The Final List - Finally!

So our last five additions to the Mock Newbery discussion list are:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie
Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
Elijah of Buxton - Christopher Paul Curtis
Lawn Boy - Gary Paulsen
Red Moon at Sharpsburg - Rosemary Wells

See the sidebar for the complete list with links to the items at one of my favorite bookstores! Hope to see you all on 01/06/08.

Final List

Hi everyone! Just wanted to give a heads up that my intention is to send out full details, including a final list, early next week! I'm gonna read my way through some turkey and stuffing this weekend and return relaxed and ready to go...

In the meantime, everyone have a wonderful week and we'll talk soon!

PS Am finally reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and am pleased that it seems to fit (just barely) into the Newbery age-range. I think it would be an interesting book to discuss. Am also trying to get through Rosemary Wells' "Red Moon at Sharpsburg" and I'll admit it's taking me a really long time, in spite of how good it is. Interesting to see Wells delve into historical fiction in the form of a chapter book. I think it's one of those books where at the end I'll either be like, "eh" or I'll be sobbing into my coffee overwhelmed with how wonderful it is. I have a plane ride this evening across the country, so I hope to find out then. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

newbery faq

the new alsc blog has an interesting new post covering some frequently asked questions about the newbery. for those of you who sometimes wonder about the choices and how much they really relate to what children are reading or who wonder why why why we can't see the short list to help us along in our mock newbery selections, this post gets to the heart of it.

i'd be curious to know how people feel about some of the conventions and rules behind the newbery... is the newbery being kept sacred or is it just being left behind the times?

otherwise, i'm working hard to pick out our last few books for the mock newbery which'll be at the golden gate branch in oakland the first sunday in january! yay! look forward to seeing everyone there....

Date and Location

So, I wanted to let everyone know that we have a date and location for the Mock Newbery. We'll be meeting on Sunday, January 6th at the Golden Gate Branch of Oakland Public Library (on 56th Street and San Pablo Ave in Oakland). We'll meet from 1pm until 5pm.

It should be fun to have our discussion so close to the actual Newbery!

More details as it approaches!

Attendance at Mock Newbery

I'm working on a date/time/location for the Mock Newbery. This is a Bay Area event, so it'll likely be somewhere in Oakland, on a Sunday, and from noonish - 5ish. I thought I'd put this out here as a start to compiling a list of interested persons to whom I can send further details and information.

So, if you're currently reading this blog and think you might like to attend the Mock Newbery, comment with your email address and let me know (or email me directly at dearanxiety at gmail dot com).

Thanks!

Some to start with....

Alright, folks, let's get started. Here are some of the titles that we'll be considering at our Mock Newbery (alpha by title):

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree - Lauren Tarshis
Feathers - Jacqueline Woodson
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! - Laura Amy Schlitz
The Wednesday Wars - Gary D. Schmidt

There will be more to come, but I wanted to make sure to give people a chance to get started on their reading! So, go go go!

Oh, before you go...please note that these books are also listed to the left, and links to each title on the Books Inc website are provided. Yay Books Inc! They are a wonderful independent bay area bookstore (with an online store as well) that supports children's lit in numerous ways.

Feathers

Hi there. Sorry for the long break...I was sort of busy reading reading reading and also ajusting to a new position here at work and also just being a bit lazy. But I thought it might be nice to get another little discussion going here.

What do we think of Jacqueline Woodson's Feathers?



On her fabulous new School Library Journalized blog, Fuse #8 talks about not really knowing what to do with this book. What do you think? Newbery worthy material? I thought the writing was beautiful, but everytime I go to talk about the book critically, words like "I loved..." start to come out of my brain and straight through my fingertips. Not very objective or very critical. Thoughts?