Mock Newbery 2020

Hello! So, I’m super late in making this post. Usually it comes out in August or October, I think. BUT! I’m going to roll with it anyway. It’s good professional development, gets me reading outside of my normal genres (Scifi, Fantasy, and Mystery), and gives me some blog post content.

For those of you who are new to the blog or have never heard of a “Mock Newbery”—or even a REAL Newbery, for that matter, let me take a second to explain. According to the Association of Library Services to Children, the Newbery Award is given each year to “author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”. The conditions for the book to win is that the author must be an American citizen or resident, the book’s publication date must be from the year prior (so all the contenders this year were published in 2019) and it must be an original work.

The Newbery winner is chosen by a committee of 15 public and school children’s librarians. The awards are announced every January (so we're going to be running about a year behind). They must take a vow of silence about the discussions so that every member can express their honest opinions. Between that, and all the books they have to read, being on the committee is a big job and a great honor.

My library system holds a Mock Newbery Professional Discussion session every year, reviewing several LESS books than the actual committee. This year, the following books for the Mock Newbery discussion were chosen:

Covers from GoodReads

Titles:

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams

Internment by Samira Ahmed

Caught! Nabbing History's Most Wanted by Georgia Bragg

The Line Tender by Kate Allen

Orange for the Sunsets by Tina Athaide

The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin

This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

New Kid by Jerry Craft

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Best Friends by Shannon Hale

Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Pay Attention, Carter Jones by Gary D. Schmidt

Because of the Rabbit by Cynthia Lord

Planet Earth is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

Happy New Year!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Happy New Year to all that celebrate the arrival of a new year on the first of January!

2019 Accomplishments:

I have been one busy momma—literally. I welcomed a beautiful baby girl into this world in 2019, have continued working toward my Masters of Library Science (five more classes guys!), and still currently work full time as a children’s librarian. I did give up my part time job at least. Oh! And I think I improved my crafting skills a bit this year when I attempted some Pinterest Crafts. But I’ll let you be the ultimate judge of that.

Do you have anything brag worthy? Drop me a line about it in the comments. I’d love to help you celebrate your accomplishments!

2020 Resolutions:

Photo Credit: Pixabay

• Survive next semester (three classes, full time work, and a baby. I survived one semester—can I survive another? Please keep your fingers crossed for me!)
• Survive Summer Reading and two summer classes
• Graduate with my Masters in the Fall
• Get back into the swing of writing—this means working on my Fearless edits, working on my Reckless chapters, and continuing with a semi-consistent blog post (some of this may not happen until August, but I’m hoping to be able to work it in before then—but I’m pretty sure that’s just being optimistic)
• Read the Mock Newbery Book club books (even though I won’t be attending the library discussion this year, and I know I won’t be finishing them all by that deadline either)
• Start making healthy meals again 

I’m sure there are many more I should include, and several that I’m stretching beyond my limits, but it’s good to have dreams, right?

Let’s hold each other accountable! (And by accountable, I totally mean share some words or encouragement and praise when necessary…) What are some of your New Year’s Resolutions?

I hope your 2020 is filled with multitudes of good fortune and luck!

Nonfiction Spotlight: Lulu & Rocky in Detroit

Title: Lulu & Rocky in Detroit

Author: Barbara Joosse

Illustrated By: Renée Graef

Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

Copyright date: 2019

Target Audience: Pre-K & Lower Elementary

Summary:

Lulu and Rocky are fox cousins that explore different cities together. Their journey always begins with a letter from Aunt Fancy. Rocky gets his mysterious letter in the mail and Lulu gets hers via email. This time they’re going to visit Detroit, Michigan. Everyday of their stay, Aunt Fancy leaves a new Adventure Assignment with the concierge. These Adventure Assignments lead them all over the city, allowing readers to learn about all of the awesome places to see when visiting Detroit.

Critique of Contents & Organization:

The dedications section on the Copyright Page lists all the organizations and business that helped the author and illustrator create the book. The title page is a hand drawn map of Detroit that lists all the places Lulu and Rocky visit throughout the book. At the end of the book there is also a More to Know! Section, which gives information on all the places Lulu and Rocky visited. The story itself is told in chronological order as the fox cousins go on their journey exploring Detroit.

This is a narrative nonfiction that blurs the lines a bit between facts and fiction. I say this because the main characters are anthropomorphic foxes that talk and go on adventures. Clearly this is not realistic—however, I think even preschoolers know that this isn’t how foxes typically behave, and therefore does not lead them to believe that penguins chauffeur foxes around the state of Michigan.

This book does a great job of making a trip to Detroit exciting and adventurous. Instead of simply saying, “visit the United States’ oldest aquarium”, readers get a sneak peek of what the United States’ oldest aquarium looks like. The book doesn’t bog readers down with lots of details, but instead provides just enough information through minimal text and exhilarating illustrations to pique interest and encourage a sense of adventure.

Between the amazing illustrations and the minimal text, this book makes for a great read aloud.

Reasons to Include this Title in Your Library Collection:

I think this book is a great way to encourage reluctant readers to engage with cities they’ve never visited before. It’s an entirely different spin on the larger, more detailed travel guides and books older students use for class reports or to plan vacations. I think this is far more engaging and encourages readers to become interested in all the different attractions and businesses different cities provide. I could even see this as a great resource for children that are moving to a new city and fear the move because it makes the new city seem like a grand adventure with lots of mysteries and cool locations to explore and discover. There’s also a lot of travel related extensions!

Use & Extension Activities:

•  Read this book aloud in class before a field trip to Detroit.     
• Have children imagine that Lulu & Rocky are visiting their hometown. What places would Aunt Fancy send them to visit? What is the message our hometown expresses?
• Older children can create Adventure Assignments for cities they are unfamiliar with. 
• Discuss cities the students have visited and what made the trip so special. (Older students can also create their own travel scrapbooks, and if the students haven’t visited a different town, they can create one for their hometown or pick a town to investigate).

Read Alikes:

Title: Lulu & Rocky in Milwaukee

Author:  Barbara Joosse

Reason: This is the first book in Lulu & Rocky’s traveling adventures. It explores the city of Milwaukee. It also has a ton of amazing illustrations and does a great job of exploring Milwaukee.

Title: KeeKee’s Big Adventures in London, England

Author:  Shannon Jones

Reasoning: This is another narrative nonfiction book about travel featuring an anthropomorphic main character, KeeKee the cat.