I don't pretend to be a literary critic or have a knowledgeable background from which to frame my opinions. I am just an ordinary reader, slightly attention-deficit, who, once upon a time was a poor reader, who over time and with practice has taught herself to first enjoy, then crave, then feast on the written word. I have begun where my interest waned in my youth: with children's literature. One day my brain will come of age and I may be able to read more of the McCulloughs and Hillenbrandts of the literary world. This project: to read the award-winning books written for my children's brains is in part an effort to grow out of them.
That is not to say I don't enjoy children's literature. On the contrary, I think the Children's category of literature is some of the most pleasurable to be found. No foul language or sexual minefields to navigate. Highly imaginative and full of attention grabbing sequences. Simple wording, yet figurative enough to train a mind to find alternate meanings and deeper understanding than what is literally written. So I set out on this reader's journey, excited to follow each hero's journey hoping to grow right along with them.
The first Newberry Medal winner was selected in 1922. I assume, but have no data to back it up, that the Newberry Medal might have been invented just to give honor to this impressive work. The title is The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem Van Loon. It tells the story, in the opinion and understanding of the author, of the history of the world in a style friendly to children in a 592 page nutshell.
My copy, which I ordered from Thriftbooks.com, is the 1984 reprint of the original with a 90 page addition written by Hendrik's grandson Willem. Hendrik's portion was better than Willem's. In fairness to Willem, his portion was from 1927 to 1984, and for him, those were current events. It is much easier to give a non-biased evaluation of the distant past than the recent past. But Willem's part was so very liberally biased that I had a hard time pressing through to the end. I wish I had simply stopped reading at the end of the original publication. I did enjoy the explanation of World War II but the work went downhill from there.
On the other hand, the original publication by Hendrik went uphill. I could see Hendrik growing as an author. Near the beginning, the continual and incessant use of the passive voice was distracting and confusing. But at the end, after 6 years of writing and research, his use of figurative language animated the text and I thought to myself, "This man can write."
The book narrates the history of the known world, from the point of view of a midwestern-born white Christian as he understood it from research and tradition. The facts and dates are ubiquitous, but not overwhelming, as I easily caught the "gist" of most all chapters. There are 76 chapters in this illustrated text, so none but a couple are so long as to require a mid-chapter bookmark. After reading it, I can say without a doubt, I understand the history of Mankind markedly better than ever before, even as a Magna Cum Laude graduate from a State University in the field of Education.
I recommend this book to anyone who would like a not-too-simplified, but approachable narration of the past, with the caveats that bias is unavoidable, style evolves and illustrations do not always illuminate.
