Given every year for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”, the 2016 Newbery will remain anyone’s guess until January 11.  That doesn’t stop wild speculation from occurring all over the children’s literature world.  Here are five that I’d like to see get recognized:

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  Published by Dial Books.

Released on January 5, the first middle grade book I reviewed, this was my favorite novel of the year.  Ada’s story of escape from her abusive mother is also the story of redemption for not only Ada, but her brother, Jamie,  and their new “mother”, Susan, as well.

 

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai.  Published by HarperCollins.

I waited almost ten months to finally get around to this book.  I didn’t expect it to be so funny, or to make me want to visit the fascinating country of Vietnam.

 

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelly Pearsall.  Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Arthur, the Junk Man, Arthur’s mother, Squeak…I found them all kind of unappealing at the beginning of the story, but they gradually worked their way into my heart, until I was rooting for each one to play his or her part in bringing about the unveiling The Throne of the Third Heaven masterpiece.

 

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.  Published by Scholastic

Otto’s magical fairy tale weaves its way through the three stories of Friedrich, Mike, and Ivy, each enduring difficult circumstances during the years of World War II.  An enchanted harmonica falls into each of their hands, its beautiful music bringing joy during dark times, until the music brings all three together in the end.

 

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead.  Published by Wendy Lamb Books.

Seventh grade is the main character of this story about three friends finding their way through this exciting and difficult year, remaining loyal despite the increasingly different paths their lives take.  A mysterious second-person narrator’s story is interspersed with the chapters that make up the main narrative, until all the threads weave together at the end.

Published by HarperCollins 

Summary:  12-year-old Mai thinks her summer is ruined when she learns that, instead of getting to hang out at the beach with her best friend and the boy she has a crush on, she has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother and father.  Her grandmother has heard from a Vietnamese detective that he may have news of her husband, missing in action since the war.  Vietnam turns out to be hot and sticky, mosquito-infested, and overrun with dozens of relatives who never leave Mai alone.  At first, all she can think about is how to get back to California as fast as possible, but as the summer progresses, she learns more about her family and the country they once lived in.  A cousin with a buzz cut, a pet frog, and an attitude eventually turns into a friend.  Most of all, Mai sees the strength of her grandmother who raised seven children alone and left Vietnam during the fall of Saigon to make sure her children would be safe and successful, and the love between her grandparents that survived their long separation.  272 pages; grades 4-8.

Pros:  A funny coming-of-age novel, a tragic war story, and a love song to Vietnam all rolled into one.  Mai’s voice is perfect, as she slowly matures from a self-centered California girl to a (more or less) compassionate young woman.  I never thought I wanted to visit Vietnam until I read this book.

Cons:  The ending left me wanting more.

 

Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary: 12 year-old Timothy is starting a year of house arrest for stealing a wallet. As part of his probation, he has to keep a journal about his feelings.  Writing in verse, Timothy recounts his life with his mother and baby brother, Levi, whose respiratory problems force him to have a tracheotomy.  This life-threatening health issue proved too much for Timothy’s dad, who abandoned the family when Levi was just a few months old.  Their mother works to support the family and takes care of Levi day and night.  Timothy reveals that he took the wallet so he could fund Levi’s medications for a month and try to give his mom a break.  His gruff but kind probation officer and his young, earnest psychologist are just two of the people who help Timothy find his way through a long and difficult year.  It’s a roller coaster ride, but the end holds out hope that all members of the family will make it.  304 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  This fast-paced novel is hard to put down.  Reluctant readers will get caught up in Timothy’s life, and the verse format makes the story move quickly.

Cons:  Novels in verse can be a hard sell for kids unfamiliar with the format.

Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers 

Summary:  There’s a new baby at Steven’s house, and something is seriously wrong with him.  As near as Steven can tell, the baby has a congenital issue that is causing heart problems, and that may prevent him from ever learning to talk, walk, or feed himself.  Steven himself suffers from anxiety and nightmares, so the last thing he needs is another worry in his life.  When he dreams about an angel who tells him she can fix the baby, he is immensely relieved and ready to do whatever it takes to help.  As the dreams come back night after night, he learns that the angel is really a queen wasp, and her plans for “fixing” the baby start to sound more and more sinister.  Meanwhile, a large wasps’ nest appears right outside the baby’s window; when Steven gets stung, he learns he has an allergy.  Then a shadowy figure starts appearing in the family’s life…is he sinister or a savior?  All forces come together one terrifying day when Steven must learn to draw on courage he never suspected he had.  256 pages, grades 5-8.

Pros:  A psychological thriller told by an unreliable narrator leaves the reader guessing right up to the last chapter.  The creepiness is great fun, but there’s also an interesting message about human perfection and the question of what is normal and what is not.

Cons:  Any phobias around stinging insects?  You may experience some serious nightmares if you read this.

Published by Boyds Mills Press 

Summary:  So much is going on in 10-year-old Celie’s life—her sister has a new boyfriend, her best friend has a new friend, and her Granny is having memory issues—that it’s sometimes tempting to try to figure out what’s going on by snooping.  So Celie reads her sister’s texts and swipes a note her best friend Lula passed to Violet.  But the consequences of these actions are more conflict, and Celie learns some important lessons about respecting other people’s privacy.  The second installment of a series, this book is written in diary format, liberally illustrated with Celie’s sketches.  Readers will be glad to see the sneak peek into diary #3 at the end of this book.  176 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  Fans of diary-type books will enjoy reading Celie’s journal.  A bit more serious than Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries, this nonetheless captures perfectly a 10-year-old’s view of the world and her sometimes inappropriate choices on how to deal with difficult issues.

Cons:  I accidentally started with book 2 and wished I had the background from the first installment.

Published by Greenwillow Books 

Summary:  Archer B. Helmsley has spent his whole life in Helmsley House, surrounded by stuffed animals and other artifacts collected by his grandparents, the famous explorers Ralph and Rachel Helmsley.  Ever since Ralph and Rachel went missing on an iceberg in Antarctica, Archer’s mother has kept him at home in an attempt to keep him safe from any exploring instincts he may have inherited.  But as Archer gets older, he becomes restless, and eventually decides it’s up to him to head for the South Pole and rescue his grandparents.  He enlists the help of two neighbors, the cautious Oliver Glub, who is good at worrying over details, and the mysterious Parisian, Adelaide L. Belmont, whose wooden leg is a testimony to an adventurous past.  The whole rescue plan comes to an uproarious climax on a museum field trip complete with an evil teacher, a gazelle mask, a glass eye, and a pack of hungry tigers.  Grades 3-7.

Pros:  Fans of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket will appreciate the quirky characters and settings of this debut novel.  The author is also an artist who created over 20 gorgeous color illustrations, as well as many smaller black-and-white ones throughout the book.

Cons:  The whole story seemed to build toward a grand final adventure that never actually happens.