If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that predictions are useless. And yet, we are human. We try anyway. I give this year’s crop of books the once over, and come up with some ideas. Let’s see if you agree.

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.

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 […]