Snag Dobry Author Monica Shannon Format Kindle

plot description is really misleading, There is as much plot about a "gypsy bear" in this book as anything else,

Plot summary

PartWaiting for the bear
Pagesare spent mostly wondering when the "gypsy bear" will arrive, At no point does the author tell you what this means, other than that it has something to do with massages,

Also in Part:
A telling of the creation story in which God tries out a race of giants who are too big to enjoy bread, then a race of little people who get blown around on the wind before settling on humans who are heavy enough to stay on the ground but small enough to enjoy bread.
Bread is our purpose.
p.: "Dobry saw the flour as the climax to a story, "
There is a Muslim living in the town and everybody is cool with it,
Descriptions of bread and daily Bulgarian life

PartThe bear arrives!
Behold:


The bear is important partly for walking on people's backs and partly for wading in the river.
When the bear wades in the river, then it is safe for humans to start taking baths in the river after a long, smelly winter,

PartFond memories of the bear, and wishing it will come back
The bear's visit inspires Dobry to do

various things such as make carvings and flirt with the girl next door by flattering her goat and winking at her in church.


Partalso includes the infamous snow melting contest, This is a contest in which grown men take off their coats, open their shirts, and lay down in the snow, The first one to sink into the snow wins, It is believed that the person with the strongest muscles and the hottest blood will sink first, It is a sign of manliness to have icicles form on your chest hair,
p.describes Grandfather practicing by walking around with his shirt open until "the sweaty hair on his chest frozen stiff with icicles, The icicles clinked all the time he was at work on the timber, "
p.Dobry envied the men their icicles and whispered, . . "I wish I were a MAN full grown, I'd be proud of the day I could stride in here, clinking at the chest, It's a noise I love even better than I love the noise of sleigh bells, "

Ultimately, Dobry gets a chance to go learn carving at the art school in Sofia, But first, he has to take a bath, so the book is right back to waiting for the bear to show up,

Side comment:
If you are offended by the term "gypsy," then this is not the book for you, I would say that the Roma people are portrayed very positively in this book, It is true that they are praised for somewhat stereotypical things bold fashion sense, fortune telling, etc, but they are seen as an important part of Bulgarian life,

There is no reason to read this book unless you are trying to read all the Newbery winners, If so, you should do what I did and read all the good ones first, It's not the worst book that ever won the award ahem, sitelinkDaniel Boone, but you could live a full and happy life without it,.
Must. Keep. Going. Even the massaging gypsy bear couldn't make this book less painful, Yes. A massaging gypsy bear.

One day I will look back and proudly say 'I have read all of the Newbery award winners', No pain. No gain. Newbery winner.

I wanted to give this book more just so my review started in stark contrast to all theampstar ones that really hated it, Why give a book ANY if you disliked it that much Oh the weirdo social implications of rating a book, I don't think I'd recommend this book, but I certainly wouldn't defame it like The Wheel on the School or Miss Hickory, One of the plus points on reading others reviews was seeing that someone else agreed that this book had some WTF momentstheir words not mine, though appropriate, Seriously a bear that gives massages to the old men of the village every year Jumping into an ice hole cut out for the purpose of retrieving a crucifix purposely thrown in

With all that considered, context on this book is key height of the depression.
. . the kid always had enough to eat and money/ methods to get it to follow his aspirations and eventually, the full support of his family and community, A completely appropriate tale for, The bits of culture weren't bad either and this was a pleasant read without any evil, malice or deep rending conflict, This a nice family story that takes place in Bulgaria, Unfortunately this feels a bit more outdated than some of the other early Newbery's that I've read, The illustrations are traditional Bulgarian drawings which feel antiquated and just plain strange at times, I enjoyed it while I was reading, but don't have any strong feelings one way or the other about it,
This book reminded me a lot of sitelinkGranny, Iliko, Illarion, and I, or of the kindest episodes in sitelinkChik and His Friends, It is about a boy, Dobry, growing up with his family in Bulgarian village, and we get to know their customs, their neighbours and his dreams, It's told in a simple and kind way that I enjoyed, “The Peasant Boy who Would be an Artist”

Set in the mountains ofBulgaria this rambling story covers someyears in the life on a strapping peasant boy.
Nestled at the foot of the many mountains of Bulgaria his village carries on the rhythm of life closely aligned with the seasons, His Grandfather is an admired storyteller, proud of his strength like an ox and ability to withstand the cold Polar Bearlike plunge in the River and the annual Snow Melting Contest.
His mother, Roda, a widow who lostchildren before Dobry was granted to her, makes excellent bread from the wonderful wheat which they grow, An admired cook she often reminds him that they are all part of the land because the bread results from their combined effortshuman and Natures blessings,

But Dobry discovers that he has artistic talent and wants to fashion objects out of wood, then clay, If only he had the money to travel to distant Sofia to study art there seriously, His grandfather encourages his talentas does Kolu, the master Jamal makerbut Roda frets that her son cares more for imaginary animals than the ones he is supposed to tend: oxen, goats, then cows.
His best friend is a little girl named Neda who grows up shyly nearby, but seems to have her heart set on him, Wont it break if he goes off to the capital to study to become a famous artistwill he still care for a modest peasant girl from a mountain village

In simple vocabulary with easy syntax and occasional Bulgarian terms to add the spice of authenticity Shannon recounts the daily life of a pre War Bulgarian village: where they await the annual arrival of the gypsy Bear who can relieve their winterlong aches and pains.
Where Easter, Christmas and New Years customs are solidly engrained and faithfully observed, As the seasons turn so does Dobry grow in stature and reputationespecially the night he fashions a manger scene out of snow, where devout villagers come to worship, Modern teens will have to slow down their pace and craving for action and slick repartee, for these modest pages transport readers back into a simpler, gentler time, An era when a homogenous people accepted the fact that they were both superstitious yet pious, Young Dobry matures to realize in joyful content that he is an integral part of the earth and the mountains, That he has a place in the grand scheme of things, And that his heart will always have a home,

February,


Dobry is a young boy living in the Balkan highlands of Bulgaria, The story is about his comingofage and selfdiscovery, Dobry is different from the rest of the peasant villagers, Yes, he can work the land and manage the livestock like his fellow villagers, but Dobry is an artist, He never falters in his desire to be who he is, even though his mother thinks his aspirations are impractical, Thanks to Dobry's wise and understanding grandfather, Roda, Dobry's mother, comes to realize that she must support Dobry,

Dobry is not a book to be read quickly, It must be absorbed slowly, I took the time to try and smell the bread baking, to imagine the coldness of the tomatoes kept in snow and to feel the changes in season which are given such importance in the culture, as depicted here.


What I loved about this book is the great detail that is given to the simple way of life, the customs and the importance of the land and how it provides everything the peasants need.


The relationship between Dobry and his grandfather is special, The grandfather is probably my favorite character in the book, He is a storyteller and his diversions are a welcome addition to the book, giving the reader a taste of traditional Bulgarian folklore,

The relationship between Dobry and his childhood friend, Neda is very sweet, We get to see their relationship evolve from friendship into the early stages of love,

Unlike much of the literature preceding and contemporary to Dobry, the gypsies are depicted as kindly and helpful, Most of the time, gypsies are portrayed as thieves and swindlers, I felt it was beneficial to see a different perspective,

I don't think this is a perfect book, but there were no faults that caused me to dislike it, The only stumbling block for me was the use of strange syntax in the dialog where the writer was trying to emulate the Bulgarian way of speaking, .