MORE POSTS FROM OCTOBER 2013
Billed as the “last installment” of Gennifer Choldenko’s Alcatraz trilogy, AL CAPONE DOES MY HOMEWORK stands out to me from the pack of widely-appealing middle-grade novels as one with some real grit to chew in the Newbery criteria department. It starts in Moose’s singular and vivid voice and moves deftly into its plot while giving […]
As you well know, last year was an amazing year for nonfiction. We had an unprecedented amount of depth and quality in the field, and while only one nonfiction book–BOMB–cracked the Newbery roster, I felt that several additional titles, namely MOONBIRD and TITANIC, were similarly worthy. While the nonfiction field is much thinner this year, there are still […]
As we progress through this season of Heavy Medal, Jonathan and I will be putting together a shortlist of titles that we’ll use in an in-person Mock Newbery discussion. There, we’ll model the actual committee deliberation process to determine our Mock Newbery Winner. (Hold the date: Sunday, January 12th, Oakland CA. Not near Oakland? Check […]
It was the first day of second grade and Billy Miller was worried. He was worried he wouldn’t be smart enough for the school year. There was a reason Billy was worried. Two weeks earlier on their drive home from visiting Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills of South Dakota . . . While I […]
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