SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Book Discussion
  • Heavy Medal Mock
  • Process

November 17, 2010 by Jonathan Hunt

Best Books

November 17, 2010 by Jonathan Hunt   22 comments

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

The National Book Award will be announced tonight, and I’m 90% sure that it will be ONE CRAZY SUMMER and 10% sure that it will be SHIP BREAKER.  Only two books–M.C. HIGGINS THE GREAT and HOLES–have won both the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal (and, incidentally, also the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award) so if ONE CRAZY SUMMER wins tonight, it remains to be seen if it can join that elite group.  Sometimes it seems as if the Newbery committee deliberately neglects the National Book Award nominees, especially the juvenile titles . . .

BEST OF THE YEAR LISTS

The best of the year lists from various review journals are starting to trickle in.  Publishers Weekly Best Books for Children, Kirkus Reviews Best Books for Children and Best Books for Teens, and School Library Journal Best Books have been announced.  Here’s a peek at the overlap, without regard to Newbery eligibility.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

THREE LISTS

THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE KKK by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

SHARK VS. TRAIN by Chris Barton

INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher

THE WAR TO END ALL WARS by Russell Freedman

BALLET FOR MARTHA by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

THE EXTRAORDINARY MARK TWAIN by Barbara Kerley

UBIQUITOUS by Joyce Sidman

ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams-Garcia

TWO LISTS

KEEPER by Kathi Appelt

SUGAR CHANGED THE WORLD by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos

COSMIC by Frank Cottrell Boyce

MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

ALCHEMY AND MEGGY SWANN by Karen Cushman

BINK & GOLLIE by Kate DiCamillo and Allison McGhee

REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly

CLEVER JACK TAKES THE CAKE by Candace Fleming

THE BOSS BABY by Marla Frazee

A TALE DARK AND GRIMM by Adam Gidwitz

KUBLA KHAN by Kathleen Krull

LING & TING by Grace Lin

FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta

TRASH by Andy Mulligan

SNOOK ALONE by Marilyn Nelson

BUNNY DAYS by Tao Nyeu

THE FANTASTIC SECRET OF OWEN JESTER by Barbara O’Connor

HEART OF A SAMURAI by Margi Preus

FEVER CRUMB by Philip Reeve

THINGS A BROTHER KNOWS by Dana Reinhardt

THE CHICKEN THIEF by Beatrice Rodriguez

REVOLVER by Marcus Sedgwick

WHAT IF? by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

MIRROR, MIRROR by Marilyn Singer

A SICK DAY FOR AMOS McGEE by Philip Stead

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BARBIE by Tanya Lee Stone

A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS by Megan Whalen Turner

THE QUIET BOOK by Deborah Underwood

CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG by Mo Willems

WE ARE IN A BOOK! by Mo Willems

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Jonathan Hunt

Jonathan Hunt is the Coordinator of Library Media Services at the San Diego County Office of Education. He served on the 2006 Newbery committee, and has also judged the Caldecott Medal, the Printz Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. You can reach him at hunt_yellow@yahoo.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Webcast Results

by Jonathan Hunt

December 2022

Calling all Mock Newbery Enthusiasts: Join the 2023 Heavy Medal Award Committee

by Jonathan Hunt

October 2022

Two More Titles: November Nomination Time

by Jonathan Hunt

September 2022

85 Books to Consider: Mock Newbery Suggestions Updated

by Jonathan Hunt

June 2022

Mock Newbery Update - Our List of First Half Suggestions

by Jonathan Hunt

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#181)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Review of the Day: The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Looking Ahead: Our 2023 Preview

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Ringing in the Newbery (and Caldecott): An awards-trivia smackdown with Betsy Bird and Travis Jonker

Children’s Publishing World Reacts to Michaela Goade's History-Making Caldecott Medal, Rest of the YMA Winners

A Grateful Michaela Goade Makes Caldecott History

2021 Youth Media Awards Winners

A Long Time Coming: Angeline Boulley's 'Firekeeper's Daughter' Takes 2022 Printz Award

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peter says

    November 18, 2010 at 1:04 am

    I believe Rita Garcia-Williams is only the second person (in any category) to get NBA nominations two years in a row. The other time this happened, Han Nolan won with her second nomination and I suspect Garcia-Williams will as well. …But nothing is ever predictable with the National Book Award; they have pulled out some real left-field winners over the years!

    As for the “Best of” lists, has there been a Newbery winner in recent memory that didn’t appear on a single one of these lists? I’m trying to see if I can think of any examples and am coming up blank….

    Peter

  2. Jonathan Hunt says

    November 18, 2010 at 1:17 am

    Yeah, they have picked some wacky winners over the years . . .

    THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY was only starred and bested by Kirkus. I’ve always wondered if Betsy reviewed it for Kirkus . . .

    What about WALK TWO MOONS? Did that have one, too? Can’t remember.

  3. The Brain Lair says

    November 18, 2010 at 1:19 am

    Where is The Cardturner on all of these “best” lists???

  4. Jonathan Hunt says

    November 18, 2010 at 1:30 am

    Kirkus and PW starred CARDTURNER, but neither bested it. Booklist also starred it; that may be its best hope.

  5. Eric Carpenter says

    November 18, 2010 at 2:56 am

    i was shocked when mockingbird got the NBA nomination. I am flabbergasted that it just pull off the win. Were the judges reading a different book?

  6. Monica Edinger says

    November 18, 2010 at 9:37 am

    Well, Jonathan, no more odds from you, that is for sure;)

  7. Mr. H says

    November 18, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    I just hope this “upset” doesn’t encourage committee members to argue stronger for ONE CRAZY SUMMER. I’d rather see something else win . . .

    Honestly, I think this year is wide open.

  8. Wendy says

    November 18, 2010 at 2:27 pm

    Now you’re sounding like you have an actual beef with One Crazy Summer, Mr. H. Is that the case?

  9. Wendy says

    November 18, 2010 at 2:41 pm

    Oops, sorry, I happened to reread the conversation under the One Crazy Summer post, which I’d forgotten about. It seems like you have reasons for preferring this not be the Newbery winner that maybe don’t fall under the criteria, but still leave you hoping, criteria aside that something else will be chosen as the most distinguished book and get the publicity and honor–I can understand that.

  10. Mr. H says

    November 18, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Exactly!

  11. Angela K. says

    November 18, 2010 at 6:42 pm

    Out of the nominations, I had hoped for One Crazy Summer to win (I hadn’t read the YA titles as I’m a children’s librarian). I was amazed/shocked/disappointed that Mockingbird came away the winner. I had real problems with this books (as did many others) and hated to see it come away with top honors. If I remember correctly, I don’t think Mockingbird even showed up on any of the “best” lists. I hope the Newbery comittee doesn’t pull something seemingly out of nowhere to win the “ultimate” children’s lit. prize!

  12. Angela K. says

    November 18, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    * committee
    PW and Kirkus both picked around 40 books, give or take to be on the “best” books of the year lists, and SLJ picked over 60 books . . . not once is Mockingbird mentioned on any of these rather large lists. What are the odds of a book being picked for THE National Book Award without getting on ANY of the “best” lists? In addition, according to Titlewave, it only has two starred reviews.

    The Higher Power of Lucky I agree was a left-field pick for the Newbery. Does anyone know how Secret of the Andes fared with reviews and “best lists” when it came out (and later triumphed over the now-beloved Charlotte’s Web)?

  13. DaNae says

    November 18, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Remember that it is authors who choose the NBA and mostly Librarians who sit on the Newbery committee. They could be looking at different criteria.

  14. Blakeney says

    November 19, 2010 at 1:18 am

    I was startled to see this statement:
    “Juries develop their own criteria for awarding the National Book Award.”
    That means the criteria vary from year to year depending on the panel. It also means that if a person read the finalists, there would be no way of actually discussing which book bests meets the criteria. Interesting.

  15. Elizabeth Bird says

    November 19, 2010 at 5:38 am

    I wasn’t reviewing for Kirkus when Higher Power of Lucky came out, so that star isn’t mine. Nope.

  16. STP says

    November 19, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    According to Elizabeth Bluemle The Stars So Far, PW Sept 22 update, MOCKINGBIRD has 2 starred reviews. It doesn’t identify who gave them.

  17. Ben says

    November 19, 2010 at 12:42 pm

    I don’t understand why FORGE isn’t on any of these lists.

  18. Jonathan Hunt says

    November 19, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    The members of the Newbery committee probably read and reread both MOCKINGBIRD and ONE CRAZY SUMMER (and possibly some of those YA titles) before the NBA finalists were even announced, and they had probably already formed a pretty solid impression of the strengths and weaknesses of each book, so their choices, whatever they may be, really cannot be seen as a response to the NBA. In their deliberations come January the task of discussing dozens of books will be so consuming and absorbing that they will not be focused on the National Book Award, the Printz Award, or the Caldecott Medal whatsoever.

    MOCKINGBIRD was starred by Kirkus and PW, but neither journal bested it, so it’s possible but unlikely that another journal will step up to the plate.

    FORGE is on the Kirkus Best Books for Teens list and it may yet make Horn Book Fanfare, Bulletin Blue Ribbons, and Booklist Editors’ Choice which have yet to be revealed.

