#Readmore #Readsmarter How are we doing? What are we missing?
Heavy Medal suggestions are officially closed, but nominations start up next week. Before we go into nominations, I wanted to take a look at our suggested titles by the numbers. There are 85 books suggested so far, which seems a little crazy considering there were only 59 suggestions last year.
The genre breakup is below, feel free to dispute any genres in the comments. I will say I was feeling like EVERYTHING was realistic fiction, middle grade but once we got to the one suggestion titles, it varied more! I’m wondering if some of my fantasy groupings should actually be magical realism? OSMO UNKNOWN or HEALER AND WITCH or even THE UNFORGETTABLE LOGAN FOSTER?
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
I also need more information on THE PASSPORT PROJECT. This book is suddenly creeping up everywhere, leads the Goodreads Mock Newbery list, but I just can’t get a hold of it (literally no libraries by me have it, which NEVER HAPPENS). What’s the story behind this book? It was published in March but is gaining traction now?
There’s also been a lot of recent love for SWIM TEAM, which isn’t in our suggestion list and I’m seeing buzz about MESSY ROOTS: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American by Laura Gao and ZIA ERASES THE WORLD by Bree Barton. Is there anything else we’re missing?
I also wonder, where are the sports books? and the mysteries? and HUMOR (I need a laugh), and in general I feel low on non fiction, but that may be just me? Also last year seemed big for thriller and ghost stories, but not this year?
| AIN’T BURNED ALL THE BRIGHT | Reynolds | Verse, Middle Grade |
| I MUST BETRAY YOU | Sepetys | Historical Fiction, Young Adult |
| THE OGRESS AND THE ORPHANS | Barnhill | Fantasy, Mystery, Middle Grade |
| THOSE KIDS FROM FAWN CREEK | Kelly | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE LAST MAPMAKER | Soontornvat | Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| JENNIFER CHAN IS NOT ALONE | Keller | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| ANYBODY HERE SEEN FRENCHIE | Connor | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| NEW FROM HERE | Yang | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| LOUISA JUNE AND THE NAZIS IN THE WAVE | Elliott | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| LOVE IN THE LIBRARY | Tokuda-Hall | Historical Fiction, Picture Book |
| ALIAS ANNA: A TRUE STORY ABOUT OUTWITTING THE NAZIS | Hood | Nonfiction, Middle Grade |
| AND WE RISE | Martin | Poetry, Young Adult |
| MY OWN LIGHTNING | Wolk | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| SOLIMAR | Ryan | Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| CRESS, WATERCRESS | Maguire | Fantasy, Animal, Middle Grade |
| DREAM, ANNIE, DREAM | Brown | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| FALLING SHORT | Cisneros | Realistic Fiction, Sports, Middle Grade |
| HOW TO BUILD A HUMAN | Turner | Nonfiction, Middle Grade |
| LITTLE MONARCHS | Case | Graphic Novel, Science Fiction, Middle Grade |
| MAIZY CHEN’S LAST CHANCE | Yee | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| NORTHWIND | Paulsen | Action and Adventure, Middle Grade |
| OMAR RISING | Saeed | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| A DUET FOR HOME | Van Glaser | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| AFRICAN TOWN | Latham and Waters | Historical Fiction, Young Adult |
| COMB OF WISHES | Stringfellow | Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| DIFFERENT KINDS OF FRUIT | Lukoff | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| HEALER AND WITCH | Werlin | Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| THE PASSPORT PROJECT | McIntyre | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE PATRON THIEF OF BREAD | Eager | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE WOMAN WHO SPLIT THE ATOM | Moss | Nonfiction, Middle Grade |
| WHEN WINTER ROBESON CAME | Woods | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade, Verse |
| AVIVA VS. THE DYBBUK | Lowe | Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| FREEWATER | Luqman-Dawson | Historical Fiction, Action and Adventure, Middle Grade |
| IN THE KEY OF US | Lockington | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| MARSHMALLOW CLOUDS | Kooser and Wanek | Nonfiction, Poetry |
