…these are the books that would win.

People sometimes get irritated with me me when I bring up the mock Newbery list on Goodreads. It is certainly a popularity contest, when the real award is certainly not. Anyone can vote for a book for any reason on the Goodreads list. This is not the way things work on the real committee, where the Newbery criteria guides the way.

But here’s the thing – the lists are usually voted on by people who care deeply about children’s books. And sometimes they’re fairly accurate. And I like looking at them! So that’s what we’re going to do!

*PANT* *PANT* *DEEP BREATH*

Sorry about that. To illustrate this whole “fairly accurate” thing, let’s take a look at the top seven books on the 2015 Mock Newbery list on Goodreads:

Boom: Honor, Honor, Medal. The top ten of the 2014 Goodreads Mock Newbery list also contained two Honors and the Medal-winning book (the two other 2014 honors were further down that list).

So, just for kicks, let’s have a look at the current top 10 this year. I’m not saying anything here. I’m just saying.