About Jonathan Hunt

Here are some of the books on my radar for 2018 consideration.  Some of them already have great reviews; some of them are by favorite authors; many of them are nonfiction!  Please weigh in if you’ve read any of them already.  Please also feel free to recommend additional titles in the comments now and throughout […]

When a committee only recognizes a small handful of books, it goes without saying that various people will be surprised and disappointed by the books that did not get selected.  Nevertheless, when I consider the books this committee did recognize, I’m over the moon. First and foremost, there is THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON.  I loved this […]

MEDAL                   HONOR BOOKS                                     These three books clearly distinguished themselves from the pack.  Here are their stats. WOLF HOLLOW . . . 40 (1st) + 20 (2nd) + 22 […]

We’re doing things a bit differently this year then we have in years past.  Rather than having people post their votes in the comments, we are using an online ballot and you can vote here.  We dithered between two rounds, but opted for a decisive single one.  Voting will close on Friday night, so get […]

Here’s one final group of books with multiple starred reviews.  It just goes to show that we can really only scratch the surface here on this blog in terms of covering the breadth of books that the committee is likely to read.                           […]

Leveraging the Elephant & Piggie brand, Mo Willems has extended the reach of the magical spell that he has cast over emergent readers with Elephant & Piggie Like Reading.  The first two entries–WE ARE GROWING by Laurie Keller and THE COOKIE FIASCO by Dan Santat–were published this past year, and while I think very highly of […]

To date, only one easy reader–FROG AND TOAD TOGETHER–has been recognized by the Newbery committee, so the chances of one breaking through seem improbable, if not downright impossible.  But if last year taught us anything it’s that miracles can and do happen, occasionally. One of the problems is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Easy readers […]

The following books–another baker’s dozen–have received starred reviews, but have not received any discussion, let alone mention, on the blog this year.  Are any of these strong Newbery contenders?                                                     […]

I consulted the following lists: BOOKLIST, BULLETIN, HORN BOOK, KIRKUS REVIEWS, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL.  Please let me know if I have missed something.   Six lists– SOME WRITER!   Five lists– THE BEST MAN THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON THE INQUISITOR’S TALE THE LIE TREE MARCH, BOOK THREE SCHOOL’S FIRST DAY OF […]