Fall Favorites?
We’re certainly not done talking about Spring and Summer titles, but as it’s now October, it’s time to get cracking: which are your fall release favorites? We’ve heard from fans of BROWN GIRL DREAMING, RAIN REIGN, EGG & SPOON….
This becomes the hard part of the season, as we try to read ahead and keep pace with the actual committee. Our purpose on this blog is really two-fold: we’d like to talk about this year’s Newbery contenders in a deep way, measuring them against the Newbery criteria, and casting as wide a net as possible. To this end, we try to start out the discussion with books we know you’ve probably got your hands on, but as we head into October we may start going all over the place. See something you haven’t read? Place a hold at your library, or buy a copy (donate it later to your library!)…and come back to that discussion thread when you’ve read it…we’re happy to have multiple threads going at once, and will try to pick up points for later discussion.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The second, and maybe primary purpose, is to give more people familiarity with the Newbery process, and to think and talk about it beyond just this year’s books. To that end, we’ll be holding, as usual, in person Mock Newbery discussion in January (dates TBA) in Oakland and San Diego. We’ll post a shortlist for those discussions by mid November, and will focus on contenders that we think are strong, and that we think you can get your hands on and read.
Curious about how the committee actually works? Though their actual title-level discussion remains confidential, their process is no secret. You can read the whole manual right here. Right now they are likely getting ready for their first set of formal nominations, which will build their own discussion list for their meeting at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. This year’s meeting is nice and late, giving the committee some extra preparation time. (When I was on the committee, we met the second weekend in January!) This year’s winners will be announced on Monday, February 2nd, 2015.
So…what do you hope the Newbery Committee is thinking about for their October nominations? What are your fall favorites?
Filed under: Uncategorized
About Nina Lindsay
Nina Lindsay is the Children's Services Coordinator at the Oakland Public Library, CA. She chaired the 2008 Newbery Committee, and served on the 2004 and 1998 committees. You can reach her at ninalindsay@gmail.com
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
Something for the Radar: DOG MAN Animated Film Coming in January
A Q&A with Debbie Ridpath Ohi: I Want to Read All the Books
Recent Graphic Novel Deals, Early September 2024 | News
Talking with the Class of ’99 about Censorship at their School
Book Review: The Diamond Explorer by Kao Kalia Yang
ADVERTISEMENT
I don’t know what my fall favorites are because I still need to read them. Still want to read: GREENGLASS HOUSE, EGG & SPOON, RAIN REIGN, THE KEY THAT SWALLOWED JOEY PIGZA, among others.
I don’t know what the release dates were, but my favorites currently are GREENGLASS HOUSE, BROWN GIRL DREAMING, THE FAMILY ROMANOV, REVOLUTION, and THE CROSSOVER. If we had to nominate right now and we got 5 slots, those would be mine.
My stack of to-reads is so tall its tottery — but if pressed, my list right now would include REVOLUTION, BROWN GIRL DREAMING, GHOSTS OF TUPELO LANDING, PORT CHICAGO 5O, and FAMILY ROMANOV. We have so many strong titles – making me feel dizzy!! I have started FREEDOM SUMMER and the stack includes FREEDOM SUMMER MURDERS, EGG & SPOON, GREENGLASS HOUSE, and on and on….
I also have a huge list of books to read still, and would rate myself above average in the amount of hours that I devote to reading. I admire committee members because they read so much!
I’m reading EGG & SPOON right now, and while I definitely find it worth of award discussion, I’m not sure what age range it’s best suited for. To me, it seems to fall more within Printz range. Perhaps this is the FAR FAR AWAY of this year.
Hm. Curious: what makes you feel it doesn’t suit a Newbery (through age 14) audience? To me it feels very young in tone. Wordy, long, but young.
A lot of humor in EGG & SPOON seems directed at adults.
GREENGLASS HOUSE is at the top of my list at this point. Granted, I’m still basking in the afterglow of having finished it 2 nights ago, but it hit all the points I look for in a book.
