Autobiography (or memoir) is not recognized very often by the Newbery committee.
26 FAIRMOUNT AVENUE BY Tomie DePaola (2000 Newbery Honor)
I didn’t always live in the house at 26 Fairmount Avenue.  We moved there when I was five years old.  I know that because in 1938, when I was still four, a big hurricane hit Meriden, [...]

Thirteen books have been recognized by the Newbery committee in the past three years, and eleven of them have been historical fiction.  The irony, of course, is that historical fiction is not a genre that kids ask for–at least, not in explicit terms.  In fact, I daresay that from a child viewpoint historical fiction is not [...]

I’ve mentioned here and there in the comments that I just never warmed up to THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE and THE GAME OF SILENCE for whatever reason, and I’m not even sure that I read THE PORCUPINE YEAR, but I really, really like CHICKADEE.  While it’s currently not in my top three, should one of those [...]

TRADITIONAL LITERATURE
From the terms and criteria—
“Original work” means that the text was created by this writer and no one else. It may include original retellings of traditional literature, provided the words are the author’s own.
And the expanded definitions in the Newbery manual–
A committee may consider books that are traditional in origin, if the book is [...]

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
As I’m sure you already know, The National Book Award for Young People’s Literature went to GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander.  Nina reviewed it here, but I still haven’t read it.  I did finish ENDANGERED this morning which could be considered a cuspy Newbery candidate–and the NEVER FALL DOWN debate continues to intrigue me.  Anyone [...]

Oops! Got your attention, didn’t I? Of couse, I meant TWELVE KINDS OF ICE and BENEATH A METH MOON, but first things first . . .
We had 30 people submit a full set of three nominations in October, and the results are listed below. Please note that these are slightly different from [...]

The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival returns to NYC on December 2 at 4 pm.  Check out the details.
Kids who love videos as much as they love books will want to check out this event, hosted by the festival’s  hilarious co-creators James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish) and Jon Scieszka (The Stinky Cheese Man) with special guest appearances by Kate [...]

WE CONSIDER ONLY THE TEXT . . .
Each book is to be considered as a contribution to American literature. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the text. Other components of a book, such as illustrations, overall design of the book, etc., may be considered when they make the book less effective.
BUT THE [...]

We’ve already considered TEMPLE GRANDIN and CHUCK CLOSE: FACE BOOK, but there are four additional biographies for young readers that we ought to pay attention to this year: ABRAHAM LINCOLN & FREDERICK DOUGLASS by Russell Freedman, MASTER OF DECEIT by Marc Aronson, THE BRONTE SISTERS by Catherine Reef, and THE AMAZING HARRY KELLAR by Gail [...]

We’ve already considered the work of Christopher Paul Curtis (THE MIGHTY MISS MALONE), Karen Cushman (WILL SPARROW’S ROAD), Kate DiCamillo (BINK & GOLLIE: TWO FOR ONE), Rebecca Stead (LIAR & SPY), Laura Amy Schlitz (SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS)–and I’d like to consider Russell Freedman (ABRAHAM LINCOLN & FREDERICK DOUGLASS) a bit later in the context of [...]

Last year, we seriously entertained the idea of Newbery recognition for an Elephant & Piggie book, specifically I BROKE MY TRUNK!  Willems has two more books in the series this year: LISTEN TO MY TRUMPET! and LET’S GO FOR A DRIVE!  I’m equally enthusiastic about these books, and if I were on the real committee I [...]

It has become fashionable of late to praise narrative nonfiction, that brand of nonfiction that seeks to employ many of the tools of a novelist while being scrupulously faithful to the factual record. This year we have an abundance of these books to consider including TITANIC, THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE, THE FAIRY RING, and THE [...]

It has become fashionable of late to praise narrative nonfiction, that brand of nonfiction that seeks to employ many of the tools of a novelist while being scrupulously faithful to the factual record. This year we have an abundance of these books to consider including TITANIC, THE IMPOSSIBLE RESCUE, THE FAIRY RING, and THE [...]

Trouble cruised into Tupelo Landing at exactly seven minutes past noon on Wednesday, the third of June, flashing a gold badge and driving a Chevy Impala the color of dirt.  Almost before the dust had settled, Mr. Jesse turned up dead and life in Tupelo Landing turned upside down.
As far as I know, nobody expected [...]

There’s this totally false map of the human tongue.  It’s supposed to show where we taste different things, like salty on the side of the tongue, sweet in the front, bitter in the back.  Some guy drew it a hundred years ago, and people have been forcing kids to memorize it ever since.
But it’s wrong—all [...]

In our discussion of TEMPLE GRANDIN, I made the assertion that this criteria–Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization–ought to be applied to fiction just as rigorously as it is to nonfiction. Eric disagreed, citing one of our criticisms of OKAY FOR NOW last year.
A fiction book even a realistic one has no need [...]

The finalists for the National Book Award were announced this morning.
GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander
OUT OF REACH by Carrie Arcos
NEVER FALL DOWN by Patricia McCormick
ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer
BOMB by Steve Sheinkin
While they once again skew to an older audience, I think we will probably end up discussing several of them here.  BOMB is the only [...]

The finalists for the National Book Award were announced this morning.
GOBLIN SECRETS by William Alexander
OUT OF REACH by Carrie Arcos
NEVER FALL DOWN by Patricia McCormick
ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer
BOMB by Steve Sheinkin
While they once again skew to an older audience, I think we will probably end up discussing several of them here.  BOMB is the only [...]

We’ve had a running conversation in the comments about whether nonfiction books appeal more to our emotions or our intellect. We’ve discussed four titles in some depth, and if I had to place them on a spectrum from most emotional appeal to most intellectual appeal, then I would rank them thus: WE’VE GOT A JOB, [...]

Civil rights elicit a wide range of deeply felt emotions–horror, outrage, disgust, sadness, admiration, and conviction–especially in relation to black holes and shore birds. Generally speaking, we care more because we’re talking about people. Not surprisingly, these books often get their just due, especially when they are well written. Indeed, half of the nonfiction Newbery books in [...]