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September 6, 2021 by Steven Engelfried

Suggestions updated: Heavy Medal’s current list of possible Newbery contenders

September 6, 2021 by Steven Engelfried   2 comments

Heavy Medal’s September suggestions are now closed, leaving us with a very interesting list. 59 titles received a total of 175 suggestions by Heavy Medal readers. We’ve got a bunch of new authors and plenty of former Newbery honorees. There’s an impressively wide representation of cultures and backgrounds, many by authors drawing on their own experience. We have a rich variety of writing styles, including multiple uses of the novel in verse. And remember, this list only includes books published to this date; we have a bunch of potential contenders still to come in the fall.

So far we’ve all just been sharing titles that we all think might be worth considering. This month, though, we’ll shift to in-depth discussions about actual books. This week’s posts will include a look ahead to the Heavy Medal season to come (tomorrow), plus an introduction to Emily Mroczek, my new partner on the blog. Then we’ll jump into book discussions on September 13th.

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Here’s the updated list of suggestions, with new titles in red:

TitleAuthorTotal
STARFISHFipps18
RED, WHITE, AND WHOLELaRocca12
AMBER AND CLAYSchlitz9
TOO BRIGHT TO SEELukoff9
OPHIE’S GHOSTSIreland8
LION OF MARSHolm7
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AIDAN S.Levithan6
SHAPE OF THUNDERWarga6
DA VINCI’S CATMurdock5
MAYBE MARISOL RAINEYKelly5
DEAD WEDNESDAYSpinelli4
GONE TO THE WOODSPaulsen4
JUST LIKE THATSchmidt4
SEA IN WINTERDay4
UNSPEAKABLEWeatherford4
CHANCE TO FLYStroker3
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOMSloan3
MILO IMAGINES THE WORLDde la Pena3
ONE JAR OF MAGICHaydu3
PITY PARTYLane3
PLACE TO HANG THE MOONAlbus3
RACONTEUR’S COMMONPLACE BOOKMilford3
ROOT MAGICRoyce3
SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEASmith3
SUNSHINEBauer3
ALONEFreeman2
AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERSAlston2
ANCESTOR APPROVEDSmith2
BILLY MILLER MAKES A WISHHenkes2
FINDING JUNIE KIMOh2
GROUND ZEROGratz2
365 TO ALASKACarr1
ALMOST THERE AND ALMOST NOTUrban1
BEING CLEMCline-Ransome1
BOY WHO FAILED SHOW AND TELLSonnenblick1
CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULSRivera1
DELICATESThumler1
FABULOUS ZEB WATSON!Sylvester1
HARRY VS. THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOLJenkins1
HOLLOW CHESTSandstrom1
IT DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUSRhuday-Perkovich1
LEGACY: WOMEN POETS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCEGrimes1
LEGEND OF AUNTIE POKhor1
MR. SUMMERLING’S SECRET CODEButler1
PEACEMAKERBruchac1
PIECE BY PIECEHuq1
RACE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTHBarrone1
ROCK FROM THE SKYKlassen1
SAVING AMERICAN BEACHKing1
SEVENTH RAVENElliott1
SITTING AT ST. JAMESWilliams-Garcia1
TOOTH FAIRY DAY CELEBRATIONDitto1
TWENTY-ONE STEPSGottesfeld1
UNPLUGGEDKorman1
UNSETTLEDFaruqi1
WATERCRESSWang1
WE ARE ALL UNDER ONE WIDE SKYWiles1
WE BECAME JAGUARSEggers1
YEAR I FLEW AWAYArnold1

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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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kerrie Hollihan says

    September 23, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    Are only fiction titles eligible for Heavy Medal?

    Thanks,

    Kerrie

  2. Steven Engelfried says

    September 23, 2021 at 5:14 pm

    On Heavy Medal we follow the Newbery Terms and Criteria, which state that “the committee shall consider all forms of writing – fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.” Graphic novels and picture books fit in there too. On Emily’s post from September 22nd she gives an interesting look at how the list of suggestions above falls out in terms of type of book and fiction genres….

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