Newbery Suggestions: Prairie Lotus is Early Leader
Our latest round of suggestions closed Sunday, and here’s where we stand: 44 titles have been suggested as possible Newbery contenders by Heavy Medal readers. PRAIRIE LOTUS by 2002 Medalist Linda Sue Park leads with 11, and five books are tied for second place with 7 suggestions each. Last year at this time we had a similar number of titles (42), but more total votes, as well as more clear early leaders: five books had 10 or more suggestions by last May.
We’re still in the early stages, though, when it comes to identifying Newbery contenders. For now, the list below works as a reading list of the children’s books that are capturing the interest of readers so far this year. Keep reading, and look for our next call for suggestions on June 1st…
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| Title | Author | Total |
| Prairie Lotus | Park | 11 |
| From the Desk of Zoe Washington | Marks | 7 |
| King and the Dragonflies | Callender | 7 |
| Mananaland | Ryan | 7 |
| Show Me a Sign | Lezotte | 7 |
| When You Trap a Tiger | Keller | 7 |
| List of Things That Will Not Change | Stead | 6 |
| Efrén Divided | Cisneros | 5 |
| Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh | Fleming | 4 |
| Snapdragon | Leyh | 4 |
| When Stars are Scattered | Jamieson | 4 |
| Black Brother Black Brother | Rhodes | 3 |
| Chirp | Messner | 3 |
| Echo Mountain | Wolk | 3 |
| All the Days Past, All the Days to Come | Taylor | 2 |
| Almost American Girl: A Memoir | Ha | 2 |
| Here in the Real World | Pennypacker | 2 |
| Stand Up, Yumi Chung! | Kim | 2 |
| Thief Knot | Milford | 2 |
| Village of Scoundrels | Preus | 2 |
| Wish in the Dark | Soontornvat | 2 |
| Black is a Rainbow Color | Joy | 1 |
| Coo | Noel | 1 |
| Dragon Hoops | Yang | 1 |
| Great Upending | Kephart | 1 |
| Home for Godesses and Dogs | Connor | 1 |
| How to Make Friends with the Sea | Guerrero | 1 |
| Kent State | Wiles | 1 |
| Leaving Lymon | Cline-Ransome | 1 |
| Many Feathered Thing | Gerlits | 1 |
| Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey | Mortensen | 1 |
| On the Horizon | Lowry | 1 |
| One Last Shot | Anderson | 1 |
| Only Black Girls in Town | Colbert | 1 |
| Ordinary Day | Arnold | 1 |
| Prettiest | Young | 1 |
| Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You | Reynold & Kendi | 1 |
| Things You Can’t Say | Bishop | 1 |
| Voice Named Aretha | Russell-Brown | 1 |
| Ways to Make Sunshine | Watson | 1 |
| Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom | Sachar | 1 |
| We are Water Protectors | Lindstrom | 1 |
| What Stars are Made of | Allen | 1 |
| Totals | 114 |
Filed under: Heavy Medal Mock, 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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I have been unable to find Prairie Lotus as an AR quiz. Is it just me?
Things Seen From Above by Shelley Pearsall
We recommend What Stars Are Made Of by Sarah Allen
Thanks for the recommendations, Marcy and Anne. For those to count as official Suggestions, though, you’ll have to post them again in early June. We open Suggestions for a week on the first Monday of each month, but then they’re closed for the rest of the month. Next open period will be June 1 – 7.