It's book award season!!!

The winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards will be announced on Monday morning at 8 am PT (11 am here in NC). Here's the link if you would like to watch in real time on Monday: http://ala.unikron.com/

Therefore, I am taking a break from my best of list to post about the Newbery and Printz groups that I ran this year and make my own predictions.

Mock Newbery

This was the second year that I facilitated a Mock Newbery group for my public library. Some members were new and some participated last year, so it was a good mix of experience and new ideas. The group met for our final discussion on December 12. Below is the list we discussed.

• Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
• Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin
• Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
• Blended by Sharon Draper
• Front Desk by Kelly Yang
• Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes
• Peter and Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths by Graham Annable
• The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

After two hours of discussion and voting, consensus was reached. The group picked Ghost Boys as their winner, with Baby Monkey, Private Eye, Blended, Front Desk and The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl as their honor books.

My Newbery Picks and Predictions

Personally, I would pick either The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson or The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. I think Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell, et. al., Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka, Small Spaces by Katherine Arden, and The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang would be excellent honor books.

As for what is likely to be picked, popular choices online seem to be Front Desk, Sweep: The Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier, The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M. T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis and Snow Lane by Josie Angelini. 

What will the committee pick? Who knows?! There are a ton of good choices this year and no end to opinions. Chances are good that the Real Committee will have a tough time reaching consensus and the winner may be safer than we would like. Or maybe they will go way out and pick a graphic novel or horror book or older reader book. We'll know soon enough.

I am a bit tired of hearing the argument against older books like Hey, Kiddo and The Poet X. This comes up every year. Many want the overlap between Printz and Newbery to be removed, but the Newbery is almost 100 years old and many of the early winners were on the older reader end of the spectrum, so maybe we should just get over it.

Mock Printz

This was the first year for my teen Mock Printz group. Some had a hard time getting a lot of reading done as well as their studies, but they tried really hard and did a decent job of it.  We met on December 13 and discussed these books:

• After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay
• As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
• The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
• The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
• Fatal Throne by Candace Fleming, et. al.
• Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed
• Mary's Monster: Love, Madness and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein by Lita Judge
• Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

After two hours of discussion (and some tooth pulling to get them to talk), consensus was reached. The group picked Love, Hate & Other Filters. Their honor books were The Astonishing Color of After, Fatal Throne and Picture Us in the Light.

My Printz Picks and Predictions

My pick for Printz is The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. This book blew me away both as a print book and an audio. If it doesn't win a few awards, I will be very surprised. My honor books would be Hey, Kiddo, Dread Nation, Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman, Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough, Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake and The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee.

Likely to be picked are The Poet X, Hey, Kiddo, and The Astonishing Color of After. Online favorites include these three, plus A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi, Mary's Monster and The Prince and the Dressmaker.

Other Awards

Since I was on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens committee a few years ago, I love to predict that award, too. I'm sure they will pick Hey, Kiddo, The Prince and the Dressmaker, Be Prepared and Cardboard Kingdom for the top ten. I also expect Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Unwanted by Don Brown will make an appearance. If I were still on the committee, I would add Crush by Svetlana Chmakova, Sanity and Tallulah by Molly Brooks and Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu.

For Geisel, I would choose Meet Yasmin! by Saadia Faruqi, with honors for Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake by Jeff Mack and See Zip Zap by David Milgrim. 

For Caldecott, I'm hoping for either Dreamers by Yuyi Morales or Drawn Together by Minh Le and Dan Santat to win. I would also be happy with Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love, Ocean Meets Sky by the Fan brothers, or Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went from the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace and Brian Collier won. It would be truly hilarious if The Wall in the Middle of the Book by Jon Agee took the award.

As for the rest, I'm happy to wait and see....and then read them all!

Newbery Rewind: 1926

Still trying to catch up with writing up the Newberys I read in 2018. While I read a lot (12 in all), I consistently forgot to do these write-ups. In this case, probably because the books were pretty terrible.