    Having been on both highly formal and ritualized ALA committees and the more intimate, informal ones, I can tell you that while there are no rules, so to speak, there is an implicit understanding that (a) the judges would like to recognize excellence and (b) the judges would like to recognize books they like. I’ve found that the discussion can be all over the place, and you can say things you’d never get away with elsewhere (“But she’s never won a major award before” or “I just don’t like books with A, B, or C”), even if such off-the-wall comments rarely determine a winner. With 3 to 5 people (rather than 9 to 15), compromises still have to be made and judges may not love everything on their shortlist. Most groups read, read, read and trade lists of favorites, looking for overlap. I guess in a worst case scenario with the NBA, you could get no overlap, have every judge pick one book, and then decide on a winner. In that situation, I can see the possibility of both wacky shortlists and wacky winners. The chair of the NBA judges facilitates the process and thus has a subtle influence over the direction of the committee. Each of the judges reads an enormous amount of books, and its important that each one of them have something on the list that they can be proud of. So I get all of this, I do, but I still think this particular shortlist (I simply do not live in a world where the five best books are all fiction–no nonfiction, no poetry, no graphic novel, no genre diversity whatsoever), and I’m not particularly impressed by the winner. Whew! There, I got all my pettiness out of me. I hope.

  19. Sharon Creech says

    November 21, 2010 at 12:50 am

    I’m glad I didn’t know anything about stars or best-of lists back in 1994/5. Sometimes I hope for a dark horse–a starless and/or un-best-listed book to come tearing across the finish line.

  20. Jonathan Hunt says

    November 21, 2010 at 1:21 am

    I think every year there is a mix of expected titles and surprises–which is what keeps it fun and exciting. How boring it would be if it was so predictable that we could say say the winners would be drawn only from those books with the most buzz, publicity, or most famous authors. Last year, HOMER P. FIGG was a surprise, the year before it was THE SURRENDER TREE. There are *always* Honor books with little or no fanfare. Rarer still is the Medal book that is relatively unknown, but it still happens. KIRA-KIRA is another winner that was a big surprise.

  21. Miriam says

    December 20, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    Booklist Editor’s Choice have still not gone on their website, but were in their latest email, which can be viewed online here:
    http://link.ixs1.net/s/ve?eli=01192136&si=5185282874&cfc=3html

    And here’s the list, for those who don’t want to click-and-scroll:

    Nonfiction:
    Top of the list:
    They called themselves the KKK

    Older Readers:
    Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters.
    Fort Mose and the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America.
    The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe.
    Lafayette and the American Revolution.
    Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World.
    They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group.
    Unraveling Freedom: The Battle for Democracy on the Homefront during World War I.

    Middle Readers:
    Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring.
    Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night.
    Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot.
    Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse.
    Nic Bishop Lizards.

    Younger Readers:
    Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson.
    Pingpong Perry Experiences How a Book Is Made.

    Fiction:
    Top of the List:
    The Adventures of Nanny Piggins

    Older Readers:
    As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth.
    The Curse of the Wendigo.
    Fever Crumb.
    For the Win.
    Heart of a Samurai.
    The Marbury Lens.
    Mockingjay.
    Monsters of Men.
    Nothing.
    Pathfinder.
    The Ring of Solomon.
    Set to Sea. By Drew Weing.
    The Things a Brother Knows.
    Warriors in the Crossfire.
    Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty.

    Middle Readers:
    The Adventures of Nanny Piggins.
    After Ever After.
    Countdown.
    The Dreamer.
    The Last Best Days of Summer.
    Meanwhile.
    One Crazy Summer.
    Take Me with You.
    Tumbleweed Skies.
    Turtle in Paradise.
    The Unsinkable Walker Bean.
    Zora and Me.

    Younger Readers:
    Big Red Lollipop.
    City Dog, Country Frog. B
    Clever Jack Takes the Cake.
    Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion.
    Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same!
    Miss Lina’s Ballerinas.
    Nini Lost and Found.
    A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea.
    Rain School.
    Sleepover at Gramma’s House.
    Snook Alone.
    There’s Going to Be a Baby.

Trackbacks

  1. Shark Vs. Train gets listed — and listed, and listed again! « Bartography says:
    November 22, 2010 at 12:49 am

    […] overlap among them — if you’ve made one, you’ve made them all. But according to SLJ’s Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog, only eight titles hold that distinction this year: They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Other Mock Newbery Sites

    • Anderson’s Bookshops
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Reads Mock Newbery
    • Northport-East Northport PL
    • Rhode Island OLIS
  • Resources

    • Jen J's Starred Reviews Spreadsheet
    • Newbery Manual
    • Newbery Medal & Honor Books
    • Newbery Terms & Criteria
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023