Mock Awards

Once again the children's librarians in my system gathered together to discuss the best books of 2014 and try and predict which books would win the prestigious Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz awards. Here are the books that we loved:

Mock Caldecott:

Medal:  
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassan
Sam and Dave are sure they will discover something exciting if they just keep digging their hole.  Little do they realize that as they dig, they are constantly just missing the treasures that they search for.  As with so many book illustrated by Jon Klassan, the pictures in this book tell a whole other side of the story that is never mentioned in the book's text.

Honors:   
Where's Mommy by Beverly Donofrio, illustrated by Barbara McKlintock
Draw! by Raúl Colón

Mock Newbery:

Medal:   
The Night Gardener by John Auxilier
Irish orphans Molly, fourteen, and Kip, ten, travel to England to work as servants in a crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be, and soon the siblings are confronted by a mysterious stranger and secrets of the cursed house.  This book is not only creepy, but is also characterized by superb storytelling.  All subplots are woven together seamlessly, and it's fascinating how the horror elements Besides, don't you think that a shiny Newbery Medal would just look lovely on this cover?

Honors:   
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Mock Printz:


Medal:   
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Born with bird wings, Ava Lavender is well aware that love has long made fools of her family. When pious Nathaniel Sorrows mistakes her bird wings for angel wings, 16-year-old Ava faces the man's growing obsession, which comes to a head with the rain and feathers that fly through the air during a nighttime summer solstice celebration.  Lyrical prose makes this work of magical realism come to life.

Honors:   
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 

Mock Awards 2013

Every year my new library system does a Mock Awards day, where children's librarians from throughout the system gather to discuss the best books of the year.  Using a weighted scale, we then vote for our favorite three books in each category in an attempt to predict the upcoming winners of the Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz Medals.

Here's how our Mock Awards program worked:

Any children's librarian in the system could nominate any books she/he felt was worthy in any category.  In November a small committee of librarians, myself included, looked at the nominations and selected the 37 books that we would consider on the day of the Mock Awards program.  The 37 books broke down as follows:

20 Picture Books
11 Chapter Books
6 Young Adult Books

The books and participating librarians were then divided into five groups, with each group assigned four picture books, two chapter books, and one YA novel.  A third chapter book and a second YA novel were each assigned, one each to two different groups, due to their brevity.  It was most important that each librarian be sure to read the books assigned to his/her group, but we were encouraged to take a look at all books if we could. 

On the day of the Mock Awards program our groups met and, one category at a time, spent 15-20 minutes discussing the books assigned to our group.  We started with the picture books nominated for the Mock Caldecott category.  After discussion we then went around the room.  Each group, generally assigning a spokesperson to do so, would then share what they loved about the books they were assigned.  After hearing about each book, everyone then voted via written ballot for their first, second, and third place picks for the Caldecott award.  We then all moved on to the next award and repeated the process.

When the votes were counted, each first place vote was weighted with four points.  Second place votes received three points, and third place votes received two points.  At the end of the day the votes were tallied and the winners announced.  We named the first place vote-getter the "Mock Medal" winner, and the second and third place finishers as "Mock Honor" winners.  Since the third and fourth place finishers in this year's Caldecott group were separated by only a single point we named a third "Mock Honor" in this category.

All in all, we finished this program in a little under four hours, which included a short break period for lunch.

Here are the winners we selected in each category:

Mock Caldecott:

More by I.C. Springman, illustrated by Brian Lies
A magpie hordes away more and more little objects in his nest.  But when does it become too much?  This book has very little in the way of text - only 44 words in total - and the story is really carried by Brian Lies' lovely illustrations.  There are so many little details to look at that readers can spend a long time getting lost in the pictures.  How could I possibly forget to include this book in my list of Picture Book Picks from 2012?  It's a real winner.

