We’ve already spent quite a bit of time obsessing over BOMB–and with good reason–but there are a handful of other worthy narrative nonfiction books that deserve our attention.  Each writer, to one degree or another, has structured the plots of their books to take full advantage of the suspense of their stories.  The book you [...]

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 [...]

Autobiography (or memoir) is not recognized very often by the Newbery committee. 26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE BY Tomie DePaola (2000 Newbery Honor) I didn’t always live in the house at 26 Fairmount Avenue.  We moved there when I was five years old.  I know that because in 1938, when I was still four, a big hurricane [...]

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 [...]

Thirteen books have been recognized by the Newbery committee in the past three years, and eleven of them have been historical fiction.  The irony, of course, is that historical fiction is not a genre that kids ask for–at least, not in explicit terms.  In fact, I daresay that from a child viewpoint historical fiction is not [...]

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 [...]

I’ve mentioned here and there in the comments that I just never warmed up to THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE and THE GAME OF SILENCE for whatever reason, and I’m not even sure that I read THE PORCUPINE YEAR, but I really, really like CHICKADEE.  While it’s currently not in my top three, should one of those [...]

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 [...]

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE From the terms and criteria— “Original work” means that the text was created by this writer and no one else. It may include original retellings of traditional literature, provided the words are the author’s own. And the expanded definitions in the Newbery manual– A committee may consider books that are traditional in origin, [...]

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD As I’m sure you already know, The National Book Award for Young People’s Literature went to GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander.  Nina reviewed it here, but I still haven’t read it.  I did finish ENDANGERED this morning which could be considered a cuspy Newbery candidate–and the NEVER FALL DOWN debate continues to intrigue me.  [...]