64 Children’s Books: Will 1 Win the Newbery?
Heavy Medal readers have now suggested 64 book titles that might be strong candidates for the 2020 Newbery Medal. 11 titles have received suggestions from at least 5 readers; NEW KID remains the leader with 18. An asterix next to the title means the book is appearing on the list for the first timxte this month. We’ll call for Suggestions again in early August, then start discussing books on Heavy Medal in September:
| Book Title | Book Author | Reader Suggestions through June |
| New Kid | Craft | 18 |
| Pay Attention Carter Jones | Schmidt | 13 |
| Eventown | Haydu | 10 |
| Genesis Begins Again | Williams | 10 |
| Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise | Gemeinhart | 10 |
| This Promise of Change | Boyce | 8 |
| Line Tender | Allen | 7 |
| Lost Girl | Ursu | 5 |
| Right as Rain | Stoddard | 5 |
| Sal and Gabi Break the Universe | Hernandez | 5 |
| Song for a Whale | Kelly | 5 |
| Bridge Home | Venkatraman | 4 |
| Hunt for the Mad Wolf’s Daughter | Magras | 4 |
| Let ‘Er Buck | Nelson | 4 |
| To Night Owl from Dogfish | Sloan & Wolitzer | 4 |
| Voices | Elliott | 4 |
| Far Away | Graff | 3 |
| Good Kind of Trouble | Ramee | 3 |
| On the Come Up | Thomas | 3 |
| Over the Moon | Lloyd | 3 |
| Shouting at the Rain | Hunt | 3 |
| Spy Runner | Yelchin | 3 |
| Sweeping Up the Heart | Henkes | 3 |
| Barely Missing Everything | Mendez | 2 |
| Because of the Rabbit | Lord | 2 |
| Bell Rang | Ransome | 2 |
| Caterpillar Summer | McDunn | 2 |
| Dragon Pearl | Lee | 2 |
| Drop of Hope | Calabrese | 2 |
| How High the Moon | Parsons | 2 |
| Last Last Day of Summer | Giles | 2 |
| Moon Within | Salazar | 2 |
| Other Words for Home | Warga | 2 |
| Place to Belong * | Kadohata | 2 |
| Ruby in the Sky | Furruola | 2 |
| Simple Art of Flying | Leonardo | 2 |
| True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins | Shepherd | 2 |
| Undefeated | Alexander | 2 |
| All of Me * | Baron | 1 |
| Angel Thieves * | Appelt | 1 |
| Door at the End of the World | Carlson | 1 |
| Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown * | Barnett | 1 |
| Just South of Home * | Strong | 1 |
| Lion of the Sky | Salas | 1 |
| Lizzie Flying Solo | Steveson | 1 |
| MIghty Heart of Sunny St. James | Blake | 1 |
| Mostly the Honest Truth | Little | 1 |
| Next Great Paulie Fink | Benjamin | 1 |
| Night is Yours * | Zachariah | 1 |
| Queen of the Sea * | Meconis | 1 |
| Rising Above Sheperdsville | Schoenbohm | 1 |
| Riverland * | Hyde | 1 |
| Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles * | Lennon | 1 |
| Roots of Rap | Weatherford | 1 |
| Shout * | Anderson | 1 |
| Strangers | Haddix | 1 |
| Two Brothers, Four Hands | Greenberg | 1 |
| Unsung Hero of Birdsong USA | Woods | 1 |
| Unteachables | Korman | 1 |
| Watch Hollow | Funaro | 1 |
| We’re Not from Here * | Rodkey | 1 |
| What is Given from the Heart | McKissack | 1 |
| Where the Heart Is | Knowles | 1 |
| Whispers * | Howard | 1 |
Filed under: Process
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
Your Fall Newbery/Caldecott 2025 ‘Hey, Keep an Eye Out’ Lists
Early Sleepy Lines: A Cover Reveal(ish) and Q&A About Wheetle by Cindy Derby
DC Announces Fall 2025 Graphic Novels | News
The Seven Bill That Will Safeguard the Future of School Librarianship
Book Review: Pick the Lock by A. S. King
ADVERTISEMENT