1925

• The first "motel" opened in California, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• The Great Gatsby was published. So was Mein Kampf.
• The Scopes Monkey Trial began in Dayton, Tennessee.
• The Chrysler Corporation was founded and the first Sears store opened in Chicago (kind of funny since Sears is currently going bankrupt).
• Nellie Tayloe Ross took office in Wyoming as the first female governor elected in the United States.
• The first issue of New Yorker magazine was published.
• The Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting.
• Benito Mussolini's dictatorship began in Italy.
• Scotch tape was invented.
• Calvin Coolidge's inauguration becomes the first broadcast over radio.
• The Tri-State Tornado, the deadliest in U.S. history, rampages through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people and injuring 2,027. It hits the towns of Murphysboro, Illinois; West Frankfort, Illinois; Gorham, Illinois; Ellington, Missouri; and Griffin, Indiana.
•  In London, John Logie Baird successfully transmits the first television pictures with a greyscale image
• Edward Gorey was born. 

Honor Book was....

Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum; illustrated by Wilfred Jones

This collection of stories, historical accounts, and legends about explores on the Atlantic ocean was at times interesting, but mainly quite boring. And in some instances, incredibly inaccurate. I liked his The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles much, much better.

And the Winner was...

Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children by Arthur Bowie Chrisman; illustrated by Else Hasselriis

Awful!! So much racism and cultural appropriation. Granted, for its time that is not too surprising, but still. Not quite as bad as Tales from Silver Lands but almost.

Newbery Rewind: 1925

Well, it has been a while since I posted. I almost decided to quit blogging, but writing things out is good practice for my brain, so I'm going to keep doing it.

In the meantime, I read the honor and award books for 1925 and 1926. And boy were they dry! But I plugged my way through so I'll write up my thoughts here.

1924

• Hoover became head of the FBI
• The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France.
• Ellis Island closed
• Native Americans were given United States citizenship, while the Asian Exclusion Act becomes part of the Immigration Act of 1924.
• Jimmy Carter, Lee Iococca, Doris Day and Marlon Brando were born.
• IBM and MGM were founded.
• The first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held.
• First radio broadcast from the White House.
• George Mallory dies on Everest.
• Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming is elected as the first woman governor in the United States.
• Astronomer Edwin Hubble announces that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe.
• The world's first radio play, Danger by Richard Hughes, is broadcast by the British Broadcasting Company from its studios in London.
• The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Warner is published.
• Lloyd Alexander is born.
• E. Nesbit dies.

And the Honor Books were...

The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish; illustrated by Dillwyn Parrish

This one is really insipid and condescending. It is a collection of short stories supposedly relating dreams that are answered by a fairy in a coach and it is just as saccharine as it sounds. Also, some of the stories are unbelievably racist. Now I know it was a different time, but I had a terrible time finishing this one.

Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Anne Carroll Moore 

Confession time: I could not get my hands on this book no matter how hard I tried. Not that I am too disappointed since the Goodreads reviews lead me to believe it is pretty terrible...

And the winner was...

Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger

My first response kind of says it all: "Ugh, this is the first Newbery book I really had to force myself to read. My eyes kept skimming over the text out of sheer boredom. I hope this is just one white man's interpretation of the tales (or maybe he made them up) because I just can't see people sharing these tales like most authentic oral tradition was shared."

Supposedly the author backpacked through Central and South America to collect these oral tales. Not so sure if I believe it. In any case, they are definitely told through the lens of a white, privileged man, with plenty of "noble savages" and sexist and racist stereotypes. But the worst offense, as stated above, is that they are terribly, terribly boring.

Meanwhile at Mock Newbery and Printz Clubs...

First rounds of Mock Newbery and Mock Printz happened at my library this summer. Each group consisted of 6-8 teens who read a variety of eligible books and discussed them afterwards. For the purposes of our groups, at least two teens had to agree to make a book a nominee for the final discussions which will take place in December.  The following are the nominees and the other books recommended by each group.

