Well, it’s been five months of stimulating, enriching book discussion with me playing Sue Sylvester to Nina’s Will Schuester, but now it draws to a close. I’d like to thank everybody, not only for generous participation in the comments, but also for lurking. You really made this a very successful endeavor. Nina mentioned exploring the possibility of online mock Newbery discussions next year, and if you have any additional thoughts on how to improve Heavy Medal even further, then please drop us a note in the comments. Thanks again!
Monica and I both recall reading Rebecca Stead’s First Light the year we were on the Newbery Committee together. My impression was that it was a highly provocative and promising and flawed first novel. It was the favorite–bar none–of a twelve-year-old reader whose opinion I was "using" that year. It was at Midwinter 2009 that Monica took me, wandering in the exhibits, past the Random House booth, where she’d heard there was an ARC of Stead’s next novel, When You Reach Me. As I recall, Monica was attracted to it for the local angle in particular (correct… Read More
I had hoped to be able to comment on THE MOSTLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF HOMER P. FIGG, but I have been unable to retrieve my copy from the student, and my hold at the public library has not become available yet, so my commentary on that book will have to wait.
Historical fiction, as many of you already know, seems overrepresented in the Newbery canon–with CALPURNIA and HOMER being the latest additions–especially since the genre is reportedly not very popular with students. I think those rankings of reading preferences can be misleading, however, because historical fiction often has other elements that draw students. For… Read More
And sign number 4, …buried in the comments, Jonathan and I note how the discussion went at each of our tables at the Mock Newbery, where it fell off early at his despite enthusiasm, but nearly made the home stretch at mine.
The Dunderheads is my "Robbed!" title of 2009. The stumbling block for people seems to… Read More
Nina and I will be posting through the end of January–just one more week–before Heavy Medal goes on hiatus for the spring and summer.
INSTANT REPLAY
If you missed the ALA webcast of the announcements then you can still view it. You can also catch the winners on the Today Show if you missed that, too. And be sure to read about how Rebecca Stead, Jerry Pinkney, and Grace Lin responded to their Monday morning phone calls. Finally, if your pet book got robbed and didn’t make the grade for an ALA award or list, then bookseller extraordinaire Elizabeth Bluemle is… Read More
I could have seen a dozen books winning outright which is why I refused to make a prediction here. ALMOST ASTRONAUTS has taken a beating on this blog in recent weeks, so this is something of a surprise. I also predicted a mix of picture books and longer books. I do miss MARCHING FOR FREEDOM, TRUCE, and THE GREAT AND ONLY BARNUM here, but I do know the Sibert can’t have… Read More
So many possibilities. Who would you want to hear? I think the appeal of an author or illustrator is really sexy, but oftentimes I think the editors give even better speeches, and librarians . . . If K.T. Horning’s speech was anything like her CLNE lectures!
It seems obligatory that if you’ve won two Newbery Medals then you give the Arbuthnot so it’s somewhat surprising that Lois Lowry has not been selected before. But what’s this? Katherine Paterson has given the lecture, but not E.L. Konigsburg–and she’s a great speaker! Oh, wow. There’s my Arbuthnot prediction for next year! Anyway, Lowry is a great… Read More
I’m always pleased to see good New York Times coverage of the awards. I was up at 6:30 this morning to read: Very New York Novel Wins Newbery Medal. Motoko Rich’s article focusses mostly on Rebecca Stead, with a a nice secondary piece on Jerry Pinkney, and couple of mentions of other awards.
I do have a kneejerk reaction that is not always appropriate about the NewYorkCentricism of New Yorkers. Here, I had to admit to myself that Rich’s is a perfectly fine spin on the Newbery for the New York Times. However, it just struck the wrong tone with me because the… Read More
You can get a great sense of the ALA Midwinter bustle from Monica Edinger or Betsy Bird. I’m sitting this one out, and spending the warm drizzly California Sunday in my armchair with the paper and cup of ginger tea.
And the Newbery Committee? Well they are–done. By noon, Boston time, they’ll have delivered their press release to the press office (where they are up nearly all night getting the awards presentation together for your enjoyment).
But the committee…might be hitting the exhibit floor for the first time, buzzed and exhausted, walking through the crowd carrying an enormous secret. Or… Read More