Honor Books:
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohman
Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Extra Yarn by Marc Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen


Mock Newbery:

Wonder by R. A. Palacio
This book tells the story of a boy born with a facial deformity.  When he decides to go to school for the first time when he begins the fifth grade, Augie finds that the transition is full of ups and downs.  Despite Augie's struggles, he does make friends and touches the lives of those around him.  Not only is this a great story about a boy with a serious medical condition, but it is also wonderful school story dealing with some of the pitfalls of middle school - bullying, friendship, and fitting in.  This book seems to be everybody's favorite this year, and it easily took the first place spot in our Mock Newbery voting as well.  But will it come home with the big prize in a few weeks?  Only time will tell.

Honor Books:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
The Lions of Little Rock by Kristen Levine



Mock Printz:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
When her plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France, Julie is captured by the Gestapo.  Desperate to end her torture, she tells the enemy what they want to know so that she will survive.  But also contained in Julie's tale is the story of Maddie, the pilot who got her into France and who became her friend under these extraordinary circumstances.  This book is a powerful tale of friendship and courage that will appeal to both adults and teens.  Personally, I will be sorely disappointed if Code Name Verity doesn't walk away with the Printz Award this year as we predicted.  Awesome writing, fascinating historical setting, and strong female characters make this an easy book to love. 

Honor Books:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The House of the Scorpion

Nearly 200 years in the future, a strip of land between the United States and Mexico has become its own nation known as Opium, ruled over by the powerful drug lord Matteo Alacrán. Alacrán is nearly 150 years old, having taken advantage of a number of elaborate medical treatments to prolong his life. One this old man's most powerful allies can be found in his clone, the young Matt. As a clone, Matt is despised by almost everyone else, treated like a piece of livestock and completely avoided by all but a few members of the elder Matteo Alacrán's household. Matt is unsure why he is treated this way, but over time he slowly comes to realize that clones are simply tools from which body parts are harvested, and with the elder Alacrán's failing health Matt's turn to be harvested may be coming soon. With the help of his few friends, 14-year-old Matt must make his escape and try to make his own way in a dangerous world of corruption and hardship.

This engaging piece of science fiction, written by renowned author Nancy Farmer, looks at the issue of cloning and the ethics surrounding this practice. Matt's naivete allows the mystery surronding what he is to unfold slowly, and while the reader is likely to put the pieces together long before Matt does, his own journey and growth in understanding is brilliantly paced. This book is a well-conceived and perfectly executed dramatic adventure which has won numerous awards for its excellence, including the National Book Award, the Newbery Honor, and the Printz Honor.

Overall Grade: A

An Abundance of Katherines

John Green is kind of a big deal in the world of teen lit. In his Printz Honor-winning novel An Abundance of Katherines we are introduced to Colin Singleton, recent high school graduate and former child prodigy, who has just been dumped for the 19th time by a girl named Katherine. To help him get over this latest dating disaster, Colin's friend Hassan takes him on a road trip. The two end up in the tiny town of Gutshot, Tennessee where they meet and become friends with Lindsey Lee Wells, a girl who tries her hardest to become what other people expect in order to remain popular. Colin and Hassan stay with Lindsey and her mother for the summer, taking jobs collecting local oral history samples. During this time, Colin tries to come up with a mathematical formula to explain his terrible luck with girls and predict the outcome of any other future relationship, desperately hoping that this formula will finally allow him to truly matter to the world.

Yes, the premise of this story is a little wacky. But if you can get past the unlikelihood of a boy having dated so many girls all with the same name, the novel is absolutely amazing. Laugh-aloud hilarious at parts, but full of coming-of-age sincerity at others. This is really a story about love, heartbreak and how we all strive to make a difference and "matter" to the rest of the world.

I actually listened to this as an audiobook. Jeff Woodman narrates the story, and he does a great job to providing each of the main characters with different voices and narrating with honest enthusiasm. The final chapters of this book are particularly philosophical, however, and I do kind of wish that I had been able to read the end of the book to better absorb some of this philosophy instead of listening to it straight though. But overall, a highly enjoyable book to hear aloud.

Overall Grade: A+