In the vein of looking at some shorter fare, let’s look a little more closely at some texts in picture book format that have been mentioned in comments here. While I like each quite a bit, I’m not sure if any of them rise to my top ten for this year in Newbery potential.  Anyone [...]

Although they’re probably not reading it right now…here’s some best wishes to those weathering Hurricane Sandy in New York.  The hardest part of a storm can be its aftermath.  In that vein, some of our New York colleagues are still watching another approaching storm: the merger of Penguin and Random House.  Those with jobs in [...]

Last year, we seriously entertained the idea of Newbery recognition for an Elephant & Piggie book, specifically I BROKE MY TRUNK!  Willems has two more books in the series this year: LISTEN TO MY TRUMPET! and LET’S GO FOR A DRIVE!  I’m equally enthusiastic about these books, and if I were on the real committee I [...]

Fatal flaws, whether real or perceived, are so hard to handle at the Newbery table. Inevitably it’s not the flaw that’s in question, but whether or not it’s fatal, and it’s so hard to persuade those that feel fatalistic. I need that preamble before I talk about Sheinkin’s book, because so far I’ve not found [...]

It has become fashionable of late to praise narrative nonfiction, that brand of nonfiction that seeks to employ many of the tools of a novelist while being scrupulously faithful to the factual record. This year we have an abundance of these books to consider including TITANIC, THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE, THE FAIRY RING, and THE GIANT [...]

There are some boy protagonists in the Newbery-potential lineup this year.  But they tend to be non-genre reads.  Where is the “boy” equivalent of PALACE OF STONES, or THREE TIMES LUCKY?  What’s the male equivalent of the “spunky girl” kind of novel? N.D. Wilson’s THE DROWNED VAULT doesn’t make even near my top ten for [...]

Trouble cruised into Tupelo Landing at exactly seven minutes past noon on Wednesday, the third of June, flashing a gold badge and driving a Chevy Impala the color of dirt.  Almost before the dust had settled, Mr. Jesse turned up dead and life in Tupelo Landing turned upside down. As far as I know, nobody [...]

I do love a surprise in awards…when a book cover flashes up there and I just draw a blank.  It’s strangely reassuring to me that there’s plenty out there under the sun beyond the overwhelming murmur of popular opinion. I also love it when I have a copy of said book in hand.   Out [...]

There’s this totally false map of the human tongue.  It’s supposed to show where we taste different things, like salty on the side of the tongue, sweet in the front, bitter in the back.  Some guy drew it a hundred years ago, and people have been forcing kids to memorize it ever since. But it’s [...]

This is the time of year that always telescopes down and passes in a flash for me,  and I’m noticing a time-warpy feeling right about now that we’re fully ramped up at Heavy Medal. If you are feeling frustrated that you haven’t read the titles that we’re posting on: you’re not alone in that feeling. [...]