Mock Newbery: Other Candidates

I mentioned that we had to whittle down the Mock Newbery list to a manageable size. We wanted the list to reflect a range of ages and genres and be short enough that participants could read all of the books before the date and discuss them all in the time allotted. Here are some of the books we had to cut, in case you’re interested:

The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice

All the Broken Pieces

Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

Leviathan

There were even more than these that we discussed and that had some real potential. I can’t believe how difficult it is just to come up with a mock list, I can’t imagine what it might be like to be on the committee!

Mock Newbery Reading List

If you’re signed up for the OLA/WLA Mock Newbery then you received the reading list in your email today.  For those of you unable to attend, I will share the list.  But first, let me say how difficult it was to come up with this list!  We’re not necessarily trying to predict the winners with this list, but give participants an idea of great books that have been published this year for a range of ages and in a range of genres, AND that will lend themselves to discussion. Since my OLA partner is a current Newbery member, it was left to me to finalize the list.  I hope people are happy with what we chose and excited to discuss these books!

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick, 2009.
Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry.  Random House Books for Young Readers, 2009.

How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills.  Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick, 2009.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman.  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2009.

A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck.  Dial, 2009.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.  Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009.

MT Anderson in Portland Tonight!

I was lucky enough to see J/YA Author MT Anderson speak to an auditorium full of middle and high schoolers at Parkrose High School in Portland this morning as part of Multnomah County Library’s Teen Author Lecture.  MT was entertaining to listen to and was great with the students.  It’s always such a treat to see authors interact with their readers.  If you’re interested, I would encourage you to make the trek to Portland tonight and hear him speak at MCL’s Teen Author Lecture, it would be well worth your time and money.  More details on their website.

Halloween Books!

It’s time to get those Halloween books out of storage!  Even though we might not be ready to start thinking about the holidays, our young patrons certainly are!  If you store holiday books I encourage you to get them out, display them and watch them fly out the door!

Sweet Valley High: the Movie

According to Variety, Diablo Cody, (of Juno fame,) has signed on to write and produce a film adaptation of Sweet Valley High for the big screen.

Nancy Pearl Visit

I was so lucky to be able to attend the Nancy Pearl reader’s advisory workshop yesterday. What an amazing woman! While telling us all we don’t have to read everything to be an expert RA librarian, she clearly has read EVERYTHING! She could remember plots and character names of most of the books attendees shouted out. She has a unique take on RA, and while I”m anxious to give it a try, I’m pessimistic that it can be done too easily without having read widely. Also, her brand of RA was dependent on developing relationships overtime with returning patrons, which is great, but I’m not sure how realistic that is in our busy libraries. Overall, it was a great workshop and I came home excited about RA!

OLA/WLA Mock Newbery

Any day now registration will be open for the OLA/WLA Mock Newbery.  We’re in the final stages of creating the reading list.  We’re trying to select outstanding books of different genres and for different age groups so that we will have some great books to discuss and compare.  I’m excited that we’ll have past and current Newbery committee members talking about their experiences.  It should be a great day!  (Saturday, January 9th.)

I finally got around to reading When You Reach Me, one of the most (Newbery) buzzed-about books of the year.  I tried to listen to it on audio, but that wasn’t the best format for the book.  Once I started reading it, it went fast and was a very enjoyable read.  I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed if it won the Newbery, but it seems to me that the most buzzed about books don’t usually take home the medal.  Maybe it will be an honor book?  Right now I’m reading Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.  It’s a beautiful book, both the writing and illustrations, and I’m really enjoying it.  I’m not sure it will be a kid-favorite, but I can see librarians and teachers loving it.  On the younger side, I read How Oliver Olson Changed the World and have Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters in my to-be-read-soon pile.

Interested in more Mock Newbery discussions?  Check out the following:

School Library Journal’s Heavy Medal Blog (they’re currently debating When You Reach Me)

Allen County Public Library’s Mock Newbery Blog (they have Mock Blogs for the Sibert, Caldecott, Printz, CSK, and Geisel awards.)

Eva Perry Mock Newbery Book Club Blog (I like this one because actual kids comments on the books!)

Fuse #8’s Halfway Mark Predictions

And while you’re at it, check out the official criteria for the award and Anita Silvey’s controversial SLJ article, Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?

What have you read this year that you thought was Newbery-worthy?

Harry Potter Park

Universal announced it will be opening a Harry Potter themed section of its Islands of Adventure Orlando theme park.

Catching Fire…

*UPDATE*  Check out this interview with the author, Suzanne Collins, from  Tuesday’s All things Considered.

…is in the building! If you’re waiting as anxiously as I am for the sequel to The Hunger Games, your wait is almost over! (Well, if you’re towards the beginning of the 90 patron holds queue.) If you’d like to increase your chances of reading the book sooner, you could put the CD on hold, there are only 7 holds on 4 copies. I listened to The Hunger Games on CD, and I really enjoyed the narrator. If you haven’t read The Hunger Games, get it on hold now, there are 46 holds on 16 copies of the book and 2 holds on each of 4 copies of the CD and AP versions. Check out this NPR link to read or listen to an excerpt from chapter 2 of Catching Fire. (Why not chapter 1??)

Accelerated Reader Essay in NYT

I admit, I’m not a fan of Accelerated Reader type programs, so that is why I love this essay in Sunday’s New York Times.  It disheartens me to learn that a student could read a Harry Potter and a Gossip Girl novel and earn MORE points than a student who read Frankenstein, Remains of the the Day, Hamlet, Heart of Darkness, and The Dharma Bums.  Gossip Girl novels have MORE points than Hamlet.  I shudder at the thought.