Monday, November 2, 2015

Emerson School's 2016 Mock Newbery Nominations (ages 9-12)

Our 4th and 5th graders have been reading new books, thinking hard about which ones they'd like to nominate for our Mock Newbery Book Club. This is our third year and we are having so much fun reading and sharing new books.
Emerson School's 2016 Mock Newbery Nominations
We are spending a lot of our time talking about the criteria that the Newbery Committee considers when evaluating books. Our students talk about whether they find the characters distinguished, or perhaps it's the plot that really stands out for them. I love the "book buzz" that this creates among all the students.

You may notice that some books that the Newbery Committee is surely considering are not on here. My students liked Pam Munoz Ryan's Echo, but many found it too long. The Newbery Committee considers books written for children up to age 14, while my group is made of young tweens (9, 10, 11 years old).

Remember that the actual Newbery Committee considers any book written by an American citizen or American resident that was published in the United States during 2015. There is no public nomination list, but the committee members work together to put forward books they want to be considered.

You might find these other Mock Newbery lists interesting, as you consider what you and your children think are the best books of 2015:
Which books are you and your children loving this year? Do any favorites stand out for you?

Many thanks to all of the publishers for their support of our book club. Review copies have been kindly sent by Bloomsbury, Random House, Little Brown, Penguin, Simon & Schuster and Scholastic. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

©2015 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for including Enchanted Air! You must be a really great group of readers, to have selected such a wide variety of types of books. I feel honored!

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    1. I wish I could bottle up the glow in readers' eyes when they talk about how special each of these books are. Thank you for inspiring our students.

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  2. I find Mock Award activities so interesting - so many awards are determined by adults, and reflect what adults think children enjoy or should enjoy - which can differ quite markedly from what children actually do enjoy! Every so often you find those special books that speak to audiences of all ages. :)

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    1. Yes, absolutely! That's one reason I so enjoy being able to listen to my students discuss these books and then share their ideas to a wider audience.

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    2. I have never adventured into Mock Award activities with my students, but after reading the reviews and think through the possible processes my students will enjoy, I cannot wait to implement this activity into my library program.

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