October Mock Newbery Nominations: Share your top three
On this Mock Newbery blog we try to follow the procedures of the real Newbery Committee when we can, and the “nomination” process is one example. On the real Committee, each of the 15 members will nominate 7 titles over the next few months: three in October, two in November, and two more in December. Members include “written justifications” with each nominated title, and this is typically the first chance they have to share specific the rest of the Committee, beyond a “practice discussion” that takes place in the summer. The nominated titles are the ones that will be on the table when the Committee meets to discuss and select the Newbery winner in January.
The Newbery Manual notes that the nominations “make each committee member aware of which books require their closest scrutiny and which they need to re-read.” This year those final discussions will be virtual, as they were in 2021. I wonder if that fact might shift a bit more added weight to the nominations. The written justification might allow a member to call attention to specific strengths of a title which they might not have a chance to raise, especially in a virtual setting.
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Here’s how we’ll do nominations on Heavy Medal:
- Nominate three titles in the comments below. Like the real Committee, we’ll require three exactly.
- Listing the three titles is fine, but if you would like to share a bit about why any of them made your list, or any strategic rationale, that’s fine.
- Nominations will stay open through the end of Saturday, October 9th. We’ll post the totals on the 11th.
- The nominations list will help Emily and I decide which books to feature in future posts. It will also be useful as we develop the Heavy Medal Book List, which we’ll announce in early December. That list won’t necessarily match the nomination list exactly, but number of nominations will definitely be a significant factor.
Add your titles to the list below. If you have any questions about our nomination process or about how it works on the real Committee feel free to ask those in the comments below as well:
Filed under: Nominations
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. 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’ll start with my 3 October nominations:
AMBER AND CLAY by Laura Amy Schlitz
FALLOUT by Steve Sheinkin
HARRY VERSUS THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL by Emily Jenkins
1. FRANKIE & BUG by Gayle Forman
2. THE BEATRYCE PROPHECY by Kate DiCamillo
3. TOO BRIGHT TO SEE by Kyle Lukoff
1. Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm
2. Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
3. DaVinci’s Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
1. The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga
– The question of whether they would find the wormhole (is it sci fi?) or not (is it realistic fic?) kept me guessing the whole book. Lots of emotions on both sides.
2. Red White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
3. While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown
I have 4, I couldn’t delete one
Shape of Thunder
Ophie’s Ghosts
Red, White and Whole
Finding Junie Kim
It can be so hard to pick just three, Lisa. But, since we’re following the real Committee procedures, and we’ll want our nominations to be equal among all readers……Can you pick one to save for later? Remember, we will all get to add 2 more in November and 2 more in December.
Sure I’ll take out Shape of Thunder for now.
Amber and Clay
Just Like That
The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book
Somehow I forgot that I had decided that I would definitely nominate THE RACONTEUR’S COMMONPLACE BOOK (I even used the book cover for this post). I’m glad it’s made the list.
LOL Steven I was hoping you changed your mind on this.. guess I better stop dragging my feet and finish this one!
1. A Place to Hang the Moon
2. Just Like That
The Beatryce Prophecy
Good to see A PLACE TO HANG THE MOON on the list. I think that’s a deceptively strong book.
Starfish
The Shape of Thunder
Too Bright to See
Three of the eight that I’m assigning to my Mock Newbery book club students are:
1. Amari & the Night Brothers
2. One Jar of Magic
3. The Legend of Auntie Po
Starfish
Just Like That
Red, White & Whole
1. Just Like THat, by Gary D. Schmidt. (I struggled between this title and AMber and Clay, but I ultimately picked Schmidt’s work. While Amber and CLay is strong because of uniqueness of presentation, interspersing artifacts with poetry and prose, I ultimately felt that Just Like THat had stronger characters. THe characters, coupled with a cohesive plot and vivid, immersive setting made this one stand out. ALso, theme was consistently presented throughout, and the author’s use of literary illusion by referencing THe Wizard of Oz, Oliver Twist, THe Grapes of Wrath and other books was solid and beautifully done. I had to choose this one).
2. THe Beatryce Prophecy, by Kate DiCamillo. An array of engaging characters, the medieval setting and the author’s rich word choice make this one essential for my list.
3. Harry Versus the FIrst 100 Days of School, by Emily Jenkins. THe tight plotting and engaging character dynamic made this one stand out to me.
October Top Three:
AMBER AND CLAY by Laura Amy Schlitz
FALLOUT by Steve Sheinkin
RED WHITE AND WHOLE by Rajani LaRocca
1. Red, white and whole
2. Finding Junie Kim
3. Lion of Mars
1. Too Bright to See
2. Amber and Clay
3. Starfish
So far, anyway! I’m a bit behind in my reading this year, but I’m really hoping to catch up soon.
The Troubled Girls of Dagomir Academy
Just Like That
Stamped (for Kids)*
* From the manual:
“Not all cases are clear-cut, and each committee must make its own judgments about originality. Where consensus is not easily reached, the Chair should discuss the issue with the Priority Consultant, who may also consult the President, the Executive Director, the Board, or previous chairs.”
So the committee does not have to check with the PC or alsc president, etc if they have consensus that a book is eligible (even if it doesn’t actually appear to be eligible based on the manual).
