Mock Newbery 2026 discussion

Is it to early to get started? NEVER!
Many have commented on the watch list thread...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

...that this is a book worth reading.

The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis

So in the interest of time we will just skip the voting and get to the fun stuff.

What did you think of it?

Okay...it's early...but man, Curtis has set the bar HIGH! Hard to imagine a better Newbery than this one....https://revingsblog.blogspot.com/2018...

This book actually doesn't have a publication date until March 2018. If you are interested in buying the paperback book for $4, it is being sold through Scholastic. This book was at my bookfair, so I bought it in January. I just looked up the book, and you can order it.

Czechgirl wrote: "This book actually doesn't have a publication date until March 2018. If you are interested in buying the paperback book for $4, it is being sold through Scholastic. This book was at my bookfair, so..."

The Journey of Little Charlie was released January 30. I put it on the bookstore shelves myself :)

Laura wrote: "Czechgirl wrote: "This book actually doesn't have a publication date until March 2018. If you are interested in buying the paperback book for $4, it is being sold through Scholastic. This book was ..."

I didn't know that. I was just going by the Goodreads release date.

Just started reading THE JOURNEY OF LITTLE CHARLIE. Is there a poll for the March book yet?

I vote for The Heart and Mind of Frances Pauley.

This was an easy read as far as interest level goes. This story drew me in immediately. However, the content was not as easy to read. It tells the true horror of slave-catching and the dangers that lurk with them. It brought in some history I was not quite aware of, but makes sense. If you were an escaped slave, the northern states didn't necessarily support your freedom. You had to carry documents showing you were a freed slave, which made the migration to Canada so much more important to escaped slaves. I was not aware of the laws in Canada protecting escaped slaves. Good for Canada. The dialect in the story shows Curtis' writing talent, but is hard to read at times--Very thick dialect.

I just finished The Journey of Little Charlie. I had an incredibly hard time getting past the thick southern narrative, and it almost ruined the entire book for me. (When I have to focus on understanding the text itself, it takes me out of the moment and my interest wanes.) I was pretty involved during the last third, though, so I felt my earlier frustrations were nullified.

I still don't think I would want to read this one again, and to me that means it's not quite Newbery-worthy. I liked the plot well enough and I'm fond of Christopher Paul Curtis -I'm just so stuck on the writing style.

The dialect in THE JOURNEY OF LITTLE CHARLIE made this a slow read. The brutality of slave catching also gave the book difficult context. But the narrative is completely engrossing. The story shows how both white and black characters were victimized by plantation owners in the antebellum south.
I agree with those who say it will be difficult for other Newbery contenders to rise to this level.

Just finished this book, and once again, Christopher Paul Curtis has written a powerful story. I was swept into another time and place in history and had a hard time tearing myself away from the book. Little Charlie’s character development and emergence as a young man of strength and conviction was inspiring. In some ways, this book reminded me of “Some Kind of Courage” - another great title in recent years. This book is certainly Honor worthy.

It took me a bit to get into this one. I think it was due to it being an eARC with dialect. However, the setting and language was so vivid. Charlie is a character that you don't just read you feel. I was impressed with how Curtis wove the story together and kept it real at the same time. I also like how Charlie progresses in his understanding of racism, violence, and how he will respond to both. He is not up to today's standards but it feels like he will get there.

This is a fine replacement for Twain and other books where the n-word and the attitudes that go with it can be far too overwhelming and potentially do more harm than good. It is definitely a contender.

The Journey of Little Charlie is captivating. Yes, it is written in heavy dialect. Yes, it exposes some pretty gruesome history. But Charlie Bobo is the sort of reluctant hero we all need to read about and embrace. This is a hard book to read, and at times it reminded me of Twelve Years a Slave. I almost put it down. I am so glad I continued reading. I hope teachers choose to read this book to their students. It needs room for thinking, questions and discussion. It is very much worthy of the Newbery Medal has n my humble opinion. Do not overlook the great author’s note in the end. It wraps everything up in style. Well done, Christopher Paul Curtis!

Yes! I agree. Yes, at first I had t adjust to the dialect but then it was not a problem at all. The story is incredible and to be able to walk with Charlie through his moral struggle. Memorable character and story.

I'm behind schedule here, (I only just finished this book last night) but I figured I'd weigh in anyway. I think this book is definitely a Newbery contender. It's interesting, it features memorable characters, it's well-written, (once you adjust to the dialect) and the moral dillemma and historical context open doors for a lot of discussion and further learning. It's too early in the year for me to start throwing around comparative phrases like "[one of the] best of the year", but I have high expectations for this book.

