About Jonathan Hunt

By this time of year, the YMAs have usually been announced and we’re signing off with some suggestions of what to read in the coming year.  So consider this an early version of that post (if you’re attending ALA make sure you grab these galleys), and then we’ll culminate with some responses to real Newbery [...]

Here are the results.  We had 67 voters, and although BROWN GIRL DREAMING had less than a quarter of those first place votes, it still has almost double the next highest book.  It’s much closer on the point spread; it’s got 31 points more than the second book, and it has 31.  It’s our clear [...]

I’m sorry for posting these results late, but here they are. We had seven participants, but only five voters so we had a much smaller group than Nina. We decided on co-winners and one honor book! Newbery Medal THE FAMILY ROMANOV and WEST OF THE MOON Newbery Honor BROWN GIRL DREAMING On our second ballot, [...]

Okay, you know the drill by now.  I need your top three clearly labeled first, second, and third so that I can assign the correct point values (i.e. 1st=4 points, 2nd=3 points, 3rd=2 points).  You need to have your votes posted by the end of the day on Monday, January 19th and I will post [...]

From the following review journals: Booklist, Bulletin, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal. Six lists— BROWN GIRL DREAMING THE FAMILY ROMANOV THIS ONE SUMMER Five lists— THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN FIREFLY JULY RAIN REIGN THE RIGHT WORD WEST OF THE MOON Four lists— BEYOND MAGENTA EL DEAFO GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE GLORY O’BRIEN’S [...]

Our final book to reconsider is THE MADMAN OF PINEY WOODS.  The first time around Nina rightly noted that despite a leisurely pace, the storytelling elements–plot, character, setting–make this a worthy book to discuss.  We only had three comments, but they were all packed with good insights. Is this book too heavy-handed or didactic? Are [...]

BROWN GIRL DREAMING has six starred reviews, presumably six best of the year lists (where are you Bulletin?), the National Book Award, and it’s placed the highest through our two rounds of unofficial nominations.  It’s a shoo-in for the Newbery Medal, right?  I’d like to think it has a very good chance.  Personally, I find [...]

Josh Bell   is my name. But Filthy McNasty is my claim to fame. Folks call me that ‘cause my game’s acclaimed, so downright dirty, it’ll put you to shame. My hair is long, my height’s tall. See, I’m the next Kevin Durant, Lebron, and Chris Paul.   On our Top Five post, THE CROSSOVER [...]

Because of the holidays, this is traditionally a slow week here at Heavy Medal.  And that makes it a perfect time for us to trade our final set of nominations, which is a thread that typically has a longer life.  The real committee trades three in October, two in November, and two in December–but since [...]

First of all, you should know that I am simply not the audience for this book.  I find the plot too slow and the characters uninteresting, and the whole thing was kind of a slog to get through–and I always feel that way about Deborah Wiles’s books.  For me, the history in this story was [...]