Gleanings from another Mock Newbery

The Ramapo Catskill Library system holds mock Newbery
and Prinz awards. Tiffany and I thought you might
like to see the lists and criteria.

CLOUSC
MOCK NEWBERY AWARD DISCUSSION BOOKS 2008
RCLS – January 7, 2007

Author Title Vote*


Babbitt, Natalie Jack Plank Tells Tales ______


Hest, Amy Remembering Mrs. Rossi ______


O’Connor, Barbara How to Steal a Dog ______

Pennypacker, Sara The Talented Clementine ______


Selznick, Brian The Invention of Hugo Cabret ______


Woodson, Jacqueline Feathers ______


*Vote for 3 titles only.
Mark “1” for first choice, “2” for second choice and
“3” for third choice.


MOCK PRINTZ AWARD DISCUSSION BOOKS
2008
RCLS – January 7, 2008

Author Title Vote*

Alexie, Sherman The Absolutely True _____
Diary of a Part Time Indian

Dowd, Siobhan A Swift Pure Cry _____

Downham, Jenny Before I Die _____

Hemphill, Stephanie Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse _____
Portrait of Sylvia Plath

Peet, Mal Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, _____
Passion And Betrayal


*Vote for 3 titles only.
Mark “1” for first choice, “2” for second choice and
“3” for third choice.

FROM PRINTZ AWARD “POLICIES AND PROCEDURES”
Voting Procedures
Members must be present to vote. Proxies will not be
accepted. Following discussion, balloting will begin.
Paper ballots will be used and tallied either by the
chair or her/his designee(s). On each ballot each
member will vote for her/his top three choices. First
choice receives four points; second choice receives
three points, and third choice receives two points.
Members are reminded that, at this point, they are
voting for the winner, NOT for honor titles. A
separate ballot will be conducted for honor titles. To
win, a title must receive five first-place votes and
must also receive at least five more points than the
second-place title. If no title meets these criteria
on the first ballot, any title receiving no votes is
removed from consideration and a period of discussion
of remaining titles follows. A second ballot is then
conducted. Balloting continues in this fashion until a
winner is declared.
Honor Books
All nominated titles are eligible for honor book
consideration. Following the selection of a winner, a
straw vote is conducted. Any title receiving no votes
is removed from consideration. A formal, weighted
ballot will follow. Based on the results of this
ballot, the committee will decide if it wishes to name
honor books and, if so, how many.

Author Gift

In honor of the World Series-
the Red Socks won- I am
reading _Mickey Mantle Day
in Amsterdam_ by Jim LaBate.

Jim does a fine job
of creating a seventh grade
character with a penchant for
baseball who has the grand
opportunity to play ball
with the great Mickey Mantle.

In a previous novella
_Let's Go Gaels_ Jim
writes a poignant work
that explores the pain
and complexities of a sibling's
death.

He gifted the novellas
to our group after hearing
about the "Very Good" Sticker.

A Find

Just finished reading _Tasting the Sky_
by Ibtisam Barakat.

A memoir of poetic proportions.
Must add it to our list.

Booking 10/27

_Parade of Shadows_
by Gloria Whelan
was a stunning read.

A _Mrs. Polifax_
mystery if one
has a bent for mysteries.

_Red Moon at Sharpsburg_
by Rosemary Wells
is a winner.

Let's hear your opinions
gang.

New Book Choice

October is upon us.

_The Invention of Hugo Cabret_
by Brian Selznick is the book of the month.
Great book and illustrations.

I'm also adding _Hope_
by Gretchen Olsen as the sixth book on the list.

Oops!

_In Search of Mockingbird_
by Loretta Ellsworth
has also been chosen for the list.

Sorry! Forgot to put it on.

New Book Choice

Added _Reaching for Sun_
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer.

A story in poems...

It is not currently in Mid-Hudson Library system.
But Betty Ann of the Saugerties Library borrowed
it as an Interlibrary Loan item for me.

God Bless her!

I ordered a copy from Amazon.
So, we can pass it around.

Books Options

_Or Not?_ by Brian Manabach. 10/1

_Remember As You Pass Me By_ by L. King Perez. 9/28

_Parade of Shadows_ by Gloria Whelan. 10/1

Jim and I are doing a book signing in Oct..
The Chronicle book fair will offer the opportunity to dialogue with other book groups.
I plan to attend and open the cyber space door to other folks who would like to join
our group.

Make our Mock Newbery top drawer.

New Year

We are off and running.
_Hitler's Canary_ is the September book
Think flavor of the month.

Getting raves from all the folks
who have read it.

Keep on booking!

Update

THE VERY GOOD STICKER:
(Mock Newberry)

I contacted Jennifer Roy by e-mail for her snail mail address.
She sent her response in a timely fashion.
So, our first “Very Good Sticker” award has been mailed.

Last year we tracked Nina’s Newbery as a role model.
This year the baton has been passed to Sharon in Oakland, CA.

Google: Sharon’s Mock Newbery:


Sharon’s preliminary list:

_Aurora County All-Stars_
Deborah Wiles

_Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree_
Lauren Tarshis

_Feathers_
Jacqueline Woodson

_Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!_
Laura Amy Schlitz
*NOT YET AVAILABLE

_How to Steal a Dog_
Barbara O’Connor

_In Search of a Mockingbird_ +
Loretta Ellsworth

_Kimchi and Calamari-
Rose Kent

_Miss Spitfire_
Sarah Miller

_The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World_
E L Koningsbury
*NOT YET AVAILABLE

-The Wednesday Wars_+
Gary D. Schmidt

_Way Down Deep_+
Ruth White

_Wild Girls_
Pat Murphy

I + marked the ones I’ll give a go after reading the summaries on the library website.


THE VERY GOOD STICKER LIST:

September: _Hitler’s Canary_ by Sandi Toksvig

October: _The Invention of Hugo Cabret_ by Brian Selznick

November: _Song of the Sparrow_ by Lisa Ann Sandel

The Naming of the "Very Good" Sticker: The Mock Newbery of the Catskill Mountains

Grace was about 6 years old when she asked me why some books have those circles on them. She had also asked recently, "Do adults get anything like Star Student for the week?"---a program at her school where the child recognized gets to wear a star pin. Telling her that Daddy has something called a performance review with his boss at work met with a blank look on her sweet little face. And I know how she feels, dreading the thought that someday she might outgrow candidacy for adult approval...so I tried to make those dazzling metallic discs---the Newbery, Caldecott, Prinz and National Book Award---sound as exciting to a first grader as they do to me and my fellow writers. I ended with "...and the books that are very good get the silver medal and the ones that are very very good get the gold." She sat right up, beaming, both dimples blazing, "Will your book have a Very Good Sticker?"
Your lips to God's ears!