Are You My Newbery - Who They Picked - Final Update 1

My search is almost over. On Monday, January 18, 2010 at 7:45am the ALA will announce the Newbery Award winner, along with other Youth Media awards. Tune in to the live ALA Webcast to follow along.

I was involved in a few organization's Mock Newbery clubs and I want to share their results with you.

Allen County Public Library - ACPL Mock Newbery
The ACPL Mock Newbery held it's final discussions and votes on January 9. Kris, from St. Joseph County Public Library, and I traveled for two hours to get there. Each participant was allowed to pick one book to champion and two back-up books. Throughout the year, Mary Voors had posted summaries of books she thought would be eligible for the Newbery. You then commented on the post. She posted a total of 4 short lists with the final list containing 45 books. I read 32 of those books in time for the discussion.

ACPL Mock Newbery winner - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honors - Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

Discovery Middle School Teacher Mock Newbery
A handful of the coolest middle school teachers around read from a list of 19 books that I chose. Our club's focus included finding books that may be added to a classroom library as well as books that would compliment the curriculum. Two of the books were the latest books by Katherine Paterson and Gary Paulsen, whose books are read by many of the 6th grade students. Our vote was extremely close and unfortunately, due to lack of time, we were not able to cast new ballots to get a clear winner.

DMS Mock Newbery top books in alphabetical order:

• All The Broken Pieces by Ann Burg
  
• Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
• When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton

St. Joseph County Public Library - SJCPL Mock Newbery
This was the only club I participated in that included students. I assisted Kris Springer, the Children's Department manager for all SJCPL branches. Kris has been doing this for a few years but this was my first time participating. There were around 25 students from ages 9 - 14 (oldest you can be to participate). The students included a mix of boys/girls and private/home/public school members. It was quite the lively crowd. Any librarian would kill for a group like this! These students had a list of 18 core books plus extra books for a total of 95 (or so) books. Kris ran the club very similar to the real Newbery committee and the students met over two days to finalize their votes from a list of 20 nominated books.

SJCPL Mock Newbery winner - The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
Honor books - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Stewart
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

In the meantime, I've pretty much wrapped up my reading and moved on to other books until I pick up the search for next year's book sometime in late Feb/early Mar. I'll post my predictions during Sunday Salon.