I just read (in a couple of hours, if that) Lenore Look's Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary  Things.  And I loved it.  I know, I know, whether or not I loved it is not relevant, but I just wanted to point it out.  It's another "funny book" and it's slight, a sort of moving up book, with illustrations interspersed (by LeUyen Pham).  But it has such amazingly charming and well developed characters that are unique and fun.  There is growth in the main character (Alvin Ho) throughout the book, and it is well-written.


Again I come back to the same challenge of how exactly to compare a book like Alvin Ho to something like Chains.  The Newbery covers s...Read More

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"Thanksgiving" is roughly when Sharon and I try to have our final list of 8 or 9 titles pinned down...giving participants in our January discussion a good six weeks to read them all.  We've announced our first five, and have some ideas about what the last few will be--but we still want to hear from you if there's something that didn't come up already, or if something that has already been mentioned hasn't shown up yet on the shortlist. 

To catch our interest, be as detailed as you can about how the title you're pitching speaks to the Newbery criteria. Use specific examples. And if you disagree with us over something we didn't like, take us on!

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Sharon gave a brief overview of how we organize our Mock Newbery, and I talked more about choosing titles.  We're now at the stage of shaking out the end of our shortlist, and I'm officially consigning some of my favorite titles of the year to the "UnMockable" shelf. These include:

...Read More

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In my random blog readings, I came across an intersting site I wanted to share with you all.  Called The Newbery Project, this is a group blog that anyone can join.  Members read Newbery winners (whichever ones they'd like) and post about their thoughts on them.

These readers are not necessarily looking at the books in terms of Newbery Terms & Criteria, so each post reads a bit more like a book review.  But, it is certainly interesting to see what various people have thought about winners from the recent and more distant past.

Here is a link to all the posts that talk about Secret of the Andes, for example.

Please note that the spelling of Newbery is incorrect in ...Read More

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In 1953, the Newbery Committee chose a Newbery winner and five honor books.  The winner?  Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark.  The honor books?

    * Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
    * Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
    * Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
    * The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
    * Birthdays of Freedom, Vol. 1 by Genevieve Foster

Yes, you are seeing correctly.  Charlotte's Web was an honor book.

It is clear which of these books has stood the test of time.  While most of us have read Charlotte's Web, probably more than once, Secret of the Andes is less well-known, and I would venture a guess that it is less often read. ...Read More

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Anyone who thinks you can't tell autumn in California just isn't sensitive enough.  This weekend was beautiful: blazing permission leaves flinging themselves and baring their fruit to the squirrels, National election euphoria tinged with local election catastrophes, "Christmas Trees Coming Soon" banners unfurling over fading "Condos Coming Soon" signs on empty lots...and the New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books issue. 

Book-award-anticipation has become my adult substitute for Christmas-anticipation...and happily, the surprises are always better. National Book Award Nominees only have to wait until next week,...Read More

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Louise Erdrich's The Porcupine Year received multiple starred reviews and showed up on a bunch of blogs when it was released in September (including Debbie Reese's and Fuse#8's). And if you take a look at it on Goodreads, you see that ...Read More

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Did everyone know about this but me? (Just new to Goodreads...which is not so scary for the socially-networked-challenged like me.)  Hm. Sharon did cause I see she voted.  I added a link to the award criteria in the description line so that people can actually find out what they're voting for.

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On the eve of Election Day, while we all wait anxiously for the results of not only a presidential election, but important state and local elections, I thought I would give you a small amount of relief from all this anticipation.

I know it may not be as important as  Obama vs McCain, but haven't you just been going crazy wondering what the first half of our short list might be????  Well, I'm happy to report that your waiting is over.

Drum roll please.....

These books will be included on Oakland's Mock Newbery discussion in January.  So start reading!
(In alphabetical order by title.)

After Tupac and D Foster - Jacqueline Woodson
Chains - Laurie Halse Anderson
...Read More

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Halloween is turning out a little hairy in the City of Oakland. It's layoff notice day. (Neither of yours' truly affected, directly.)  And then there's this zombie librarian in the stacks, trying to stamp "discard" on The Story of Mankind.

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Sharon posted a couple weeks ago about Chains, and I'm just now catching up. I'd actually started the book long ago...and put it down, a couple of times. I did find myself engaged once I committed myself to it, but I still have the lingering feeling that I never quite believed Isabel as a character. Almost--but not quite at the depth that Anderson calls for in her emotionally-charged moments...which stuck out to me as obviously emotionally-charged. Fuse 8 calls it ...Read More

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It's way more fun when you have a non-fiction title or two to discuss at the Mock Newbery.  Because remember, non-fiction is, of course, eligible for the award.  Last year's winner, in fact, was non-fiction.  

What about this year?  Non-fiction thoughts or frontrunners?

I talked about Knucklehead in my last post about funny titles and humor in the Newbery.  We've had several suggestions for The Trouble Begins at Eight, Sid Fleischman's Mark Twain biography as well as Kadir Nelson's We are the Ship which seems to have potential for several awards.  (I should note that he is one of my favorite illustrators, but that is not a factor in the Newbery.)

What are we missing?  

We'll be posting the first part of our short list very soon....  but we still have a whole second half of our short list to figure out!

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