I listened to the audio version, which I highly recommend. At the conclusion of the book Christopher Paul Curtis speaks in his deep voice the notes he includes at the end.
I taught my 35 year teaching career in the Sandhills and Mountains of North Carolina so I was familiar with most of the dialect.

This is a wonderful work of Historical Fiction.

Just read and think it is outstanding. My review here.

I almost gave up and switched to the audiobook because of the dialect, but it did calm down some over time. Overall, I found it gripping and traumatizing. But I don't think Charlie's character arc really worked for me. He doesn't start out particularly pro-slavery--he has to be forced to go and the main point of the first half is that he doesn't understand that they're going to retrieve slaves. But then he doesn't have that much of a reaction when he finds out that's what they are doing and keeps talking about them as thieves sometimes after that. So I didn't understand why he kept going with the Cap'n, especially once he found out his mom was dead. And then the climax is surely helping Syl, but he's still having trouble deciding whether to free his parents or not? I was actually really confused on that point. I thought he was going back specifically to free them, but then it wasn't clear to me if he had already decided or if it wasn't until they told him the sheriff was plotting against him that he decided. So since I didn't understand his choices and motivations a lot of the time, I wasn't totally clear on how his attitudes and character actually were changing (or not).

I was so sure I would love this book. I am a huge Christopher Paul Curtis fan. The Journey of Little Charlie was disappointing to say the least. Even the cover art is misleading. It gives you the impression that it is about two boys who are traveling together. They do at the very end. Maybe 4 pages worth. Traveling is an overstatement. Mostly they are on a train together. The book was not a fun read. I doubt children will enjoy it. There is sadness and abuse or at least the threat of it throughout. In animal and human form. Some of the abuse is actually explained so you know exactly what it is and how it is done. No thanks. I could have done without the details. I can't think of a joyous moment or any feeling of real happiness. In the beginning you think it may be a boy and his loyal dog story. That sweet premise ends rather abruptly. Or a story about a boy and his parents. Same deal. Or a boy and his widowed mom. Nope. The dialect didn't add anything to the story. Just because you are poor doesn't mean you can't speak well. Or at least better than was portrayed in the book. Maybe one or two Southern dialects could have been used that weren't so demeaning. I wonder how Southern readers will feel about it. I will say it was a pretty quick read. Mostly because you want some relief for Charlie. Relief that never really comes. Even when he decides to do the right thing at the end, he is horribly beaten and nearly killed. Worse yet, the author "tells" the ending instead of "shows". One of the worst crimes in writing. Instead of a surprise or happy freeing of the husband and wife escaped slaves, every step of the way is spelled out. Little Charlie even requests they don't kill him because he is bringing them to a blacksmith to take off their chains. Then he tells them they are going to get into a boat and go to Canada...and that is it. I sure miss the editors of old. By old I mean like ten years ago. I bet they could have made something wonderful out of The Journey of Little Charlie.

I listened which helped with the dialect but I also had trouble getting into the book. The story of Charlie's father's death is distressingly terrible and then never mentioned again. It left me feeling that Curtis had an article about a death like that and wanted to include it.

The story felt very didactic. The violence and stereotypical nature of the characters were almost over the top. The overseer was racist, dirty and cruel. The poor white kid was uneducated and worse off than a slave. The slaves escaped and became educated, lost their dialect and gaining moral authority. I felt that stereotypes were reinforced by this book rather than challenged.

The change-of-heart happened at the very end of the book when the adventure was over. It was as if Curtis was searching for an ending and as Laura said in a previous comment, he "told" us about how Charlie improved instead of "showing" it through the story.

I was also bothered by a slave catcher going into Canada without legal consequence. No one, including the sheriff, bothered to mention that what he was doing was illegal.

I don't see this book on par with Curtis's earlier work and I don't see this as a Newbery. There are better books about slavery out there and I don't see this as extraordinary.

Like others have said, the content of this book was heavy but I found the narrative engrossing. Yes, the reader is smacked in the face with dialect from the first sentence. I didn’t find it challenging but know that others might. However, I don’t think challenging dialect disqualifies the novel from Newbery contention. Dialect is out of style these days, but I thought it a mark of the author’s writing talent and felt that it added another dimension to Charlie as a character and narrator. Another commenter mentioned that you can speak well (assuming we all have the same definition of what “well” means) even being poor and uneducated. I’m not too educated on the subject of time period dialects, but I thought that Curtis nailed it as absolutely realistic for the character and setting, which again seemed a mark of Curtis’s talent to me. I would love to know more about his process for researching and composing the dialect.

