"The Underneath" without question nor hesitation has my vote for the Newbery. It's complicated and beautiful in all the right ways. The story lingers, and even now, a month after reading it, I still find myself thinking about the book.

One book that I particularly enjoyed that doesn't seem to be getting any attention is Andrea Beatty's "Cicada Summer." The story had all the right elements for me. The main detractor seems to be an unbelievable premise that the girl couldn't/wouldn't remain silent for that long. I say hogwash and enjoy the book. Could be the dark horse contender (for an shiny silver medal, at least).

Neil Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK is another one of my favorites;it is on my pile of books-to-write-more-about. And I also adore Don Wood's forthcoming graphic novel INTO THE VOLCANO and think it deserves attention.

I'm hearing buzz about Ingrid Law's SAVVY as well. What say you?

Catherine Brighton is British, and lives in London, so she's not eligible. Sad.

Gah! She is? Oh phooey, phooey, phooey. *sigh* Amendment in progress. Savvy is lovely but it's very much a debut novel in some ways. And I guess Gaiman is eligible now that he's all American-citizened up, eh? Was The Graveyard book simultaneously released in both Britain and the U.S.?

Why, I had an online conversation with myself yesterday about the Caldecott (you know, posts where no one comments), and thus far my choices are (with the caveat that I haven't seen everything, OF COURSE) --

In a Blue Room
A Visitor for Bear
On the Farm
What to Do About Alice?
How I Learned Geography

And those are in no particular order, since it's too hard to pick....though, truly, A Visitor for Bear? Flawless.

The Underneath is sublime. We'll be interviewing David Small next week, and I asked him about reading that book for the first time. And I'm itchin' to chat with Kathi Appelt. I couldn't freakin' frakkin' put that book down.

P.S. I must. see. Adam's. new. book. How exciting is that?

P.S. again. How awful my comment is to read with no spacing. What happened there? Sorry, people.

What fun. Okay, how about My Friend, The Starfinder? George Ella Lyons, illustrated by Stephen Gammell.

Love the Uri Schulevitz and the Beth Krommes. Love 'em

My first short list published on June 1 had over 30 titles -- several very strong ones not mentioned by Fuse or commenters. Here are my favorites so far: Facttracker by Jason Carter Eaton, Grow by Juanita Havill, Jeremy Cabbage and the Living Museum of Human Oddballs and Quadruped Delights by David Elliott, Kaline Klattermaster's Tree House by Haven Kimmel, Keeping Score by Linda Sue Parks, Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant, and Six Innings by James Preller. And YES! The Underneath by Kathi Appelt. Alphabetical this list. What a great year!

I'm going to second Carterbham on Cicada Summer. It's the book that's most had that award vibe for me this year (but I haven't read the books on your list ... yet).

Can't speak to the Newbery titles, but it's looking like a strong Caldecott year. Lots of deserving people out there. Me, I'll be rooting for the Eric Rohmann kitten book... the purity, simplicity and sincerity of those pictures is, for me, very close to the center of what books for very young kids should aspire to. As much as I respect the more overtly ambitious books you mention, I respect even more a virtuoso painter who decides to forgo virtuosic gestures in favor of less flashy - but gentler-spirited - perfection of craft.

I should have said: Rohmann's book should also be a serious contender, in my book. Tim B. nailed it, too.

I'm really going away now.

I think she's on to something about this Adam Rex fellow.

Kady Macdonald Denton (A Visitor for Bear) is Canadian, hence also not eligible. I am definitely the bearer of unpleasant news today.

I think it's going to be Adam Rex's year, sort of how Laura Amy won for Good Masters Sweet Ladies when in fact she should have gotten medal attention earlier.

I also think Emily Gravett and/or Oliver Jeffers may score this year, but I'll bet Uri Shulevitz is the one to beat.

Emily Gravett and Oliver Jeffers are British too. Canadians and Brits and Aussies: Bane of predictions. If it weren't for Denton's Canadian status I'd be all over the Bear book too. Sorry I don't have spacing Jules! Just one of the lovely aspects of this comment feature. How funny would a second Stephen Gammell Caldecott acceptance speech be? For the humor of that thought alone, I'm just gonna sit here and think about it. And I'm intrigued by this Cicada Summer lovin'. It's on my To Be Read shelf. Better move it up.

I would love to see "The Underneath" win for this year. It's easily the best book I've read in 2008 - although Chasing Normal was right up there too.

I'll just sit quietly over here and pretend that it didn't take me (glanced at clock) 38 minutes before I took note of the Madam Mrex comment. Me so slow. At this rate I'll never be a comedy queen.

Word to Cicada Summer. It is quite an excellent piece of writing.

Tim B. speaks wisdom.