| MOONWALKING | Elliot | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| TURTLE OF MICHIGAN | Nye | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| WISHING UPON THE SAME STARS | Feldman | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| YONDER | Standish | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| A SONG CALLED HOME | Zarr | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| AIR | Roe | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| ALICE AUSTEN LIVED HERE | Gino | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| ALL MY RAGE | Tahir | Realistic Fiction, Young Adult |
| ANSWERS IN THE PAGES | Levithan | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| AT THE END OF EVERYTHING | Nijkamp | Action and Adventure, Young Adult |
| AUGUSTA SAVAGE | Nelson | Nonfiction, Verse |
| AWAY WITH WORDS | Hoberman | Nonfiction, Biography |
| BARE TREE AND LITTLE WIND | Perkins | Picture Book, Fable |
| BEAUTY WOKE | Ramos | Picture Book |
| BERRY SONG | Goade | Picture Book, Fable |
| BIG AND SMALL AND IN-BETWEEN | Higgins | Early Reader |
| BIG RIG | Hawes | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| CORNBREAD & POPPY | Cordell | Easy Reader |
| DREW LECLAIR GETS A CLUE | Bury | Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Middle Grade |
| EACH OF US A UNIVERSE | Ferruolo | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| ELLEN OUTSIDE THE LINES | Sass | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| GARDENER OF ALCATRAZ | Smith | Nonfiction, Picture Book |
| GIBBERISH | Vo | Picture Book |
| GOLDEN GIRL | Faruqi | Realistic Fiction, Verse, Middle Grade |
| HUMMINGBIRD | Lloyd | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| IN THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY | Kuo | Verse, Middle Grade |
| INVISIBLE | Gonzalez | Graphic Novel, Middle Grade |
| THE LAST BEEKEEPER | Cartaya | Science Fiction, Middle Grade |
| LAWLESS SPACES | Haydu | Realistic Fiction, Young Adult |
| THE LEGEND OF GRAVITY | Palmer | Picture Book, Fable |
| LITTLE HOUSES | Henkes | Picture Book |
| LOYALTY | Avi | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE LUCKY ONES | Jackson | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE MIDNIGHT CHILDREN | Gemeinhart | Mystery, Middle Grade |
| MY LIFE BEGINS | Maclachlan | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| OSMO UNKNOWN AND THE EIGHTPENNY WOODS | Valente | Action and Adventure, Fantasy, Middle Grade |
| OUT OF RANGE | Lang | Realistic Fiction, Action and Adventure, Middle Grade |
| QUEER DUCKS (AND OTHER ANIMALS) | Schrefer | Nonfiction, Young Adult |
| RED SCARE | Walsh | Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE SECRET BATTLE OF EVAN PAO | Shang | Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade |
| THE SHEEP, THE ROOSTER, AND THE DUCK | Phelan | Early Reader, Action and Adventure |
| SINGING WITH ELEPHANTS | Engle | Realistic Fiction, Verse, Middle Grade |
| STAR CHILD | Zoboi | Nonfiction, Biography |
| THE STAR THAT ALWAYS STAYS | Johnson | Historical Fiction, Middle Grade |
| TINY DINO | Freedman | Picture Book |
| TO THE FRONT | Friddell | Nonfiction, Biography |
| THE UNFORGETTABLE LOGAN FOSTER | Peters | Action and Adventure, Middle Grade |
| VINYL MOON | Browne | Verse, Young Adult |
| WAYWARD CREATURES | Lorentz | Realistic Fiction, Animals, Middle Grade |
Filed under: Book Discussion
About Emily Mroczek-Bayci
Emily Mroczek (Bayci) is a freelance children’s librarian in the Chicago suburbs. She served on the 2019 Newbery committee. You can reach her at emilyrmroczek@gmail.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
U.S. Gov: ‘All Books Must Have Round Corners’
Review of the Day – Bear and Bird: The Picnic and Other Stories by Jarvis
Review: Swim Team
Write What You Know. Read What You Don’t, a guest post by Lauren Thoman
The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving
ADVERTISEMENT
This book is SO great!! It’s technically narrative nonfiction but is also pretty funny! I am a middle school social studies teacher and I am incorporating it into my curriculum for Geography this year! I HIGHLY recommend this book!!
The Passport Project!
THE PASSPORT PROJECT is funny, entertaining and informative. It is a narrative that middle & high school students can relate to and an easy, fast read that they will like.
I agree. I love that it’s a true story about parents trying to give their daughters a global perspective. It’s an important book and funny too!
