Mock Newbery Mania

 

CLAUDETTE COLVIN . . . Students liked how Hoose wove Claudette’s voice into the narrative, and found the themes of the book very powerful, but while the arrest and trial were fascinating there was a noticeable lull in between those events.

 

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS . . . This one got slayed.  Everyone admitted it was light and funny, but most found that it had no deeper meaning . . . and yet it still got votes.

 

THE LAST OLYMPIAN . . . This one was praised for the humor and adventure, but like DOG DAYS, many found it did not offer something beyond mere entertainment.  Others found the classic good and evil themes good enough to sufficiently distinguish it.

 

THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT . . . This one had mixed reactions, mostly based on expectations.  It wasn’t what anybody expected, and that delighted some and frustrated others.  A couple sixth grade students spoke eloquently about the themes of this book, about hope and miracles, and good things happening to unlucky people.

 

MOONSHOT . . . Another book that divided readers.  Some found the style succinctly captured the historical event, but others wanted more detail.  One reader had read T-MINUS and MISSION CONTROL, THIS IS APOLLO, and found them more detailed–and thus, in his estimation, better.

 

MURDER AT MIDNIGHT . . . Great storytelling–plot, characters, setting.  Some students gave up on this one before being hooked by the mystery, but those who read far enough found this a very satisfying story.  Broad appeal.

 

TRUCE . . . This one was praised to the hilt by the boys.  I had a pair of sixth grade boys and a pair of fourth grade boys who raved about it.  They liked the setting.  They found the history interesting.  And they appreciated how it showed that war is not inevitable, that people make choices that lead to war, and how they can choose peace instead. 

 

WHEN YOU REACH ME . . . I had a couple of boys say this was the best book they had ever read.  I also had a couple more students speak very passionately about it.  One student gave up on it, but everybody else that read it, found it a place for it on their ballot.

 

ZOOBREAK . . . Like DOG DAYS and THE LAST OLYMPIAN, this is a sequel, and that hampered this book somewhat.  The storytelling was good, but the style of writing was not as good as some of the other books.

 

As expected our first ballot, yielded two frontrunners.  Out of nineteen ballots, THE LAST OLYMPIAN had 7 first place votes and 41 total points.  WHEN YOU REACH ME only had 5 first place votes, but also had 41 total points.  Two more books separated themselves from the pack.  TRUCE had three first place votes and 25 total points and MURDER AT MIDNIGHT had no first place votes, but 22 total points.  We eliminated CLAUDETTE COLVIN and MOONSHOT because neither book had first place votes, and proceeded immediately to a second ballot.

 

On the second ballot, THE LAST OLYMPIAN retained its 7 first place votes, but dropped to 37 total points while WHEN YOU  REACH ME tied it with 7 first place votes, but jumped to 45 total points.  We declared WHEN YOU REACH ME as our winner in spite of the fact that it did not have either the necessary 10 first place votes and 10 point spread.  Part of the problem is that many students had both books on their ballots. 

 

We also had a controversial choice with the honor books.  We were split right down the middle as to whether to to recognize THE LAST OLYMPIAN as the only honor book or to also recognize TRUCE and MURDER AT MIDNIGHT which both slightly increased their support.  Thus, I decided that we would have three honor books, but the students would like me to note that THE LAST OLYMPIAN is really almost like a second winner.

 

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead

 

MURDER AT MIDNIGHT by Avi

THE LAST OLYMPIAN by Rick Riordan

TRUCE by Jim Murphy  

I’m appropriating the Meta-Mock Newbery list that Miriam has been keeping on a previous thread, and have updated it here with the Rockland County, NY and Middleton, Wi results along with Briar’s and mine.  Do chime in with late-breaking results.

Wins:
When You Reach Me 14
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 2
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 2
Slob 1 
Love, Aubrey 1
Peace, Locomotion 1

Honors:
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon 6 
Anything but Typical 4
Claudette Colvin 4
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate 4
When You Reach Me 4
Written in Bone 2
Marching for Freedom 1
Crossing Stones 1
Peace, Locomotion 1
Almost Astronauts 1
The Dunderheads 1
The Magician’s Elephant 1
Umbrella Summer 1
Year the Swallows Came Early 1
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer 1
Eleven Birthdays 1
Love, Aubrey 1
Wild Things 1 
Murder at Midnight 1
The Last Olympian 1
Truce 1
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies 1
Slob 1
Scat 1

Secret Keeper 1