Mock Newbery Book Club: Fall 2016 favorite books (ages 9-12)

Throughout the summer, I look for the best new books to bring back to our Mock Newbery Book Club. Are you interested in starting your own club? It's easy! Read all about our process at the ALSC Blog: Hosting a Mock Newbery Book Club. Here are some titles I will share with our 4th and 5th grade students, as the best new books for 2016.

Fall 2016 Mock Newbery Books

• The Best Man, by Richard Peck (Sept. 20th)
• Full of Beans, by Jennifer L. Holm (Aug. 30th)
• Garvey's Choice, by Nikki Grimes (Oct. 4th)
• Gertie's Leap to Greatness, by Kate Beasley (Oct. 4th)
• Ghost, by Jason Reynolds (Aug. 30th)
• Ghosts, by Raina Telgemeier (Sept. 13th)
• The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill (Aug. 9th)
• The Inquisitor's Tale, by Adam Gidwitz (Sept. 27th)
• Maxi's Secrets, by Lynn Plourde (Aug. 23rd)
• Mighty Jack, by Ben Hatke (Sept. 6th)
• Moo, by Sharon Creech (Aug. 30th)
• Towers Falling, by Jewell Parker Rhodes (July 12th)
• Two Naomis, by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich & Audrey Vernick (Sept. 13th)
• Unbound, by Ann E. Burg (Sept. 27th)
• What Elephants Know, by Eric Dinerstein (May 17th)
• When the Sea Turned to Silver, by Grace Lin (Oct. 4th)

In order to honor students’ voices, we encourage them to nominate books similar to the way Newbery Committee does. Two kids have to agree to nominate a title that meets the Newbery eligibility requirements. The only criteria is that it has to have been published in 2016 by an American author, and it has to stand out as an excellent book. They'll look at these summer & fall releases, the books they've been reading from the spring (see Spring 2016 favorites) and any others they find.

We then manage and massage the final list to ensure a wide range of diversity. We (the organizing librarians) limit the final list to 10 titles so that it isn’t overwhelming and so that we can focus our discussions within the time allotted.

The fun is seeing which books catch fire, ignite students' passion and spread from one kid to the next!

I'd like to give a special thanks to my reading buddies in Berkeley--Armin Arethna, Becca Todd, Jessica Lee, Joal Arvanigian, Zoe Williams, Olivia Sanders, Mia Caporal, Suzy Mead, Simone Miller and many others. I also am so appreciative of friends in our Voxer Mock Newbery group--this group of librarians and teachers help keep me in touch with other classes across the country.

Many thanks to the publishers for sharing review copies: Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Random House, Scholastic, Algonquin, Boyds Mills, Disney Hyperion, and Little Brown. 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.

©2016 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books