Mock Printz

Nominees:

Eldon is a boy in the remote town of Madison, where you wishes come true. But he is going to learn the real consequences of wishing.  --Prajwal

After her mother commits suicide, Leigh is convinced that she is returning as a bird that she has seen in her neighborhood. --Ananya



Maya Aziz has to deal with being raised by an Indian, Muslim family while she wants to follow her dream of becoming a film major at NYU. I nominate this book because it shows an accurate representation of what life is like nowadays being a Muslim Indian and constantly being accused of being a terrorist  –Annika

Recommendations:

This is a story of two former best friends that have a lot in common. Bunny made it into the championship where he can win and secure his future or lose to get his best friend back.  –Prajwal

A girl who grew up in a family without Green Cards uses an easy style to tell the serious truth, about both the struggles and about growing up and living in two different cultures.  –Yun

This book about Henry VIII and the fates of his wives uses creative twists on perspective and style.  –Ria

When Zarin is found dead on a highway in Saudi Arabia with a boy, the mystery of her life slowly unravels through multiple perspectives. -- Sanvi

A girl named Nisha whose mom was Muslim and dad is Hindu, struggles with how her mom’s death affects her harshly. You should read this book because of the dangerous journey they have to go through – Sanvi

Set in a world where people are immortal, this book shows multiple perspectives about what that means and how technology is used to make it so. It leads the reader to think deeper about life and its meaning   – Yun

This killer mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. –Manas

Mock Newbery

Nominees:

Baby Monkey, Private Eye is an adorable story about a monkey, who is a detective, and he loves snacks! –Philip

With a radical ruler and terrorist groups causing havoc, a family tries to escape their home in Syria. When one of their daughters is separated from them, directions from her family and the help of a strange old man are all she has to guide her.  –Jeremy

A thrilling and exciting sequel to Nemesis. Continues Noah’s and Min’s journey in a world where no one can die, but they can only kill. –Kaanjaree

7 Days of the week,

7 children,

7 – the evil number

A family of 7 kids has many, many problems. Can they fix it in time? I recommend this to kids who believe in mischief.  –Naina

Join Elizabeth in a book filled with magic that could go good or bad…with a magic hotel and two people dressed in black.  –Mihika

Recommendations:

A girl named Betty lives with her aunt because her mother was not ready to take care of her. But she has to go to her mother when her aunt passes away. Very emotional. –Dhruva

A funny and exciting story about Megan, a girl who is trying to fit in at her new school when she sees a cat clock in her history class. She makes a wish at 11:11 and then strange things start happening.  –Kaanjaree

Mia Tang is a Chinese immigrant in a family facing poverty. When her family lands a job and living space at a motel, life seems to turn for them. But a corrupt manager, debt troubles, English struggles, and conflict create troubles. With a thesaurus and her friends and family, Mia faces her problems. – Jeremy

A girl discovers that there is a whole other world full of storybook characters. As she journeys to and through it, she finds surprising facts about herself and her family. People aren’t always what they seem. –Anushka

This book is about a girl who does not remember anything about her island and she needs to complete an assignment about where she used to live. Through asking others she finds out about her home and other unexpected things.  –Anushka

For those who believe in family sticking together no matter what. This is perfect for you. –Naina

I would recommend this book for younger kids who are interested in music. It is inspiring and pretty amazing how the Libba becomes who she was meant to be. She was also born in North Carolina!  --Sudiksha

Join Leo in an unforgettable magic adventure. She learns about family and friends and becomes a bruja along the way!  --Mihika

Join Nisha in her quest to find where she belongs in Southwest Asia. As a half Muslim and half Hindi, she struggles to find her homeland in 1947. –Mihika

Natalie’s mom is suffering from depression. How can she help? –Mihika

Kiranmala is on an adventure in a different dimension to rescue her parents with a handsome prince.  --Naina

Etzel, a German Shepherd who is torn away from his home to be trained as a police dog, is discovered by an American director who sees the potential in him. After renaming him Strongheart, the two bond and partake in a life of adventures together.  –Jeremy



This book is about a group of girls going through drama. Boys, friends, and parents are all involved. It’s basically middle school drama.   – Anushka



For those who are bullied and for those who care about friends. This book is about a boy who gets bullied and loses his friend and almost loses another.  –Naina

There they are! Both clubs start back up next month, so we'll see what else they pick. I'll keep you posted.

Newbery Rewind: 1924

Here we are again. This one I read while my new Mock Newbery group was meeting, so it was interesting to match it against current Newbery contenders. I will be posting soon about how that went, what books they liked and what they didn't. For now....

