Newbery Challenge

I love children's books. This should come as no surprise if you follow me on here, twitter, or goodreads. From a very early age, my mom taught me to look for children's books with giant foil stickers on the cover to find the best of the best. That's stuck with me for a really long time.

My co-workers and I had our own Mock Newbery discussion (mentioned here) and it is my dream to serve on the Newbery or Printz selection committee someday.

The other day I found a Newbery book I haven't yet read on audiobook and decided to check it out. I decided it'd be a fun challenge to read every Newbery award winning book since the year I was born. I figure it'll take 5-6 years to get through them all, and I plan to read all the future winners, so 5 books a year doesn't sound too difficult.

Without further adeiu, here's the list:

2014	Flora and Ulysses		Kate DiCamillo--Oct. 13
2013	The One and Only Ivan		Katherine Applegate--Jan. 13
2012	Dead End in Norvelt		Jack Gantos
2011	Moon Over Manifest		Clare Vanderpool
2010	When You Reach Me		Rebecca Stead--Jun. 12
2009	The Graveyard Book		Neil Gaiman
2008	Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!		Laura Amy Schlitz
2007	The Higher Power of Lucky		Susan Patron
2006	Criss Cross		Lynne Rae Perkins
2005	Kira-Kira		Cynthia Kadohata
2004	The Tale of Despereaux		Kate DiCamillo--Apr. 07
2003	Crispin: The Cross of Lead		Avi
2002	A Single Shard		Linda Sue Park--Jun. 12
2001	A Year Down Yonder		Richard Peck
2000	Bud, Not Buddy		Christopher Paul Curtis
1999	Holes		Louis Sachar
1998	Out of the Dust		Karen Hesse
1997	The View from Saturday		E.L. Konigsburg
1996	The Midwife's Apprentice		Karen Cushman
1995	Walk Two Moons		Sharon Creech
1994	The Giver		Lois Lowry--1994
1993	Missing May		Cynthia Rylant
1992	Shiloh		Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
1991	Maniac Magee		Jerry Spinelli
1990	Number the Stars		Lois Lowry--1995
1989	Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices		Paul Fleischman
1988	Lincoln: A Photobiography		Russell Freedman
1987	The Whipping Boy		Sid Fleischman
1986	Sarah, Plain and Tall		Patricia MacLachlan--Jun. 12
1985	The Hero and the Crown		Robin McKinley
1984	Dear Mr. Henshaw		Beverly Cleary
1983	Dicey's Song		Cynthia Voigt

Let me know if you want to join in! I'll be making a separate page to chronicle my progress!

Classics on Audiobook

I like to listen to audiobooks while I'm driving. My commute to work is only about 15-20 minutes, but it still helps me pass the time (I hate driving). Last month, I decided to throw in a classic book in to the listening rotation and listened to The Great Gatsby. Most people see that I work in a library and assume I've read every classic book there is. Spoiler alert: not true. I've only read a handful. I figured this would be a great way to get more classics in.

Let me know which classics (and who narrated them) I should listen to in the comments. The narration is so so so important to me. I don't know how many books I've stopped listening to and decided to just pick up the print version because I can't handle the narrator.

And speaking of great narrators and audiobooks, I just finished Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan, comedian, narrated by Jim Gaffigan, and it's just hilarious. Seriously LOL funny.

My rating: 4 stars.

I have The Lord of the Flies waiting on standby as well as The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

I'm also planning on supplementing my listening by throwing in some past Newbery award winning audiobooks, so feel free to throw those in as suggestions too!

Weekly Reads: When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me was the Newbery Award winner for 2010. The book group I lead at the library, Young @ Heart <3, read it for our meeting last week. It was a re-read for me, I read it in 2011, and I loved it just as much as I loved it then. I recall reading it the first time and saying it was on par with The Giver for extraordinary children's books IMO. When You Reach Me has a ton of references to A Wrinkle in Time, which I was obsessed with when I was a kid. I actually listened to A Wrinkle in Time on audiobook while reading When You Reach Me. Interesting book coupling there. :)

My Rating: ***** (still)

Summary from Goodreads:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: 

I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.
I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.