Everything on a Waffle, written by Polly Horvath is a 2002 Newbery Medal Winner. This is a story about Primrose Squarp, an eleven year old girl, whose parents died at sea when a huge storm rolled through her town. Primrose knows that her parents are not dead, they are simply waiting to be rescued on an island, or making their way back to her. Primrose begins living with her Uncle Jack, after the town decided that Miss Perfidy cannot afford to keep being paid. A local resturant, The Girl on the Red Swing, is the santuary that Primrose feels safe and seeks the advice from Miss Bowzer, who serves everything on a waffle!
The thing that I really enjoyed about this book is how the author choices her words to relate to Primrose while adding humor and also looking through the perspective of eleven year old Primrose. Another plus of Everything on a Waffle are the recipes that are found at the end of each chapter! I would definitely use this book for my reading class and incorporate the unique recipes as well!
Penny from Heaven, written by Jennifer L. Holm was a 2007 Newbery Honor book. To be perfectly honest, when I started reading this book, I wasn't very interested in it, nor did I want to continue reading it. I felt that it started off a little slow in the beginning and made it hard for me to want to continue reading. About 70 pages in, I got hooked.
This is the story of Barbara Ann Falucci, known as Penny. Penny is half Italian and lives with her mother, Me-me, and Pop- Pop. Her father died when she was very young and she doesn't know much about him. Her mother is so paranoid that Penny will contract polio, that she is not allowed to go to the swimming pool or the movie theater! She does however spend time with his side of the family, which includes Nonny, Uncle Dominic, Frankie, Aunt Gina, and the rest of the gang. Her Nonny always wears black to show her mourning and burst in to tears at every mention of Penny's father. Frankie, Penny's crazy cousin, is her best friend and also mischief maker! Penny encounters several adventures along the way and also winds up in the hospital.
What I really liked about this book is how "real" Penny is and how she reacts to certain events throughout the book. I would recommend using this book as an in class reading book because of the different time period and era his book takes place in. Penny in Heaven definitely started out a little slow, but it was worth it!
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