left for Vietnam, and Jamie is higher than a kite. Finally one of them will get to experience what a real war is like, experience all the games Jamie and T.J. played growing up on an army base, and T. J. has promised to write and tell Jamie all about it. Jamie only wishes she could enlist and go with him.

Jamie, a self-described “Army brat” who admires her father The Colonel to the point of hero-worship, is an ebullient, indomitable, ball of fire, and she kept me reading just to see what she would do next. The plot and character development are predictable; as Jamie grows up she learns that war is not all fun and games. T.J., instead of sending Jamie letters, sends her rolls of film, pictures that he has taken in Vietnam for her to develop and print. For some reason, many of his pictures are photos of the moon, hence the title. I’ll probably beat myself when I figure it out, but I didn’t really get the significance of the moon pics. Maybe it’s something about the same moon shines over in Vietnam that shines over Fort Hood where Jamie is?

I also enjoyed one of the minor characters, Cindy Lorenzo, a learning disabled friend of Jamie’s who “hit and bit” and “whose brain was still on the first grade level.” Everyone knows a Cindy, and Ms. Dowell presents her sympathetically but realistically. I never really understood why T.J. joined the Army in the first place, and I didn’t get why Jamie’s other friend, Private Hollister, did what he did in the course of the story either.

Anyhoo, if you’re a fan of war/anti-war Vietnam novels, this one fits that description. Or if you like girls that win at gin rummy . . .

Other, uniformly laudatory, opinions (what do I know?):

Becky’s Book Reviews: “Full of depth and true meaning-of-life “stuff,” Shooting the Moon is one of 2008’s must read books.”

Megan at Read, Read, Read: “This book would really be a great starting board for talking about some of the harsh realities behind war. Frances O’Roark Dowell is very careful not to be too preachy about war or even too supportive of war. The novel had the perfect balance for me.”

Fuse 8: “This book is amazing. Top notch, wonderful, humorous, meaningful, with a pull and a hit in the gut that’ll knock a readers’ socks off. What we’ve got here is a title that has an excellent chance of engaging every reader that comes across it. And timely doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

A Wrunge Sponge: “This is a really wonderful middle grade novel, highly recommended for boys and girls alike. You could use it as a discussion starter around the topics of family, war, and changing perspectives, an example of memoir writing and excellent dialog that moves the story along and reveals character traits, or to introduce comparisons of writing and the visual arts (photography).”

Franki at A Year of Reading: “This is a powerful story. A story of how war affects a family and how a family deals with a child that is sent to war. It is the story of a young girl growing up and finding herself. And there is amazing thread of photography throughout the book.”

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” ~Jackie Robinson

Another baseball book, also somewhat philosophical, but definitely all-boy. Earl Grubb’s Pool Supplies plays Northeast Gas & Electric in the Little League championship game, six innings of tension, hope, disappointment, and fun. Sam, the announcer for the game, has his best friend, Mike, on the Earl Grubb team, but Sam, in addition to trying to maintain his neutrality as he calls the play-by-play, is dealing with his own disappointment about not being out on the field playing in the game himself.

We get a glimpse into the lives and motivations of each of the boys on the Earl Grubb team, as well as Sam, as the author takes us through six innings of action-packed, pressure-filled Little League baseball. This story is even more baseball-intensive than Keeping Score, but if you like baseball and fiction, 2008 looks like a very good year for you. (Mike Lupica also published a baseball book this year, The Big Field, that looks good, too.) Six Innings is a little heavy on the sports details for me, and I started to skim at times only to go back and make sure I hadn’t missed any details of the boys’ thoughts and emotions and backgrounds.

I was impressed by how well Mr. Preller was able to get me involved in the six innings of a game I’m not particularly interested in and have me rooting for the Pool Supplies team while at the same time understanding how important such a game can be for all the boys and coaches involved. If you know any Little Leaguers, especially boys, Six Innings might be just the thing to get them interested in reading.

No scandals or even bad sportsmanship. A little bit of boylike crudity (slapping someone’s butt, jokes about earwax, that sort of thing), lots of baseball jargon and baseball platitudes, and mostly good clean fun.

Other reviews of Six Innings:

Ed Goldberg at Young Adult (and Kids) Books Central: “Six Innings isn’t just about baseball, although the pages are filled with the tension, action, fears and thoughts of the game and its players. There are amazing catches, exciting plays, powerful hits and strong pitching. Preller also delves into the hearts and minds of Little League players.”

Betsy’s Blog: “Along with a pretty exciting play-by-play of the game, the book lets you peek into the worries and joys of the boys playing, revealing their feelings for baseball and the off-field struggles that are on their minds.”

It’s set in the Big Thicket and the piney woods of East Texas. It has snake-women, a bird-man, a hundred foot long alligator, kittens, trees that witness history, Caddo Indians, a villain, and an old hound dog. The writing is both lyrical and engaging. The sense of place and the atmosphere are palpable. What more could one ask for in a debut children’s novel?

I’ve been reading lots of buzz around the blogosphere for Ms. Appelt’s novel, and I must say that whatever praise anyone has written is well-deserved. Ms. Appelt has a voice that is unmistakably unique. Just listen:

“After Hawk Man and Night Song slipped away, Grandmother Moccasin wrapped herself in a cloak of hatred, wrapped it so tightly around herself that eventually that was all she knew.

