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Best Books
Five of the six review journals have spoken: Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal. I will add Bulletin in after the turn of the new year. Five lists– THE LIE TREE...
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Some Writer!
In October 1949, he wrote his publisher, Cass Canfield: “My next book is in sight. I look at it every day. I keep it in a carton, as you would a kitten.” Andy spent the year studying spiders. “In...
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Gallery: Curse of the Three Star Book
Last year, I noted here and here that it’s very easy for books with three starred reviews to slip under our radar and earn Newbery recognition. We can’t read everything, and what we do read, we can’t...
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Juana & Lucas
JUANA & LUCAS is pure delight. I’m really excited to be able to discuss a heavily illustrated early chapter book that has lovely art, but certainly also has text worth consideration. We didn’t...
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How does a book Win? Part 1: Nominations
I’m going to end this year with a post that gets a little bit into process. I know this will be review for a lot of you, but it’s nice to talk about and a reminder is always good! So, how does a...
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Jason Reynolds Revisited
Jason Reynolds has published five books in three years, bursting onto the scene in a big way. It’s no overstatement to say that he may be the most significant new voice to debut during that time span....
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Best Books: The Final Edition
I consulted the following lists: BOOKLIST, BULLETIN, HORN BOOK, KIRKUS REVIEWS, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Please let me know if I have missed something. Six lists– SOME WRITER!...
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Gallery: More Underdogs?
The following books–another baker’s dozen–have received starred reviews, but have not received any discussion, let alone mention, on the blog this year. Are any of these strong Newbery contenders?...
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How does a book Win? Part 2: Discussion
We finished off with nominations over in Part 1 of this series, and now we find ourselves at Part 2, the discussion. This is the biggest piece of the puzzle of how a book wins. Hours and hours (and...
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How does a book Win? Part 3: Balloting
So, we’ve nominated our books and we’ve discussed them and discussed them and discussed them. Now, it’s time to vote! But how does that voting work? And how does the Committee decide what books are...
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Easy Reader Roundup
To date, only one easy reader–FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER–has been recognized by the Newbery committee, so the chances of one breaking through seem improbable, if not downright impossible. But if last year...
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Elephant & Piggie Like Reading
Leveraging the Elephant & Piggie brand, Mo Willems has extended the reach of the magical spell that he has cast over emergent readers with Elephant & Piggie Like Reading. The first two...
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Gallery: One More Batch
Here’s one final group of books with multiple starred reviews. It just goes to show that we can really only scratch the surface here on this blog in terms of covering the breadth of books that the...
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Pax, Wolf Hollow and When the Sea Turned Silver
Well, today is the Oakland Mock Newbery, and as I’m looking over my notes I’m thinking a lot about all of the books I’ve read this year, and particularly about the books on our shortlist. It’s been...
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Oakland Mock Newbery Results
What a nice day I had discussing this batch of outstanding books with this gang of outstanding people! Thanks to all who came out and thanks, especially, to those who helped to organize. Look at this...
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Online Mock Newbery
We’re doing things a bit differently this year then we have in years past. Rather than having people post their votes in the comments, we are using an online ballot and you can vote here. We dithered...
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Online Mock Newbery Results
MEDAL HONOR BOOKS These three books clearly distinguished themselves from the pack. Here are their stats. WOLF HOLLOW . . . 40 (1st) + 20 (2nd) +...
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Results!
I’m up at 5am watching! Did you watch, in person, or online? Honor Books: Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The...
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Over the Moon
When a committee only recognizes a small handful of books, it goes without saying that various people will be surprised and disappointed by the books that did not get selected. Nevertheless, when I...
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2018 Newbery Reading List
Here are some of the books on my radar for 2018 consideration. Some of them already have great reviews; some of them are by favorite authors; many of them are nonfiction! Please weigh in if you’ve...
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