RICBA 2026 Titles

These are my opinions; after previewing the list, as predicted, the kids can't wait to read Wagnificent and They Call Me No Sam!

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this! Fully plan to read it out loud to my students next year and have them create their own personal socks.





Search for a Giant Squid: Pick Your Path by Amy Seto Forrester
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I never found the damn squid, but what a great combo of science and choose-your-own! My students will love it.

 

Stranded!: A Mostly True Story from Iceland by Ævar Þór Benediktsson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I feel like Mitch Hedberg when he was concerned for the Dufresnes ... did the boatman die? Get kidnapped? Or should he be arrested for endangerment? I need closure! Fun story - near-death aside - with super fun illustrations. After reading for RICBA, I will have the kids do research on Iceland, volcanoes, and Norse mythology.

 

The Life-Changing Magic of Chess: A Beginner's Guide with Grandmaster Maurice Ashley by Maurice Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life lessons sprinkled in among chess moves. Like "Losing is Learning." (To quote a former student, "Now you're a loser, just like me!")

 

The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: Emma McKenna, Full Out by Kate Messner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Exactly the kind of books we need more of! Short, illustrated, relatable. Perfect for 3rd grade. I will be buying the entire series.

 

 

Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic: A Graphic Novel by Sangu Mandanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Extra star because I could read the lettering and the panels made sense. Kind of predictable story, but for kids who don't have decades of reading books behind them, they will be surprised. And I liked the point that without the earth magic, the rest of the students wouldn't have what they needed. Why did Grim have to be SUCH an a-hole, though?

 

Mixed-Up by Kami Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Honestly, made me wonder how many of my students have unaddressed reading issues and that's why they love graphic novels so much. Very much appreciated the font style and size for my middle-aged eyes.

 

Invisible Isabel by Sally J. Pla
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm still so annoyed that anxiety wasn't a diagnosed thing back when I had stomachaches all the time and threw up a lot. But now I have meds! Yay!

A short, gentle book that I may start as a readaloud to encourage kids to pick up as a RICBA nominee.


The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I do like when the point is made that all feelings are valid.

 

Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enthusiastic text and vibrant illustrations, but if you aren't familiar with the game, a lot will go right over your head. Which I fear will be the case with many of my students. However, many of them speak Spanish as their home language, so that part will resonate.

 
My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story by George Takei
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An important piece of history ... but I feel like this book didn't adequately express the horror of the situation. Granted, these weren't death camps, but I thought it painted too rosy a picture of life behind barbed wire. Today's readers need to know just how nastily the government can treat people. Don't sugarcoat because they are 8. You were only 4.

 

Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My big takeaway was how far we've come with diabetes monitoring and treatment. Although ... are people on reservations able to take advantage of these improvements? Literally half of them don't even have access to "reliable water sources, clean drinking water, or basic sanitation." But we found tens of millions for a parade yesterday. #gross

 

Haiku, Ew!: Celebrating the Disgusting Side of Nature by Lynn Brunelle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am all about having books about gross stuff in the library, but this one was a bit TOO gross for me. I literally felt ill reading about a couple of the animals. Like baby koalas eating their mom's poop. So I will NOT be doing it as a RICBA readaloud.

Not sure the haiku added much to the book, or that it will be appreciated by the students. But I'm sure they will love knowing that lobsters pee out of their eyes. And I can't believe I never learned that caterpillars dissolve into goop inside their cocoon. Blech.

 

Wagnificent: The Adventures of Thunder and Sage by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not a huge fan of dogs, and the wolf was creepy, but I think I will need more than the two copies I've already ordered to keep up with the demand after previewing the RICBA list.




Picture Purrfect by Hilda Eunice Burgos
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Reminded me of Art Club but not as good. How does the cat know so many words?






Off the Map by Meika Hashimoto
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have to state right off that I'm not a huge fan of nature survival stories ... because you could have just stayed home! I guess this was fine, but not for me. One disastrous situation after another. I was kind of hoping someone would die to make it more interesting.



They Call Me No Sam!: A Graphic Novel by Drew Daywalt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sam kind of sucks, and the magic sand oven was disgusting. But I bet my students would love it.

 

Wrath of the Rain God by Karla Arenas Valenti
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I could not suspend my disbelief with the whiny gods.

 

The Racc Pack by Stephanie Cooke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A Bite Above the Rest by Christine Virnig
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Mock Newbery - Voting List

We made it to the end ... I read all of the 14 finalists (ok, I DNF'd 1 of them). I need to point out that MY favorite of them all WON THE ACTUAL NEWBERY. Yay, Erin Entrada Kelly! 

Sadly, it didn't take a Rhode Island Mock Newbery prize. Our winner was The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy; Honor titles were Not Nothing by Gayle Forman and And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipp.

