Mock Newbery 2026 discussion
School and Library Mock Newbery Groups
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The preservice teachers at the Blitstein Institute of the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago had it third Mock Newbery awards on December 18th. Our winner was THE GIRL WHO DRANK THE MOON. The honor books were THE INQUISITOR'S TALE and AS BRAVE AS YOU.
4th grade Mock Newbery book club finalists are (in no particular order): Wild Robot
Soar
When the Sea Turned to Silver
Save Me a Seat
Click Here to Start
Some Kind of Courage
Beetle Boy (which doesn't qualify for REAL Newbery, British author)
We will have our final vote on Friday, the 20th.
I'm having a hard time understanding why the wild robot was shortlisted. Did you seem so explain why they think it should be the top?
We're voting tomorrow! I'll let you know!
The top 5 for my 7th grade lunch book club were:Ghost (17 points)
Maybe a Fox (15 points)
Raymie Nightingale (12 points)
Save me a Seat (12 points)
Wild Robot (12 points)
My Mock Newbery open to grades 5-8:Wolf Hollow (18 points)
Ghosts (15 points)
Some Kind of Courage (10 points)
Pax (9 points)
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook (8 points)
The Inquisitor's Tale (7 points)
Becky wrote: "My Mock Newbery open to grades 5-8:Wolf Hollow (18 points)
Ghosts (15 points)
Some Kind of Courage (10 points)
Pax (9 points)
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook (8 points)
The Inquisitor's ..."
Is that Ghost by Reynolds or Ghosts by Telgemeier?
Ghosts by Telgemeier My Mock Newbery is open to the whole school community and Ghosts was a popular choice because it was a graphic novel. The students did have to read 3 titles in order to vote. Unfortunately, we do not have a common time to discuss distinguished vs. a fun read, however as this is the first year I have run this program, I was pleased with both my student and faculty participation.
The other reading teacher had her classes vote. Here are the combined totals:Ghost 24
Pax 23
Booked 7
Wolf Hollow 6
Raymie Nightingale 4
As Brave As You 4
Bear & Bunny 1
I left my points at school. This was the results of 5th grade voting:Winner: Pax
Honors: Wolf Hollow
The Wild Robot
Some Kind of Courage
6th-8th students at the Horace Mann School choose the Inquisitor's Tale as their Mock Newbery winner.Honors went to Pax and Wolf Hollow.
5th grade Mock NewberySome Kind of Courage 22 votes
The Wild Robot 12 votes
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T Cook 9 votes
Paper Wishes 8 votes
Ghosts 6 votes
My Mock Newbery for 2018 begins today. I'm so excited! It is at a public library and involves teens 11-15, so older than most, but I think we will have fun. I'll keep you updated.
I would love to know how you're running your Mock Newbery group Jennifer! I used to do Mock Newbery in my former school position. Now that I work for a public library I'm trying to wrap my head around how Mock Newbery would work on this level. Would love to learn more about how anyone in the public library setting is doing this!
The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys and supplements with library copies of books not available through ARC. The kids take the books home and then come back next and report on their Newbery-ish-ness. They are also taught the criteria, focussing on one each week. It was started by a librarian who was on a Newbery committee so she tries to have the kids go through the same process. They have lockins a couple times a year and that is when the voting happens. Each kid gets to choose a total of 7 finalists. And those are the ones raised up for selection at the end. https://evaperrymocknewbery.wordpress...
Lindsey wrote: "The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys and supplements with library copies of books not av..."I'm actually at one of the other libraries in the same system, West Regional Library. We're trying it out at another location.
Lindsey wrote: "The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys and supplements with library copies of books not av..."This is a great list! I can't wait to get started.
The Oswego Public Library hosts a Mock Newbery program every year. Staff generally begin adding titles to a list in the later summer/early fall and then we narrow down the list to the final 20 or so to have it ready by November 1st. It runs until the beginning of Jan. We have handouts listing all the titles and have a display with all the books on it. Our program runs 4th grade-adult and participants only need to read three books to vote.
Anna wrote: "The Oswego Public Library hosts a Mock Newbery program every year. Staff generally begin adding titles to a list in the later summer/early fall and then we narrow down the list to the final 20 or s..."Anna - is this the library in Oswego IL?
Jennifer wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys and supplements with library copies..."So the first 6 week session of the Mock is complete and the teens nominated The Warden's Daughter and Big & Little Questions. Of our monthly reads so far, they weren't too impressed with Hello, Universe and Siren Sisters, though. They felt pretty good about Princess Cora and the Crocodile, Fish Girl, Train I Ride, The Playbook and The Someday Birds.
Thanks, Jennifer for letting us know what the children are thinking.
LSJohnson wrote: "Anna - is this the library in Oswego IL?"It is.
