Nominations Round 3 of 3: Pick your final two Mock Newbery contenders
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December is a busy month on Heavy Medal. Soon we’ll have our final list of 15 (or so) titles that make up our official Heavy Medal Book List. We will also assemble our Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC)…the call for volunteers happens later this week. Near the end of the month we’ll kick off our in-depth discussion of every book on the HMBL, led by the members of the HMAC. We’re not there yet, though. First, we have to complete our nominations process, and that starts today. Here’s how it works:
- We invite every Heavy Medal to nominate a total of seven books for our Mock Newbery.
- We already held nominations rounds in October and November and currently have a list of 45 nominated titles.
- Five nominations total were allowed for those first two rounds, so this month it’s two nominations.
- If you missed the earlier rounds though, you can catch up this time, getting your total up to seven. (Definitely not allowed in the real Newbery Committee, but it works for us on Heavy Medal)
- Nominate your titles in the comments below. Title and author is all we need, but feel free to expand and share your reasons for the choosing the books you nominate.
- Nominations close at the end of Saturday, December 7th. We’ll share the combined totals on December 9th.
- It’s fine to nominate books that are already on the list. This gives us a clearer picture of which titles are resonating with the most readers. But you can’t nominate the same book yourself more than once.
After this round is complete, Emily and I will use the final list as one of the factors when we compile the final HMBL. Nominations won’t be the only factor; we’ll also look for a good mix of ages and genres, and might do a quick poll to get more input from Heavy Medal readers.
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This last round of nominations is a tough one. I’ve got four, maybe five books in mind. A couple don’t have any nominations yet…should I add them, or will it just be a wasted one of seven? One has good support already…but if I skip it for that reason, am I slighting a book that deserves more? I will need to work it out, and probably won’t be ready until later in the week. But the nomination window is now open, so add your last two any time between today and December 7th.
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 see it in your graphic, Steven. Is BASIL & DAHLIA Newbery-eligible even with the Irish illustrator? I couldn’t figure that out.
Thanks.
As far as I know, as long as the author is Newbery-eligible (“citizens or residents of the United States”), the illustrator’s eligibility doesn’t matter. I think that applied to THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, where Neil Gaiman was eligible (English, but had US residency at the time I believe) and the illustrator of the US edition, Dave McKean, is English and probably wasn’t. Since Joy McCullough, who wrote BASIL & DAHLIA lives in Washington, the book should be eligible.
It’s been a strong year, making this a hard decision. But my final two nominations are:
The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
Deep Water by Jamie Sumner
LIGHT AND AIR by Mindy Nichols Wendell
INVISIBLE ISABEL by Sally J. Pla—this book hasn’t been discussed on here. I thought it was a heartwarming illustrated early chapter book (like MAGNOLIA WU). One interesting thing about it is that it’s in verse, which I haven’t seen done before for an illustrated chapter book. The author won the Schneider Award last year.
I have my fingers crossed for Light and Air winning the Scott O’Dell Award.
That’s a great shout, Julie. I doubt it will realistically get Newbery recognition but the O’Dell would be awesome.
I don’t think I have nominated more than two. Here are mine, including catch-ups.
1. Light and Air
2. The Witching Wind
3. Not Quite a Ghost
4. The Cats of Silver Crescent
5. Heroes by Alan Gratz (beloved by our Mock Newbery kids)
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar
My vote is Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy. Mallory is so beautiful and relevant, and my eleven year old adores it. We need more stories like this right now!
I’d love to nominate Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy. The protagonists webcomic starts each chapter and it’s so good. Takes place in the same world as her debut, Tethered to Other Stars.
Long time lurker but not much of a commenter 🙂
It’s a hard decision but my nominations are:
QUAGMIRE TIARELLO COULDN’T BE BETTER by Mylisa Larsen really captured my heart. A clear delineation of character and a pitch perfect middle school boy voice. The plot surprised me which rarely happens to me anymore. I thought it would be a book about one thing and it went a completely different direction.
