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An Errant Newbery Book
Aug. 27th, 2024 12:29 pmOver the weekend, I popped down to the library with the goal of picking up Elizabeth Wein's Cobalt Squadron, only to discover that it wasn't on the shelf. As I was idly browsing, I noticed a Newbery book (the Puffin Newbery bindings are very distinctive once you've read 47 of them), and then with mounting horror realized that I didn't recognize the title.
"But I've read all the Newbery books between 1940 and 2023!" I wailed. "None of the remaining books are available except through interlibrary loan! HOW CAN THIS BE."
It turns out that when I was copying out the Newbery list for the 1950s, I somehow skipped Ann Weil's Red Sails to Capri. Of course I had to check the book out and read it instantly, and I am happy to report that it was an enjoyable read, except for the fact that its overlooked existence has rocked my sense of certainty to its foundations. (I have since checked the Newbery lists and I BELIEVE this is the only one I missed, but then I believed that I had them all before, now didn't I.)
In 1826, three travelers arrive at the island of Capri during the winter, when the tourist trade is low. For young Michele's family, which owns the less successful of the two inns in town, their arrival is a godsend - until the travelers get it into their heads that they'd like to visit the Forbidden Cove.
Now, if you have read a few books about Natural Landmarks Forbidden by Folk Superstition, you know there is one of two ways that this story can go. Either our heroes are going to be driven to death and/or madness by the Thing in the Cove, leaving behind only a salt-stained notebook in which to tell fragments of their tale; or reason is going to triumph over superstition and they will discover there is nothing to fear at all.
Generally speaking, folk horror is not a big Newbery genre, and Reason Triumphing Over Superstition IS. (Also, if you know something about tourist landmarks on Capri, I bet you can guess what they're going to discover.) But although I figured out the destination pretty quickly, the journey was still fun.
***
Also, I've since discovered that Cobalt Squadron is in fact shelved under J FIC STAR (as in Star Wars), so I'll amble back to the library to pick it up. But thank God I didn't bother to look it up before, or who knows if I ever would have discovered that I'd missed Red Sails to Capri!
"But I've read all the Newbery books between 1940 and 2023!" I wailed. "None of the remaining books are available except through interlibrary loan! HOW CAN THIS BE."
It turns out that when I was copying out the Newbery list for the 1950s, I somehow skipped Ann Weil's Red Sails to Capri. Of course I had to check the book out and read it instantly, and I am happy to report that it was an enjoyable read, except for the fact that its overlooked existence has rocked my sense of certainty to its foundations. (I have since checked the Newbery lists and I BELIEVE this is the only one I missed, but then I believed that I had them all before, now didn't I.)
In 1826, three travelers arrive at the island of Capri during the winter, when the tourist trade is low. For young Michele's family, which owns the less successful of the two inns in town, their arrival is a godsend - until the travelers get it into their heads that they'd like to visit the Forbidden Cove.
Now, if you have read a few books about Natural Landmarks Forbidden by Folk Superstition, you know there is one of two ways that this story can go. Either our heroes are going to be driven to death and/or madness by the Thing in the Cove, leaving behind only a salt-stained notebook in which to tell fragments of their tale; or reason is going to triumph over superstition and they will discover there is nothing to fear at all.
Generally speaking, folk horror is not a big Newbery genre, and Reason Triumphing Over Superstition IS. (Also, if you know something about tourist landmarks on Capri, I bet you can guess what they're going to discover.) But although I figured out the destination pretty quickly, the journey was still fun.
***
Also, I've since discovered that Cobalt Squadron is in fact shelved under J FIC STAR (as in Star Wars), so I'll amble back to the library to pick it up. But thank God I didn't bother to look it up before, or who knows if I ever would have discovered that I'd missed Red Sails to Capri!
