Newbery Project Update

Today I'm giving you a quick update on the Newbery Award & Honoree titles I've read and listened to recently!

If you're new to TST and don't yet know about my Newbery Project, you can read about it here. My goal is to read all of the Newbery books -- including both award-winners and honorees, and to check them off the list as I go. You can see the list at any time by clicking the My Newbery Project tab on the TST homepage.

I had every intention of making great headway with these books over the summer but I ended up only reading four titles since my last update! In October, I'm hoping to pick out a few that fit my fall reading mood, such as Neil Gaiman's Coraline. If you head over to my Instagram page today, you can help me decide which Newbery book to read next! I've selected four titles for readers to choose from -- I would love to hear your vote!

Savvy by Ingrid Law // I read this early in the summer and loved it. It wasn't necessarily a unique premise -- a child waiting to reach the age when she'd inherit her own magical power -- but the cast of characters was so fun and the adventure kept me turning pages. I love the quirky world that Law has built, and I'm hoping to read the next two in the series soon!

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage // Again, this cast of characters totally captured my heart. I absolutely loved this story. It features characters with real social issues such as abandonment, domestic abuse, etc. but doesn't make them the central issue in the book. In it, our main character is an amateur detective for her tiny hometown, the setting of which had me totally charmed. I would definitely recommend this to middle grade readers. My friend Sara, who writes about books over at Meaningful Madness, kindly sent me the next two in the series, so I can't wait to continue the adventures with this crew!

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman // If you're looking for a fun, spooky story to listen to with your kids this fall (or to listen to for yourself), I would highly recommend the audiobook version of The Graveyard Book. It's read by Gaiman himself and wonderfully done. One of the best audiobooks I've listened to, in fact. The story features a human boy who lives in a graveyard among the spirits who took him in as an infant. There are nefarious villains, themes of identity, and Gaiman does an excellent job of voicing the different characters.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale // This was my least favorite book that I've read for my Newbery Project so far, which is disappointing because I had especially high hopes for it. I listened to it on audiobook and though it started off on an interesting note, the majority of it felt like the plot was dragging, the characters weren't very interesting, and the overall impression I got from it was that it felt a little desperate. More than once, I questioned how this book even ended up on the Newbery List. I've had a few readers tell me that Hale's other books are worth checking out, so I'll pick up another one eventually, but I'm not feeling too motivated after this experience.

Newbery Project Update

I'm the type of person who is always taking on a new challenge, whether it's fitness, food, or book-related, I love working towards new goals. Which is why I'm really loving My Newbery Project, as it's helping me to refocus my children's literature brain on quality books that stand the test of time. I thought I'd update you on the progress I've made so far in 2017.

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

I love the characters in this book -- Claudia's sass and Jamie's imagination spurred me quickly through the story. This would be a great one for an elementary book club discussion.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

This has been my favorite so far. I listened to it on audio and Woodson narrates it herself. It's a novel in verse so it's a quick read, but I would absolutely recommend it for both children and adults.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

I really struggled with the first half of this book. It felt scattered and I was so disoriented that I considered putting it down and calling it a loss. So I took a few days off from it and came back with a firm goal of getting to the end. I'm so glad I did, because the ending made this book for me. I thought to myself, Oh, now I get it. I can't see myself recommending this to many students to read independently, but the lessons embedded within are so very important that I would love to lead a student book club in reading this. Now that I've reached the end I think I'd like to re-read it, just to have a clearer picture of the threads that Barnhill was weaving from the very beginning.

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

We read this for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, and I loved it. That didn't surprise me though, because I'd read Jefferson's Sons before it and adored that one as well. Some of the best historical fiction in middle grade comes from Brubaker Bradley. I can't wait for the sequel to this one, coming out this August.

On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer

Not my favorite. This book dealt with tragedy in a way that felt shallow to me and in the end I felt really surprised that it even made it onto the honors list.

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I'm currently working on crafting the list of Newbery titles I'd like to tackle this summer, so if you have a favorite that you think I absolutely must read ASAP, leave a comment or send me a message!

My Newbery Project

One of my lifetime goals as a reader is to tackle the Newbery Medal Award Winners and Honor Books list. I recently went back through the archives of the American Library Association (ALA) to see how many of the books I've actually read. As it turns out, that number is not nearly as high as I thought.

I read quite a bit of children's literature, but when making this list to feature here on Top Shelf Text, I realized that I really haven't read many of these acclaimed books. As an educator and a children's literature fanatic, I want to be both a reader and an advocate of quality children's literature. Which means that I need to step up my game and get to it.

I'm posting the list of winners here (on the bar above, click My Newbery Project to find the page) for a quick reference guide for myself and for other readers who might want to follow along as I tackle this (rather long list). Because the full list of winners from 1922-Present features so. many. titles., I am starting with a shortened version featuring the award winners & honor books from the 1970's up to now. For each year 2017-1970, you'll find the title and author, and for those I've crossed off my to-read list, you'll also find the year in which I read the book.

Many of these books are ones that I read as a child, but in many cases I don't remember more than a few details about the books. I want to tackle the full list now as an adult, so that I can make better recommendations to both my students and readers of my blog. I won't be reviewing all of them, but I may post an occasional update with some thoughts as I continue to check off titles on the list.

How long will this project take me? Years. That's for sure. Will I ever check off every single title? I hope so, but who knows. Above my desk I have a framed print that says "The joy is in the journey," and that's the attitude I'm choosing to have when it comes to this project.

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Have you ever completed a reading challenge? Tell me about it!