Nominations
The finalists for the National Book Award were announced this morning.
GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander
OUT OF REACH by Carrie Arcos
NEVER FALL DOWN by Patricia McCormick
ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer
BOMB by Steve Sheinkin
While they once again skew to an older audience, I think we will probably end up discussing several of them here. BOMB is the only one that I have read so far. It’s only been out for a month or so, but I hope that you are able to lay hands on a copy soon because Nina and I are itching to discuss it.
According to Roxanne Feldman, yesterday was the deadline for the Newbery committee to submit their first round of three nominations to the chair. You can read her vague and cryptic thoughts on that process here.
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I can afford to be much less coy than Roxanne. I would lead with my personal top three the first time around and then strategically nominate titles in the later rounds. Thus–
MOONBIRD by Phillip Hoose
NO CRYSTAL STAIR by Vaunda Nelson
BOMB by Steve Sheinkin
I’m not very optimistic about the chances of building consensus around NO CRYSTAL STAIR, but I have to lead with this fiction title over my next choices–THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN and LIAR & SPY–simply because of its outstanding quality. I have BOMB and MOONBIRD rated 1-2 in terms of nonfiction, but I’m still very high on BLACK HOLE, TITANIC, IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE, TEMPLE GRANDIN, and WE’VE GOT A JOB. I also have a handful of less traditional candidates in the genres of easy readers, picture books, and poetry that we’ll explore over the course of the season. I’m still looking for some great under the radar books; I know they’re out there, I just haven’t found them yet.
Now it’s your turn. Give me your top three as of right now, and tell me what you’d be considering for future nominations, too.
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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
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Top Three:
BOMB
LIAR AND SPY
WE’VE GOT A JOB
for future nominations:
ONE AND ONLY IVAN
PALACE OF STONE
TITANIC
Hmm. I think I’d still go with my top three from earlier in the year:
PALACE OF STONE
SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN.
I’m now reading for Round One of the Cybils, Middle Grade Science Fiction & Fantasy, and am hoping I’ll find some others I’d want considered for the Newbery. (I’m halfway through SPLENDORS & GLOOMS right now.) I haven’t read any of the National Book Award finalists. I would consider supporting WE’VE GOT A JOB or TEMPLE GRANDIN. And I’m definitely curious about BOMB and MOONBIRD.
Still lots of reading to do!
Honestly I’ve still not read widely enough to do this. But mine would be:
NO CRYSTAL STAIR
SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
and one nonfiction, which I’d be more settled on at this point. With my first nominations I’d want to set the bar both as high, and as broad, as possible.
Top Three:
BOMB
LIAR AND SPY
DUMPLING DAYS
Future Possibilities:
EACH KINDNESS
WHAT CAME FROM THE STARS
SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
Still to read:
Palace of Stone (next in my pile), Impossible Rescue, Danger Goes Berserk
Thanks for sharing Roxanne’s blog. Sad to see that she wasn’t as enamored with BOMB (book 88 must be Bomb, right?) as the rest of us seem to be. Hopefully others on the committee will convince her of its distinction.
It’s always hard to narrow it down when I still have reading to do, but so far:
Bomb by Steve Sheinkin
Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
Crow by Barbara Wright
I’d also consider The Impossible Rescue, Splendors and Glooms, and The One and Only Ivan.
Okay, one because I feel it is a front-runner, and the other two for strategy.
SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
THREE TIMES LUCKY
I’m still slogging (oops, I mean romping) through the non-fiction. I will have a hard time getting BOMB from my students. Word of Mouth is spreading.
The Great Unecpected by Sharon Creech
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine
I do think that Splendors and Glooms is a strong contender as well.
Goblin Secrets is not for older readers. It’s definitely a “landscape” read. I’m really pleased to see it as one of the finalists! Never Fall Down needs a really close look by everyone… I have a lot of difficulty accepting the “non-syntax” structure because, believe it or not, Asian languages DO have syntax! –> Roxanne, being non-cryptic here.