I think The Passport Project may be a self-published title:
shamrockhousepublishing.com
I think you’re probably right, Kate. I don’t see much about Shamrock House online, but they’re located in Birmingham (the author lives near there) and this is the only book listed on their website. Self-published books are certainly eligible for the Newbery Medal, and it would be pretty cool if one broke through. Could this be the one? I’m halfway through it, so don’t want to comment yet, but will in the next day or two…
I don’t want to be overly skeptical, but people in the comments over on Goodreads seem to think that The Passport Project jumping to the top of the list there is a scam, or at least that a number of people made accounts specifically to vote for it. I’m definitely at least a little suspicious.
It is possible to promote a book by deliberately calling attention to it in settings like Goodreads and Heavy Medal. In the case of HM, we won’t try to verify or deny the reasons for the support; we’ll just do what we usually do: evaluate and discuss a title through the Newbery lens and see how it holds up. I’ll weigh in on THE PASSPORT PROJECT in the comments here tomorrow when I’ve finished it, and hope others who have read it will join in…
I just finished THE PASSPORT PROJECT. It’s a travel book written (by the mother) from the point of view of her two daughters as they and their father take a “global family field trip.” The kids’ viewpoints work pretty well: They share facts about the places they visit, but focus on specific personal experiences, including many mishaps, some of which are funny. They don’t love everything (Stonehenge is a “pile of rocks”) and readers get a feel for real-life travel logistics: getting lost on a dangerous street, for example, or finding out the hotel does not match the guidebook description. The girls’ perspectives change some through their experiences, in ways that are believable.
I think it will be a useful book, and fills a collection gap: I can’t think of any other books that approach travel for kids this way. It could be an excellent resource for classroom activities or homeschoolers. Presentation of information is creative and I think mostly effective. But I don’t see the distinguished quality of the overall book. Though distinct from each other, the girls’ voices became a little predictable after a while. Some elements like the regular “dad jokes” and the “Riley Reinvention Project” wear a little thin. Insights learned by the family mostly come through naturally from the girls’ point of view, but occasionally they seem a little forced. I’ll be glad to have this book in my library’s collection, but am not convinced it’s at the Newbery level.
If you look at Amazon and GoodReads, though, it seems like I might be the only one who doesn’t think this is a perfect book. From the comments above, it looks like there’s been some skepticism around the rave ratings and reviews, but we can ignore that here. Instead, I’d love to hear from others about how this book may or may not stand up under the Newbery Terms and Criteria…
I’m here to shed a little more light on the Passport Project. I’m an elementary school librarian in Vestavia Hills, AL (which is a suberb of Birmigham) and the author’s two daughters both attended my school before embarking on this journey across the globe (which was many years ago, but not so many to give away how long I’ve been at the same school). Though it’s categorized in the blog as realistic fiction, it might fit better into narrative nonfiction since it chronicles their journey.
I really enjoyed following the blog when the family was traveling and was thrilled when the author reached out to me when the book was published. Our school, surrounding neighborhood, and larger community has really embraced the Passport Project, which might explain all the sudden reviews on Goodreads… maybe now that all these people have accounts they’ll start using Goodreads more?!!!
Thanks for the background, Jenni. And thanks for the correction about the category: It’s definitely written as narrative nonfiction. The author writes that “events have been recorded as truthfully as recollection permits…”
That totally makes sense! And sorry for my skepticism!
Ms. Betsy BIrd had some interesting titles on her Newbery prediction list I have not yet encountered, so I am excited for those.
If You Read THis.
Black Bird, Blue Road, by Sofiya Pasternack.
We put Zia Erases the World on our Mock Newbery Club reading list (inspired by the RI OLIS Mock Newbery list and Betsy Bird’s review)! I’m excited but haven’t read it yet. We also included The Aquanat, which has a few votes over on the Goodreads list but I guess hasn’t been suggested here — I don’t think it’ll win necessarily but we always like to include at least one graphic novel and I do think it’s pretty strong.
I agree about the lack of mystery/thrillers and humor! I put Falling Short on our list partly because I think (hope) it’s at least a little funny. I thought about including Yonder too just to have one mystery. It also feels like there’s a lot of nonfiction this year.
Glad to see FALLING SHORT get a mention. It is funny, as well as engaging and thought-provoking. The alternating points of view work so well in this book, and that doesn’t always happen. And, though we have a lot of strong realistic fiction this year, most of the titles mentioned feature girl protagonists…that’s not a consideration in Newbery deliberations, but it’s just nice to see variety as we read…
I’m excited to hear that about Falling Short! And I totally agree — I always try to include at least a couple of boy protagonists. It’s surprisingly difficult!