Let’s Talk Books: Think about early favorites and take our “Beginning of the Year Check-In” Survey
To start off our Heavy Medal Mock Newbery season, Steven and I wrote back and forth about the books we’ve read and the books we’re looking forward to reading. Please join us with your own thoughts in the comment section below, and also be sure to take our Beginning of the Year Check-In survey as well, where you can vote for your own early favorites by genre.
EMILY: We have 83 titles so far and I don’t know if it’s just me or I’m not feeling anything. How about you Steven? Any frontrunners?
STEVEN: Lots of books I like a lot, but nothing that stands out for me. I get caught up in looking for the perfect book, then fixating on a single [possible] flaw. The future family in THE FIRST STATE OF BEING; the too-happy-endings in HANK HOOPERMAN and AND THEN, BOOM! (What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I want those poor kids to be happy?). Some moments with Stein and Berg in MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES. That’s where a second reading and discussion with others can help so much, helping me re-think my initial reactions…maybe. Are there any even close for you yet?
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EMILY: I don’t even know if I have an underdog I’m rooting for yet… and that is my favorite thing to do. Going back through the list, books that I think are doing something new and well done include OLIVETTI, LOUDER THAN HUNGER and THE SECRET LIBRARY. And I know there’s more to come out that will ideally nail all the criteria for me… cough cough THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE and A STRANGE THING HAPPENED IN CHERRY HALL. What are you still looking forward to Steven?
STEVEN: We have at least a few books coming up by past Newbery winners: BLACK STAR (sequel to Kwame Alexander’s THE DOOR OF NO RETURN) , THE HOTEL BALZAAR by Kate Camillo (sequel to THE PUPPETS OF SPELLHORST) and GRACIE UNDER THE WAVES by Linda Sue Park. AMAZING GRAPES is the first graphic novel by Jules Feiffer (who wrote BARK GEORGE, one of the best picture books ever). STELLA AND MARIGOLD is a new series from Annie Barrows (of “Ivy & Bean” fame) which could be interesting. But I’m always hoping for a new great book by an author we’ve never even heard of…it could happen.
EMILY: so many bad parents (specifically moms this year!!) Have you noticed any other particular trends from this year’s books?
STEVEN: We have our share of WW II books again, but that almost seems like an every year thing. I’m kind of intrigued by the way several authors have used supernatural/magical elements in otherwise realistic stories. I mentioned MAX IN THE HOUSE OF SPIES, but also the ghost in THE NIGHT WAR, the time travel in THE COLOR OF SOUND, and even the wishes in WHEN WISHES WERE HORSES (the first three sets might or not be magic, but then: a real unicorn!).
EMILY: You’re right about supernatural, I was just thinking about that. Lots f that in CATS OF SILVER CRESCENT and FERRIS does have the ghost appearance. And hey how did you not mention NOT QUITE A GHOST?! We have lots of post ideas from this… and would love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
We’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts in the comments below and in our Beginning of The Year Check-In Survey which will help us see what titles to highlight as we begin book discussions. Please fill out the survey by Wednesday Sept.11 (we’ll share results Friday Sept. 13 and get ready for our more discussions to come! Let’s do this!
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.
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STEVEN! While I do understand your feelings about the “too happy” endings in both And Then, Boom! and Hank Hooperman, I think that was why I loved it. Not why I think it is award deserving but what made me feel so strongly. In a day and age where there is so much yuck, I did like the endings that made me smile. Made me dream of a better world!
EMILY! I agree Louder Than Hunger was something I haven’t seen before. Or at least in a very long time and I am utterly passionate about it!
Ditto for being comfortable with the ending of Hank Hooperman. Maybe, things can work out for a kid like him who has certainly suffered, not only with a neglectful, alcoholic mother, but with his grandmother’s temporary fostering friend, as well as a temporary group home that separates him from his sister. I think the book has great, well-realized characters (and I think characters are how we most often connect with a story). I found Hank’s belief that he can’t afford to make mistakes as a child with adult responsibilities and who is dependent on strangers both convincing and moving. Furthermore, the book has humor, which contributes to it being an engaging read (again: there’s those memorable characters, as well as strong pacing). Given the number of similarly themed books this year (and over the last few years), I am looking forward to seeing how it measures up to the forthcoming Quagmire Tiarello Couldn’t Be Better, which is about another sympathetic boy in a similarly dire situation.
My “too happy” endings comment probably indicates the struggle I sometimes have as an adult reading books for children. Unlike most grownup readers, I’d guess that many young readers of HANK and BOOM won’t have often encountered lives as hard as those characters in the their reading yet. Ending with hope makes sense. They can read THE CHOCOLATE WAR a few years later, and then a bunch of bleak, depressing adult fiction when they grow up.
Katherine Applegate puts it well in her Author’s note to THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY: “…I believe books for young readers should always end on an optimistic note. Children, after all, are an unwavering source of hope for adults. The least we can do, it seems to me, is return the favor.”
Lisa Fipps’ Author’s Note to BOOM that also gives impassioned support for the relatively happy ending. I skipped a bit for space, but here’s an excerpt: “To every kid who hungers for food……..I was you. I wrote this book to you and for you, to give you hope, something to believe in, and to tell you it can all work out in the end. You. Are. Not. Alone.”