1923

• King Tut's tomb is open in Egypt.
• Warner Brothers studio is established
• Time Magazine publishes its first issue. So is the first issue of Weird Tales.
• In September, the Great Kanto Earthquake leaves over 100,000 dead in Japan.
• T. S. Eliot's poem The Wasteland is published in its full form.
• Bambi by Felix Salten is published in Austria
• Louis Armstrong makes his first recording, "Chimes Blues", with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.
• Both Yankee Stadium (US) and Wembley Stadium (UK) open their doors.
• Mt. Etna erupts.
• Pancho Villa is assassinated.
• President Warren G. Harding, dies of a heart attack and is succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who becomes the 30th President of the United States.
• Interpol is created.
• The Walt Disney company is founded.
• Actor and director Sir Richard Attenborough is born
• Astronaut Alan Shepherd is born.
• Frozen food is invented by Clarence Birdseye.
• The first incarnation of the Hollywood sign goes up (Hollywoodland).
• Edwin Hubble discovers galaxies outside the Milky Way.

Once again, there are no honor books. So the winner of the Newbery Award for 1924 is....

The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes

Thus we have our first posthumously awarded Newbery.  Hawes submitted the finished manuscript shortly before he unexpectedly died in July; the book was published in October. He was also the first winner to be born in the United States. As you may remember, his book The Great Quest was an honor book the first year that the award was given.

This story is full of action and adventure, a pirate story that glosses over very little. In many ways it reminds me of Treasure Island. The writing is fairly good; however, I feel like after the first few chapters, we lose track of our teen (twenty-something?) protagonist amongst all the colorful figures on the ship. It is also extremely sexist. In the end, I feel they likely gave him the award because he died unexpectedly. Wouldn't be the last time the Newbery was influenced by outside events more than the actual content of the book.

With all the recent discussion about some Newbery honor books being too "old" for the award, I find it very interesting that this author's works were once so prized by the committee. They were considered children's books even though they were filled with vice and violence. By today's standards they would likely be teen books or even adult books. Yet many feel the award has somehow strayed from it original intent. I say again, this award is for children birth to 14, inclusive. Stop trying to make it a "middle grade" award; that is not and has never been its purpose.

Newbery Rewind: 1923

Here we are finished with the Newbery winner for 1923, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. Right in time for my Mock Newbery teen group to start back up!

1922

• USSR forms with communism as the unifying political system following the Bolshevik revolution
• BBC is created in Britain
• Monhandas Gandhi is imprisoned for seeking the end of British rule in India
• The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in May.
• Nosferatu premieres in Berlin and Stoker's widow claims plagiarism of Dracula
•  Irish Civil War begins in June
• Reader's Digest magazine begins publishing.
• The Great Gatsby, Ulysses, and The Velveteen Rabbit are all published.
• Jack Kerouac, Dick King-Smith, and Kurt Vonnegut are born.
• President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio to the White House.
• Egypt leaves the British Empire.
• The Teapot Dome scandal rocks US government.
• Construction on Yankee Stadium begins.
• A typhoon hits Shantou, China, killing over 5000
• Morocco revolts against the Spanish.
• The National Fascist Party is formed in Italy with Benito Mussolini in power.
• The Ottoman Empire is abolished.
• Rebecca Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first woman United States Senator.
• Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon become the first people to enter the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.

Strangely enough, there are no honor books awarded in 1923.

And the winner is....

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

First of all, I'm not sure why this is called the "Voyages" since it is really about one trip and the return, but whatever. As before, I read the original version, which involved downloading it from Project Gutenberg. While this is not my favorite way to read, it allowed me to see the original, un-PC version with the original illustrations even. And believe me, the illustrations were part of the problem.

Now, don't get me wrong, this was a highly readable example of early kid lit in the US. The doctor is affable, friendly and pretty progressive in his beliefs in many ways. His views on animals and natural science are downright revolutionary for the time period. And his treatment of children is exceptional.

