Everyone, we’ve heard from SLJ that for technical issues (which many of you have been experiencing) they are fast-forwarding their server upgrade to: tonight. This means that at 12 midnight EST we will be “freezing” posting so that they can migrate our content…giving us a face lift in the process! (Check out  http://100ScopeNotes.com or http://blogs.slj.com/connect-the-pop for [...]

As I understand better the distance created for me in the prose style of BOMB, I also understand better why I find Nelson’s book so engaging, collapsing that distance.  So it’s interesting to note that for many of you who responded in Jonathan’s first post on this title,  your concern was exactly one of distance. [...]

This is what’s so interesting to me about reading for the (Mock!) Newbery: how a book changes on second read.  And when I look back at the comments on Jonathan’s post for Liar & Spy, I see that many of the advocates had delved into it more than once.  My own “not personally compelling” comment? [...]

JEPP has come up a few times in comments this season, in most interesting contrast to WONDER SHOW and WILL SPARROW’S ROAD for its depiction of characters with dwarfism.  It is easily the most complex and complete depiction of the three, because here the dwarf is the protagonist, and the book itself is longer (nearly 400 [...]

Do you have a favorite author that provokes a Pavlovian response?  When I hear “Polly Horvath’s new book” I drool.  ”…two new books..” knocked me to the floor in fits. Up and dusted, I tried to put my brain in order so that I could read her current titles as objectively as possible…meaning, likely, that [...]

Jonathan introduced this title briefly into discussion, and it might be the outside longshot on our shortlist.  I’ve seen comments from otherwise-Woodson-fans call this one “too afterschool special,” or note that the parallels between Laurel’s addiction and the Hurricane seem “too forced.”  Then of course there’s the age-range question.  Yet others, myself included, can’t help but [...]

Next in our guest posts, you heard from commenter Mark Flowers on one of his favorite contenders. Now here is Sondy Elkund, on Sara Pennypacker’s SUMMER OF THE GYPSY MOTHS…doing pretty strong in the Goodreads poll and our nominations. First, like Mark, I want to thank Nina and Jonathan for letting me chime in.  My [...]

A little Thanksgiving disgestif, as I mull over a lot of threads we’ve got going on…all of them circling around the idea of what makes a Newbery book. I’m no personal fan of Philip Roth.  But I’ve been appreciating what he has to say about his retirement.  In Sunday’s NYTimes he said: “I know I’m [...]

Our shortlist requires a little context, so we’ll start with some details. This year’s in-person Mock Newbery Discussion will take place on Sunday, January 13th, in Oakland CA.  Logistics and registration are handled by email, so if you’re interested in participating, email me. Over the course of four-ish hours that afternoon, we’ll discuss and vote [...]

No, but she has lent glamour to The National Book Awards announcement dinner.  This year they’re planning on Molly Ringwald to help give the awards some popular traction.  That and: “This year it issued new instructions to the judges, in red ink no less, apparently as a signal to the judges that it was O.K. to nominate [...]