Sunday Salon - Are You My Newbery - Final Update 2

This is it! The Newbery award winner and honor books will be officially announced tomorrow, January 18. The winner has already been chosen by the committee because they have to give it to the press to be ready for the early webcast.

The committee members had to read hundreds and hundreds of books chosen because they were published for children, ages birth - fourteen, in 2009. The books had to be written by an American resident or citizen and couldn't have been published anywhere else first.

Books I Read
I mostly read books that had received a starred review from one of the major review organizations. Since I'm not on the many publishing lists I didn't receive boxes and boxes of books to read. So, I found most of my books at the local library. If they didn't have them, I pretty much could not read them. So, here's my full list of books I read to try and find the Newbery.

1. Reality Check by Peter Abrahams
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
   
3. Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
4. The Red Blazer Girls by Michael Beil
5. Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen T Bernier-Grand
   
6. All the Broken Pieces by Ann E Burg
7. Wild Things by Clay Carmichael
8. Fire by Kristin Cashore
   
9. Happenstance Found by PW Catanese
10. Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko
11. Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
    
12. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
13. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
14. The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech
    
15. Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
16. Tropical Secrets by Margarita Engle
17. Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari
18. The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman
19. The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
20. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
    
21. Operation Redwood by S. Terrell French
22. Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
23. Jumped by Rita Williams Garcia
    
24. Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff
25. Forest Born by Shannon Hale
    
26. Emmaline and the Bunny by Katherine Hannigan
27. Scat by Carl Hiaasen
28. Claudette Colvin by Philip Hoose
29. Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
30. Pop by Gordon Korman
    
31. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
32. Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal
33. Wings by Jason Lethcoe
34. Where The Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
35. Crow Call by Lois Lowry
    
36. The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
37. Neil Armstrong is My Uncle by Nan Marino
38. Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass
    
39. The Small Adventures of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor
40. Heart of a Shepherd by Rosanne Parry
41. Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson
42. Notes From The Dog by Gary Paulsen
    
43. Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
44. Mostly True Adventures of Homer P Figg by Rodman Philbrick
45. SLOB by Ellen Potter
    
46. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
    
47. When The Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton
48. Mother Poems by Hope Anita Smith
    
49. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
50. Almost Astronauts by Tonya Lee Stone
    
51. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
52. Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
53. Perpetual Check by Richard Wallace
    
54. Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
55. Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem

I must say even if I haven't read the award winner, I've read quite a few marvelous books! Any one of these books would make a valuable addition to any school library! The list includes a variety of genres, picture books, MG books, and YA books. Something for everyone!

My Top Picks
I loved many of these books so choosing my top ten was very difficult. I tried to stick to the Newbery criteria of distinguished writing and quality presentation to children. So, in alphabetical order, these are my top 5 in terms of Newbery-ness:

1. Claudette Colvin by Philip Hoose
   
2. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LeFleur
3. The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon
4. When The Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton
5. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The books I marked in bold are ones I think more suited for the Printz award. My top picks for the Printz, in order of love, are:

1. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
2. Fire by Kristin Cashore
3. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X Stork
4. Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

So, there you have it. I'll come back after the announcements to update this post with the actual winners.

Update:
Newbery Award Winner - When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honors - Claudette Colvin, Where The Mountain Meets The Moon, The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P Figg, Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Printz Award Winner - Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Honors - Charles and Emma, Monstrumologist, Punkzilla, Tales of the Madmen Underground

I've got some reading to do...