My thoughts on the finalists below: 

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So good. The story just flowed, even if the time travel mechanics didn't QUITE make sense. But will they ever? I did appreciate that they did extensive research in the future on locations, to make sure nobody apparated inside a tree or under water. And Ridge's studied "slang" was hilarious. There was a good balance of adventure and FEEL-ings.

Most of all, I LOVED THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, my alma mater, and the mention of the Christiana Mall ... I literally JUST took a photo of it from the highway a couple of weeks ago to send to my family as R. and I drove home to RI from DC.

And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fipps describes Joe's hunger and fear effectively ... reading this book was was very stressful! And underscores why I don't think teachers should have their kids do stuff for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Because some parents SUCK. But this book doesn't.

p. 11: The longer I wait for her, / the more nervous I get / that she won't ever return, / and yet / the more I fear her coming home.

p. 24: Nobody even looked at us. / We were invisible. / People didn't want to see us, / because if they did, / they'd get scared that one day / they could be us.

p. 142: For some reason the game Rock, Paper, Scissors / pops into my head. / Hakeem's strong / like a rock. / I'm a lightweight / like paper. / Paper beats rock. / But Hakeem's words cut like scissors. / 'Cause they're true.

Quibble: Would 6th graders really be sitting crisscross applesauce on carpet squares for a readaloud?

Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So many feels. May everyone rise to the occasion of their lives.

p. 13 - "... the boy stood there, feeling that awful heat rising up in him. He was supposed to take breaths when he felt like this. But if breathing could make people happy, shouldn't everyone be happy, because everyone breathed?"

p. 89 - "The good stuff seemed to cancel out the hating part, but he wasn't sure because feelings were not math."

p. 146 - "It's ok to be a know-it-all if you don't think everyone else is a know-it-nothing."

p. 166 - "Sometimes it's easier to believe a pretty lie over a hideous truth."

p. 172 - "But stitch one small thing to another small thing and another, and eventually you have a tapestry as big as the world."

Weirdo by Tony Weaver Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rare is the graphic novel with Newbery-worthy writing. This one packed a few gut-punches, not the least of which Weaver tried to end his life as a kid. Jesus.

p. 33: What if instead of one plant, we're actually gardens. What if we're a combination of many things? Some parts are massive centerpieces, and others are accents, but every detail is important. If the possibilities are endless ... what could I be? What seeds have I been planting? What will bloom in me?

p. 231: They both had feelings. Just because those feelings weren't the same doesn't make either of them wrong for having them.

p. 261: They say everyone is the hero of their own story. But if you're the hero, somebody has to be the villain.

 

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So so many kids have parents who just can't take care of them ... it makes me sad, and it makes me wonder just how many of my students are in situations they shouldn't be. I am thankful that Choldenko chose to make Hank's new classmates kind v. including any bullying. I could only handle so much angst.

 

Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A return to old form for Lowry ... this read like a book from my childhood. LOVED young Sophie's narration. Not sure if my students would understand Sophie Gershowitz' stories.

p. 7 - "Begin on the day that is different."

 

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We never found out what the rites were!

Agree with another reviewer that the Spirit storyline could have been edited out.

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe I would have liked it better if I knew football better? I get what Safadi was trying to do with the definitions and poem titles ... as well as left-, right- and center justification.

Liked the shoutout to The Crossover.

As I'm typing this, Syria has had yet more cataclysmic change. Why are humans so ... ugh?

 

Telephone of the Tree by Alison McGhee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good writing, but some plot points gave me pause. Like the pizza guy using the telephone in front of Ayla as soon as he notices it. Or Dad calling her "daughter."

p. 119: Negative space is invisible, the things you don't see. But invisible is what makes everything around it full of color and shape and life.

Olivetti by Allie Millington
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Have I really never read a book with a sentient typewriter before? Great idea. But the book, sadly, disappointed me. Really did not like that the Everything That Happened was some giant secret nobody talked about. And the climax after the road trip? Really?

p. 35 - "But humans will believe anything. Especially if it means they can get what they want."

 
Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I cannot picture handing this to any of my students.

Ghosts that only Charisse can see. Charisse only reading the Bible and Leaves of Grass. "Every good story is a love story." Uncle Ted's painting of the history of the world. "Mysterious Barricades." Astral projection.

Pinky, on the other hand, would be a hit with my kids. She needs her own early reader.

 

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I think it is very important for kids to know about the residential schools, but I don't think this book should have been a National Book Award finalist.

