#newberry award winner

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"MexiKid" by Pedro Martin

Thank you @mexikidstories for writing it! ❤️

Thank you @yayyyybooks for recommending it! ❤️

25 books from 25 countries 2025: Mexico

[wanderingandfound]

Diana Wynne Jones is another children's fantasy author that LONG predates Rowling.

Not only has Nora Roberts been writing longer than Rowling, her mystery novels under the pseudonym J.D. Robb predate Harry Potter, let alone Rowling's mystery novels under her (masculine!) pseudonym.

Beatrix Potter has also sold hundreds of millions of books, and according to Wikipedia " In 1903, Peter Rabbit was the first fictional character to be made into a patented stuffed toy, making him the oldest licensed character.[6]"

Can’t believe Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in the 2000s

And in 2015 Emily Brontë released literary clsssic Wuthering Heights

Thank God someone paved the way for them…

[clonerightsagenda]

It's a shame my boss is a library director and not the proprietor of one of those jampacked used book shops where nobody ever buys anything because she clearly just wants to accumulate things en masse but doesn't really want anyone to use them and doesn't take care of them. This includes telling us we can't circulate the juvenile fiction collection because the titles are "priceless" and "irreplaceable" (they are not. they're Newberry award winner paperbacks) but she doesn't care that the shelf is pointed straight toward a bank of huge windows and the books have been cooked to the point their covers are disintegrating. Also I spent several weeks this year explaining vinegar syndrome to her and getting it through her head that the microfilm she hoards in the warmest rooms in the building is actively self-destructing, and when I finally convinced her to let me weed the most damaged acetate and reassured her that other institutions like the historical societies do a better job of preserving newspapers anyway, a community college does not need thousands of reels our students are not using, she very earnestly asked me if I thought the historical societies knew about this "dangerous problem". Yes I promise the historical societies know about vinegar syndrome.

[olderthannetfic]

Re: the YA convo that's come back like a nasty rash:

As someone who writes kidlit, the problem is pretty simple. At most schools, the curriculum is *meant* to have a fair mix of Books Kids Can Relate To and Books Kids Need To Read To Be Educated Adults.

The trouble is, for many schools, that mix was last updated during the Reagan administration, by boomer teachers who thought The Catcher in the Rye was the height of Relatability. Catcher in the Rye is a great book, and it still might speak to some Kids These Days- but for a lot of the Kids These Days, he's about as relatable as Hamlet. They need historical context and explanations of the slang to get why he feels the way he feels and what he's saying, and at that point, you've got a Book Kids Need To Read To Be Educated Adults.

--

Honestly, the biggest problem when I was in school is that teachers thought—and yes, they said this out loud and explicitly—that tragedy was better and higher art than the reverse.

I'd guess one out of a hundred kids I went to school with ever liked a book with a downer ending better.

We used to play a game where we'd look at the cover art of some Newberry award winner or whatever and try to guess how many beloved pets/mentors/best friends died and what cruel and boring things transpired in the plot.

Gotta say, we were usually spot on.

[millionsknives]

For the book questions: 12, 15, 17!

12. any books that disappointed you? already answered!

15. did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year? What did you think of them? i read the giver, which is a newberry medal winner, and chain-gang all-stars which was shortlisted for a bunch of awards but only won the goodreads choice award. OH WAIT golden kamuy won the manga taisho award, the osamu cultural prize, the japan cartoonists association grand prize . insane that the most decorated thing i read this year is the dick&balls manga

17. did any books surprise you with how good they were? i did not expect dungeon meshi to send my wig to jupiter with the way it handled mithrun's lack of desire (a curse i also bear)

and also i'm rereading deltora quest rn and i'm having so much fun with it, i always knew the books were good but revisiting them after so long feels like coming home to see my friends after a long time away

[beesmygod]

did anyone else grow up with this weird set of standards i think i developed independent of direct family influence: when it came to art i literally always wanted to experience "the best" of what there was even from like. a baby age. i would pick out the newberry award winners and when i could start reading old grade levels i would buy the penguin classic editions from barnes and nobel based how "important" i thought they were (based on kid brain, but still). and watch turner classic movies with me mom even though i only kind of followed them.

like i wasn't like this 100% of the time, but it still permeated a lot of what i did. i'd buy a episode guide to the simpsons so i could read about all the jokes i didnt understand and cross reference them with like. the caveman version of wikipedia we had lol

i felt like if i was only on this planet for a short time i had a limited window to enjoy what i could while i could. in hindsight i think this is the sole basis of most of my beliefs lol

[vkelleyart]

