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Nice, But Not For Newbery…or Are They?
October nominations continue through the 9th, providing a growing list of the strongest Newbery contenders so far, according to Heavy Medal readers. Like many others, I struggled with having to leave...
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October Nomination Results
Our first round of nominations on Heavy Medal is now closed. The results are below. 36 readers submitted nominations for a total of 36 unique titles (I can’t make this up). RED WHITE AND WHOLE leads...
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Ghostly Appearances in the Newbery Conversation
I don’t normally seek out books with ghosts in them, but it’s impossible to avoid them this year. I’m not talking about the books where ghosts fit right in, like the axe-wielding sailor in DARK...
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Five Word Friday: Nominations in 5 Words or Less
Let’s have some fun today and play a game where Emily tries to sum up all 36 nominations in five words or less. I was going to be nice and list the titles but decided it would be more fun if you...
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Reader-Character-Author Connections: Autiobiographical Possibilities for the...
Children’s literature is filled with books that convey, in one way or another, the author’s own childhood or adolescent experiences. Recent examples from the Newbery canon include the only two Honor...
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Past Newbery Winners: Can They do It Again?
Winning a Newbery Medal or Honor is a lifetime achievement and gives you instant notoriety in the children’s literature world. Past winners typically receive an extra look at their books, and they...
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Flashback Friday: Never Won a Newbery
In Honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Newbery Medal, we’re taking a look back at the award’s history on every fourth Friday. Today we’ll look at some of the books and authors that might have won a...
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Realistic Historical Fiction, or Just Another Made Up Genre
In today’s edition of Heavy Medal I present the newest Emily made up genre: realistic historical fiction! (Otherwise known as books I read and assumed they were set in present day and then realize...
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The Heavy Medal Awards Committee: A look ahead to our Mock Newbery selections
Results of our “Never Won a Newbery” polls are in. Check out the results which have been added to last Friday’s post. Meanwhile, here’s a look ahead at what’s coming up over the next couple months:...
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2 Escapes, 1 Tragedy, and 13 Meals: picture book nonfiction that could win a...
This year I don’t get to do my usual lament that nonfiction picture books don’t do well under the Newbery lens because last year it happened: BOX: HENRY BROWN MAILS HIMSELF TO FREEDOM won a Newbery...
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November Mock Newbery Nominations: Add Two More
We are back in action for our second month of nominating titles for the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery. We nominated three titles in October for a total of 35 titles and have two more now, and our final two...
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Newbery 100th Anniversary Mini-Poll on SLJ.com
Last week we asked Heavy Medal readers to weigh in on some poll questions inspired by the 100th Anniversary of the Newbery Medal. We’ve decided to go a little further and just put some more questions...
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Nominations Catch-Up: under-the-radar Mock Newbery contenders
Our call for November nominations continues through November 6, but meanwhile, let’s catch up on the list of October nominations. 20 titles received at least two nominations, and we’ve highlighted 15...
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Books I Actually Finished: the Best of October Nominations?
Just in time to turn in my November nominations (due by the end of the day tomorrow if you haven’t submitted two yet) I finished all the titles I haven’t read from October nominations. Some I had not...
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November Nominations Results
November nominations are complete. Over 30 Heavy Medal readers have weighed in with their top five Newbery contenders so far. Some quick notes about the latest results: No clear leaders: Five books...
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Sunshine, Aidan, and Pony: will a second read increase their Newbery chances?:
I wasn’t far into AMBER AND CLAY I was pretty sure it would be a strong Newbery contender for me. THE GENIUS UNDER THE TABLE had me at “Juicy Fruit.” Some books are like that. Other times, though, it...
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The “Early Six” and “Five Word Friday”
Our discussion of the best children’s books of 2020 leads up to a Mock Newbery discussion and vote, where the not-yet-formed Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) chooses a winner from a list of 12-15...
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What are we missing 2.0 Heavy Medal sleepers?
I’m back again with my foreseen paranoia that I am going to miss important titles that I need to read. (This never goes away, even years when I’m unaffiliated with any committees, blogs, etc.)...
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Encores for Skunk, Badger, and Young Foxes: Will a sequel win the Newbery?
The “sequels” question comes up every year on Heavy Medal, and I assume it must be looked at by every real Committee. For me, it usually hits two ways. There’s the procedural element (does it stand up...
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Underrepresented Genres: Nonfiction worth nominating?
When looking at our nomination list so far, five of the 53 nominated titles are nonfiction. (FALLOUT, GENIUS UNDER THE TABLE, GONE TO THE WOODS, UNSPEAKABLE, AND RUNAWAY). Steven already highlighted...
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