Anger and hatred, wound together, have only one recourse. Poison. Poison filled Grandmother’s mouth, her cotton mouth.”

Can’t you feel the poisonous hatred of a cottonmouth snake, betrayed by the one thing she loved?

Or try this description of the love of a father for his daughter:

“When a young man becomes a father, the sky above him, the ground beneath him, the rising and setting sun, all become something new, as if he’s never seen them before as if this little daughter has turned everything all at once into a huge and wonderful Hello. When Hawk Man held his baby girl against his chest and looked into her tiny round face, he felt a love so deep he thought he might drown. It scared him a little, this new kind of love.”

The only complaint I had about the book probably isn’t terribly significant. The chapters, or scenes, were very short, two to four pages each, and the focus and point of view are constantly switching from the kittens, Puck and Sabine, to Grandmother Moccasin, to Gar Face, the hunter, to the shape-shifting couple, Night Song and Hawk Man, to their daughter, to the hound dog Ranger. It takes some fancy reading to keep up, and attention must be paid to each character and each change of venue. Some children won’t be up for it, but those who can keep up are in for a treat.

If you like animal stories, The Underneath is a fantastic animal story about a cat, two kittens, and an old hound dog who sings the blues. If you enjoy Native American legends, The Underneath draws on the stories of the Caddo Indians and the mythology of other Native American peoples and even ancient Egypt and India. If you’re a nature lover, The Underneath has nature in spades. And for the Aggies among us, Kathi Appelt occasionally teaches writing at Texas A & M University. Again, what more could one ask?

Lots of favorable reviews and not much negative:

Fuse 8: “I’ve been describing to people as (and this is true) Watership Down meets The Incredible Journey meets Holes meets The Mouse And His Child. If that doesn’t make any sense to you it is because you have never read a book quite like this.”

Jen Robinson: “I think The Underneath would make an excellent read-aloud title for later elementary school kids (despite some sad parts). It is sure to come up in award discussions later in the year. David Small’s detailed illustrations are delightful, too.”

Franki at A Year of Reading: “I am pretty sure that these characters will stay with me forever and that I will read this book again sometime soon. I think there are layers of meaning that I missed the first time through. I kind of thought about them quickly but was too invested in the plot to focus too much on the depth that Appelt has created with this story.”

The Reading Zone: “This novel is an inspiration to anyone who writes. Appelt’s debut novel is haunting, lyrical, and poetic. While the stories seem separate at first, they come together in a stunning conclusion that wraps up all loose ends.”

The Underneath has already (on the first day) been nominated for a Cybil Award in the Middle Grade Fiction category, but I’m thinking it really belongs in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category because of all the mythological and magical elements. It’s a likely candidate for both a Cybil Award and for a Newbery.

Elective mutes are people who choose not to talk, usually as a result of some traumatic event. Lily is an elective mute. She hasn’t spoken for two years. She feels invisible. And everyone in the small town of Olena thinks Lily is brain-damaged.

But when Tinny Bridges comes to town, Lily is in trouble. Somehow Tinny knows things, knows that Lily isn’t brain-damaged, knows that Lily has other secrets. And Tinny is mean enough to threaten Lily’s hard-won bargain with the past and her precarious hold on silence.

Wow! This story is both intriguing and well-written. Ms. Beaty’s descriptions sparkle. Here’s an example:

“Sometimes, when the store is crowded, there are four or five stories going at the same time, and the women’s voices swirl around in the air and bubble up and splash like water on rocks. The sound is smooth and sweet.

If we had a real creek in Olena, I think it would sound like Fern’s store on Saturday mornings.”

The story moves back and forth from the present to the past with the material from the past in italics. For the most part, this technique works, but it could be confusing for some kids. The story is worth a little confusion, though. It’s about honesty and forgiveness and getting past people’s defenses to know the real person inside. It’s a book about friendship and patience and letting go of bad experiences and forgiving oneself.

“The cicadas are everywhere. They came back to Olena two days ago, after seventeen years of hiding in the ground and waiting. Waiting to climb into the sunlight. Waiting to climb the bushes and trees. Waiting to sing.
They waited so long. Then, thousands of them crawled out of the ground and up into the trees and bushes in just one night. Their song sounds like electricity buzzing on a power line, getting higher and higher and louder and louder until the air nearly explodes from the noise.”

I’m going to give this book to Brown Bear Daughter to see what she thinks of it. As far as I’m concerned it’s a triumph.

Andrea Beaty blogs at Three Silly Chicks where she and two other authors of children’s books review funny children’s books.

Other reviews of Cicada Summer:

Stacy at Welcome to my Tweendom says “Beaty has captured the sultry feel of summer as well as the world of children that seems so insular next to that of the adults in their lives.”

Jules at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: “Beaty expertly paces this reveal throughout the narrative in such a way that is hardly intrusive (which could have easily happened in the hands of a clumsier author) and in such a way that builds tension and makes the novel a whopper of a page-turner.”

Jen Robinson’s Book Page: “I’m just going to go ahead and say it. This book has that Newbery award feel to me. Deep characters, beautiful writing with pockets of humor, and a touching story.”

Cicada Summer has already (on the first day) been nominated for a Cybil Award in the Middle Grade Fiction category. Nominate your favorite children’s and YA books of 2008 in nine categories at the Cybils blog.