While not a fall release, I still find myself often thinking back to THE NIGHT GARDENER. The tree representing the lies we can tell truly hit home for me. As a teacher, what I wouldn’t give to have that lesson put into a picture book format as I found the symbolism incredibly powerful.
I am in the middle of Greenglass House and I am loving it! It might knock off The Night Gardener as my favorite contender!
I also keep coming back to THE NIGHT GARDENER! What a story! Adventure, mystery, creepiness… and I can still picture so many of the settings described. On top of that, there are some really powerful questions raised about what we should really value in life and about the power of story telling. Another book I couldn’t put down was THE BOUNDLESS. I thought this was an amazing adventure, with terrific setting descriptions, but I am not sure it has a deeper theme and I’m curious if anyone else feels differently about that? I felt that way about DOLL BONES last year until one of my students pointed to the message it sends about the importance of perseverance.
I’ve heard so many positives about Boundless, but I don’t believe Oppel could be a contender as he is a Canadian writer. Am I correct?
I didn’t realize that about Oppel, nor had I looked closely enough at the criteria to realize the author had to be a resident or citizen of The United States – thanks for clarifying that for me!
Having read The Key That Swallowed Joey Pigza, I was delighted to see it among the Kirkus Prize finalists. It is wild and crazy and tender and I liked it tremendously.
As a nonfiction fan, my 2014 favorites so far are Larry Dane Brimner’s Strike! The Farm Workers’ Strike for Their Rights, and Steve Sheinkin’s The Port Chicago 50. Both have compelling texts and a wealth of photos.
STRIKE! reminded me very much of WE’VE GOT A JOB in many ways, and I think that readers who liked the former will heartily embrace the latter. 🙂
Is ZANE AND THE HURRICANE a contender for this year? My class and I loved this book and it was a starred review. What has happened to it??
I enjoyed ZANE AND THE HURRICANE too. I think its chances could be hurt by not being obviously better than UPSIDE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, which is also good. Lots of good books.
This one was out in January, but I think it could be a dark horse. THE MISADVENTURES OF THE FAMILY FLETCHER by Dana Levy follows a family of four boys (all adopted) and their two dads through a school year. It’s being compared to other fictional families created by Cleary, Blume,and Birdsall. I don’t think it is my favorite for the Newbery (still don’t have one), but since I haven’t seen it mentioned, I thought I’d give it a push. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and SLJ.
Thanks – putting this on hold at my library.
I second The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher. I reviewed it for Horn Book and liked it then and am liking it more and more as I think about it. Am planning to read it aloud to my 4th graders to see how it works for them. It is on my goodreads Newbery longlist.
Greenglass House, El Deafo and The Secret Hum of a Daisy are high on my list right now.
THE NIGHT GARDENER is the only contender I have actually finished so far. And I can’t imagine too many coming close, in my opinion. The sentence level writing and the storytelling was incredible. Also, as an adult, I found it terrifying! Truly, terrifying.
I agree. I couldn’t go to bed without finishing it because I HAD to get to what I hoped would be the ‘happy ending’ first. I’m terrible at predicting the Newbery, but I have a group of 4th & 5th graders who love scary books that will adore THE NIGHT GARDENER.
West of the Moon, Brown Girl Dreaming, The Night Gardener, Rain Reign and The Crossover are my top 5 right now. I haven’t read Egg & Spoon and I’m a bit disappointed with Greenglass House, but haven’t finished it.
Anyone read Gabriel Finley & The Raven’s Riddle?
Has anyone read THE WITCH’S BOY by Kelly Barnhill yet?
I’m still trying to decide my thoughts about it.
Has anyone read Cynthia Kadohata’s HALF A WORLD AWAY? It’s gotten two starred reviews and I rank it above the other books I’ve read this year. I still have a lot more to read but this one has captured my heart.