However, we are at the tail-end of the colonial period of Western history, and therein lies the main problems with this story. Doctor Dolittle is the white savior, the benevolent and learned white man who will teach and save all the people of color he encounters. Both Prince Bumpo and Long Arrow are portrayed in very stereotypical manner. Bumpo often misunderstands the things he is supposed to be knowledgeable of and misrepresents his confused understanding of the world with mangled language. The depictions of him are of a "darkie" with a sloping forehead and big lips. Long Arrow, on the other hand, suffers from the "noble savage" cliche, with perfectly sculpted appearance, feather head dress, and arcane knowledge.

In the end, though, this book is one of the better early Newbery books on readability and sensibility toward child's nature and understanding.

Now I'm just waiting on the DVD of Doctor Dolittle (1967) to arrive from Netflix so I can peruse the movie and see if I remember it correctly and how I view it as an adult!

Newbery Rewind: 1922

Back in May I started my first Mock Newbery group with the teens at my library. As I started preparing for this new challenge, I was brushing up on the criteria and realized that I have read many of the newer winners and honors (mostly during my own lifetime) and very few of the older ones. I also realized that the 100th anniversary of the award itself is coming up soon.

So, I challenged myself to read all of the winners and honors that I can get my hands on starting at the very beginning. And I'm going to share my thoughts with ya'll here!

1921
Some interesting things happened in the world in 1921, the year that the first books were eligible for the Newbery Award. Here's a bit of context:

• Turkey becomes a country after the fall of the Ottoman Empire
• Insulin is discovered.
• Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson becomes the first woman to preside over the floor of US House of Representatives.
• Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party 
• Warren G. Harding becomes the 29th president of the United States.
• National quotas on Eastern European and Jewish immigrants are established in the US.
• The Tulsa Race Riots leaves an estimated 39 dead.
• World War I formally ends.
• The first Miss America Pageant is held.
• White Castle opens in Wichita, Kansas.
• The Kid premieres in theaters.
• Wonder Bread begins distribution.
• Albert Einstein wins the Nobel Prize in Physics for this work on solar energy. He also lectures in New York City on his new theory of relativity.
• Gucci starts selling handbags.
• Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) attends Dartmouth College.
• Amelia Earhart takes first flying lesson.
• At the Battle of Blair Mountain in West Virginia an army of 10 to 15 thousand miners and their families face a private army of some 2,000 men and 2,100 state and federal troops in the largest civil uprising to date.

And the Honor books were....

The Old Tobacco Shop by William Bown
Let's start with the weirdest first, why don't we? In this story we follow young Freddie on a wild adventure that begins when he visits the local tobacco shop for his father. There he meets a strange old man and old lady who claim to be relatives and tell him a weird tale about the statue outside the shop, some local citizens and the strange "tobaccy" found in the Chinaman's head container on the top shelf. Of course, after a short time, Freddie smokes the special "tobaccy" and that is where things get really odd.

As is obvious, there is no way that this story could be published for children today. Even having a child walk into a tobacco shop is controversial enough. Some of the things that happen along the way are even more inappropriate. However, the adventure itself is reminiscent of Wonderland and Gulliver's Travels in a way that pulls you along through the story, so it is surprisingly entertaining.

The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs; illustrated by Elmer and Berta Hader
Next we have a mystery set in the country near Boston. A group of children learn some local stories and history from a beekeeper and discover that it all relates to a mystery in their own family. The narrative is told in interlocking stories and "present" day circumstances.

The children are pretty free in how they spend their days and the attitudes about "girl things" and "boy things" is a bit archaic, but overall nothing is objectionable by today's standards. It is overall a quiet and bucolic read.


Cedric the Forester by Bernard Marshall; illustrated by J. Scott Williams
This one is a medieval tale in the vein of Ivanhoe or The Song of Roland. Here we find the tale of a forester's son and a lord's son who become close friends, with the forester's son eventually earning a title and knighthood for protecting the family of the lord. The language is quite flowery and the adventures quite harrowing.

Occasionally the serfdom situation can be a bit icky, especially since the story is told from the lord's son's point of view. And the violence is far more prevalent than in many stories written for this age group today. But if you know a child that loves knights, castles, and quests, they could possibly enjoy this one. Just remember that they will have to get past the complexity of the language and grammar since it is told in epic poem format.

