Clik here to view.
Friday Mock Newbery Exercise: Theme
In today’s Friday Mock Newbery Exercise, we take a look at one of my favorite Newbery criteria pieces: interpretation of the theme or concept. It doesn’t matter what format the title is in (picture...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Graphic Novels Take Two: Is This is the Year?
I know we already had a graphic novel round-up a in September, but I think in a year of so many strong titles- it deserves a revisit. We haven’t had a graphic novel win a medal or honor since 2019, so...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Be prepared for Heavy Medal Live Webcast January 19th
As the holiday season gears up, so does the Heavy Medal season. We officially have a date, time, and sign-up link for our Heavy Medal live webcast. “What’s It Really Like? Join the 2024 Mock Newbery...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Debating the Decades: Take our 1990s Poll and See the Results from the...
The results are in from our second “Debating the Decades” poll! In our first poll, we asked Heavy Medal readers to cast votes on Newbery books from the 2010s. Those results are here. That poll covered...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cast Your December Nominations: The Final Countdown
With December around the corner, it’s time to submit the final two nominations for the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Award. This is the last of three rounds for nominations, two titles for a total of seven...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Debut Books and the Newbery Medal: Will a first-time author win the Medal again?
When a new Newbery year starts and we start to identify potential contenders, I always start with authors I know. Previous Newbery winners, kids’ favorites, writers whose past books I’ve rated highly....
View ArticleThe Revised Newbery Manual: A look at recent updates to the guiding...
During our Heavy Medal Mock Newbery discussions we often reference two key documents: The Newbery Terms and Criteria and the Newbery Manual. Early in 2023, ALSC published a revised edition of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The nominations are complete: 58 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2024 Possibilities
After three months of nominations, we officially completed our Heavy Medal 2024 Mock Newbery nomination list. There are 58 total titles that we now need to narrow down to a final 12-15 (probably 15)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Narrow-It-Down Poll: Help us finalize our Heavy Medal Book List
We’ve completed all three rounds of nominations on Heavy Medal, with the full results here. In late December, the soon-to-be-formed Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) will begin discussing the 12-15...
View ArticleThe search is on for the 2024 Heavy Medal Award Committee
After nearly a year of reading, months of discussion, and 58 nominations, it’s time to form the 2024 Heavy Medal Award Committee. This committee is made up of volunteers who are serious about reading...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Best Books” Lists and Heavy Medal: A look at the year-end picks from...
In late November and early December, major children’s book review journals begin to unveil their “Best Books of the Year” lists. It’s always interesting to see how those lists relate to the books...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2024 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Book List
It was a less dramatic (and faster) phone call than usual, but we have a 2024 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery book list. From the 58 nominated titles, we narrowed it down to 16 (I tried for 20 but Steven...
View ArticleLast Call for Heavy Medal Award Committee and Debating Decades Poll
As we move into our next phase of Heavy Medal discussions, today is the last day to submit applications for the Heavy Medal Award Committee and tomorrow is the final day to vote in our last Debating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
They Almost Made It: Excellent books that we (reluctantly) left off of our...
On Wednesday, we unveiled the Heavy Medal Book List: 16 titles that will be discussed, argued about, and finally voted on during our Mock Newbery process. We mostly hope that our list will lead to...
View ArticleThe Heavy Medal 2024 Mock Newbery Book Discussion Schedule
It’s been another busy year for Heavy Medal. After suggesting and nominating books, We finally decided on 16 titles for the final Heavy Medal Book List (HBML). And this past week a bunch of readers...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meet the 2024 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Award Committee
Our 2024 Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) is officially set! We have 16 members, just one more than the real Committee’s 15. Every one of them is committed to reading all 16 titles on hour Heavy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Final Debating Decades
The results are in from our final “Debating the Decades” poll! In our two polls, we asked Heavy Medal readers to cast votes on Newbery books from the 2010s and the 2000’s. Readers viewed three...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: AN AMERICAN STORY by Kwame Alexander
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Gabrielle Stoller: “How do you tell the story?Of copper dreams wrapped in iron chains?How do you tell that story and not weep for the world?” When I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING by Dan Santat
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Kelly Mueller: Middle school is rough for Dan, and he just wants to stay out of trouble, keep his head down, and be invisible. He doesn’t want to try...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: ALEBRIJES by Donna Barbra Higuera
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Casey Grenier: Donna Barba Higuera’s ALEBRIJES is a story that will stick with readers; it is a thought-provoking journey through a dystopian future,...
View Article