“How do you prepare for the unpreparable? How do you fit your whole life in one bag? And how am I supposed to trust social services when they won’t trust me back?” - SOMETHING LIKE HOME by Andrea Beatriz Arango

I had the great pleasure of meeting Andrea when we both attended the Highlights Latinx Writing Symposium two years ago—before she became a Newberry Honor Award winner for her heartrending debut middle grade verse novel, IVELIZ EXPLAINS IT ALL. Imagine how honored I was when she contacted me to provide artwork for the preorder campaign of her upcoming book, SOMETHING LIKE HOME. 💕🇵🇷

From Goodreads:

Laura Rodríguez Colón has a plan: no matter what the grown-ups say, she will live with her parents again. Can you blame her? It’s tough to make friends as the new kid at school. And while staying at her aunt’s house is okay, it just isn’t the same as being in her own space. So when Laura finds a puppy, it seems like fate. If she can train the puppy to become a therapy dog, then maybe she’ll be allowed to visit her parents. Maybe the dog will help them get better and things will finally go back to the way they should be. After all, how do you explain to others that you’re technically a foster kid, even though you live with your aunt? And most importantly . . . how do you explain that you’re not where you belong, and you just want to go home?

If you preorder her book (before the pub date, 9/12/23) and submit your receipt to her google form, you’ll get a print of Laura and Sparrow as well as a special handshake sticker designed by me! 🐾

[authorbettyadams]

Shiba Inu Rooms - Shonen Jump's Newberry Award Winner - At Least Emotionally

#ShonenJump #Manga #Doggos #Shibas #Puppr

Betty Adams Books

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/author/bettyadams

B&N

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/BettyAdams

Powell’s

Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=betty+adams&fclanguages=en

Google

Signed

[youngreaderreviews]

Book Review: Mexikid by Pedro Martín

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir

Written and illustrated by Pedro Martín.

Genre or Category

Pura Belpré Winner

Target Age Group

PreK-6th grade

Recommended for ages 9 years and up, grades 5-9th

Format

Physical, print

Summary

What is a “Mexikid”? Pedro (or Peter, depending on who’s calling) Martín may have the answer! In this lively graphic memoir, Pedro/Peter sets out to tell the story of one wild road trip, wherein he and his family go to Mexico to retrieve his Abuelito who is coming to live with them. However, Abuelito won’t go without a fight! In fact, he has business of own to attend to before settling in the United States. Mexikid will have you laughing and sobbing all in one go! 

Justification

This book was chosen because it fulfills the category “Pura Belpré Winner.” This graphic novel has received many awards, all of which it absolutely deserves! To name a few, it was the winner of both the Pura Belpré Author and Illustrator Awards. It was also a Newberry Honor Book and an Odyssey Honor Audiobook! In addition to these awards and honors, it was also listed “Best Book of the Year” for NPR, Booklist, Kirkus, Amazon, New York Public Library, and the Chicago Public Library. It was also listed in lists for “Best Books of 2023” for Booklist and the New York Times, received “Best Graphic Novel of 2023” for School Library Journal, and was in the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)’s 2024 Notable Children’s Books. It also has many starred reviews in reputable literary review publications.

Evaluation

For this review, I will be evaluating illustrations,accuracy, and design and layout.

Illustrations

Mexikid is a graphic novel for younger audiences that utilizes a variety of vibrant colors to bring its story to life! The illustrations are lined with a bold black line, which helps to separate details like clothing, hair, facial features, backgrounds, and objects that the characters interact with. Additionally, the linework comes in handy when diagrams are used to illustrate levels of the earth, maps, and areas within the Winnebago that he and his family drive cross-country. Although the illustrations seem simple, they are highly detailed with shadowing, cross-hatching, and other forms of emphasis that bring out things like texture and movement.

Accuracy

Mexikid is a graphic memoir, which is based on the experiences of the author, Pedro Martín, and his family. In the section titled “Some Of Your Questions Answered,” the author states that he likes to say his stories are “... 100 percent true, 90 percent of the time.” He also says that his heart and his memory like to play tricks on each other, too, which can make it difficult to remember specific details. With the information that he didn’t remember, or didn’t access first-hand, Pedro Martín states that he gathered information from his family and other loved ones who did have those memories, such as the ones of his Abuelita. Although this graphic memoir is based on a true story, the author tried his best to create a sense of authenticity that was real to his own understanding and perspective.

