This year’s first round of predictions varies somewhat from those of the past because I am releasing the list in April rather than March. Turns out, pandemics are not good for forecasting. I’ve only just now gotten my head in order enough to try and offer a paltry take on what may or may not have a chance come January.
I’m changing things up. This year I’m splitting my predictions into three categories: Best Chance, Maybe, and Probably Not. Will doing so make me any more accurate? Only time will tell.
Let’s go and make predictions that will, in the end, only break our hearts when they turn out to be way off. And yet, there’s is an off chance that one or two of these books really will make it to the finish line. Which ones? Let’s see if you can figure it out . .
This is roundabout the time of year when I start stretching the old award-season muscles. I’m going to pull out the books for you that I think have a darn good chance. At the very least, they’re contenders, if not outright winners. Something to guide your reading then.
Last year Kate and I discussed three potential Caldecott winners, and two later received medals. This year, Kate and I are discussing Dreamers, Blue, and We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. And as per usual, Kate brings up stuff I never considered before. Questions like, how exactly does Penelope Rex eat her classmates so quickly (does she unhinge her jaw?). What does “caminantes” mean? And does the guy in Blue rename his girlfriend’s dog? Stay tuned!
At this point in the proceedings, after doing a mess of reading, and reviewing, and contemplating, and pondering, you have a sense of how the year has shaped up. What kind of an award year will this one be? Will there be a lot of surprises or familiar faces? What are the dark horse candidates? This year, as with every year, I am going to make my predictions.
Yeah. I have no idea. I kid, I KID! Actually I don’t kid. This year is crazy, people! The books are all over the place. We’re seeing some shockingly strong Nonfiction contenders, and a plethora of good Caldecotts too. Yet, just like last year, the Newbery potential in the middle grade fiction is just okay. […]
In just a week’s time librarians will be leaving their homes and gathering in New Orleans for the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. While there, they will visit the convention floor where publishers will present a wide array of f&gs and galleys of the upcoming children’s books of 2018. So many lovely links to literature […]
Happy decade-of-me-doing-this-weird-thing-I-do! That’s right, folks! I’m pleased as punch to announce that as of right now I’ve been making grossly incorrect predictions of the Newberys, Caldecotts, and other ALA Youth Media Awards for a good solid decade. That’s a decade I’ll never get back, by the way. Worth it. As per usual, let’s round-up how […]
I was all prepped to begin today by saying that the entire reason I’m doing this post in January is because the ALA Youth Media Awards are slated to go live in February this year . . . but then I looked at last year’s Final Prediction Edition and saw that it was posted on […]
*stumbles into the room* Is everybody happy?!? Okay. So. So it’s been quite the year already and we haven’t even gotten to the awards announcement in *checks watch* . . . Wait. The Youth Media Awards celebration is in February this year?!? For crying out loud, anything could happen between now and then. No no […]
Did Betsy drop the ball in her last Spring Newbery/Caldecott Prediction post? Yes, Betsy did drop the ball in her last Spring Newbery/Caldecott Prediction post. Will Betsy do better with her Summer Newbery/Caldecott Prediction post? Yes, Betsy will do better with her Summer Newbery/Caldecott Prediction Post. Back in the spring I ran into a bit […]
Folks, for 9 years now I’ve been doing these goofy little Newbery/Caldecott prediction posts. I get ’em wrong far more often than I get ’em right but they’re fun and I enjoy doing them. March 15th is normally the date of the Spring Prediction Edition, and as tradition states I’m supposed to show you how […]
Normally published in December, now pushed up to January for your reading pleasure. But I’m shaking things up this time around. Let’s do something a little different. In all my past Final Prediction Editions of Newbery/Caldecott winners, I cling stubbornly to the same format: name the predicted winner and honors. This year I’m going a […]
Mmmm. It’s that time again. The summer is beginning to cool its jets and with fall on the horizon I need to present the third in my yearly four-part prediction series. What was that fantastic quote Travis Jonker came up with the other day? Ah, yes. “Those who have knowledge, don’t predict. Those who predict, […]
Recent Comments