Mock Newbery 2026 discussion
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Newbery 2019
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2019 Mock Newbery Voting -Round 1 of 3
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Front DeskMiscalculations of Lightning Girl
Journey of Little Charlie
Louisiana's Way Home
Lu
Ghost Boys
Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
The Night Diary
I have never even been close in guessing Newbery, but my five stars this year went to:Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Breakout
Amal Unbound
Ghost Boys
Every Shiny Thing
Aru Shah and the End of Time
I also think contenders could be
Front Desk
Parker Inheritance
Louisiana's Way Home
The Girl Who Drew ButterfliesSweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Front Desk
The Assassination of Bargain Spurge
Echo's Sister
The 57 Bus
Winterhouse
Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
The Benefits of Being an Octopus
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
My top 10 choices for 2018, in no particular order:Can I Touch Your Hair?
Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Martin Rising
Rebound
Hunger: A Tale of Courage
The Length of a String
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth
Breakout
What the Night Sings
Echo's Sister
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle-Leslie ConnorFront Desk-Kelly Yang
The Parker Inheritance-Varian Johnson
Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe-Jo Watson Hackl
The Last (Endling #1)-Katherine Applegate
Bob-Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
No Fixed Address-Susin Nielsen
Ghost Boys-Jewell Parker Rhodes
Louisiana's Way Home-Kate DiCamillo
Out of Left Field-Ellen Klages
Of the books I have read so far, the following are my top 10 picks:The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle (Connor)
Louisiana's Way Home (DiCamillo)
24 Hours in Nowhere (Bowling)*
Rebound (Alexander)
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl (McAnulty)
Martin Rising (Pinkney)
The Book of Boy (Murdock)
Where the Watermelons Grow (Baldwin)
Hope in the Holler (Tyre)
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies (Sidman)
*I just wanted to put in a plug for 24 Hours, which no one has mentioned in the polling. It's a delightful little adventure story full of humor and heart, written by the author of last year's Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus, which I also enjoyed. I would love for this book - or the other two listed above it - to come home with the medal. Anyway, I hope you get a chance to read it!
I've looked at the beginnings of the following books and am hoping to read them for the next round of voting: Season of Styx Malone, Until Tomorrow Mr. Marsworth, and Sweep. Thanks for pointing me towards these!
I also think that Poet X, Prince and the Dressmaker, and Hey Kiddo are good books but, in my opinion, are better suited in content for the Printz competition. Of course, last year, that didn't seem to be a factor, but I'm really hoping that this year's committee can find plenty of worthy middle-grade books to award. Fingers crossed!
Truth as Told by Mason ButtleThe Night Diary
Prince and the Dressmaker
The Parker Inheritance
Hurricane Child
1. Night Diary- this is a book that I did not want to end and read sections over. There are so many impactful quotes from this book to savor. My book talk with sixth graders stuck with them and they connected it to other books. To me all these elements make this book distinguished.2. Hope in the Holler- distinguished as to how poverty is depicted- one of the only books I've read that shows different levels of poverty. Main character shows amazing resiliency and positivity in dire and unfair circumstances. Also, this book has not been pushed and I'm rooting for less well known authors that have written distinguished books- not well known authors that have with written average books this year or books written to push agendas.
3. Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth - distinguished in every way- book that invokes an array of emotions and the great use of the epistolary format. Also BOTH sides of controversial issues were presented which I highly value in all books esp. at middle level.
4. The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle- We can all learn lessons from Mason's character.
5. Miscalculations of Lightning Girl- One of the first 2018 books I read- unique premise.
6. Winterhouse #1 - Such a fun mystery- liked it better than Westing Game. Wish there were more innocent fun books written for the 8-14 age group.
7. Nightbooks- Unique twist of a traditional story.
I loved Inkling- but thought the author was not a resident, but saw it on some other posts here? If eligible I would add it.
Hey, Kiddo and Journey of Little Charlie are wonderful but I think they are not appropriate for the general audience for 8-14 ages. I would put them in my 6th grade classroom library- some children in this age may be ready for that content-but do not think they should win a coveted award for this age group. I think they are for the YA general audience.
Shella wrote: "1. Night Diary- this is a book that I did not want to end and read sections over. There are so many impactful quotes from this book to savor. My book talk with sixth graders stuck with them and the..."Nightbooks was one of my favorite books of the year. J. A. White is such an amazing author.
My Newbery votes go:1. Front Desk
2. miscalculations of Lightening Girl
3. just like Jackie
4. Mason Buttle
5. Ghost Boy
1. Until Tomorrow Mr. Marsworth2. The Journey of Little Charlie
3. Hey Kiddo
In no particular order
Mod
The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
The Parker Inheritance
The Journey of Little Charlie
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Harbor Me
Ghost Boys
The Night Diary
Hey, Kiddo
Louisiana's Way Home
Bob
The Season of Styx Malone
Front Desk
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth
Amal Unbound
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Mock Newbery 2026
Books mentioned in this topic
Front Desk (other topics)Louisiana's Way Home (other topics)
Bob (other topics)
The Season of Styx Malone (other topics)
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth (other topics)
More...
Of the books listed so far, I've read Front Desk, You Go First, Bob, The Parker Inheritance, The Truth as told by Mason Buttle, The Prince and the Dressmaker, The Poet X, The Book of Boy, Harbor Me, Louisiana's Way Home, Hey Kiddo, The Cardboard Kingdom, Rebound and the last in Jason Reynold's TRACK series.
All were perfectly fine but not standouts, in my opinion - except THE POET X and HEY KIDDO, which are prime candidates for Printz recognition. And when it comes to awards, how do you categorize the TRACK series, with each book standing effectively alone but also linked by a subtly interwoven narrative and cast of characters?
(And I never did get a chance to read Small Spaces, Sweep, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, Knights vs. Dinosaurs, The Season of Styx Malone, or Mad Wolf's Daughters....)