Mock Newbery 2026 discussion

It's time to make our selections for our Mock Newbery awards!


Please post the books that you think are worthy of the 2025 Newbery award.

The top 20 books that are mentioned the most will be on our voting list.


Thank you

Extended:
This thread will close on January 6th.

- Louder than Hunger by Schu
- And Then, Boom by Fipps
- Kareem Between by Safadi

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Louder than Hunger
Jupiter Rising
Olivetti
Wrong Way Home

This is a hard decision!

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

Mid-air by Alicia D. Williams
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko

I haven’t read a few that may also make my list but this is what I like so far for the Newbery.

Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz
Olivetti by Allie Millington
Tree. Table Book. by Lois Lowry
Heroes by Alan Gratz
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Uprising by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart

The First State of Being

I would elect the 10th mistake of Hank Hooperman, but I have not gotten it into students hands.
From student opinions, louder than hunger has not gone well. The Misfits has gone well, yet I'm not sure the Newbery committee will feel the same.

Tenth mistake Hank Hopperman
Louder than Hunger
Bletchley Riddle

The problem in recent years is that many, if not the majority of titles chosen by these committees is that I just can’t get them in the hands of my students.

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu

Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Louder Than Hunger
Mid-Air
Enigma Girls
Kareem Between

Tree. Table. Book by Lois Lowry
One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline Ransome
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
The Bletchley Riddle by Steve Sheinkin and Ruta Sepetys
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennefer Choldenko
Mid-Air by Alicia D Williams
The Last Apple Tree by Claudia Mills

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt
The Witching Wind by Natalie Lloyd
And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
The Secret Library by Kekla Magoon
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol

WRONG WAY HOME by Kate O’Shaughnessy
MAGNOLIA WU UNFOLDS IT ALL by Chanel Miller
FIRST STATE OF BEING by Erin Entrada Kelly

Yikes! I almost missed this post as it did not pop up like posts usually do from this group.

This year seemed to have a lot of good books, but not great books. As always as a Newbery group, we are not to base our votes on popularity- the basis of voting is not at all to be on if we think we are getting large groups of kids to read a title. I’ve found readers for very old titles as well as more recent ones. Not all winners will be like Holes and One and Only Ivan. This is why I say every year have a Newbery category and create a Student Choice award. The basis for both are different. Someone want to create a thread for popularity award? This thread is not for popularity- read the guidelines.

This year was certainly the theme of disfuncional mothers. Even though it was a popular theme and character, most books that I read explored this very well.

Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Diet Soda Club- wish we had read this one as a group- would make a great compare and contrast to the above title
Light and Air
Shark Teeth
Kyra, Just for a Day
Jupiter Rising

The Wrong Way Home
Quagmire Fiorello Couldn’t Be Better
The 10th Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Kyra Just for Today
(Moms with probs FTW!)

Louder than Hunger
Jupiter Rising

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman - Gennifer Choldenko
The Secret of Honeycake- Kimberly Newton Fusco
Buffalo Dreamer- Violet Duncan
Operation: Happy- Jenni L Walsh
Summer Vamp- Violet Chen Karim

The books I read this year were good, but not incredibly memorable, which is disappointing. Many of them were hard to read (while staying awake). I was really excited about several, but found myself disappointed.

It seems the ones that win the Newbery are the ones I had a hard time reading, but the Honors are the ones I truly enjoyed.

So... here are my votes for Newbery Honors!

Tree. Table. Book
Max in the House of Spies (also popular with students)
Ferris
Olivetti
The Night War
Hank Hooperman

Ferris
Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Not Quite a Ghost
First State of Being
Enigma Girls

I gave 5 stars to these:

Kareem Between
Popcorn
Faker
The Night War
Ferris
Max in the House of Spies
Shark Teeth

My “to read” pile is quite large unfortunately- our library is missing many that I had hoped to read.

Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry

My top picks for the Newbery out of my Top 12:
-- Max in the House of Spies (Adam Gidwitz)
-- The First State of Being (Erin Entrada Kelly)
-- Kareem Between (Shifa Saltagi Sadadi)
-- The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman (Gennifer Choldenko)
-- Quagmire Tiarello Couldn't Be Better (Mylisa Larson) --> my fear is that Hank and Quagmire will cancel each other out!

I think Jupiter Rising is more likely to win a Printz award, though Gary D. Schmidt is my favorite author, and I'd be thrilled if he won the Newbery (as his two Newbery Honor awards were more than deserving!)

Louder Than Hunger
Ferris

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
Olivetti
Mid-Air
The Bletchley Riddle
The Night War
Made in Asian America
Ferris
The Enigma Girls

The First State of Being
Tree. Table. Book.

Below is the final list of the top 20 books mentioned for our Mock Newbery Poll.

The First Round will include:


The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt
The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II by Adam Gidwitz
Mid-Air by Alicia D. Williams
Olivetti by Allie Millington
The Bletchley Riddle by Steve Sheinkin & Ruta Sepetys
The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming
And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
Kyra, Just for Today by Sara Zarr
Quagmire Tiarello Couldn't Be Better by Mylisa Larsen
Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston