Tough, tough, tough read...

I couldn't wait for The Journey of Little Charlie to come out.  I bought it right away and listened to it yesterday.  Christopher Paul Curtis is an incredible author.  Although my expectations were very high, the book exceeded them and as time passes since I finished it last night, my respect and high praise for this book just grows and grows. 
It haunts me and I think it will for a long time.
Let's face it, any book that deals with the evils of slavery is going to be a hard one.  But a necessary one. 
I hated Little Charlie, I hated his mother, I hated Cap' n Buck.  I have hope for Little Charlie, yes, but I still hated him.  And I know he just knew what he knew.  But how could one NOT know that what he believed about slavery was wrong?  How?
Are there things that I think are okay but I am as blind as Little Charlie?  This haunts me. 
Exceptional book. 

A book that took my breath away.

Was I surprised that The Madman of Piney Woods was incredible?  Masterful? Quotable and so memorable that it will now go on my list of "10 Books that Influenced You "if I ever get Facebook tagged again?
No.  It didn't surprise me at all.  Because that is just who Christopher Paul Curtis is.  I've been really blessed to meet a couple of incredible authors at various conferences over the years.  If I ever got the chance to meet CPC, I think I would just faint.  I know I couldn't put together a complete sentence. In I don't want to recap the book, I am no good at that.  But man, man, man I wish that I could make this required reading for every friend I have.  And people I don't know, so that I could make more friends! Because this book is a gift from CPC to the world.  Incredible.  Incredible.  Incredible.
Come on, Newbery.  Here is your winner.

Another Wonderful Book from CPC

I have always wanted to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, but the cover was terrible.  Now there is a new cover and I like this one better!  This is the one that is over there <- .="" nbsp="" p="">This book was just incredible.  Now I never caught the significance of the title.  Had I thought about Birmingham, Alabama and what happened in 1963, I would not have been so shocked by what happens in the story.  It just didn't hit me and so there I was, reading along, this wonderful book about a loving, incredible family. And then, wow.  The book became even more powerful and it just blew me away. So much happened that year in Birmingham, of course, but how the church bombing was incorporated into this novel was just so profound.  Another must-read for everyone.

Christopher Paul Curtis

has become an author that I love, love, love.  Elijah of Buxton was incredible.  Christopher Paul Curtis had my heart with The Mighty Miss Malone and now I am just reading everything I can that he has written.  Elijah of Buxton had me quoting and reading out-loud to my mom.  It had me in tears.  I didn't know anything about Buxton, I am ashamed to say. 
The thing is, I have an aunt who won't read fiction at all because she says that she doesn't want to waste her time.  She only reads nonfiction because she can learn from it.  Well, I have learned so much from fiction. 
Oh man...this is a book that I want everyone to read because I just want to talk about it.  Incredible.  Everyone.  Everyone should read this beautiful book. 
As I look at the Newbery Award for that year, I am just sickened.  If this isn't 1954, then I don't know what is. 

Terrible Cover

Bud, Not Buddy was one of those books that I stayed away from for years because of the dreadful cover.  And yet again, I have come to see that there is something behind the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" thing.  What a great story.  I was working and recommended The Mighty Miss Malone to a patron, the manager of the Penguin Book Shop and a lovely young lady I knew when she was a little girl attending the church I pastored.  She told me that Deza Malone had a small part in Bud, Not Buddy and man, that was all it took!  Christopher Paul Curtis is fantastic!  I can't wait to read more of his books.  It is hard to believe that a book this good actually won a Newbery!  You just never know! 
I listened to the book and at the end there is a message from the author and his daughter, who wrote a little song that is included. "Mama Says No" is a HILARIOUS song and I bet that Cydney McKinsie Curtis will be writing awesome books soon, just like her dad!

I LOVE this book!

The Mighty Miss Malone was snubbed at the Youth Media Awards.  So you know it has to be good.  And it was.  Deza Malone is someone you can't help but love.  What a wonderful young voice.  So funny.  So awesome.  Growing up in Gary, Indiana, with a stay in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, this girl's life is hard.  But she never loses her spirit.  Her family is a beautiful one, faced with so many obstacles.  But man, as Deza's daddy says, "We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful." and I know just they will make it there.  There is so much in this book.  Reading it after The Lions of Little Rock, I couldn't help but think even more how horrible it is that even now, more than 100 years after the American Civil War, there are still the evils of prejudice and racism.  But man, man.  This book is just one that should be read.  And it will be enjoyed.  Definitely read this one.