Mid-Year Update: Our list of Mock Newbery suggestions through June
We’re almost halfway through 2021 and we’ve received just over 100 suggestions from readers as we try to identify possible 2022 Newbery Medal contenders. With votes split among 42 books, it still seems pretty wide open. 14 of this month’s 25 suggestions were for titles that hadn’t appeared on the list before.
My plan (as usual) is to catch up on some of the suggested titles that I’ve missed and keep an eye out for new releases. We’ll solicit July suggestions in four weeks. Here’s the current list, with first-time titles in red:
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| Title | Author | Total |
| STARFISH | Fipps | 11 |
| RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE | LaRocca | 9 |
| AMBER AND CLAY | Schlitz | 7 |
| LION OF MARS | Holm | 5 |
| GONE TO THE WOODS | Paulsen | 4 |
| JUST LIKE THAT | Schmidt | 4 |
| MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AIDAN S. | Levithan | 4 |
| SEA IN WINTER | Day | 4 |
| TOO BRIGHT TO SEE | Lukoff | 4 |
| UNSPEAKABLE | Weatherford | 4 |
| MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD | de la Pena | 3 |
| ONE JAR OF MAGIC | Haydu | 3 |
| OPHIE’S GHOSTS | Ireland | 3 |
| ROOT MAGIC | Royce | 3 |
| AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS | Alston | 2 |
| ANCESTOR APPROVED | Smith | 2 |
| CHANCE TO FLY | Stroker | 2 |
| ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Sloan | 2 |
| FINDING JUNIE KIM | Oh | 2 |
| GROUND ZERO | Gratz | 2 |
| MAYBE MARISOL RAINEY | Kelly | 2 |
| 365 TO ALASKA | Carr | 1 |
| ALMOST THERE AND ALMOST NOT | Urban | 1 |
| ALONE | Freeman | 1 |
| BILLY MILLER MAKES A WISH | Henkes | 1 |
| BOY WHO FAILED SHOW AND TELL | Sonnenblick | 1 |
| DELICATES | Thumler | 1 |
| FABULOUS ZEB WATSON! | Sylvester | 1 |
| IT DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUS | Rhuday-Perkovich | 1 |
| LEGACY: WOMEN POETS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE | Grimes | 1 |
| PEACEMAKER | Bruchac | 1 |
| PLACE TO HANG THE MOON | Albus | 1 |
| RACE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH | Barrone | 1 |
| RACONTEUR’S COMMONPLACE BOOK | Milford | 1 |
| ROCK FROM THE SKY | Klassen | 1 |
| SAVING AMERICAN BEACH | King | 1 |
| SEVENTH RAVEN | Elliott | 1 |
| SHAPE OF THUNDER | Warga | 1 |
| SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA | Smith | 1 |
| TWENTY-ONE STEPS | Gottesfeld | 1 |
| UNPLUGGED | Korman | 1 |
| WE BECAME JAGUARS | Eggers | 1 |
Filed under: Suggestions
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 read Just Like That and was extremely impressed by it!
Just Like That has been one of my favorites this year. I am reading Too Bright to See right now and am loving it. A great list so far. I am excited for The Beatryce Prophecy, by Kate DiCamillo, even if it’s still a few months before the release.
Thanks for this helpful list.
The Horn book winners were announced today: https://www.hbook.com/?detailStory=presenting-the-2021-boston-globe-horn-book-award-winners
Not official suggestions: but one’s that could hit Heavy Medal’s criteria are:
A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia
From a whisper to a rallying cry : the killing of Vincent Chin and the trial that galvanized the Asian American movement
(both of these are seemingly on the upper age end)
Oh, I’m so glad someone mentioned A Sitting in St. James. It’s a fascinating and beautifully written book. I don’t know as yet if I can, in good conscience, recommend it for Newbery, but I can recommend it for Printz consideration.
I just finished Pity Party (Lane) yesterday and was wowed.
Alan Gratz and Ground Zero definitely needs a sticker Amazing research and plot twist Can’t think of another book like this 👍🏼♥️