Good job quoting the manual for Stamped for Kids. I was fortunate during my committee year that we didn’t have any complicated/ borderline books. I do think it would be fun to be a fly on the wall for those conversations.
1. Red, White, and Whole
2. One Jar of Magic
3. Being Clem
Please share this post far and wide, so lots of people can nominate and join our Heavy Medal conversation! Also if you have more time and want to reply to your comment with any justification for your books, feel free to (but don’t feel obligated)!
Also my nominations are coming, but I have till Saturday and am hoping to finish a few more books by then!!
1. The Beatryce Prophecy
2. Too Bright to See
3. Amber & Clay
It’s an interesting mix of nominations so far:
– 23 titles nominated
– 11 with just one nomination
– 7 with three or more nominations.
Starfish
Lion of Mars
Red, White, and Whole
Just Like That – Schmidt
Amber & Clay – Schlitz
Billy Miller Makes a Wish – Henkes
1. Amber & Clay
2. The Shape of Thunder
3. A Place to Hang the Moon
Too Bright to See
Unspeakable
Red White and Whole
Red, White, and Whole
Amari and the Night Brothers
Root Magic
A few of these nominations are still on my list to read… and some late arrivals may change my mind (sequel to Out of My Mind, is one), but for the time-being…
Just Like That….It is a stand-alone novel, but reading the first two does add another level to the book… and that is what is revealed on page two. Yes, it’s shocking, but it’s also brilliant because GDS creates a very real empty place for the reader who must, along the main character learn to live with it and move on. Beautifully written. Every character whether minor or major is whole and real.
Red, White, and Whole.. it checks all the Newbery boxes, including what I call the “Newbery voice.” It is timely… but I do think it surpasses this and has the capacity to be timeless and univeral.
Kaleidoscope. I know we think of Selznick as an illustrator, but his writing truly outshines his art in this book. His style is rich, haunting, and deep, and even when I was in the midst of confusion, trying figure what was going on, I kept reading for the sheer pleasure of enjoying the writing itself.
(That said… Pony, Fallout, and Starfish could very easily be traded in for my list.)
The National Book Award Finalists were announced yesterday. In the Young People’s Literature category, only two of the five have been mentioned here: TOO BRIGHT TO SEE (5 nominations so far) and THE LEGEND OF AUNTIE PO (1 nomination so far). The other three are on the older edge of the age range, but all sound interesting to me: REVOLUTION IN OUR TIME: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE by Kelly Magoon (reviews put it at 7th grade and up); ME (MOTH) by Amber McBride (7th-9th grade and up); and LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo (9th grade and up). I haven’t read those last three…Any thoughts on their Newbery chances from anyone who has read them?
I’ve only read LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB out of those last three, and I would place it solidly in the Printz category as opposed to the Newbery. I think it was written more for older (15 years +) readers, not younger, though that’s always subjective. It is an amazing book, and I hope it wins some serious bling this year.
Amber & Clay
365 Days to Alaska
Lion of Mars
Red White and Whole
A Place to Hang the Moon
Just Like That
1. Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard
2. Red, White, and Whole
3. Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Pony
Too Bright to See
Starfish
CORRECTION: Nominations are open through Saturday, October 9th. That matches the information in this post, but the date was typed incorrectly as the 6th on the Heavy Medal home page. Sorry for the confusion…
FALLOUT by Steve Sheinkin
THE SHAPE OF THUNDER by Jasmine Warga
BILLY MILLER MAKES A WISH by Kevin Henkes
FALLOUT by Steve Sheinkin
THE BEATRYCE PROPHECY by Kate DiCamillo
DAVINCE’S CAT by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Red White and Whole
The Beatryce Prophecy
Root Magic
Unspeakable / Faruqi
A Place to Hang the Moon / Albus
Finding Junie Kim / Oh
I am in the middle of several books – but as of today..
Flight of the Puffin
Starfish
Amber and Clay
1. Star fish
2. Beatryce prophecy
3. Lion of Mars
HARRY VERSUS THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF SCHOOL
THE RACONTEUR’S COMMONPLACE BOOK
BEING CLEM — how good is this book? I finished THE BEATRYCE PROPHECY this morning, the work of one of the greatest writers for children of our time. Then I picked up BEING CLEM. And BEING CLEM was the book I wanted to champion for the Newbery, the book I had to finish today just so I could nominate it in time, the book which caps arguably one of the great historical fiction trilogies in recent memory, though I hadn’t thought to think of Cline-Ransome’s work in those terms until I started reading CLEM. (This is my own short-sightedness, because I was really impressed by the first two). Oh, and since others had asked where is the boy protagonist book and where is the sports book, here you go. (It’s not *really* a sports book, but you will see what I mean.)
Just Like That
Amber and Clay
Red, White, & Whole
1. Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young
2. While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown
3. A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
I’m here, I’m here right before the bell.
WATERCRESS for setting, theme, and characterization
PITY PARTY for theme and presentation
STARFISH for all around awesomeness
Hi! Jumping in here quick to remind everyone that you have until THE END OF THE DAY TODAY to submit your two November nominations!! https://blogs.slj.com/heavymedal/2021/11/01/november-mock-newbery-nominations-add-two-more/