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes That Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum; illustrated by Willy Pogany
A compilation of Greek mythological hero tales, in some ways this book is even better than the winner below, in that it has stood the test of time. By and large, mythology does not change and these stories are still very much part of our consciousness. And they are still fun, too!


The Great Quest by Charles Boardman Hawes; illustrated by George Varian
Finally, we have the story of a young man whose uncle is tricked into selling everything he owns and traveling to Africa on a secret mission. In the end the bad men who tricked him are there to capture or purchase slaves to bring back to the United States to sell. At the time of the story, this is an illegal, but not uncommon, enterprise. And ultimately Josiah (our young man) defeats their plans with the help of his friends, but not before his uncle is ruined and dies a terrible death.

Of all the Honor books, this is the most problematic. While the plot is an adventure, the prose is very unwieldy and the topic makes the reader feel downright dirty. And while Josiah doesn't participate in slave catching, at first he is not against it and in the end only hates the bad men for what they did to his uncle. His main reason for siding against slave catching is a religious girl they find along the way that he finds attractive. Definitely not Newbery material today with its racist and sexist attitudes and language.

And the Winner was....

The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon
A rambling account of Western Civilization from a very privileged white male perspective. Granted, van Loon is highly readable most of the time. And the book covers a whole lot of ground in a somewhat concise manner given its scope. However, the rest of the world is given very little coverage and women don't seem to matter at all. Also, if you read the updated versions, the parts that were added on latter are not nearly as enjoyable; they read like a laundry list of events, people and dates. So try to just read the original parts and don't judge the book by the sad add-on sections.

And the winner is....Mock Newbery results post

Well, it was an interesting first Mock Newbery overall. At first, I had no idea which way it would go. Orphan Island was the first to fall by the wayside, with The Ethan I Was Before following close behind. Spirit Hunters slowly lost traction, but The Warden's Daughter held on almost to the end. Finally, See You in the Cosmos pulled ahead to win the day, even though there was a strong The Hate U Give contingent. It got an honor, as did Restart.

Here are photos of the short list voting and the final voting. Numbers look a bit funny because of strange voting practices employed by various factions throughout the discussion.

Mock Newbery Madness

So, for the first time, I'm running a Mock Newbery group at a public library. The members of the group are 6-10 graders who volunteer for hours earned. I started with two separate groups this summer with around 8-10 teens and I'm ending the Fall with 16 teens. We voted for our short list last week and will be discussing and choosing our winners on December 13.

Here's our list! After the vote I'll post again with everyone's responses.

The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
Following a tragic accident involving his best friend, Ethan and his family move from Boston to the Gulf coast of Georgia to live with a grandfather he has never met in a small town he has never visited. Through a series of mysteries, Ethan faces what happened, makes a new friend, and discovers strengths he never knew he possessed.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
When Starr's childhood friend is shot and killed by a police officer in a random stop, she must confront racism in a way she never has before, as well as deal with her own place as a minority student at a private, mostly white school 45 minutes from her neighborhood. She must decide whether she will testify, who she can trust and how she will make a difference in the community.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
On the island, everything is provided and the nine children live in perfect harmony. Every year the oldest one leaves and a new young one arrives in the boat. This year Jinny is the oldest and, while she misses her friend Deen, she thinks she is ready to be the Elder. But what will happen when it is her turn to leave?

Restart by Gordon Korman
When Chase falls off the roof and hits his head, he loses his memory. As he tries to return to school and life, he discovers that he wasn't a very nice person. Now he has to decide if he wants to return and remember who he was or decide to begin as a new and better person? And what if everyone else doesn't want to accept the new Chase?

See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
Alex loves space, rockets and his dog, Carl Sagan; and he has decided to record a Golden iPod and launch it into space on a rocket for aliens to find. But his destination and purpose keep changing and what started as a simple mission changes into a discovery about himself and his family.

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh

Harper's family moves to a new house that seems to be haunted and she's also missing some memories after a fire at her old school. When her little brother starts acting weird and mean, she seeks help in some unlikely ways.

The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
Cammie and her dad live in the women's prison where he works. But since her mother died when she was a baby, Cammie feels like she must find her own "mother" and her choices are among the inmates of the prison. Will she find someone by her thirteenth birthday?