THE WRONG WAY HOME by Kate O’Shaughnessy was utterly gripping. I wanted to race through my work and chores to find out what happened next. Nuanced characters and some plot twists and turns made this a winner.
Be sure to read How it All Ends by Emma Hunsigner. The main character, Tara, is complex, interesting and relatable. School anxiety, sibling relationships, first crushes and growing up are handled beautifully in this graphic novel which made my heart sing.
Max in the House of Spies – Gidwitz
One Big Open Sky – Cline-Ransome
I haven’t commented yet so here are my catch-up contributions 🙂 Thanks!!
1) First state of being by Erin Entrada Kelly
2) Tenth mistake of Hank Hooperman by Jennifer Choldenko
3) Quagmire Tiarello couldn’t be better by Mylisa Larsen
4) Magnolia Wu unfolds it all by Chanel Miller
5) Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
6) Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
7) Max in the house of spies by Adam Gidwitz
Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All by Chanell Miller
Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson
I gotta go with Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy!
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston
Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
WE ARE BIG TIME by Hena Khan & Safiya Zerrougi
ULTRAVIOLET by Aida Salazar
MID-AIR by Alicia Williams
LOUDER THAN HUNGER by John Schu
(In looking at my list, it was a banger of a year for novels in verse!)
Mallory in Full Color by Elisa Stone Leahy
When Wishes Were Horses by Cynthia Voigt
BLETCHLEY RIDDLE by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
WRONG WAY HOME by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Young Hag and the Witches’ Quest by Isabel Greenberg
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
It looks like YOUNG HAG is not Newbery-eligible as far as I can tell. Isabel Greenberg lives in England. I can’t find anything that says she has US or dual citizenship, so unless someone has more information, we’ll have to call her book ineligible for our Mock Newbery. You can substitute another title if you’d like, Jesse…
I am nominating:
THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE by Steve Sheinkin/Ruta Sepetys
The plot raced along as it should in a novel like that, the setting was well-described along the way, and you always knew which character was speaking even with the style of nearly alternating chapters of the character telling the story.
BASIL & DAHLIA by Joy McCullough
Wow, this one was a surprise but a “joy” to read. Unlike THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE, it had a near “perfect” ending. It tied up the loose ends but in a natural way. BLETCHLEY just kind of found every loose end and tied them up all in the last 30 pages of the book. It’s my only fault against BLETCHLEY. BASIL & DAHLIA was funny and witty, it has Style with a capital S, and the characters are well-developed. I loved it.
LIBRARY GIRL by Horvath
Yet another instance of a great writer putting her spin on hackneyed children’s literature tropes: the power of story! the foundling with an unusual family! an upbringing among books! librarians! The reviews on Goodreads aren’t too positive, so I figure this has no chance, but I was really engaged with what Horvath does here and am still actively thinking about and trying to wrap my head around this book. And though not perfect, the several moms are notably not absent or overbearing or troubled—that has to count for something this year, right?
After a week of family debate, round-the-clock reading and a review of Emily’s final note, I have chosen to lift up one of each category: the well supported and one that is nuanced and I think deserves more attention.
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler
THE GIRL WHO SANG by Estelle Nadel
Very strong in presentation of information, both explaining how she felt at the time and with hindsight. I also liked how when the text was most serious and needed no distractions, the graphics went dark and the sentences were stark in contrast.
INVISIBLE ISABEL by Sally J. Pla
A kind look at a child struggling with sensory overload, anxiety, and friendship troubles that was well-crafted for younger independent readers. Thanks, Owen, for bringing this book to my attention in the comments in the Last Pleas post.
Yay, so glad you liked it!!
Here are my favorite including catch-ups
1. The Color of Sound
2. The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
3. The Enigma Girls
4. Bye Forever, I guess
5. Louder than Hunger
6. Olivetti
7. And then, Boom
I think I’ll like to vote for ‘Deer Run Home’ instead of Bye Forever. Totally love that story! My detail reviews for each of them are at my instagram account ryu_dragon_reads https://www.instagram.com/ryu_dragon_reads/profilecard/?igsh=MzE3cTlzZ3dxcGJt
HI Riya! Great to see another rising Youth Reviewer giving their recommendations (and all the way from India, that’s cool!) Great choices! Deer Run Home is also great, but I had a really really hard time getting through the subject matter and I think that will be so challenging for kids on the younger end of the Newbery range.
