 | |
| Author | Kirby Larson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Chapter book |
| Publisher | Yearling Books |
Publication date | 2006 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 289 pages |
| ISBN | 978-0385735957 |
Hattie Big Sky is a children's historical novel by Kirby Larson, published in 2006. In 2007 the book was named a Newbery Honor book [1] and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. [2] Hattie Big Sky was also an Illinois Rebecca Caudill Award nominee.
The novel is set during World War I. Hattie Brooks, a sixteen-year-old orphan who has tired of being shuttled between relatives she hardly knows, receives a letter from an uncle who has recently died. He leaves her all of his land, and Hattie travels to his farm in Montana to start life as a homesteader. She has less than a year to prove herself capable of taking care of the land. In the book we learn about Hattie through her letters to her friend Charlie who is at war, and to her Uncle Holt. One difficulty Hattie faces is being called upon, as a loyal American, to shun her kind neighbors because of their German descent.
According to Sharon Morrison in School Library Journal: "Larson's vivid descriptions of the harshness of the work and the extreme climates, and the strength that comes from true friendship, create a masterful picture of the homesteading experience and the people who persevered." Morrison also said "it was a heartwarming yet poignant story about homesteading in early-20th-century Montana." [3] Kathleen Odean in Booklist praised Larson: "Writing in figurative language that draws on nature and domestic detail to infuse her story with the sounds, smells, and sights of the prairie, she created a richly textured novel full of memorable characters." [4] Sally Miculek in Booklist describes the story as being "historical fiction at its best." [5]
Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton, who wrote primarily as K. M. Peyton, was a British author of fiction for children and young adults in the 1960s and 1970s.
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
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The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by Booklist magazine; administered by the ALA's young-adult division, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA); and named for the Topeka, Kansas, school librarian Mike Printz, a long-time active member of YALSA. Up to four worthy runners-up may be designated Honor Books and three or four have been named every year.
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Kirby Lane Larson is an American writer of children's books including Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award-winner The Magic Kerchief, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger. Her book, Hattie Big Sky, was a finalist for the 2007 Scandiuzzi Book Award of the Washington State Book Awards, and won a 2007 Newbery Honor. Kirby is retired from the faculty at the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program. Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle both have won a Show-Me Award.
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Christina Soontornvat is an American author, educator, and mechanical engineer. She won two Newbery Honors in 2021 for the children's books A Wish in the Dark and All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team, and another Newbery Honor in 2023 for the middle grade novel "The Last Mapmaker".
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