Mock Newbery 2026 discussion

Kathi Appelt has written some distinguished literature in the past. Could Maybe a Fox win her another Newbery?

Would both authors share the medal?

This wasn't my favorite, but it was well-written. Some passages were especially lovely.

Kristen wrote: "Kathi Appelt has written some distinguished literature in the past. Could Maybe a Fox win her another Newbery?"

Maybe a Fox is wonderful. It definitely is a contender. I wish it was being promoted more heavily by the publisher. It is really under the radar where I live.

I listened to Maybe a Fox a few months back and enjoyed it, but it didn't stand out as the book. I may need to revisit it this fall.

If it was another year, I'd say this book certainly has a chance, but this year, there are so many great books, I think this one will fall short. Still one of my favorite books this year! This will be on my reread list too.

I am declaring 2016, "The Year of the Fox." Another beautiful, haunting, engaging story featuring a fox (PAX). Jules has suffered unimaginable losses in her short 11 years. A fox suddenly shows up and seems to have a message for her. The language of this book is exquisite. It is a wonderful resource for writers' craft. I love the idea "wishing rocks." I am going to look for one right now. I am totally on board for this book to be considered.

I thought the book was beautiful. It was beautifully written. It was sad and hopeful. It is not my favorite to win the Newberry, but definitely a contender...

Shari wrote: "I am declaring 2016, "The Year of the Fox." Another beautiful, haunting, engaging story featuring a fox (PAX). Jules has suffered unimaginable losses in her short 11 years. A fox suddenly shows up ..."

I love your declaration. I agree 100%. There are also a couple amazing picture books this year featuring a fox. The Little Prince film (featuring an awesome fox) should be released soon, too. I wish you luck in finding your magical rock.

Every book I am reading this year is blowing me away and Maybe a Fox is included with all the books I've read that has been published in 2016. The book is beautifully written--undeniable. I agree with a previous poster who said this could have been a winner in another year--probably not this year. Sad--it's such a good read.

I just finished Maybe a Fox. It started off very strong for me and ended strong. I got a little bored in the middle and felt like the book dragged a bit though. I will say thought that the writing is beautiful and the plot was very interesting. This is definitely a contender!

Does anyone know why the description says that it was originally published in 2014?

Amy wrote: "Does anyone know why the description says that it was originally published in 2014?"

It is an error. 2016 is the only year it was published.

The Kennen in Maybe a Fox reminded me of the animal Daemons in the Phillip Pullman books such as The Golden Compass. The soul links of people and animals are similar.

I was also interested in the rock collecting of Jules. Geology is not a science that I know much about. I don't know if it is a science that Vermont kids explore or whether students throughout the US are fascinated by rocks.

Maybe a Fox is not just another novel. It is beautifully crafted, moving, and universal. In my opinion, it is literature, and deserves to become a classic, whether it wins the Newbery or not.

Kate wrote: "The Kennen in Maybe a Fox reminded me of the animal Daemons in the Phillip Pullman books such as The Golden Compass. The soul links of people and animals are similar.

I was also interested in the..."

I think all kids are interested in rocks. I sure hope so.

I didn't really like "Maybe a Fox". I found it weird and just plain odd.
Nothing has compared to "Pax'.

This book was beautifully written and I love books where everything weaves together to form a great ending. The biggest thing that I couldn't get over was how incredibly sad the book was. I feel like I need to make sure that kids have a happy chaser book to follow this one when they leave the library. It is so well written and beautiful, I just don't know how many children will be able to take all the sadness and loss that comes with the story.

Katy wrote: "This book was beautifully written and I love books where everything weaves together to form a great ending. The biggest thing that I couldn't get over was how incredibly sad the book was. I feel li..."

What a lovely and considerate librarian. I wish you were around when I was growing up. I can rattle off at least 50 books from the top of my head that depressed me for months after reading them. How often I revisited them in my head. I still feel a pang in my heart when I see many of the books today. Most of them I experience on a daily basis because of my job. Perhaps the deep and raw emotions the writer evokes are a sign of quality literature.

Katy wrote: "This book was beautifully written and I love books where everything weaves together to form a great ending. The biggest thing that I couldn't get over was how incredibly sad the book was. I feel li..."

I think that experiencing sadness vicariously makes for more empathetic people who hopefully become resilient when the sadness is not from literature.