Top three are so hard! I’d go with Splendors and Glooms, Bomb, and my dark horse, Water Sings Blue (some amazing poetry – hope we can discuss it at some point).
Still have to read Starry River of the Sky and Twelve Kinds of Ice, and undecided on so much of the fiction.
This is a fun game to play. To my mind this first round of nominations is for for pure love. Strategy comes with the next two rounds, once you have a better sense where your fellow committee members are. It was only when serving on the Newbery Committee that I discovered my strong capacity for strategizing. Who knew?
I keep fiddling around with my order on my goodreads Newbery list (http://www.goodreads.com/list/user_vote/1248108) as I read what others have to say, as I rethink my own ideas about these books, as I dip back into them. That said, my current top three are BOMB, LIAR & SPY, and SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS. They are followed by EACH KINDNESS (just did a blog post about it today: http://medinger.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/jacqueline-woodsons-each-kindness/), NO CRYSTAL STAIR, THREE TIMES LUCKY, AND WE’VE GOT A JOB. But I’m still thinking about others and have still more to read.
I only have one of the National Book Award nominees for youth fiction on the shelf in our youth collection. Foiled again…not so unusual, however, with all the high quality writing to choose from. I have to say I am trying more than other years to get the 2012 published books read, so I am not so out of touch with the medal chatter. Having just finished “Safekeeping” by Karen Hesse, I have to say that novel made the greatest impression on me. It would be my number one contender. Along with John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars,” which would be a close second. I also am a big fan of “The One and Only Ivan” and “The Summer of the Gypsy Moths.” Will try to get some of these other recommendations read (and ordered!)
@fairrosa/Roxane – first let me say that we may need to have this discussion in a different forum or thread, but I’ll just briefly say that I absolutely agree that the syntax in NEVER FALL DOWN needs to be looked at carefully. However, part of that look has to be the fact that the novel began as an attempt by McCormick to record Arn Chorn-Pond’s real words. I have no special knowledge of the Cambodian language or of McCormick’s process or of Arn Chorn-Pond’s actual speaking or writing style, but I am willing to give McCormick the benefit of the doubt (until proven otherwise, of course) that she was making a good faith effort to record the way Arn actually speaks about his experiences.
The One and Only Ivan
The Mighty Miss Malone
Three Times Lucky
I liked several others like Splendors and Glooms, Liar and Spy and Wonder, but they all had something in them that kept these other three ahead of them, for me.
Arn’s spoken English is not full of syntax errors. You can listen to him directly here: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=1344101&m=1344102
There’s nothing indicating the narrator (first person, present tense) is thinking (he’s not really talking/reporting here since the Present Tense indicates immediacy of his “now” and “here”) in ENGLISH. Why would he?
And if he’s not thinking in English, why would he have inconsistent syntax or non-syntax — his own language has syntax. Trust me on that. It might not have the same kind of structure as English — for example, tenses and genders and subject-verb agreement — but there is inherent consistency and its own grammar.
Take page 25 (I just flipped randomly to it) for example. You have the following:
“My number one big sister, Chantou, she says… ” –> subject-verb agreement
“he hang his mouth open” –> subject-verb non-agreement
“and make mark in his book” –> subject-verb non-agreement
“My aunt says only that… ” –> subject-verb agreement
“She doesn’t tell about the old days… Always she brag…” –> subject-verb agreement and abbreviation of negative following English grammar AND then subject-verb disagreement
“She no tell about the old days… Always she brag… ” would have been inherently consistent and wouldn’t have made me cringe so much.
If I want to FAITHFULLY record how I would say the following in Chinese (the only Asian language I’m familiar with,) it will look like this (remember — we don’t add “s’s” or change verb forms to indicate time or subject agreements) — “ma” is a question indicator:
“You understand ma? I speak Chinese. My Chinese very fluent and my English also good. Discuss matter like this make me think hard about language and literary expression.”
