The Newbery Medal is a prestigious award which is given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, to the author who makes a distinguished contribution to American literature to children. Established in 1922, the Newbery Medal was named after John Newbery, a British bookseller in the eighteenth-century. When reading Newbery Medal books, young readers engage themselves in well-written books, promoting their critical thinking and creative imagination. Those books cover a wide range of themes, such as friendships, family love, growing up, empathy, or identity, which not only helps young readers understand the real world but also exposes young readers to different perspectives and experiences of people. Recently, I read two Newbery Award books, Because of Winn-Dixie and The Cricket in Time Square. Because of Winn-Dixie, written by Kate Dicamillo, talks about a young girl named Opal who just moved to Naomi, a small town in Florida. Opal had a dog, Winn-Dixie, a heartwarming companion, and this dog helps her befriend the librarian, Miss Franny, who was a small, old lady without any friend around. The Cricket in Time Square, written by George Shelden, talks about Chester, the cricket, accidentally traveling to New York Time Square Subway Station from his hometown Connecticut. Chester first felt lonely in New York City, but soon he made friends with Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat. Now let’s compare and contrast these two stories.
Comparing books in literature involves examining the elements of two books to identify if there are any similarities between them. When making comparisons, readers place two books side by side and look into different aspects of the books in detail in order to understand how they are alike or how they share the common traits. In The Cricket in Times Square, the cricket, Chester, by a twist of fate, moves to New York City Time Square Subway Station, which is far away from his home Connecticut. He is alone without friends or family around and feels scared about what he is going to do next. Luckily, Chester makes friends with Tucker and Harry. In Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal moves to Naomi, a small town in Florida. She feels lonely but she has a great company, Winn-Dixie the dog. The dog Opal makes friends with Miss Franny, a small old lady whose friends were all dead. With comparisons, both books, The Cricket in Time Square and Because of Winn-Dixie, share some similarities despite their different settings and characters. The first similarity is that both characters all move to a new place: Chester moves from Connecticut to New York while Opal moves to Naomi in Florida. The second similarity is that both characters feel lonely. Chester in The Cricket in Time Square experiences loneliness because he is far away from his hometown Connecticut. Chester is homesick. Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie experiences loneliness because she has no friends after moving into Naomi. Miss Franny also experiences loneliness because her friends around her ages are gone therefore she has no friends. The third similarity is that both characters are making friends. Chester in The Cricket in Time Square makes friends with Tucker mouse and Harry Cat who offers Chester good food and warm comments to make him feel good. Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie makes friends with Winn-Dixie, a dog she met outside of the supermarket, who becomes her great company. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal makes good friends with Miss Franny, a small old librarian. Comparing two or more books is a critical part in literature to not only develop young readers’ skills in analyzing literature but also train young readers to pay attention to details.
Contrasting books in literature calls for readers’ attention in scrutinizing literary elements of two or more books to recognize if there exists any differences between them. Contrast in literature is a detailed analysis process and it focuses on how the literacy elements of books are different from each other, emphasizing the unique qualities and traits. The Cricket in Times Square describes a cricket named Chester accidentally traveling to New York city from Connecticut. Chester cricket explains his journal and feelings. Although Chester cricket makes friends with Tucker mouse and Harry cat, he still misses his hometown. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal presents a girl Opal moves to a small town in Florida called Naomi. The author talks about what Opal experiences in Naomi, how she meets the dog Winn-Dixie, and how she becomes good friends with Miss Franny because of Winn-Dixie. Even though both books, The Cricket in Time Square and Because of Winn-Dixie, share some similarities, they also significantly differ in characters, setting, genre, perspectives, and ending. First, the characters of Chester, Tucker, or Harry in The Cricket in Time Square are played by a cricket, a mouse, and a cat. They are all animals, which are inhumans. But the characters of Opal and Miss Franny in Because of Winn-Dixie are played by a real person, which are humans. Following this thought, the genre of The Cricket in Time Square is a fantasy story because the characters are inhuman while the genre of Because of Winn-Dixie is a realistic fiction because the characters are hunan and the events could actually be in the real world. Next, the setting in The Cricket in Time Square takes place in New York City, a big city, while the setting in Because of Winn-Dixie happens in Naomi, a small town. Moreover, the tone of speaking in The Cricket in Time Square is from first-person perspectives because the author uses many “I” in the story, letting Chester cricket talk about his journey and thoughts while Because of Winn-Dixie is from third-person viewpoints because the word of “I” is not presented in the story and the author himself describes what happens in the plot. Lastly, the endings of two books are different. The ending in The Cricket in Time Square shows that Chester cricket still has the feeling of homesickness even though he makes good friends with Tucker mouse and Harry cat, while Because of Winn-Dixie has a happy ending where Opal and Miss Franny become friends. From making contrast in the analytical process, young readers could develop the depth and width of the literature, promoting further reading comprehension.
