The Newbery books of 2024 - The Eyes and the Impossible - D&A October 2025

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Winner: The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris.

Newbery Honors:
Eagle Drums by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson and Junvi Wu
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martín
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri and Daniel Miyares

These should, of course, be widely avl. in libraries, but I'm checking early.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I already gave Simon Sort of Says four stars. I might reread it, but probably not just because there are so many this month! My review:

(view spoiler)[The premise and the first few pages might put a reader off, especially a jaded reader like me. But I know the author can write, so I wanted to see where she took all the stories that add up to these characters' lives. Well, she didn't actually 'take' them anywhere....

Because real life is always about change, whether it's growing up, facing challenges, overcoming loss, experiencing epiphanies... life can certainly have happy closures, but not 'ever afters.' And that's what this amazing book shows us. Simon is more than his status of being a survivor, Agate is more than her autism, and this small town is about more than the dichotomy between Team Science and Team Farm.

Otoh, there are a few nits one can pick. For example, Curtis is played for laughs; if there is ever a sequel we'd have to do something nice with him that would enable our undertaker to have a more competent assistant.

And, honestly, I wouldn't mind a sequel. Life goes on, yes, and these are characters I enjoyed spending time with. I'd love to spend more time with them. In the meantime I will look at the author's other books.

I even learned something from Agate: "Did you know that the risk of dehydration actually increases when it's humid?" Which explains why I was so thirsty in the humid summers in Missouri, and why sweat was such an issue there. (See comment for more detail if you're interested.) (hide spoiler)]

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I think that I will reread Elf Dog and Owl Head because I only gave it three stars and a not well-written review. Iow, I think that I must have missed something.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Three stars, my own opinion, for The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams.

Not my kind of story at all. No map, though it is a tale of the Silk Road. Idiomatic English using cliches that should have been avoided even if they didn't jar... I guess the point is that jokes, word-play, etc. are universal... but they still seem wrong.

There is humor. And heart. And philosophy, author's note & bibliography, twist ending, illustrations. It's fine. I'm not sure why the Newbery committee likes it though. A global perspective I guess.

I do not like the cover though. Way too busy, takes time to parse and even then is odd & vibes something very different than the story. I opine the cover should be very simple. Take the silhouettes of the boy and the man from the chapter headings, put Samir's on the front, and the other on the back. I don't know the best colors - maybe dark red on sand. Let the potential reader be intrigued, not overwhelmed.

[Beverly, former Miscellaneous Club host]

I read three of these books and was not interested in the other three.
The Eyes & the Impossible
I liked this story and gave it 4 stars, but I didn't write a review. I did appreciate how the dog acted as the lookout (the eyes) for some of the other animals in the park.

Simon Sort of Says (5 stars)
I probably would have voted for this one for the award, rather than the title above. My review:
This story was a wonderful fusion of the hilarious with sobering reality. I was guffawing at scenes featuring a beer-drinking dog, the Jesus squirrel, the corpse on a road trip, Pretty Stabby the peacock, and more. Then there was the sobering reality of Simon (and his parents) having to deal with the aftermath of his trauma. The author skillfully wove all these different threads together to make a story that readers old and young alike will enjoy.

Elf Dog and Owl Head
I also gave this one 5 stars, and wrote a very brief review:
So glad that this book garnered a 2023 Newbery Honor! I loved the story, the characters, and the plot.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Thank you so much!

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I gave Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir three stars for my personal opinion. Not my kind of story, but I do feel amused and enlightened. I can definitely see the value. I had no idea border crossings were so hard/scary even back then. Some readers will love it, and more power to them. (There are a couple of bits that are kinda gross, though, so 'ware, and don't read while eating.)

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

As I anticipated, The Eyes & the Impossible is awfully literary. I don't know if it has broadly popular appeal, but those readers who do like it will probably enjoy reading more than once as they grow up. It's a fun adventure, but it's also poetical with resonant themes.

I love the art. Reproductions of masterpiece landscapes, with the dog Johannes added in, as the note at the end reveals.

And the note in the beginning is interesting. "This is a work of fiction. No places are real places. No animals are real animals. And, most crucially, no animals symbolize people...."

I love it when Johannes is seen as master of the goats and gets a chance to have an influence. "Henceforth, among your kind there will be no differentiation based on tiny deviations of physical form. There will be no snickering based on things like the sort of cross-stripes one of you has or doesn't have, or the direction one's fur goes, or the color of your eyes or hooves. Such behavior is an affront to the dignity of your species."

"Sometimes in this life so much depends on one friend simply saying, Yes, we must do this."

"She (the goat) really was one of my favorite creatures - a thing of rare grace and radical kindness."

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

Cheryl wrote: "I think that I will reread Elf Dog and Owl Head because I only gave it three stars and a not well-written review. Iow, I think that I must have missed something."

Well, I tried. Managed to get to p. 75 and put it down. Checked my review from last year and decided not to pick it up again.

[Cheryl, Host of Miscellaneous and Newbery Clubs]

I find myself still thinking about The Eyes & the Impossible. Sign of a good book.