But, if I want to express my internal THOUGHTS — words like Matter or Language are understood to be both singular and plural. So, in my mind, they ARE plural:
“Do you understand? I speak Chinese. My Chinese is very fluent and my English is also good. Discussing matters like this makes me think hard about languages and literary expressions.”
I meant to post this on my fairrosa blog because I think this is an interesting aspect of a highly praised book — whether it’s on the Newbery ballot or not, it’s worthy of examining closely.
I’ll probably repost this comment on fairrosa so we don’t take over Heavy Medal — unless Nina and Jonathan give us the green light to keep going 🙂
My top three right now:
LIAR & SPY
SPLENDORS & GLOOMS
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
As for the National Book Award nominees, the only one I have read is GOBLIN SECRETS, and I was underwhelmed by that — now I’m wondering what I might have missed.
Roxane, thanks very much for the link to the interview with Arn Chorn-Pond. (He makes me feel like I should not say anything trivial, ever, but here I am.) I am puzzled that you think his speech is not full of syntax errors in English–I think it’s pretty clear that it is. Perhaps over the course of the interview, as he gets more comfortable or engrossed, there are fewer; but they never entirely go away. (I hope it goes without saying that I don’t mean that as a criticism of Chorn-Pond in any way.) And they aren’t consistent, as expected of someone who has been speaking English for a long time but not perfectly.
I have mixed feelings about the imperfect English of NEVER FALL DOWN. It is embarrassing to read [usually, but not always] older books in which, say, American Indians talk to each other in their own languages in broken English, used to convey that they are “exotic”–or, sometimes, naive/primitive, or even not quite bright. Is McCormick using English in this way in Never Fall Down? I’m not completely convinced there isn’t some element of that. If he’s supposed to be thinking, there’s no excuse for it. But the impression I get from the way English is used is that he’s telling his story, orally, to an unknown audience in English.
@Roxanne and Wendy. First, apologies for spelling Roxanne’s name wrong the first time (and possibly influencing Wendy’s misspelling). Sorry.
Second, what Wendy said. Mixed feelings all around. Arn’s spoken language is most certainly not how a native English speaker would speak, and it definitely has errors of syntax that one would stereotypically associate with Asian languages (again, I know nothing of Cambodian, but I do know, as Roxanne puts it that all languages have their own sophisticated syntax).
I don’t have access to a copy of the book right now, but my earlier remarks were based on the afterword in the book, and I really think it is clear (or at least it was to me) that McCormick is trying to represent Arn speaking in English, not writing or thinking in Cambodian. How well she does that is where the other mixed feelings come in – I certainly think McCormick’s syntax is more “broken” than Arn’s speech in the clip Roxanne provided, but that’s not necessarily dispositive.
So, I remain completely willing to be persuaded to either position, but I definitely think it’s a tough issue.
LIAR & SPY
BOMB
CROW
I also love NO CRYSTAL STAIR and can certainly be convinced on THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS, and MOONBIRD.
For you Newbery speculators: A definition of “distinguished” children’s literature —
http://bit.ly/PPWTHL
I have not read very much, but my top three:
WONDER
THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE
ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND FREDERICK DOUGLASS.
I bet SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS and BOMB will make my next round when I am finished. If not, maybe THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK.
SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
BOMB
EACH KINDNESS
After that, it would probably be STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY and I still need to re-read NO CRYSTAL STAIR and TEMPLE GRANDIN.
I still have plenty of reading to do, but at this moment in time I’ve got:
Only and One Ivan
Three Times Lucky
Crow
No Crystal Stair
Liar & Spy
Temple Grandin OR Moonbird (can’t decide)
I regret not going with my favorite 3 during the first round of nominations when I was on the committee. I still feel like I didn’t get the most out of my picks because I was trying to strategize… big mistake.
moonbird
bomb
no crystal stair
Keep those top three recommendations coming, but if we can think of the 17 responses we’ve gotten so far as a representative sampling of what the committee might be looking at when they open their compiled list of nominations, then take a look at these 21 titles (14 fiction, 5, nonfiction, 1 poetry, 1 picture book) . . .