Design and Layout

The choice of text used throughout is incredibly fun to read through because of the way it mimics handwriting, especially handwriting that belongs to a young boy. Not only does this make it engaging, and sometimes easier to read, but it also creates a sense of relatability between Pedro Martín and the reader. Another interesting design choice was the use of less-than (<) and greater-than (>) symbols to let the reader know when characters were speaking Spanish throughout the graphic novel. Although, this is typically for longer pieces of text. Shorter sentences will often be written in Spanish, sometimes with an English translation at the bottom of the page, led by a asterisk (*).

References

Martín, Pedro. (2023). Mexikid: A graphic memoir (P.Martín, Illus.). Dial Books.

Martín, Pedro. (2023). Mexikid: A graphic memoir [Cover illustration] (P.Martín, Illus.). Dial Books. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691514/mexikid-by-pedro-martin/

[thisbookisbanned]

Dave Eggers describes himself as “the author of many books.” And indeed he is. His works include The Circle, The Monk of Mokha, Heroes of the Frontier, A Hologram for the King, and What is the What, just to name a few. Not to mention being the recipient of more literary awards than you can shake a proverbial stick at.

Needless to say he created quite a buzz, despite his unpretentious manner, for elated literacy educators from across the country when he appeared at this year’s NCTE conference to sign his new all-ages novel, and winner of the John Newberry Medal, The Eyes & The Impossible.

And, it isn’t surprising that our conversation turned to the recent surge in banned books…  or that Mr. Eggers graciously gave permission for This Book is Banned to share a link to the following article he wrote about his encounter with book banning. https://thisbookisbanned.com/banned/eggers-anatomy-of-a-book-banning/

[karenlacorte]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.

[babygruenwald]

Published in 1973, just before the release of The Exorcist, Baby Gruenwald’s “Ten Satanic Fingers with Which to Do His Bidding” was an instant children’s classic, the right large format book at the right time.

Turned down by 12 publishers, only Wonder Books “got it” immediately, coming up with the idea for a unique gore proof and washable cover.

[noveldaydreamer]

I agree to an extent, but "child" covers a pretty large age range - do I think there are inappropriate books for a nine year old? No. Do I think there are inappropriate books for a four year old? Yes, and my parents learned this first hand from the multiple times they had to take away books that made me sob uncontrollably before I got halfway through. (Newberry award winner books had a lot of concepts I was really not ready for).

Granted I was a very early reader, but it's not uncommon for kids' abilities to develop faster than their emotional capability.

There is genuinely no such thing as an inappropriate book for a child.

[imsoglitter]

Something all those people who are despairing about not being able to read as much as they used to need to hear is that a lot of kids books don’t take as much effort to read. I’m not saying this in a ‘lol kids are dumb’ kind of way, it’s just that narratives designed for younger audiences are generally easier to consume, and thus are read and digested more quickly. You haven’t gotten worse at reading, you’ve just moved on to more complex things

[good-night-space-kid]

Re: your tags on the lab rat comic post

Is the book you're thinking of Ms Frisby and the rats of NIMH?

YES!!! That’s exactly it!!!! That one was so good, I should reread that sometime

[sjwilson98]

I have noticed a theme here lately in the books that win the Newberry Medal award or other awards. It seems to me that they all have a sad tone or dark mood. Here are some books I have read that have been given awards.

“Wolf Hollow” by Lauren Wolk, was such a sad story that I had a hard time reading this to my school children. It was sad and depressing and did not give you any hope in humanity. Yes, there are life lessons in it. Yes, it is more realistic with the ending. But how are these books judged? Do they get an award because of how much they make you feel or cry?

“Hello Universe” by Erin Entrada Kelly, is another story that leaves you feeling a little sad at the ending. Yes, again there were life lessons. It had a better ending than the other books but you feel the innocence is gone from these children.

“Pax” by Sara Pennypacker, is a story that you just cannot stop reading even though you have guessed the ending before the last three chapters. Another sad story of loss and a young boy having to grow up and face the reality of war. It breaks your heart.

Now, these are only the books I have read in the last year that have gotten rave reviews and won awards. I have read other books that were good and uplifting.   But there is a universe of sad books that have received awards like, “Old Yeller”, “Shilo”, “Holes”, “Beyond the Bright Sea” (Another book by Lauren Wolk. You can see her pattern of style.) and “Inside Out and Back Again”.  And they all have a sad tone to them.

So what makes these books so loved by critics or literary scholars? The harsh reality in them? The fact they bring grown men to tears? Who knows?

I think we need more good books for children where they can feel happy about the ending. We need beautiful books that show that the world is not all ugly. We need books that children can escape into for a while. Children are already seeing the ugly side of the world it is time we give them books that encourage them to see the bright side of things now.

Themes of Award-Winning Children Books I have noticed a theme here lately in the books that win the Newberry Medal award or other awards.