Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog

December 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (5)

When Nina made a post not too long ago requesting any titles we may have missed we had several people respond with the suggestion of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I wanted to take a minute to both address my feelings on the book as well as to offer an opportunity to its supporters for Mock Newbery consideration.

Nina and I have both read the book and seem to have similar feelings about it.  It seems as though everyone loved the book and thus wants it to be considered.  But I haven't yet heard an argument for the book that explains why it might be distinguished and merit potential Newbery disc...Read More

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November 24, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Just a quick reminder to dust off your copy of Charlotte's Web and read that and Secret of the Andes in between stuffing yourself with turkey and if you're lucky with stuffing as good as my mom's homemade!  

Sometime soon after this week, when I return from sunny Florida, I'll post my thoughts on that particular Newbery year.

See this post for more details, if you missed it the first time around, or need a refresher.
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November 20, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (6)

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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November 13, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

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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November 11, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (13)

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
Industries: Awards, Books, Interviews, K-8