(9) BOMB
(8) LIAR & SPY
(7) SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
(5) THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
(4) NO CRYSTAL STAIR
(3) CROW
(2) THE SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
(2) THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE
(2) THREE TIMES LUCKY
(2) MOONBIRD
(1) PALACE OF STONE
(1) DUMPLING DAYS
(1) WE’VE GOT A JOB
(1) THE GREAT UNEXPECTED
(1) STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY
(1) THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK
(1) WATER SINGS BLUE
(1) WONDER
(1) ABRAHAM LINCOLN & FREDERICK DOUGLASS
(1) EACH KINDNESS
(1) TEMPLE GRANDIN
Now on my goodreads ballot, I had NO CRYSTAL STAIR ranked first, BOMB second, and MOONBIRD third. Based on these results, BOMB moves into my first place choice. I was contemplating future nominations for LIAR AND SPY and IVAN, and given the support here, I could probably end up voting for either one when push comes to shove, but I would probably turn my remaining four nominations to either adding new books to the table or bolstering support for TEMPLE GRANDIN, WE’VE GOT A JOB, EACH KINDNESS, or WATER SINGS BLUE.
My 3 nominations, based on the reading I’ve done at this point, would be:
The Lions of Little Rock
Liar & Spy
No Crystal Stair
Sorry to keep going back to the NEVER FALL DOWN thread — Jonathan, feel free to tell me to stop or to delete this.
I make syntax errors (even after living in the US and using English primarily 24/7 at work and at home) in speaking English, much like the way Arn’s spoken language is in the interview: I often don’t realize that I used a “she” when I should have used a “he” and at times I would drop my ‘s’s or add ‘s’s incorrectly. That’s definitely true. But I listen to him speaking on NPR and he definitely is not as inconsistent as the narrator in NEVER FALL DOWN.
So, that leads me to wonder: is the young narrator (or older later) supposed to be LESS familiar with English when he tells the story? When, then, is he “addressing” an English speaking audience with his tale? At the starting age of the book? WHY, then, would he be addressing an English speaking audience when he was living and experiencing a completely NON-English life and environment?
Since McCormick chose to use first person present tense, I, as a reader, interpret it as Arn experiencing/thinking about these events as they happen. They don’t cry out to me as recalled events from an older Arn who has experienced ENGLISH as means of communication. So, in my mind, Arn should not be THINKING in English… and thus, syntax errors just seem out of place. And, I also wonder about the young readers (even teens) who might not be dissecting the use of language here as a way to represent a “distinct and beautiful voice” (p. 216/Author’s Notes) but to further impressions of Asian languages have no syntax — or even a false sense of illiteracy and/or even inferior in thought processes of Asian immigrants. I won’t be saying more about this topic here. And I will have to re-examine the book closely and carefully and to read more others’ opinions before re-affirming or re-shaping my views.
I’m frustrated my library hasn’t received BOMB yet! I’m itching to read it, especially with the NBA nod. I’m also willing to consider NO CRYSTAL STAIR once I’ve talked to kids who have read it. So, with those caveats, here are my current top three:
1. WONDER
2. WE’VE GOT A JOB
3. THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
I’m also very enthusiastic about:
4. MOONBIRD
5. STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY
6. LIAR & SPY
7. A BLACK HOLE IS NOT A HOLE
I can’t comment on NEVER FALL DOWN because I haven’t read it yet. Isn’t it odd that McCormick, with a journalist’s background, wrote this as a novel rather than a biography–or even a memoir in collaboration with Arn? You’ve got TEMPLE GRANDIN written as a bigography, NEVER FALL DOWN written as a novel, and NO CRYSTAL STAIR written as kind of a hybrid. Three different approaches.
