Looking Ahead to the 2023 Newbery Medal
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Now that the results of the 2022 Newbery Medal have been announced, we’re exactly 52 weeks from learning what the 2023 winner will be. There will be a lot of reading, writing, and discussing on Heavy Medal between now and then, but not for a while. We’ll start building our list of suggested titles in early March, and resume book discussions in September.
I haven’t read any 2022 children’s books yet. I’m taking an adult fiction break: re-reading some (or all if I can) of Julia Glass’ six novels and hoping to catch up on some 2021 adult titles I didn’t have time for, including books by John Le Carré, Amor Towles, and Liane Moriarty…plus there’s a new Jennifer Egan out in March.
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I’ll jump back into reading children’s books soon, though. Here are some just-published or coming soon titles that are on my early 2022 to-read list, which will only grow longer as the year continues:
Early 2022 books by past Newbery Medal winners:
- LOYALTY by Avi (February)
- THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK by Erin Entrada Kelly (March)
- THE OGRESS AND THE ORPHANS by Kelly Barnhill (March)
Early 2022 books by authors who have won Newbery Honors:
- AIN’T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT by Jason Reynolds (January)
- NORTHWIND by Gary Paulsen (January)
- THE YEAR WE LEARNED TO FLY by Jacqueline Woodson (January)
- CALL ME MISS HAMILTON by Carole Boston Weatherford (February)
- PRINCESS IN BLACK AND THE MERMAID PRINCESS by Shannon Hale (February)
- RIMA’S REBELLION by Margarita Engle (February)
- SOLIMAR by Pam Muñoz Ryan (February)
- THE LAST MAPMAKER by Christina Soontornvat (April)
- THE WORLD BELONGED TO US by Jacqueline Woodson (May)
Early 2022 books by reliably excellent authors:
- I MUST BETRAY YOU by Ruta Sepetys (February)
- NEW FROM HERE by Kelly Yang (March)
- HOW TO BUILD A HUMAN by Pamela Turner (April)
- MURDER AMONG FRIENDS by Candace Fleming (April)
What’s on your Mock Newbery radar for the coming year? We’d love to hear about other forthcoming titles that might be early contenders for the 2023 Newbery…
Filed under: Heavy Medal Mock
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 just realized this doesn’t come out until August (yikes), but I have an ARC of The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart that sounds like it has similarities to a lot of recent Newbery winners! I think The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise got some buzz/discussion on here when it came out a few years ago (although I never read it), so I’m looking forward to this new one.
Sarah,
Where’d you get an ARC??? My sales rep says they aren’t making any and I’m dying to read it!
Edelweiss! Maybe they aren’t printing any but the digital one is available!
I just finished Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds. Absolutely stunning! Read the beginning of it aloud to my students and they were captivated as well. You could hear a bin drop. His artistry with words is remarkable. It’s the kind of book that you could read quickly but can also linger over. The illustrations certainly provide an strong accent to his words, but I believe also stand on their own well enough to be worthy of contention – and an early top runner.
I just finished a book that I really enjoyed, but I don’t know if it is eligible. The publishing date is 2021, but I don’t think it was released until January 18th. How does that work? It is called WAYWARD CREATURES by Dayna Lorentz.
Other early 2022 books that I am excited about are:
OMAR RISING by Aisha Saeed (February)
ANYBODY HERE SEEN FRENCHIE? By Leslie Connor (February)
Do you mean copyright date? Sometimes the copyright will not match publishing date. Ingram and Amazon both list the publication date as January 18, 2022, which would make WAYWARD CREATURES a 2022 book and eligible for the 2023 Newbery, unless someone has information I don’t have.
Yes sorry, I meant the copyright date inside the cover. I’m glad it is eligible! It is a good story.
Don’t forget that Tae Keller has a new book out in April JENNIFER CHAN IS NOT ALONE. Excited to read that one.
I’m excited for that one too! I loved WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER!
Debut novel being published next week: A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow.
I am excited to read Freewater, by AMina Luqman-Dawson as it sounds very intriguing. I am also excited for THose Kids from Fawn Creek, by Erin ENtrada Kelly and THe Ogress and the Orphans, by Kelly Barnhill. I am also excited about A Comb of WIshes, by Lisa Stringfellow.
A picture book I read already that I loved was Love in the Library, by Maggie Tokuda-Hall.