Jennifer wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys and supplements wi..."I loved The Someday Birds! I haven't heard much talk about it. The book left me very satisfied as a reader and I had to live with the book a couple days before I returned it to the library. Good choices kids!
My Mock Newbery Group voted for their short list on Wednesday. We will be meeting on December 13 to pick our Newbery winner(s). Here's what they picked (in no particular order):-The Ethan I Was Before by Ali Standish
-The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
-The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
-Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh
-Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
-See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
-Restart by Gordon Kormon
I'll let you know what they pick!
The Oswego (IL) library ended up with a short list of 22 because there were too many good ones. We normally narrow it down to 20.Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
A Boy Called Bat by Elana Arnold
Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia
Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Amy Schlitz
The Crystal Ribbon by Celeste Lim
Cyclone by Doreen Cronin
Forever or a Long Long Time by Caela Carter
Hello Universe by Erin Kelly
Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Powell
Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy King
One Amazing Elephant by Linda High
Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
Posted by John Anderson
Refugee by Alan Gratz
Superstar by Mandy Davis
Tumble and Blue by Cassie Beasley
The Unexpected Life of Oliver Cromwell Pitts by Avi
The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline Ogburn
The War I finally Won by Kimberly Bradley
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
Anna wrote: "The Oswego (IL) library ended up with a short list of 22 because there were too many good ones. We normally narrow it down to 20.Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk
A ..."
What a great list! Good job.
I am a public librarian thinking of trying to do a Mock Newbery next year. What time of year do people usually start their groups? It sounds like maybe summer or fall? Do you have an existing book club that shifts to Mock Newbery as the season approaches?
I started in Summer and continued in Fall. We will be taking a break Jan-April and restarting in May.
We begin compiling our list in July then narrow down in September and October so we have it ready by November 1st.
LS wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "Lindsey wrote: "The Eva Perry library does a great Mock Newbery Club. It is for grades 6-10. They meet every other Friday from 4-6 pm. The librarian gets galleys a..."They picked See You in the Cosmos as the winner, with The Hate U Give and Restart as honor books.
My (middle school) Mock Newbery club voted yesterday. Our results:See You in the Cosmos (winner)
Honors to:
Refugee
Orphan Island
Lucky Broken Girl
The preservice teachers at the Hebrew Theological College selected:Wishtree- winner
Honor Books:
The First Rule Punk
Refugee
St Thomas School (Medina, WA) gave the Mock Newbery Award to: Orphan Island. Honors went to Soldier Boy and The Glass Town Game. Fifth through eighth grades voted in this year’s election.
West Regional Library's Mock Newbery Group (Cary, NC) met last night to pick their 2019 winner. They chose the following:Winner:
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Honors:
Baby Monkey, Private Eye by Brian Selznick and David Serlin
Blended by Sharon Draper
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
My school hosts a Mock Newbery group for grades 3-5. So far this year we have read Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech, Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, and Front Desk by Kelly Yang. Students loved all 3. I just finish reading The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl and also loved it!
Every one of the books you mentioned Jennifer is a really strong Newbery contender, in my opinion. More importantly, they are books the kids are enjoying. Maybe the 2019 winners will not only be written well but be loved by the children, too. I am counting on it.
How is it determined between Caldecott and Newbery for Baby Monkey, Private Eye? Is it too long for Caldecott? I thought it may be for younger readers than 8?? Just wondering how that works. I enjoyed the book.
Considering that Brian Selznick won the Caldecott for his 500+ page The Inventions of Hugo Cabret, Baby Monkey would be eligible for that and perhaps the Geisel. It's too easy reader for Newbery in my opinion.
Baby Monkey is qualified for Caldecott and Newbery, but not for Geisel. Geisel limits page count to 32 pages, so it is too long. As for "too easy reader" Newbery is birth to 14 and a beginning reader has at least honored in the past.
Thanks, Jennifer. Did not know the page requirement for Geisel.
I believe the Geisel page count limit is actually between 24 and 96 which does indeed keep Baby Monkey ineligible for it. I agree that Baby Monkey would be eligible for both Caldecott and Newbery, but surprised if it was named by either given other strong contenders this year.
My school did a poll, and Front Desk won.
Jennifer wrote: "I believe the Geisel page count limit is actually between 24 and 96 which does indeed keep Baby Monkey ineligible for it. I agree that Baby Monkey would be eligible for both Caldecott and Newbery, ..."You are absolutely right about the page count. My brain was a bit confused that day.
Mock Newbery 2026
Books mentioned in this topic
Ghost (other topics)Ghosts (other topics)
Bear and Bunny (other topics)
If you participated in, or organized, a mock Newbery share your results with us here. If you desire, include your lists, ages of participants, predictions and results. It will be fun to see the selections that were voted on around the country.