There are many I’ve not yet read, but here are my 3 nominations so far:
KATERINA’S WISH
LIAR & SPY
WONDER
Top 3 so far
1. The one and only Ivan
2. Splendors and Glooms
3. Wooden Bones
1. Splendors and Glooms
2. Liar and Spy
3. I could go several ways on this…I’ll say The Humming Room to get it on the table.
1. Child of the Mountains
2. Lions of Little Rock
3. Wonder
I am working on Splendors and Glooms, and it probably will be a top pick for me, loving it so far. Also have No Crystal Stair on my desk as well as What Came From the Stars and in the middle of Palace of Stone, though it is feeling very much on the mature end of the spectrum.
SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY
CHILD OF THE MOUNTAINS
And if I had a 4th pick it would be NO CRYSTAL STAIR.
@Jess – bless your heart for THE HUMMING ROOM. I love Ellen Potter soooo much, just can’t find the room in my top ten for that lovely book.
Mark – I’m glad there are other fans out there! I really only have a top 2 where I’m behind them 100%, but HUMMING ROOM was an early favorite. If not for this book, I’m sure Ellen Potter’s day will come! I thought it was succinct and lovely.
I seem to be reading the wrong books. Or I’m not ecstatic about the right books. I’ve read WONDER, THE HUMMING ROOM, LIAR AND SPY, and am starting SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS, but I’m not ready to make any lists. One that nobody has mentioned is SUMMER ON THE MOON by Adrian Fogelin, which has a starred review in Booklist. I think it should be in the running for the Newbery. Because it’s from a smaller than average press (Peachtree), I think it has been overlooked. Fogelin has written a lot of novels and this story shows her mastery of the craft. Has anyone else read this book?
Alright, in the midst of grad classes and LOTS of professional reading, I have been able to keep up with the conversations this season, just not participate much. My list of read titles is fairly small right now, but I have a few definite favorites. Like Jess, I can really only strongly get behind two books (of the ones I’ve read) . . .
1) JAKE & LILY
2) BOMB
This third one is hard because my reading has been so limited this year. I read the early favorites, but wasn’t terribly fond of many of them. Couldn’t really find myself fighting for WONDER, and THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. Kind of liked THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE and was sorely disappointed in LIAR & SPY. Excited for the new Barnhill and excited for the new Schmidt but as of right now, I have to go with . . .
3) THE GREAT UNEXPECTED
I’m calling it the year of the throwback author for me! I’m pulling for the Spinelli and the Creech! (Two of my favorites are MANIAC MAGEE and WALK TWO MOONS). I thought both actors were back to Newbery form.
“Authors”. I mean’t “authors”. Not “actors.”
Ugh.
Like others, I don’t feel like I’ve read nearly enough to make this call right now; the committee may be making their first nominations but they’re ahead of us, aren’t they, due to ARCs? I’ve got about 37 on my “have read” list and a good ten more sitting on the shelf to read, with more to come. It sounds also like some are voting for love and some are voting for strategy right now, and I can’t decide what I want to do. How about two for love (or rather, that I think are most distinguished… maybe) and one for strategy?
1. NO CRYSTAL STAIR
2. THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
3. KINDRED SOULS (my “get it out there” pick–no one seems as taken with this as I am)
Liar & Spy, Lincoln and Douglass, We’ve Got a Job, Jake & Lily… all on my “Yeah, I’d vote for that” list. A few others, too.
Top three:
Wonder
The One and Only Ivan
Capture the Flag
The One and Only Ivan is available today on Kindle for $1.99!
I haven’t read nearly as much as I would like to at this point in the game. My tentative top three as of this moment:
1. The One and Only Ivan
2. Liar and Spy
3. Lions of Little Rock
I haven’t read enough to name a top three, but want to mention Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall as good historical fiction (WWII on the American homefront) and Newbery contender. Starred reviews from BCCB and Booklist.
