Spotlight Friday - my Mock Caldecott long list... so far! 6.30.17

Time to get ready for the weekend!

Kick up your feet and find a good place to read.

Sharing #booklove for your classroom or library.

Spotlighting a book or two because these books deserve the spotlight!

We're about halfway through the year and before we know it the season of "Mock" will be here!  You know, when we read the current year's best of the best titles with students to try and figure out what will be presented at the Youth Media Awards next February!  I love sharing new titles with students, getting them to understand the award criteria and look deeper into these stories.

Today I'm sharing my Mock Caldecott long list... so far!


Wolf in the Snow
by Matthew Cordell


Tony 
written by Ed Galing
illustrated by Erin Stead


Little Fox in the Forest
by Stephanie Graegin


The Book of Mistakes
by Corinna Luyken


A Perfect Day 
by Lane Smith


The Rooster Who Would Not be Quiet
written by Carmen Agra Deedy
illustrated by Eugene Yelchin


This House, Once
by Deborah Freedman


Grand Canyon 
by Jason Chin


That Neighbor Kid
by Daniel Miyares


Claymates
written by Dev Petty
illustrated by Lauren Eldridge


La La La
written by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Jaime Kim

Flashlight Night
written by Matt Forrest Esenwine 
illustrated by Fred Koehler


Life
written by Cynthia Rylant
illustrated by Brendan Wenzel


After the Fall
by Dan Santat


The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
written by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Jon Klassen


Are you thinking about Mock Caldecott yet?  What books would you include on your long list?  Did I miss any titles - add them in the comments or tweet me (@knott_michele) of any missed titles!

Don't miss my other Mock posts!
Mock Newbery
Mock Sibert
Mock Geisel

My Mock Newbery long list... so far 6.29.17

We're about halfway through the year and before we know it the season of "Mock" will be here!  You know, when we read the current year's best of the best titles with students to try and figure out what will be presented at the Youth Media Awards next February!  I love sharing new titles with students, getting them to understand the award criteria and look deeper into these stories.

Mock Newbery is always so fun for me to do because it's the first time at our school that students choose to participate.  All of the grade levels participate in a Mock Geisel or Caldecott, but 4th graders choose to be in the Mock Newbery club.  They choose to read the books, they choose to meet with the group after lunch time.  Our club has grown but we've had over half of our 4th graders participate almost every year.

I always get excited to start reading books in the early half of the year, wondering what will be chosen by the actual Newbery committee.  When I look at books that make up our Mock Newbery list, I try to balance it with books that I think have a chance of winning the award (that are appropriate for 4th graders to read, since the Newbery Award is for literature that is appropriate for readers up to 14 years of age) and books that I think 4th graders will love (even if I'm pretty sure it won't win an award).  I believe the purpose of a Mock Newbery club is to expose students to amazing literature that will expand their love of reading while having in depth conversations about the books.  You'll also notice I include graphic novels and picture books, going with the trend of recent Newbery awards and honors.  Based off this list, it's going to be hard to come up with my final list this fall!  Here's my 2018 long list... so far...


The Ethan I Was Before
by Ali Standish


Amina's Voice
by Hena Khan


The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet
by Carmen Agra Deedy


York: The Shadow Cipher
by Laura Ruby


A Boy Called Bat
by Elana K. Arnold


Real Friends
by Shannon Hale


Three Pennies
by Melanie Crowder


Beyond the Bright Sea 
by Lauren Wolk



The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street
by Lindsay Currie


Wishtree
by Katherine Applegate


After the Fall
by Dan Santat


Lucky Broken Girl 
by Ruth Behar


Walking With Miss Millie
by Tamara Bundy



Orphan Island 
by Laurel Snyder


Moon Shadow
by Erin Downing

Are you thinking about Mock Newbery yet?  What books would you include on your long list?  Did I miss any titles - add them in the comments or tweet me (@knott_michele) of any missed titles!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - my Mock Sibert long list... so far 6.28.17

Every Wednesday I join Alyson Beecher from kidlitfrenzy and other

kidlit bloggers to share wonderful nonfiction picture books.

The intention of today's blog post is to give professionals that work in the
education field new nonfiction reading material and ideas to use 

with students to promote a love of reading nonfiction materials.

We're about halfway through the year and before we know it the season of "Mock" will be here!  You know, when we read the current year's best of the best titles with students to try and figure out what will be presented at the Youth Media Awards next February!  I love sharing new titles with students, getting them to understand the award criteria and look deeper into these stories.

Today I'm looking at nonfiction books the Sibert committee may be taking a look at.  One thing I will say about the Sibert Award - I wish it was split into age levels.  I think sometimes the nonfiction picture books don't get the same notoriety that the longer books do.  Because of the age I work with, I usually concentrate on the picture books.  You'll see that in my list.  I'll be looking at these books and more later this fall to make my Mock Sibert list:


The Youngest Marcher
by Cynthia Levinson


Two Truths and a Lie:  It's Alive!
by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson


Grace Hopper, Queen of Computer Code
by Laurie Hallmark


Balderdash!
by Michelle Markel


Grand Canyon
by Jason Chin


Soldier Song
by Debbie Levy


Can An Aardvark Bark 
by Melissa Stewart


Dazzle Ships
by Chris Barton
publishes Aug. 1st


Do you have any books that you think might be on the Sibert committee's long list?  Leave your ideas in the comments or tweet me (@knott_michele) a title!

#road2reading Challenge - my Mock Geisel long list... so far 6.27.17

All journeys have a starting place.

This is a weekly place to find books and tools 

that you may use with readers at the start of their reading journey.

Join in the conversation at #road2reading.

We're about halfway through the year and before we know it the season of "Mock" will be here!  You know, when we read the current year's best of the best titles with students to try and figure out what will be presented at the Youth Media Awards next February!  I love sharing new titles with students, getting them to understand the award criteria and look deeper into these stories.  

Today I'm looking at some titles that I have on my Mock Geisel long list.  These are books that the current Geisel committee may be taking a look at.  If you know anything about my past Mock Geisel history, you'll know I usually get one title right!  Not all of these titles will end up on our school's 2018 Mock Geisel list, but here are books we'll be thinking about this fall:


My Kite is Stuck! and Other Stories
by Salina Yoon


Noisy Night
by Mac Barnett


Egg
by Kevin Henkes


What's Your Favorite Favorite?
by Bob Shea


Snail and Worm Again
by Tina Kugler


Frankie
by Mary Sullivan


I Got a New Friend
by Karl Newsom Edwards


A Pig, A Fox and Stinky Socks
by Jonathan Fenske


The Good for Nothing Button
by Charise Mericle Harper


King and Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats
by Dori Hillestad Butler


What This Story Needs is a Clang and a Bang
by Emma Virjan


The Nuts: Keep Rolling! 
by Eric Litwin


Charlie and Mouse
by Laurel Snyder

What titles do you think the Geisel committee are looking at right now?  Leave book titles in the comments below or tweet them to me (@knott_michele).

Alyson has a great post about some of the books she found at ALA.

Want to talk about books for readers who are on the #road2reading?  Link up here!