The Heavy Medal Award Committee (HMAC) is a Mock Newbery committee organized by Emily Mroczek-Bayci and Steven Engelfried (who have both served on the real Newbery committee previously) and including a mix of librarians (and, this year, one high school student) from all across the U.S.
Readers of the Heavy Medal blog nominate Newbery-eligible titles throughout the year, and eventually the nominees are winnowed down to a final fifteen(ish). Then the HMAC is assembled: every committee member reads all fifteen(ish) books, and each of us write an intro to one of the books on the blog, starting in late December and continuing into January. In the blog post, we consider the ways in which the book meets the Newbery criteria. After all the books are introduced and discussed in the comments, we vote on a final five books to discuss in a live webcast before the actual ALA Youth Media Awards (including the Newbery) are announced.
This year, the webcast was Friday, January 19 (you can view the recording here). The ALA YMA are next Monday, January 22, starting at 8 a.m. EST; you can watch the livestream here. (This is like the Oscars for kidlit.)
The real committees do a tremendous amount of reading and engage in carefully considered, thoughtful discussion, and there are always so many worthy books eligible for every award. Just because a book doesn’t wind up with a shiny medal or honor sticker after next week doesn’t mean it isn’t an excellent book. After all, “every book its reader, every reader their book.”
That said…I’m rooting hard for Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow to win the Newbery this year. We’ll find out on Monday!
(overlap with GN)
Re-reads: Unknown; I don’t have a good way to keep track. The kiddo listened to all five Mysterious Benedict Society books for what felt like months, and we re-read all of the Dealing with Dragons books by Patricia C. Wrede. I re-read a chunk of Greenglass House by Kate Milford, as I always do toward the end of December, and I certainly revisited favorite picture books at home and at library storytimes. And, after reading Simon Sort of Says in March and refusing to shut up about it since, I re-read it as an audiobook this month and it’s still stunningly good.
What does my fall reading lineup look like? Well, in addition to my usual reading (whatever I hear about from friends, see on library displays, or discover via publisher or bookstore emails), I’ve been working my way through this year’s 
I’m serving on the SLJ Best Books committee for Graphic Novels, which means reading…wait for it…more graphic novels! There are over 20 on the list and each of us will read at least 18. I’d already read several when the editors gave us the list, and I’m catching up on the others.
Because this is a choose-your-own-adventure book, you can read it several times with the same group (and they will ask for it again and again!). Every time a choice comes up, I read both choices and ask them to vote. This works with upper elementary as well as with the younger grades.
The witch main character and the frogs she tries to add to her soup are perfect for around Halloween time, and “PUT the FROGS on the SPOON” may become a mantra.
This is great for the beginning of the year when everyone is learning each other’s name. Most kids can relate to the experience of having someone mispronounce your name or call you the wrong name, and they know the feeling; this book encourages them to insist on being called the right name the right way, and take the time to do the same for others.
This has strong appeal on three levels: first, there’s the seek-and-find element (a heart on each page); next, the cultural representation; and finally, the way it opens a discussion of how we show love in our own families. Every single class I read this book with (first through third grade) came up with a whole list, with nearly every kid contributing, and some adding more than one idea.
Pure good fun; the kids catch on quickly as the family’s to-do list gets more and more ridiculous. Great representation, too, of a mixed-race family with two dads.
Kids identify with Amy’s problem, and even if the word “bao” is unfamiliar, nearly every culinary tradition has a version of dumplings (knish, empanada, pierogies, etc.). Amy finally figures out the solution to her problem, and her loving, supportive family (including pink-haired grandma and adorable white kitten) is right there with her.
This Caldecott winner uses color effectively to show an (un)imaginary friend’s journey into the real world. (See also: Real to Me by Minh Lê and Raissa Figueroa)
The brilliant Liza, who insists she is not an expert on comics (but who is totally an expert on comics, and is also an excellent teacher) started us off with a variety of hands-on activities to choose from, as part of her presentation on how to teach comics/graphic novels in school, and how to get teachers, administrators, and parents on board (because GRAPHIC NOVELS ARE REAL BOOKS; this is supported by research).
Jenny Arch 