We recently had our Mock Newbery, where we talk about what we think is the most distinguished book in children’s literature for the year. There were many books that we loved and talked about, and here are the ones that we picked for our winner and four honor books:
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
By Jonathan Auxier
This is a story of Nan Sparrow—a young girl who works as a chimney sweep. She has a hard life (as does many young children who risk their lives while in the name of cleaning chimneys in Victorian London). Life is dangerous and dreary. Yet one day everything changes when she discovers that the little piece of charcoal that she holds onto—which was given to her by The Sweep who raised her and then disappeared—is really a golem. She names him Charlie. Our Mock Newbery Committee especially loved how the setting was just as much of a character as Nan, Charlie, or any of the other boys were. Plus the way that the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience were sprinkled in just made the story all that more inspiring. This book won our hearts and our votes as our Mock Newbery winner.
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
By Leslie Connor
Mason Buttle is a kid who has dyslexia and also tends to sweat a lot. His best friend (Benny) tragically died a couple of years ago, and Mason has to keep combing through his memories of what happened as the police and other grownups keep trying to figure what happened. Mason is a character that we all fell in love with. He is genuinely caring, tells the truth, and is concerned about his friends—who he is fiercely loyal to. This was a difficult story due to the many hard and dark themes—but Mason was truly a beacon of hope in this tragic story.
The Journey of Little Charlie
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Curtis has done it again—he has created yet another powerful story. This book tells about the journey of Little Charlie as he goes north with Cap’n Buck in search of some “stolen property”. It turns out that the “property” is runaway slaves. Charlie has to figure out what he believes and what is right and wrong all while trying to survive the journey with Cap’n Buck. We really liked Charlie and how Curtis helped us think through such big issues right along with our protagonist.
Louisiana’s Way Home
By Kate DiCamillo
In this sequel to Raymie Nightingale we learn more about the lovable Louisiana Elefante. Louisiana’s grandmother is a bit paranoid—so it is no surprise that one night Granny wakes her up and they start driving away from their home. Only, it turns out that things get a little more desperate when Granny leaves (on purpose) Louisiana in a strange town where she doesn’t know anyone. Louisiana has to fend for herself and figure out how to get “home”. One of DiCamillo’s greatest strengths is in writing superb characters—and Louisiana is one of them. Louisiana and her story captured our hearts.
Front Desk
By Kelly Yang
Mia Tang has a lot of responsibilities. Her family lives and works in a motel—which means that often while her parents are helping to clean rooms Mia works the front desk. Since her family immigrated from China, there are a lot of things that Mia has to deal with—such as racism, learning the cultural ins and outs of her new country/school, and mastering written and oral language skills. Although there are a lot of deep issues tackled in this book, Yang’s characters are the type to bring warmth and humor to the text. We definitely cheered for this book when discussing it at our Mock Newbery.
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
By Jonathan Auxier
This is a story of Nan Sparrow—a young girl who works as a chimney sweep. She has a hard life (as does many young children who risk their lives while in the name of cleaning chimneys in Victorian London). Life is dangerous and dreary. Yet one day everything changes when she discovers that the little piece of charcoal that she holds onto—which was given to her by The Sweep who raised her and then disappeared—is really a golem. She names him Charlie. Our Mock Newbery Committee especially loved how the setting was just as much of a character as Nan, Charlie, or any of the other boys were. Plus the way that the Songs of Innocence and the Songs of Experience were sprinkled in just made the story all that more inspiring. This book won our hearts and our votes as our Mock Newbery winner.
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle
By Leslie Connor
Mason Buttle is a kid who has dyslexia and also tends to sweat a lot. His best friend (Benny) tragically died a couple of years ago, and Mason has to keep combing through his memories of what happened as the police and other grownups keep trying to figure what happened. Mason is a character that we all fell in love with. He is genuinely caring, tells the truth, and is concerned about his friends—who he is fiercely loyal to. This was a difficult story due to the many hard and dark themes—but Mason was truly a beacon of hope in this tragic story.
The Journey of Little Charlie
By Christopher Paul Curtis
Curtis has done it again—he has created yet another powerful story. This book tells about the journey of Little Charlie as he goes north with Cap’n Buck in search of some “stolen property”. It turns out that the “property” is runaway slaves. Charlie has to figure out what he believes and what is right and wrong all while trying to survive the journey with Cap’n Buck. We really liked Charlie and how Curtis helped us think through such big issues right along with our protagonist.
Louisiana’s Way Home
By Kate DiCamillo
In this sequel to Raymie Nightingale we learn more about the lovable Louisiana Elefante. Louisiana’s grandmother is a bit paranoid—so it is no surprise that one night Granny wakes her up and they start driving away from their home. Only, it turns out that things get a little more desperate when Granny leaves (on purpose) Louisiana in a strange town where she doesn’t know anyone. Louisiana has to fend for herself and figure out how to get “home”. One of DiCamillo’s greatest strengths is in writing superb characters—and Louisiana is one of them. Louisiana and her story captured our hearts.
Front Desk
By Kelly Yang
Mia Tang has a lot of responsibilities. Her family lives and works in a motel—which means that often while her parents are helping to clean rooms Mia works the front desk. Since her family immigrated from China, there are a lot of things that Mia has to deal with—such as racism, learning the cultural ins and outs of her new country/school, and mastering written and oral language skills. Although there are a lot of deep issues tackled in this book, Yang’s characters are the type to bring warmth and humor to the text. We definitely cheered for this book when discussing it at our Mock Newbery.
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