Newbery Rewind: 1926

Still trying to catch up with writing up the Newberys I read in 2018. While I read a lot (12 in all), I consistently forgot to do these write-ups. In this case, probably because the books were pretty terrible.

1925

• The first "motel" opened in California, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• The Great Gatsby was published. So was Mein Kampf.
• The Scopes Monkey Trial began in Dayton, Tennessee.
• The Chrysler Corporation was founded and the first Sears store opened in Chicago (kind of funny since Sears is currently going bankrupt).
• Nellie Tayloe Ross took office in Wyoming as the first female governor elected in the United States.
• The first issue of New Yorker magazine was published.
• The Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting.
• Benito Mussolini's dictatorship began in Italy.
• Scotch tape was invented.
• Calvin Coolidge's inauguration becomes the first broadcast over radio.
• The Tri-State Tornado, the deadliest in U.S. history, rampages through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people and injuring 2,027. It hits the towns of Murphysboro, Illinois; West Frankfort, Illinois; Gorham, Illinois; Ellington, Missouri; and Griffin, Indiana.
•  In London, John Logie Baird successfully transmits the first television pictures with a greyscale image
• Edward Gorey was born. 

Honor Book was....

Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum; illustrated by Wilfred Jones

This collection of stories, historical accounts, and legends about explores on the Atlantic ocean was at times interesting, but mainly quite boring. And in some instances, incredibly inaccurate. I liked his The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles much, much better.

And the Winner was...

Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children by Arthur Bowie Chrisman; illustrated by Else Hasselriis

Awful!! So much racism and cultural appropriation. Granted, for its time that is not too surprising, but still. Not quite as bad as Tales from Silver Lands but almost.