I agree with Katrina that Charlie’s motivations were not always clear. It was easy to forget that Charlie is 12, and that a 12 year old’s understanding and interpretation of what’s going on is not always accurate. One I wondered about was when Charlie desired Cap’n Buck’s approval. I wanted Charlie to question that desire more and to realize Cap’n Buck’s approval is not a badge of honor. But again, 12 year olds (and even adults) are not always so self-aware. I also think it would be asking too much of the character and author to have Charlie examine every single motivation and come to all the conclusions we expect in our current culture. If he did, we’d be decrying this as too neat. At least I would be. I love that Curtis gives us this slice of life amidst a compelling plot and doesn’t figure it all out for us. If adults in real life don’t have it all figured out (I can’t be the only one, right??) then why should we expect our fictional characters to? It leaves so much room for discussion.

In my opinion, the realistic portrayal of Charlie and the compelling plot makes this absolutely Newbery worthy. I think it’s one of the best middle grade novels that I have read in the past few years.

Emma wrote: It was easy to forget that Charlie is 12.
This observation is interesting since the dichotomy between Charlie’s size and his age is an important element in the narrative. Curtis seems able to maintain this contrast even without visual presentation.

Kate, you’re right. Charlie’s age is continually presented. I suppose I meant that it was easy for me to forget what 12 means in terms of maturity rather than just forgetting the number of his age. Hope that makes sense.

Having only read “The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963” years ago, I am not very familiar with Christopher Paul Curtis or his writing. However, I loved “The Journey of Little Charlie”!!

I felt truly interested and invested in Charlie’s character, but I was not sure what he would do next. Unfortunately, the writing and style were not quite as exceptional near the end (view spoiler)[(when Charlie gets back to Detroit from Canada) (hide spoiler)].

Overall, though, this was a fantastic book! I can see it winning many awards, including a Newbery!!

I must admit up front that I am a Curtis fan. I think he has written another brilliant historical fiction for young readers in _The Journey of Little Charlie_. This is the kind of book that shows kids today how good they have it and why. There were a lot of families like the Bobo's that "fell on hard times" in the post-war South and many of them have never really pulled themselves out of their rough situations. Hence the popularity of books like _Hillbilly Elegy_.

The dialect set the tone for the book and really added to its authentic voice. I look forward to listening to the recording as well, though I haven't yet. I kept feeling like the story was a young person's version of Colston Whitehead's _The Underground Railroad_. If we are ever to talk about race in this country and show youth why we are where we are, we must have more books like _The Journey of Little Charlie_. It will be up to educators and parents to read this to kids, though. I doubt most young readers will pick it up on their own. That is not to diminish the book's worthy gifts. It is definitely on my list of Newbery contenders.

This author is amazing and I do think this is a great book but more for adults than children. I didn't have trouble with the dialect, but with reading that so many adults did- I'm sure it would be hard for the Newbery age group. I do think that the extreme brutality in the book would really narrow its reader base as well.

Jennifer wrote: "This is a fine replacement for Twain and other books where the n-word and the attitudes that go with it can be far too overwhelming and potentially do more harm than good. It is definitely a contender. "

That's a pretty strong statement.

Curtis consistently lists Twain as one of his favorite writers, and wrote the introduction for a recent edition of The Prince and the Pauper. I think it's unlikely that Curtis would want people to stop reading Twain.

I think it's better to own the fact that some books, including Twain's, are problematic, and to teach the problem instead of avoiding it. I do, however, agree that Elijah of Buxton is an excellent supplement to Twain, especially the section on the n-word.

Monica wrote: "Just read and think it is outstanding. My review here."

Monica, you recommend this book for grades 6-8 in your review. It depends on the 6th grader.

Last year, I taught Elijah of Buxton to a mix of 6th and 7th graders, and almost none of them got it. Only one enjoyed it. This book is even more difficult than Elijah, and I think most students would have to be in 8th grade to even attempt it.

Candice wrote: "The overseer was racist, dirty and cruel. The poor white kid was uneducated and worse off than a slave. The slaves escaped and became educated, lost their dialect and gaining moral authority. I felt that stereotypes were reinforced by this book rather than challenged. "

These stereotypes are largely factual. The job of overseer/slave catcher did not attract clean, morally upright people. Southern whites were harshly oppressed, to the point that they often survived on non-food items such as tree bark. It is true that not all escaped slaves became educated, but the ones in Buxton often did. If Curtis had challenged these stereotypes, it would have run counter to historical accuracy.

Shella wrote: "This author is amazing and I do think this is a great book but more for adults than children. I didn't have trouble with the dialect, but with reading that so many adults did- I'm sure it would be ..."

This is pretty much how I feel about it. The Journey of Little Charlie is a great book for me, but probably not a great book for most kids.