Elizabeth Bird

Mock Newberys and Mock Caldecotts: Who is Nominated the Most?

So what's going to win the Newbery or the Caldecott?  That was the question posed by the CCBC-net listserv earlier this month, prompting people to post their Mock shortlists and final picks.  I've compiled the lot of them, ending with a final tally where I keep track of the books that have appeared on the most lists.

But before I begin, we know that the Anti-Newberites have had their say in the recent Washington Post article and the earlier Anita Silvey piece.  It's precisely the kind of say that makes for good copy.  People love "is-such-n-so-relevant?" articles (and you just know that if the Newbery ever did become a popularity contest it would get just as many, if not more, articles saying it had "sold out").  Now it's time for a rebuttal or three.  Behold the glory of people with brains!   In this corner Lisa Von Drasek discusses  The Dreaded Newbery saying, "Oh please. If teachers would stop forcing kids to read books that were developmentally inappropriate just because 15 librarians slapped a gold seal on it, this wouldn’t be a problem." Shh, Lisa! Keep talking like that and people might notice that what you say makes a lot of sense! In corner #2 is is Sharon McKellar with her pieceWashington Post Article: ". . .while popularity and quality are not mutually exclusive, they are NOT both criteria for this particular award. Which is not to say that some past award winners have not become immensely popular.  But that was not *why* they won."  And finally, in corner #3 is Erica S. Perl, my hero, with her magnificently titled Captain Underpants Doesn't Need a Newbery Medal over at Slate.  She says, "Is a Newbery winner right for every kid? No—but what book is? Some kids will give the tougher tomes a try and come away with a richer vocabulary and a deeper appreciation of a world beyond their experience. Other kids will ditch them and dig right back into R.L. Stine (which, after all, is reading, too)."  (And here's one last one from The Reading Zone that I found since I collected these links) Go, team, go!

Now for the lists.  You'll have to forgive me for not making them all the same format.  I spent an unfathomable amount of time making them all the same font, to say nothing of giving them all authors and tallying them up.  It's pretty clear cut anyway.

• First up, a group of graduates of the Simmons College master's program in children's literature held a mock Caldecott and the winners were:

THE LITTLE YELLOW LEAF, Carin Berger (medal)
ABE'S HONEST WORDS, Kadir Nelson (honor)
WE ARE THE SHIP, Kadir Nelson (honor--tied with above)
A RIVER OF WORDS, Melissa Sweet (honor)

Others titles that received votes were:
THAT BOOK WOMAN, David Small
MY FRIEND THE STARFINDER, Stephen Gammell
THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT, Beth Krommes
AMANDINA, Sergio Ruzzier
FRED STAYS WITH ME, Tricia Tusa

• Next, the Chicago Public Library, who held their Mock Newbery & Caldecott Discussion on December 2nd. Their titles, including winners, included:

Mock Caldecott:

Abe's Honest Words by Kadir Nelson -- Honor   
Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes  -- Winner 
A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes -- Honor   
Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young
What to Do About Alice by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham


Mock Newbery:

Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes
Chains by Laure Halse Anderson -- Honor 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Winner 
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
Savvy by Ingrid Law -- Honor
Trouble Begins at 8:  A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

• The Ethical Culture School had a voluntary Mock Newbery with 5th graders and a Mock Caldecott with 3rd graders that yielded the following shortlists:

Mock Newbery:

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
My One Hundred Adventures  by Polly Horvath
We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
Seer of Shadows by Avi
The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 


Mock Caldecott:

Pale Male by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Meilo So
Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Tadpole Rex by Kurt Cyrus
Nic Bishop's Frogs by Nic Bishop
That Book Woman by Heather Henson, illustrated by David Small
Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young
Building Manhattan by Laura Vila

• The Oakland Public Library is looking at these titles on January 11th for their Mock Newbery:

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich
The Trouble Begins at 8 by Sid Fleischman
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

• Whereas the Allen County Public Library system in Fort Wayne, IN provides its Newbery adult discussion titles here while for kids between the grades of three to six the list is:

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
Savvy by Ingrid Law
The Trouble Begins at 8 – A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild Wild West by Sid Fleischman
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

• Sidwell Friends Middle School came up with these books (I'm not sure what the asterixes mean):

After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes
Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski
Chains* by Laurie Halse Anderson
Diamond Willow* by Helen Frost
The Graveyard Book* by Neil Gaiman
Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler
The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle
The Hunger Games* by Suzanne Collins
My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich
Savvy* by Ingrid Law
The Seer of Shadows by Avi
She Touched the World by Sally Hobart Alexander and Robert Alexander
The Totally Made Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish* by Claudia Mills
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
Waiting for Normal* by Leslie Connor
We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
When the Black Girl Sings* by Bil Wright

• Northport-East Northport Public Library came up with a list of their own. You can even read their reviews on their club website here .

Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes
Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff
The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong
Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech
Knucklehead by Jon Sciezka
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell
We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson
The Willougbys by Lois Lowry

• The Oregon Library Association Children's Services Division's 2009 Mock Caldecott Workshop will eventually take place at the Salem Public Library.  They will look at:

-  Billingsley, Franny. Big Bad Bunny. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/A Richard Jackson Book
-  Bryant, Jen. A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
-  Elliott, David. On the Farm. Illustrated by Holly Meade. Candlewick Press
-  Frazee, Marla. A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever. Harcourt, Inc
-  Kerley, Barbara. What To Do About Alice? Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham. Scholastic Press
-  Reibstein, Mark. Wabi Sabi. Illustrated by Ed Young. Little Brown and Company Books for Young Readers
-  Rumford, James. Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad. Roaring Brook Press
-  Seeger, Laura Vaccaro. One Boy. Roaring Brook Press
-  Swanson, Susan Marie. The House in the Night. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Houghton Mifflin Company
-  Winter, Jonah. Steel Town. Illustrated by Terry Widener. Atheneum Books for Young Readers

• Rhode Island's Office of Library and Information Services came up with this list of Newberys:

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti
The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem
Masterpiece by Elise Broach
Ringside, 1925 by Jen Bryant
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor
Shooting the Moon by Frances Dowell
The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich
The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas
Diamond Willow by Helen Frost
Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse
One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata
Savvy by Ingrid Law
Ever by Gail Carson Levine
Alvin Ho by Lenore Look
Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor
Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park
Jimmy's Stars by Mary Ann Rodman
Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith
The House of Djinn by Suzanne Staples
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

• And finally, getting a little closer to home, here's what the Brooklyn Public Library will be looking at for their own Mock Newbery:

Chains: Seeds of America, by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt
A Thousand Never Evers, by Shana Burg
Diamond Willow, by Helen Frost
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things, by Lenore Look


Do you want a final count of who's looking at what?  Here are the stats of the books that have ended up on these lists.  The numbers beside them say how many times they've been nominated or looked at.  The larger the number, the more systems that believe that the book is worth discussing.

Caldecott

1    The Little Yellow Leaf, Carin Berger

1    Big Bad Bunny by Franny Billingsley, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

1    Nic Bishop's Frogs by Nic Bishop

2    A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

1    Tadpole Rex by Kurt Cyrus

1    On the Farm by David Elliott, illustrated by Holly Meade

1    Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell

1    A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee

1    My Friend, the Starfinder by Stephen Gammell

2    Old Bear by Kevin Henkes

2    That Book Woman by Heather Henson, illustrated by David Small

2    What to Do About Alice by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham

2    Abe's Honest Words, by Kadir Nelson

1    We Are the Ship, by Kadir Nelson

3    Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young

1    A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann

1    Silent Music: A Story of Baghdad, by James Rumford

1    Amandina, by Sergio Ruzzier

1    One Boy by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

1    Pale Male by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Meilo So

3    The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes

1    Building Manhattan by Laura Vila

1    Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls

1    Steel Town, by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Terry Widener

The most nominations?  Wabi Sabi I could have predicted but there's been a surprising amount of love seen here for Swanson's House in the Night.  Interesting to see.

1    The Postcard by Tony Abbott

1    She Touched the World by Sally Hobart Alexander and Robert Alexander

7    Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

5    The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

3    Seer of Shadows by Avi

2    The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

1    The Boy Who Dared by Susan Bartoletti

1    The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

1    Tennyson by Lesley M.M. Blume

1    The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem

1    Masterpiece by Elise Broach

1    Ringside, 1925 by Jen Bryant

2    A Thousand Never Evers by Shana Burg

4    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4    Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

1    Love Me Tender by Audrey Couloumbis

3    Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

3    Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell

1    Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights by David Elliott

3    The Porcupine Year by Louise Erdrich

4    Trouble Begins at 8:  A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West by Sid Fleischman

1    The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 

1    The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

5    Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

3    The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

3    Eleven by Patricia Reilly Giff

1    Grow: A Novel in Verse by Juanity Havill

1    Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill

4    Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes

1    The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong

3    Brooklyn Bridge by Karen Hesse

6    My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath 

2    Outside Beauty by Cynthia Kadohata

6    Savvy by Ingrid Law

1    Ever by Gail Carson Levine

2    Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle

4    Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look

4    The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry

1    Jessie's Mountain by Kerry Madden

1    Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

1    The Totally Made Up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish by Claudia Mills

4    We are the Ship by Kadir Nelson

1    Greetings from Nowhere by Barbara O'Connor

2    Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

1    Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker

1    Six Innings by James Preller

1    Red-Headed Princess by Ann Rinaldi

2    Jimmy's Stars by Mary Ann Rodman

1    Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski

2    Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

2    Knucklehead by Jon Sciezka

1    Gully's Travels by Tor Seidler

2    Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith

1    The House of Djinn by Suzanne Staples

1    Little Audrey by Ruth White

1    Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

2    After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

1    When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright

Chains made the strongest showing on this particular list, but I was surprised to see that Polly Horvath's newest novel My One Hundred Adventures has made some definite strides as well.  The Savvy love is out there but keep an eye on Diamond Willow as well.  I'm tentatively optimistic about that one.  And of course, one of the most talked about books of the year The Underneath comes in at a healthy 5.  Some surprises?  The lack of love for Gary Schmidt's Trouble is interesting, particularly when you take into account his staunch supporters.  Alvin Ho also did very well, a fact that I credit in part to its mention on Heavy Medal.

Feel free to correct me where I've made mistakes.  I suspect that there may be oodles of them. 

Posted by Elizabeth Bird on December 20, 2008 | Comments (13)