This is a tough call at the half way point, what with "Paper Towns" and "Octavian Nothing" book 2 due out within a few months. And I'm thinking "Lady Liberty" could earn more than a Sibert nod...

What about "The Willoughbys" by Lois Lowry? Made me laugh out loud over and over.

I, too, love Cicada Summer. And Brooklyn Bridge. And A Thousand Never Evers.

I wouldn't be surprised if Catherine Gilbert Murdock's "Princess Ben" came out of nowhere for a Newbery Honor. There seems to be some precedent for giving Honors to fantasy novels with spunky girl protagonists -- Princess Academy, Ella Enchanted, The Gammage Cup, etc. The question is whether or not Murdock's book, with its richer-than-usual language, still fits within ALSC's age limits for the Newbery. Hmmm. Hmmm.

You know, my thoughts were running along the same lines with this one. Princess Ben = Princess Academy? Much with the maybe. It's a good book, though maybe not as strong as Dairy Queen. And while the committee cannot take into account previous works by an author, I almost wonder if on an unconscious level they'll commpare the two and find Princess Ben lovely but lacking. I think it definitely fits with the under 14 crowd, so no worries there. I'd love to know what other people think about it too. It got some early buzz but I haven't heard much about it since.

For the Caldecott: I really liked Tricia Tusa's work on "In a Blue Room" which I first heard about in your earlier Caldecott prediction post. The ending gave me goosebumps. A marvelous interpretation of the text.---- Too bad about "A Visitor for Bear" as I enjoyed Denton's illustrations, too. Maybe she could quickly immigrate.----
For the Newbery: I liked "The Willoughby's" too but I think "The Underneath" is going to be a classic.

A good point. I should really reinstate "In a Blue Room" on this list. I didn't mean to take it off this time, I just haven't been able to get a copy of my own (who's the publisher on that?). Tusa needs some serious luvin' from the literary community anyway. At least her "Fred Stays With Me" appeared on the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards this week. And credit to Mr. Averbeck. He's got the smarts to win the biggie awards.

Hunger Games all the way. I'm pretty sure it will go down as my personal favorite of the year, as well as Newbery choice.
Little Brother is another strong contender.
P.S. I'm starting to feel like the only person on the planet who didn't like Savvy.

I was not impressed by Cicada Summer - just finished it. I think kids would have issues navigating some of the flashback/flash forward moments, and some of the more "dream world" segments. Too slow for me.

For Caldecott, what do you think of these titles? --

- Kevin Henkes' "Old Bear"
- Lincoln & Douglas, An American Friendship by Nikki Giovanni & Bryan Collier ( I think a worthy follow-up to "Rosa")

For Newberry --

- Kevin Henkes' "Bird, Lake, Moon"
- Gary D. Schmidt's "Trouble" (Can he go back-to-back?)
- "Keeping the Night Watch" by Hope Anita Smith & E.B. Lewis

I agree wholeheartedly on Old Bear. That book has class. Not so sure on the other ones, though. They're all nice, but don't seem to have that extra oomph. I'm not familiar with "Keeping the Night Watch", though. I'll have to keep an eye peeled.

What about Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park? This book has a lot of depth. We know how the Newbery committees feel about historical fiction year after year. They seem to really lean toward it. No one is on Jerry Spinelli's new release Smiles to Go? Just curious. I didn't like it that much. I thought the main character kind of sold out at the end.

I thought the opposite. I rather liked Smiles to Go. I think it should definitely be involved in any Newbery discussions.

I'm all about Waiting for Normal, though I found The Underneath to be especially moving as well. I'm torn between those two.

So far my instinct points to Waiting for Normal. Wow, what a winner in all dimensions! I also really liked Trouble. I was sadly underwhelmed by The Underneath -- strange coming from an anthropomorphic animal story lover. We Are the Ship is a shoe-in for Caldecott, IMO.

I don't know why it isn't being mentioned here, but I really like Cool Daddy Rat by Kristyn Crow. The language is clever and dances on your tongue with internal rhyme and skat. So fun for kids. Mike Lester's illustrations really deserve notice. The characters dance and perform in amazing New York City-scapes that twist and whirl on the page. I've never seen pictures like these in a children's book. Real art with feeling. Anyway, it's my son's favorite book.

I have never read this book before. Although it does look interesting. I will check it out, and see what it's all about.

Check out Poems on Fruits and Odes to Veggies written and illustrated by Judith Natelli McLaughlin. The time is ripe (lol) for this magical children's book. The poems are silly, lyrical and filled with the silliness kids love and the vibrant illustrations look good enough to eat! This great book introduces kids to these healthy food choices and should be a front runner for the Caldecott!

Hunger Games. It was wonderful. Truly character driven.