Our first summer Mock Newbery 2014 Club meeting was so fun! I loved that we had a great turnout on this cloudy June day. We caught up with each other's summers so far. We all agreed that it is going too fast! Some kids have gone on great vacations, so we shared stories of those trips. I loved that everyone brought the books they were reading and have read, and many shared. Here are some books we talked about:
Lindsay and I LOVED this book and both gave it 5 stars!
Adam has this in his stack of library books. We are both looking forward to reading it!
Tyler read this one and said it was really funny. He gave us a summary on it, but no spoilers! :-)
Since I'm in the middle of this one, I shared it and made Ava really mad that I wouldn't give it to her yet. I knew she'd be excited about a new Wendy Mass book!
Quinn is reading this one. I was excited she was reading it because I wanted to hear if it has "kid appeal." I loved it, but I'm not sure if kids will. She'll let us know her final thoughts next month, I hope! Speaking of "kid appeal," Stephen suggested kid readers should be on the Newbery Committee. I agree!
This is another book I loved, but didn't know if kids would. Stephen is in the middle of it, gave a summary of it so far, and said he really liked it. He thought it might not appeal to all kids, but to kids who love reading, it would.
Maggie was excited about Clare Vanderpool because she's reading:
One of things we're doing is reading former Newbery Award winners and honors so we can determine what characteristics we think the Newbery committee is looking for. Maggie is enjoying this one.
Another former Newbery winner several kids have been reading and enjoying is:
I always recommend Okay For Now after kids get done with this one. It's a companion novel, and I like it even more than Wednesday Wars! That's saying a lot because I LOVED Wednesday Wars!
Other former Newbery books kids were reading or have read this summer include:
Lauren said she emotionally connected to the characters in this book!
Kaleigh is reading this one. This was one of my favorites when I was in fifth or sixth grade!
Here are some more 2013 books we discussed:
Calynn told us about this one, and I think it sounds great! The reviews are terrific.
We liked the title of this one!
Cassandra brought along these two - Lauren read Rump, too.
Jackson read this one, and Emma is reading it. It's about a boy who stutters. I'm looking forward to reading it.
At the very end, I shared this one - it hasn't come out yet (September), but I got it from Kate Messner, and it's signed to our class!! I really liked it - it's science fiction, creepy, and exciting!
I finished this one on vacation and LOVED it. I want all of you to read it!
We talked about some other books that aren't 2013 OR Newbery books, but that's ok. Whenever we get together, we can talk about ANY books! Abby F. is rereading Harry Potter. It's one of those masterpieces that never won the Newbery, but we all love it anyway, right? I've always wanted to reread the whole series. Maybe one day...
Abby M. told us about:
Sorry if I missed talking about a book or one of you. If I did, comment below and remind me! It was so much fun to talk to all of you! I can't wait until July! Keep reading! I will e-mail you soon about a July date. Keep writing reviews in your booklets. You don't want to forget about the books you read.
Happy reading and thanks so much for coming today! Thank you, parents, for bringing your kids! I know it's such a busy time. We missed all of you who couldn't make it, but we hope to see you in July. :-)
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