SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Book Discussion
  • Heavy Medal Mock
  • Process

January 16, 2021 by Steven Engelfried

And Then There Were Five: Announcing the finalists for the Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Award

January 16, 2021 by Steven Engelfried   5 comments

We’ve been discussing the best books of 2020 on Heavy Medal since September. And focusing on 15 titles over the past few weeks. Now the Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) has selected five finalists. These are the books that the HMAC will discuss and vote upon during our live Zoom discussion on Friday, January 22nd at 1:00 pm EST / 10:00 am PST.

You can sign up for the free webcast of What’s It Really Like? Join the 2021 Mock Newbery Live on the School Library Journal website. Registrants can pose questions or comments during the webcast, and we’ll have two separate ballots: one for the HMAC members and another for everyone else. Here are the titles we’ll be looking at:

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • ECHO MOUNTAIN by Lauren Wolk
  • EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE by Daniel Nayeri
  • FIGHTING WORDS by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
  • KING AND THE DRAGONFLIES by Kacen Callender
  • WHEN STARS ARE SCATTERED by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

The HMAC chose these titles from the list of 15, based on the past weeks’ discussion and their assessment of the relative excellence of each book based on the Newbery Terms and Criteria. During the live Zoom discussion, members will take another hard look at each book’s strengths and weaknesses, then submit weighted ballots that will determine this year’s 2021 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery winner.

And just three days later, we will learn what books the real Newbery Committee has selected. We can all watch the ALA Youth Media Awards live, starting at 9:00 am EST / 6:00 am PST on January 25th.

Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Heavy Medal Award CommitteeMock NewberyNewbery 2021Newbery Award

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.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Who Will Win? 2023 Newbery Predictions

by Steven Engelfried

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: THE LAST MAPMAKER by Christina Soontornvat

by Steven Engelfried

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: BERRY SONG by Michaela Goade

by Steven Engelfried

January 2023

Mock Newbery Finalist: ATTACK OF THE BLACK RECTANGLES by Amy Sarig King

by Steven Engelfried

January 2023

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: AIN'T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT By Jason Reynolds

by Steven Engelfried

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Notes on January 2023

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Jump Into this Guest Post by Shadra Strickland About Her Latest Book: Jump In!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

The Archie Encyclopedia | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Cindy Crushes Programming: My Top Ten Craft Supplies

by Cindy Shutts

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Ringing in the Newbery (and Caldecott): An awards-trivia smackdown with Betsy Bird and Travis Jonker

A Grateful Michaela Goade Makes Caldecott History

2021 Youth Media Awards Winners

Children’s Publishing World Reacts to Michaela Goade's History-Making Caldecott Medal, Rest of the YMA Winners

Linda Sue Park: Children Love Books with "Fierce Adoration" | The Newbery at 100

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Destinee says

    January 16, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    These are all distinguished books, but I’m disappointed there isn’t more diversity in terms of audience age. All five are intended for the upper end of the Newbery range. Why do you think writing for older children is often considered more distinguished than writing for younger children?

    Do you think qualities like difficulty, complexity, and seriousness are sometimes conflated with excellence? To be clear, I’m not suggesting there is something wrong with difficulty, complexity, and seriousness in children’s literature. But when those qualities dominate, I question whether we are valuing clear, lucid, fun writing, which tends to be in books for younger readers. (Not exclusively, though. NEW KID, I think, is lucid and fun while also taking on serious themes.)

  2. Meredith Burton says

    January 16, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    This is such an excellent question, Destiny, and I’m afraid I do not have a good answer as I often feel that way as well. I do think adults are more drawn to the more “serious” topics, (and possibly to the more complex writing styles), that books for older children provide. It would be fascinating to see what a group of children in the age range for the award would ultimately choose.
    I do think the list chosen has a good range of topics and varying writing styles that make them unique. I do lament that no fantasy book was ultimately chosen for a finalist, (although Nayeri’s book has fantasy elements). I think, overall, judging books for award committees will always have some form of subjectivity. I do hope that books for younger readers, such as Skunk and Badger, are considered by the ALA committee. I am also holding out hope for one of my favorites that’s not on the fnal list here. I hope that it will win an honor. It will be fascinating to see what is ultimately chosen.

  3. Meredith Burton says

    January 16, 2021 at 5:11 pm

    And, you are right about New Kid. It’s such a fun book that also explores relevant issues. Class Act is finally on audio, so I’m super excited to read it!

  4. Elaine Fultz says

    January 16, 2021 at 6:33 pm

    I am thrilled with these top five. I’m late to the Everything Sad fan club, but am so excited about the possibility of any of these winning and the impact this year’s winners will have on 2021 young readers.

  5. Leonard Kim says

    January 19, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    Was the selection process a Newbery-style vote? Just curious. Even though I didn’t care for EVERYTHING SAD, I think this is a really great short list.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Other Mock Newbery Sites

    • Anderson’s Bookshops
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Reads Mock Newbery
    • Northport-East Northport PL
    • Rhode Island OLIS
  • Resources

    • Jen J's Starred Reviews Spreadsheet
    • Newbery Manual
    • Newbery Medal & Honor Books
    • Newbery Terms & Criteria
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023