Also, I’m delighted to see Dumpling Days mentioned; it’s the rare sequel that surpasses its predecessors (Year of the Dog and Year of the Rat).
I still have plenty to read, but so far:
LIAR & SPY
THREE TIMES LUCKY
THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE
I am so glad to see THREE TIMES LUCKY on so many lists. I loved this book, and it was such an awesome read-aloud! The character voices just seemed to come alive as I read the book, and I always enjoy a novel that can pack so much into one book: mystery, humor, drama… Most importantly, this is book kids will love!
Sheila Welch (above) mentioned “SUMMER ON THE MOON” by Adrian Fogelin. In full disclosure, the author is a personal friend of mine, but I would like to say this: Summer on the Moon is about families struggling with the challenges of a tough economic recession, and so it is strikingly relevant to what kids and adults are going through right now. Furthermore, the author, who is a woman, has an uncanny ability to express the thoughts and experiences of an adolescent boy with amazing realism. Having been one once, I can say that with authority. If you combine the relevance of this book with the nuanced social commentary of her previous books, I think some greater recognition of her work would be entirely appropriate at this point.
At the moment,
1. Crow
2. The Unfortunate Son
3. Three Times Lucky
I also want to mention Kate Milford’s The Broken Lands, a very impressive fantasy that I’m reading right now. Would be good to compare to Splendors and Glooms, and might be another dark horse.
I second THE BROKEN LANDS. Thought it was terrific and agree that it would be an interesting contrast to SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS.
With lots more reading left to do, I now have two books I feel are worthy of Newbery consideration.
Thanks, Craig, for writing more about SUMMER ON THE MOON. Of course, a body of work isn’t to be judged for a Newbery Award, but this book alone is excellent. One of the many things I appreciate is Fogelin’s description of the setting. There’s something special that happens, in my opinion, when an artist is also a good writer. I gave my book to my daughter for her middle school library, so I can’t quote an example, but that un-populated moonscape of a suburban development is hauntingly real in Fogelin’s words. And while I have known Fogelin’s work for many years, I’ve never met her.
The other book that I really like is SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS. In reference to some other posts, even if “Angel” was not commonly used for girls in Brazil, these kids live in the USA. Sometimes Stella’s voice seems a bit too mature, but I’ve read the letters young readers send to Cricket magazine, and she sounds as if she were one of them. The characters are distinct, the plot well structured, the setting sparkling and clear . . . One problem is that it’s a “girl book,” but a “boy book” won last year. (I know, that’s not part of the Newbery committee’s consideration.)
Updating this compiled list (and including only top three votes) . . .
(13) LIAR AND SPY
(10) BOMB
(10) SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS
(10) THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
(6) NO CRYSTAL STAIR
(5) WONDER
(4) CROW
(4) THREE TIMES LUCKY
(4) THE LIONS OF LITTLE ROCK
(3) MOONBIRD
(3) THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE
(3) THE SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS
(2) WE’VE GOT A JOB
(2) THE GREAT UNEXPECTED
(2) STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY
(2) CHILD OF THE MOUNTAINS
(1) PALACE OF STONE
(1) DUMPLING DAYS
(1) WATER SINGS BLUE
(1) ABRAHAM LINCOLN & FREDERICK DOUGLASS
(1) EACH KINDNESS
(1) TEMPLE GRANDIN
(1) KATERINA’S WISH
(1) THE HUMMING ROOM
(1) JAKE & LILY
(1) KINDRED SOULS
(1) CAPTURE THE FLAG
(1) UNFORTUNATE SON
(1) SUMMER ON THE MOON
Has anyone read The Seven Tales of Trinket? I would love to hear some discussion about this book.
I’m still trying to catch up, but so far only two novels really stand out: The One and Only Ivan and Child of the Mountain. I’m hoping to get into the nonfiction picks after Starry River of the Sky.
*Mountains