Suggestions updated: Heavy Medal’s current list of possible Newbery contenders
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:
| Title | Author | Total |
| STARFISH | Fipps | 18 |
| RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE | LaRocca | 12 |
| AMBER AND CLAY | Schlitz | 9 |
| TOO BRIGHT TO SEE | Lukoff | 9 |
| OPHIE’S GHOSTS | Ireland | 8 |
| LION OF MARS | Holm | 7 |
| MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF AIDAN S. | Levithan | 6 |
| SHAPE OF THUNDER | Warga | 6 |
| DA VINCI’S CAT | Murdock | 5 |
| MAYBE MARISOL RAINEY | Kelly | 5 |
| DEAD WEDNESDAY | Spinelli | 4 |
| GONE TO THE WOODS | Paulsen | 4 |
| JUST LIKE THAT | Schmidt | 4 |
| SEA IN WINTER | Day | 4 |
| UNSPEAKABLE | Weatherford | 4 |
| CHANCE TO FLY | Stroker | 3 |
| ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM | Sloan | 3 |
| MILO IMAGINES THE WORLD | de la Pena | 3 |
| ONE JAR OF MAGIC | Haydu | 3 |
| PITY PARTY | Lane | 3 |
| PLACE TO HANG THE MOON | Albus | 3 |
| RACONTEUR’S COMMONPLACE BOOK | Milford | 3 |
| ROOT MAGIC | Royce | 3 |
| SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA | Smith | 3 |
| SUNSHINE | Bauer | 3 |
| ALONE | Freeman | 2 |
| AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS | Alston | 2 |
| ANCESTOR APPROVED | Smith | 2 |
| BILLY MILLER MAKES A WISH | Henkes | 2 |
| FINDING JUNIE KIM | Oh | 2 |
| GROUND ZERO | Gratz | 2 |
| 365 TO ALASKA | Carr | 1 |
| ALMOST THERE AND ALMOST NOT | Urban | 1 |
| BEING CLEM | Cline-Ransome | 1 |
| BOY WHO FAILED SHOW AND TELL | Sonnenblick | 1 |
| CECE RIOS AND THE DESERT OF SOULS | Rivera | 1 |
| DELICATES | Thumler | 1 |
| FABULOUS ZEB WATSON! | Sylvester | 1 |
| HARRY VS. THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL | Jenkins | 1 |
| HOLLOW CHEST | Sandstrom | 1 |
| IT DOESN’T TAKE A GENIUS | Rhuday-Perkovich | 1 |
| LEGACY: WOMEN POETS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE | Grimes | 1 |
| LEGEND OF AUNTIE PO | Khor | 1 |
| MR. SUMMERLING’S SECRET CODE | Butler | 1 |
| PEACEMAKER | Bruchac | 1 |
| PIECE BY PIECE | Huq | 1 |
| RACE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH | Barrone | 1 |
| ROCK FROM THE SKY | Klassen | 1 |
| SAVING AMERICAN BEACH | King | 1 |
| SEVENTH RAVEN | Elliott | 1 |
| SITTING AT ST. JAMES | Williams-Garcia | 1 |
| TOOTH FAIRY DAY CELEBRATION | Ditto | 1 |
| TWENTY-ONE STEPS | Gottesfeld | 1 |
| UNPLUGGED | Korman | 1 |
| UNSETTLED | Faruqi | 1 |
| WATERCRESS | Wang | 1 |
| WE ARE ALL UNDER ONE WIDE SKY | Wiles | 1 |
| WE BECAME JAGUARS | Eggers | 1 |
| YEAR I FLEW AWAY | Arnold | 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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Are only fiction titles eligible for Heavy Medal?
Thanks,
Kerrie
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….