I haven’t read Bye Forever, I Guess. I will add it to my list with Mallory in Full Color.
KEEP READING!
Mallory in Full Color is also on my TBR especially after reading Elisa’s “Tethered to Other Stars”.
My 2 I’m going with are Not Nothing by Gayle Foreman and The Color of Sound by Emily Barth isler. I want to go back and write an actual review of them when I have more time
MID-AIR by Alicia D. Williams
NOT NOTHING by Gayle Forman
Fully in support of the top 10 current leaders as of 11/11 https://heavymedal.slj.com/2024/11/11/november-nomination-results-forty-five-potential-mock-newbery-titles/
Here is a complete list of my 2024 nominations for any librarians that are looking for a Youth Reviewed list:
March ’24 :
*Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II, Adam Gidwitz
*The Color of Sound, Emily Barth Isler
*The First State of Being, Erin Entrada Kelly
*The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming (Non Fiction)
April ’24 :
* Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
* Olivetti by Allie Millington
* Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson
May ’24:
* Tree. Table. Book. By Lois Lowry.
* The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelley.
* Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson. by Ann E. Burg
* The Girl Who Sang : A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel Savos (GN)
* Leafy Landmarks: Travels With Trees by Michelle Schaub (Picture book)
June ’24:
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
July ’24
*And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
*The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
*Deep Water by Jamie Sumner
*Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
*The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
August ’24
*Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
*Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar
*Black Star by Kwame Alexander (ARC)
*The Bletchley Riddle by R. Sepetys & S. Sheinkin (ARC)
Children’s:
The House Before Falling Into The Sea by Ann Suk Wang, Illustrated by Hanna Cha
The Perfect Place by Matt de la Peña Illustrated by Paola Escobar
Volcanoes by Nell Cross Beckerman Illustrations by Kalen Chock (Siebert Award Consideration)
Before the Ships: The Birth of Black Excellence by Maisha Oso and Illustrated by Candice Bradley
September 2024
*The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy
*When Wishes Were Horses by Cynthia Voigt
*Telephone of the Tree, Alison McGhee
*Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt (but its almost YA)
*The Frindle Files, Andrew Clements
October 2024:
*I’m From Here Too by Kashmira Sheth
Short list Choice for National Book Award
-Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Long List Choice for National Book Award
-The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
I decided to go with one that’s been sticking with me all year:
NOT QUITE A GHOST by Anne Ursu
And one that I just read, which adds some dark humor to an otherwise pretty serious (but excellent) list of nominated titles:
BASIL & DAHLIA by Joy McCullough
Hi everyone! Adding THE TENTH MISTAKE OF HANK HOOPERMAN by Gennifer Choldenko and NOT QUITE A GHOST by Anne Ursu to my list of nominees! Can’t wait to see the final list!
I have been busy so I haven’t had as much time to read as I’d like to. My opinions may change since I am on break from school now so I have time to read for fun again. Out of the books I’ve read and haven’t nominated yet I think I will go with Louder then Hunger by John schu and Olivetti by Allie Millington. I really enjoyed Louder then Hunger it was diffrent to here of an eating disorder from a boys perspective as I mostly think of girls getting eating disorders. That being said I wonder if it might be above Newbery age range. Olivetti was different and unique being partly narrated by a typewriter. Not as strong a contender for me but of the books I’d read and not nominated I liked it more then others so I decided to nominate it.
I’m late but hope not too late! My last 2 noms are How It All Ends and Hank Hooperman!
putting in my final two and closing nominations as I do…
I haven’t nominated any bad mom books yet and we know I’m invested in those titles this year.. so this was a hard one for me and I decided…
KYRA, JUST FOR TODAY and THE WRONG WAY HOME