It's been a busy fall, and my focus has been on the Newbery Medal. I've had the pleasure of working collaboratively with the children's librarian from our town on a Mock Newbery Book Club. We believe it is the first Mock Newbery program in the state of Maine.
The book club was open to students in grades 3-6, and we had close to 50 students take part in the program. Louise is on the 2011 Newbery Committee, and the Mock Newbery Book Club was her idea. She wanted to find a way to share the excitement of the Newbery Medal with the community. Louise and I read widely over the year, and we created three Mock Newbery reading lists. Louise read hundreds of 2010 titles. I read about 70 titles from 2010, and I also read hundreds of reviews and followed Mock Newbery discussions on Good Reads as well as other Mock Newbery Blogs.
Each month, students in the book club read at least two books from the reading list. The book club met after school each month from October through December. One challenge was the size of the group. Louise and I split the group in two, and we each met with one smaller group. We had 25 students in a group, which was too large making it difficult to have in-depth conversations about the titles. Fortunately, the assistant librarian at school was really interested in the book club. She volunteered to stay after school and helped facilitate a group which brought the size of the discussion groups down to about 15.
Plummer-Motz Library web site
Another challenge was finding enough copies of books to satisfy the reading habits of 50 enthusiastic readers. Louise and I attended the ALA Annual Conference in DC, so we had a number of ARCs. I used book fair money to purchase copies of some of the books, and we encouraged families to use interlibrary loan at the public library. If we run this program next year, I'll need to set aside some library funds to purchase multiple copies of each title on the list.
Falmouth Memorial Library's Mock Newbery Blog
Just before our final book club meeting in December, students had the opportunity to nominate their favorite books for the Top Ten List. Here is the list in alphabetical order with my two cents about why the book was nominated by students.
The Candymakers by Wendy Mass (Kids loved that the story was told from different characters' points of view. The idea of kids in a candy factory is also intriguing to the under 14 set.)
Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Members really connected to Franny, and they loved the documentary aspect of the novel.)
Keeper by Kathi Appelt (Who doesn't love a mermaid story? Kids were mesmerized and loved the surprise ending.)
Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer (Students were in awe of Singer's ability to write poems that made sense forward and backward and told two points of view.)
A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole (Mice stories tend to be popular with middle readers, and Celeste lived up to readers' expectations. Our 3rd and 4th grades study John James Audubon, so many readers had background knowledge which made it an interesting read.)
Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (This book has struck a chord with many readers in our school. Students really felt a sense of empathy for Melody after being "in her head." Whenever students stopped by the library to return the book, they would stay and chat about what it meant to them.)
Sparky: The Life and Art of Charles Schulz by Beverly Gherman (Kids loved finding out how The Peanuts started. Charlie Brown and Snoopy are still popular with kids today, and the text was really accessible to kids.)
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger (This title is a favorite of middle grade readers. It's such a unique book which is in tune to real kids, and students love creating their own Yodas.)
Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord (Maine author, Maine setting- Kids in Maine enjoyed the story!)
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm (The boys in our group liked this book as much as the girls. One boy told the group that it's a great book, but don't judge it by its cover. Typically a cover with a girl standing on a beach holding a starfish does not scream out to boy readers, but word got around fast that this was a great book. The Diaper Gang was a big hit with boy and girl readers, and kids love any books with buried treasure.)
On January 3rd, our Mock Newbery Book Club members will be honored at a school-wide assembly. A passage from each book will be shared by guest readers from the community, and then members will vote. I can't wait to see which book wins!
