Books like Anastasia Krupnik

I really do not know why I did not read this particular Lois Lowry book (or the entire Anastasia Krupnik series for that matter) as a teenager, when the series was current, when it was just published. For I do so love and appreciate mature little Anastasia with a vocabulary much better than mine and self-direction enough to make her own decisions and lists (which are also always kept up-to-date). And her parents indeed are equally wonderful, giving their daughter lots of space and consideration, even with the new baby coming (and yes, there is most definitely some personal envy speaking here, as my parents were not even remotely as understanding and yes, as forgiving and commiserative when I was Anastasia's age). Now my very favourite part of Anastasia Krupnik is probably the sharing of the poem Anastasia had taken so much time writing. And since her teacher actually had given Anastasia an F and explained that she had not followed directions, I can definitely thus completely understand why this teacher originally ended up on that hate-list. I guess I can though, at least to a point, also realise and even appreciate that Anastasia did in fact not follow the directions of the assignment (in so far that the poem was supposed to rhyme). But was that failure worth an F, a total failing grade which basically says that her efforts were both wrong and totally unacceptable? I mean, why did the teacher not give Anastasia at least a C; an F just seems so totally mean spirited in the extreme. That being said, at the end of the novel, at the end of Anastasia Krupnik this very same teacher is then actually revealed to be a genuinely nice and caring person (albeit one with perhaps not all that much imagination, but still a comisserative and genuinely pleasant individual and not a monstrosity worthy of hatred and ridicule). And personally, I also so appreciate that her father not only has Anastasia read her poem aloud to him, but that he loves her verses and is not afraid of telling Anastasia that her poem is indeed good (that the father is not above giving praise when and where praise is due). And he also explains it is the teacher who cannot understand poetry (but in retrospect, I also like the fact that Dr. Krupnik is able to commend Anastasia's poetic effort without actually being nasty towards the teacher, that he strives to show his daughter that her teacher is not trying to be deliberately mean, but that she simply has a limited and limiting understanding of lyricism, of the fact that poetry does not have to mean rhyming couplets and the like). And I guess I should also perhaps admit that when I first read Anastasia Krupnik, my initial reaction (especially towards the scene where Anastasia shares her supposedly failed poem with her father and the fact that he is not only accepting of her, but offers praise while also allowing himself to be openly critical of her teacher) was both intensely positive and congratulatory, but also one of serious and almost tearful envy (as my own parents would NEVER have acted this way, would ALWAYS have taken the part of the teacher in no uncertain terms, and were generally only interested in my endeavours and issues when there were issues, and potential problems, as parental praise was seen as promoting possible boastfulness and egocentrism).But sadly, Anastasia Krupnik and actually the entire series, is also a continuous resident on the list for frequently banned and challenged books in the USA, often because of the fact that curse words are used and presented. Now I really do not think that there is anything all that problematic about these so called four-letter words, as they are used realistically and are also not over and gratuitously used. And yes, a university student might well use these types of words and expressions in class, during a lecture, which is perhaps why Dr. Krupnik should probably not have taken Anastasia to visit his class (I myself teach at the university/college level and students do use inappropriate language at times, which is why the few times students have wanted to be able to take their children to class, I have said that this was not such a good idea). Now if the swear words used in, featured in Anastasia Krupnik had been overused and gratuitous, I might have had somewhat more of an issue with this, but as it stands, they just make the narrative more realistic and immediate. And really, the idea of some "enlightened" parents wanting to ban, to remove this book (or the series) from library shelves etc. simply because curse words and references to alcohol consumption is presented, is simply and utter horrid and laughable (so what if off colour words are used, or that Anastasia's father drinks beer and lets her sip the foam, oh wow, how anal and silly these holier than thou book banners and book burners are, book banning and censorship is NEVER acceptable).But indeed, I guess I was and perhaps also do even remain a bit shocked at the name Anastasia originally chose for her baby brother. For I kind of naively thought it was going to be some kind of a complicated name like her own, such as Theophilus or perhaps some literary name she had read in a book, or had heard her parents discuss. And personally, at age ten, I would not even have known what it meant (and I will not reveal the actual name, as that would be a massive spoiler, except to say that it is rather sexual in nature and tone), and would also not have wanted to ask my parents what it meant either (and when I was ten, we had just moved to Canada from Germany, so I actually doubt that either of my parents would even have known what it meant any more than I would have; they knew English, but would not likely have known much vernacular and slang).And finally, as someone with a rather odd and difficult to pronounce first name (Gundula), I can certainly much relate to Anastasia at the beginning of the novel not liking her name and actually having some rather major issues with the same. Now I personally love her name and that she was named for Anastasia Romanov (and I also much appreciate my own name now), but having a unique name can definitely be a real hassle at school and can also lead to both inadvertent pronunciation issues (my teachers were constantly mispronouncing my name, but many of them did not at all like me telling them that) and even bullying (Anastasia being left out of the "i" club in her class comes to mind, and I remember that at least some of the mispronunciations of my own name were deliberate, like Gondola instead of Gundula, and classmates telling me that I resembled the former).