I adored Maybe a Fox. It is one of my favorites this year. The writing was so beautiful I simply couldn't put it down. However, I agree with others in that this is a tough year. I think Wolf Hollow is still my favorite to win... or maybe All Stand for the Honorable Perry T. Cook.

Marcie wrote: "Katy wrote: "This book was beautifully written and I love books where everything weaves together to form a great ending. The biggest thing that I couldn't get over was how incredibly sad the book w..."

Thanks Marcie. I know that I had also picked a large batch of new children's books that were all heartbreaking and sad so that did not help matters any!

Suzanne wrote: "I adored Maybe a Fox. It is one of my favorites this year. The writing was so beautiful I simply couldn't put it down. However, I agree with others in that this is a tough year. I think Wolf Hollow..."

I loved Wolf Hollow. I think that it did not help that I read Maybe a Fox, Wolf Hollow, Pax, and The Seventh Wish all back-to-back. So much sadness!

I am a couple of days removed from finishing Maybe a Fox, and I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. At times, I was completely into it, then it seemed to lose me here and there. Maybe it was the Kennen and the glimmering bars... Not sure. I did like how it came together at the end. Wolf Hollow is still my top choice right now.

http://revingsblog.blogspot.com/2016/...

The writing in this book is beautiful...so many passages where I stopped and thought, "Wow"! I enjoyed the characters, especially Jules and her dad (love the way her dad called her "Juley-Jules".) I did wish the author developed the characters of Sam and Elk further because I kept asking myself questions about them. There were a few parts of the story that dragged for me and of course it is terribly sad (seems I've been reading a lot of sad books lately). The ending is perfect and caught me by surprise. I really think children will like the ending and it "softens" the sadness of the book.

Loved it. One of my top favorites of the year!

I read this book a little while ago, shortly after it came out. To be honest, I don't remember as much about it as I feel I ought, since I read it all at once and very late at night. But I do remember the basic plot and I remember that I thought it was well-written and found it very emotionally powerful. I will have to give it another read before I can make an informed statement about its merit as a Newbery contender, but I definitely thought it was a fantastic book.

Feel like I need to reread this one. Beginning was hard to get into but love the storyline. Maybe an honor?

What are we reading in September?

I loved this book; I didn't read Pax that long ago and so I kept thinking about Pax the fox too as I read this one...although this one had more of a hopefulness to it for me. I thought the language was beautiful...I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.

I cried for just about the last 20 pages. Beautiful, heartbreaking, sweet, hopeful. I could go on and on. Loved this one. It's a little heavy for sure, but I think it's so important for kids to read about these kinds of things. It prepares you for loss, but gives you hope and certainly helps to teach you not to dwell on what you could or couldn't have done to save someone. Sometimes it just isn't within your control.

Wow! A beautifully written story about love, loss, and healing. The characters are well developed and full of true emotion. Jules feeling of guilt, her anger and her loneliness were all so very real. I could feel her rage at what happened when she returned to school. The ending made me cry (that does not often happen when I read)' but I felt at peace. I knew everything would be ok.

This is how it feels to lose someone you love. This is the what happens to help you live again. There is something deeply spiritual and personal about coming to terms with loss. The authors got. The readers will get it. Beautifully written and a strong Newbery contender.

This was a truly lovely story about loss. The two authors crafted a book that never felt hammered together; their woodland elegy felt steady and beautiful.

That said, I'm not sure how I feel about medal chances. At the end of the day, it's hard not to compare it to Pax, and in that comparison, it's hard not to notice how much fuller and heftier Pax felt. I wouldn't discount Maybe a Fox just yet, but it definitely doesn't seem to be a front runner.

I certainly liked this "fox" novel more than PAX: characters, setting, descriptions were more distinctively written and fully developed.

However, the plot had problems....too many characters were killed off in this book for the age of the intended audience (3rd/4th grade?). I don't think younger readers enjoy wallowing in grief the way that adult readers might. The point is that life can be snatched away willy-nilly, however energetically you may try to protect yourself and those you love? A hard lesson for a youngster. Reminds me of Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt. Too much!

Finally finished Maybe a Fox. Not sure if it was because I read Pax first, or what, but I really didn't care for the fox character in this story. I thought the expressions of grief where very heartfelt and realistic. The story will connect with some dealing with grief, but the fox part ruined things for me.

I also agree that it is super depressing!