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No, this post is not about Albert Marrin‘s YEARS OF DUST or accuracy in nonfiction. It’s about fantasy fiction, broadly defined, so maybe the headline should read LIAR, FIRE, CATCHING FIRE. As excellent as LIAR by Justine Larbaelstier and FIRE by Kristin Cashore may be, however, both are too old for the Newbery. HEROES OF THE VALLEY […]
Recent discussions on Almost Astronauts and Years of Dust have prompted commenters like Leslie C to wonder: "I’m impressed by the level of detail that I’ve read on this blog about nonfiction accuracy. Can you tell us how that works in committee discussions, Nina or Johnathan or any other former members? What if one person […]
I‘ve mentioned YEARS OF DUST by Albert Marrin in this post and that one, but it’s never had its own post until now. Debbie Reese posted some of her objections to the book on her blog and I wanted to address those concerns. 1. My understanding is that the hunters as a group ate several […]
War and peace are very much in the public consciousness nowadays and it’s no surprise, therefore, that many of the excellent books published this past year touch on these themes. Here are some of the most prominent ones, organized thematically and viewed through the Newbery lens. THE CIVIL WAR We’ve already mentioned A SAVAGE THUNDER […]
I’ve been taking a week off my Mock Newbery reading. Yes, I took The Rock and the River and a couple others home for the holidays, but I also took Eugenidies–The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia–in anticipation of the arrival of the arc of A Conspiracy of Kings. (Thanks, Monica, […]
I continue to look for picture book and easy reader texts that are worthy of Newbery consideration. While reading through the Kirkus Best Children’s Books, I came across the following description. In the inspired silly style of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, first-time author Denise Doyen teams up with award-winning illustrator Barry Moser to […]
Well, despite all my dithering, nothing on this list is going to surprise anyone, except, perhaps, for what isn’t there. Our live Mock Newbery discussion and election will take place on Sunday, January 10th, from 1pm-5pm, in Oakland CA. RSVP to me for details. The first half of the discussion list was posted last month, […]
We’ve already celebrated the merits of CLAUDETTE COLVIN, CHARLES AND EMMA, ALMOST ASTRONAUTS, and MARCHING FOR FREEDOM on this blog. I must say I agree with Peter Sieruta when he notes that what’s really exciting about many of these titles is the original contribution that they make, not just to children’s literature, but to literature, […]
In 1968 Chicago, thirteen year old Sam is the son of a well-known civil rights activist. His older brother becomes secretly involved in the Black Panther movement, whose ideas Sam slowly opens his eyes to as he becomes friends with a girl from the projects. What seems an untenable clash of ideas reveals itself to […]
I swear, the only thing worse than discussing politics and religion is discussing politics, religion, and literature . . . I wrote: And I still can’t shake the feeling that Peck is being criticized, not so much for literary shortcomings, but for political ones. Nina responded: I take the fake "bones" very seriously because Peck […]
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