In literature, themes are main ideas or messages the author tries to convey, and they are often reflected through the actions of the characters as well as the development of the plot. Reading those reflected themes lead young readers to explore different aspects of human experiences and behaviors, which offer young readers insights about the society as well as help them reflect on their own beliefs and values they have received. Chester in The Cricket in Time Square is far away from his hometown Connectuicut. He has no friends or family around in NewYork City. He feels lonely. He misses his hometown. Mrs. Franny in Because of Winn-Dixie was a small old librarian. She was lonely and had no one to be with because all of her friends around her age had died. Loneliness is the reflected theme. People, like the character of Chester cricket in The Cricket in Time Square, experience loneliness when they move to a new place where they don’t know anyone. It is a normal emotional reaction due to the loss of familiar things or people. The feelings of loneliness are also caused when people lack friends, family, or community, like the character of Miss Franny in Because of Winn-Dixie, and they feel isolated. To reduce the feelings of loneliness, people could reach out to get to know people, start a conversation, and make friends with others. In The Cricket in Time Square, Tucker stays with Chester and makes Chester feel good by giving him liverwurst. Harry makes Chester feel warm and welcomed by giving him encouraging comments. In Because of Winn-Dixie, Miss Franny has no friends. Opal makes friends with Miss Franny and makes her feel good by her side reading books with her. Friendship is another reflected theme. Friends, such as Tucker and Harry in The Cricket in Time Square, could provide emotional support. This is particularly true for people who just move into a new place because everything is new to them and they don’t know what to do. They might be homesick, lonely, and scared. Having friendship with others could help people reduce the stress of adjusting themselves into a new environment. Also, friendship could comfort the feeling of social isolation and provide people a sense of belonging, especially for people who lack or lost their friends, like Miss Franny in Because of Winn-Dixie. In Because of Winn-Dixie, the dog, Winn-Dixie, is the first connection to have Opal meet Miss Franny and make friends with her. The book is the second connection to connect Opal and Miss Franny because they both like books. In The Cricket in Time Square, the “star” is the connection. Whenever Chester sees the star in the sky, the same star he sees back in his hometown, this star reminds him very much of his hometown. Connection is the other reflected theme. Everything has a connection and they always remind people of something. This kind of connection is often emotional, linking people to their past or familiar things, like when Chester in The Cricket in Time Square sees the star, the star reminds him of his hometown Connecticut. Another kind of connection is physical, which links an individual to others. For Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie who is new to town trying to make new friends, Winn-Dixie the dog becomes one connection to help Opal meet Miss Franny while the books become another connection to further build their friendship. The themes reflected from the literature would lead young readers to think in a deeper level to explore complex ideas and human emotions.
Both Newbery Award books, Because of Winn-Dixie and The Cricket in Time Square are worth reading. In fact, young readers should spend time reading more than once. From reading Newbery Award books, young readers have access to explore excellent stories, which would inspire a great interest in writing among young raiders’ minds. Those books contain different thematic topics, such as friendship, good or evil, empathy, or growing up, which might reshape children’s emotions and thoughts. Reading Newbery books also provides young readers an opportunity to better understand the world from different perspectives and experiences of people. In addition, young readers could learn from the Newbery Award books regarding how to develop an attractive plot and craft the character. To further reading comprehension, comparing and contrasting literature are essential. Comparing is showing the similarities, and contrasting is showing differences between two things that are related in some way. Both compare and contrast engage young readers in analytical thinking processes to explore the depth and width of the literature through characters and plot to further their reading comprehension.
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