May Suggestions Now Open

May is here, which means it’s time for another round of “Suggestions” on Heavy Medal. We’re continuing the search for 2020 children’s books that might be possible Newbery contenders. Guidelines for Suggestions are provided in our March post.
We’ll continue gathering Suggestions each month until Heavy Medal resumes in full this September. Looking even further ahead, we hope to form our annual Heavy Medal Committee in December, where members will discuss and eventually vote for our Mock Newbery winner on-line. The prevalence of Zoom and other video conferencing tools has me wondering if we might add some live virtual discussions this year as part of that process…just something to consider.
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But for now, it’s all about May Suggestions. Please share eligible titles and authors below in the comments from now through May 10th. We’ll post the totals shortly after that…
Filed under: Process

About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried was the Library Services Manager at the Wilsonville Public Library in Oregon until he retired in 2022 after 35 years as a full-time librarian. 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.
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PRAIRIE LOTUS by Linda Sue Park
THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE by Rebecca Stead
WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
COO by Kaela Noel
1. Echo Mountain, by Lauren Wolk.
2. When you Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller.
3. Chirp, by Kate Messner.
4. Efren Divided, by Ernesto Cisneros.
5. Stand Up, Yumi Chung!, by Jessica Kim.
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
On the Horizon by Lois Lowry
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh
Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
One Last Shot by John David Anderson
Dragon Hoops (Gene Luen Yang) was wonderful, but I’m thinking it’s more in the Printz category. Anyone else?
I think we’re allowed 5 per month, and I only submitted 4 up there. I just finished MANANALAND by Pam Munoz Ryan, so I’ll add another voice to that one’s chorus.
Yes it’s 5 per month as Dana notes. And it’s fine to add titles during the week in separate posts, keeping the 5 in mind.
Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
*Please disregard the above in the count. I voted the day before and for some reason it didn’t show up in the comments and I voted again when I forgot (Imagine a facepalm GIF here!)*
Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
1. Manaland by Ryan
2. When You Trap a Tiger by Keller
3. Prairie Lotus by Park
4. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Marks
5. Show Me a Sign by LeZotte
Sorry, I meant Mananaland by Ryan
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
KENT STATE, by Deborah Wiles
VILLAGE OF SCOUNDRELS, by Margi Preus
ALL THE DAYS PAST, ALL THE DAYS TO COME, by Mildred Taylor
THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE, by Rebecca Stead
THE THIEF KNOT, by Kate Milford
Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
How to Make Friends with the Sea by Tanya Guerrero
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Fleming
When Stars are Scattered by Jamieson and Mohamed
King and the Dragonflies by Callender
Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey by Lori Mortensen
‘The Prettiest’ by Brigit Young is absolutely one of the most refreshing and poignant reads I’ve had in months—thank you. Reading this with my girls was a joy and sparked many meaningful conversations.
1. All the Days Past, All the Days to Cone by Mildred Taylor
2. Black is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy
3. Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare Lezotte
4. Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
Where are the black boy #ownvoices in 2020?
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Village of Scoundrels by Margi Preus
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks