Mock Newbery 2014 Book Club

I just posted my first Mock Newbery 2014 Book Club blog post on my classroom website.  I will share with you my future blog posts to my classes as well.  If you have any more books I should recommend to my book club members, be sure to let me know!  You can see my whole classroom blog at http://muellersreaders.blogspot.com/. Here is the post:

Are you interested in participating in the Mock Newbery 2014 Book Club for the 2013-2104 school year? I hope so!! I will be talking about the club at the Parent Meeting for Accelerated 5th/6th ELA on Wednesday evening. If you're interested (this is an optional extra-curricular club and can include any student - not just in the accelerated classes), I have a booklet for you where you'll keep track of the 2013 middle grade books you read this year. In the beginning of the booklet, there is a place where you'll record any former Newbery winners or honors you read and the characteristics on which you think the Newbery committee will be judging books. We will be meeting three times this summer. I will be getting parent e-mails for any participants so I can contact you about summer dates. Once school starts, we will meet once or twice a month after school to talk about 2013 books and share reviews and favorites. You can find 2013 books at public libraries, the school library, and book stores. I will have some in my classroom library, also. In January we will vote for our favorites and watch the live A.L.A. presentation and then start all over again! :-) If you're interested in reading more about the Newbery Medal, click on this link: http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/15/apply

Here are some "buzz" books so far this year (I define a "buzz" book by how much it gets talked about in social media, book websites, bookstores, and book review magazines). Sometimes, however, a book gets chosen for the Newbery that wasn't expected to win, so don't ignore less talked about books.  A "sleeper" may be the one! There are MANY new books that come out, but not all of them are Newbery-type books, so I'm only going to feature books for the Mock Newbery 2014 Club that I think may be considered. Don't let that stop you from reading ALL KINDS of new books, though! It's good to read many books and review them even if you think they aren't Newbery-worthy, but still lots of fun to read! I'll do one of these posts once or twice a month, so keep checking!

 

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

 

Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Sheinkin

 

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

 

The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis

 

 

Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson (Read the first one, too! Hattie Big Sky

 

Beholding Bee by Kimberly Newton Fusco

 

Destiny, Rewritten by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

 

 

The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

We will probably be reading The False Prince aloud next year, the first one in this series.

 

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesel Shirtliff

 

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

 

 

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Courage Has No Color by Tanya Lee Stone

 

Paperboy by Vince Vawter

 

Hide and Seek by Kate Messner - Read Capture the Flag first!

The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy (This is #2 in the series - read The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom first.)

 

This list should keep you reading for now! Don't forget to pick up a Newbery Club booklet, record each book, and write a short review so you can remember your favorites.  Just check the date published on the copyright page in the front (sometimes the back) of the book. It must be 2013.

 

A great website for kids' book reviews is Kidsreads.com

 

Happy Reading!