 


Light and Air by Mindy Nichols Wendell
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Mock Newbery 2025 - December List

I missed the first meeting, and was dismayed by how many books I thought were subpar were kept on the list. But that's ok. There is time to cut them! I read 11 (and abandoned 1) of the 19 books on the list, and here's what I thought of the ones that weren't discussed in October:

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So good. The story just flowed, even if the time travel mechanics didn't QUITE make sense. But will they ever? I did appreciate that they did extensive research in the future on locations, to make sure nobody apparated inside a tree or under water. And Ridge's studied "slang" was hilarious. There was a good balance of adventure and FEEL-ings.

Most of all, I LOVED THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, my alma mater, and the mention of the Christiana Mall ... I literally JUST took a photo of it from the highway a couple of weeks ago to send to my family as R. and I drove home to RI from DC.

VERDICT: Keep



And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fipps describes Joe's hunger and fear effectively ... reading this book was was very stressful! And underscores why I don't think teachers should have their kids do stuff for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Because some parents SUCK. But this book doesn't.

p. 11: The longer I wait for her, / the more nervous I get / that she won't ever return, / and yet / the more I fear her coming home.

p. 24: Nobody even looked at us. / We were invisible. / People didn't want to see us, / because if they did, / they'd get scared that one day / they could be us.

p. 142: For some reason the game Rock, Paper, Scissors / pops into my head. / Hakeem's strong / like a rock. / I'm a lightweight / like paper. / Paper beats rock. / But Hakeem's words cut like scissors. / 'Cause they're true.

Quibble: Would 6th graders really be sitting crisscross applesauce on carpet squares for a readaloud?

VERDICT: Keep

Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well written, because Fleming, but I had a hard time remembering who was who and what their jobs were. Also, many of the jobs were confusing. How was Mavis able to figure out Italian phrases if she didn't speak Italian? I did not understand the Bombes or Baudot-Murray code even though Fleming tried to explain.

Anyways, may we never ration, because 1 egg, 2 ounces of butter, and an ounce of cheese is pretty much my typical breakfast.

VERDICT: Drop

  

Other drops that had been keeps, all of which I'm fine with:

• Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt 
  
  
• Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz 
  
  
• Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol 
  
  
• The Selkie’s Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan

Mock Newbery 2025 - October List

I wasn't able to attend the first meeting of the season, but I still want to share my opinions! Because I am judgmental! I read 11 (and abandoned 1) of the 17 books on the list, and here's what I thought of them. I missed the meeting because I had an event, but I've added the discussion results.

The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So so many kids have parents who just can't take care of them ... it makes me sad, and it makes me wonder just how many of my students are in situations they shouldn't be. I am thankful that Choldenko chose to make Hank's new classmates kind v. including any bullying. I could only handle so much angst.

VERDICT: Keep

 

Tree. Table. Book. by Lois Lowry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A return to old form for Lowry ... this read like a book from my childhood. LOVED young Sophie's narration. Not sure if my students would understand Sophie Gershowitz' stories.

p. 7 - "Begin on the day that is different."

VERDICT: Keep

 

Jupiter Rising by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's a Gary Schmidt book. Maybe I have read too many of them.

VERDICT: Keep

 

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We never found out what the rites were!

Agree with another reviewer that the Spirit storyline could have been edited out.

VERDICT: Keep

 

Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hit and miss, like most books in the genre, but I appreciated that Watson used different poetic forms throughout, and Holmes' collages are lovely.

VERDICT: Drop

 

Olivetti by Allie Millington
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Have I really never read a book with a sentient typewriter before? Great idea. But the book, sadly, disappointed me. Really did not like that the Everything That Happened was some giant secret nobody talked about. And the climax after the road trip? Really?

p. 35 - "But humans will believe anything. Especially if it means they can get what they want."

VERDICT: Keep

 

Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wish the spooky wallpaper girl had shown up earlier. She went from a flicker to a bitch to a gross entity to nothing in the matter of several pages. And we don't know who she was or how she got there. And she ended up having nothing to do with Violet's fatigue? Frustrating.

Also, Violet managed to not see her little brother - who lives in the same house - for DAYS?

VERDICT: Drop

 

The Selkie's Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was interested to read this because Nova Scotia and selkies, but it was just kind of boring. Some great sentences, though, like "Here the air’s flavored with the salty scent of sea wrack. Sandpipers stitch the hem of the waves, probing for prey with their bills." That's some poetry right there.

VERDICT: Keep

Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Vordik's demise was quite nasty. As are most of the characters. This was fine for a middle-school graphic novel, but I'm not sure why it is on Newbery lists. I am realizing that one thing my students are missing out on with their reliance on graphic novels for almost all of their reading is that they rarely read descriptions of scenes or actions. It's just all dialogue.

VERDICT: Keep

 

Ferris by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I cannot picture handing this to any of my students.

Ghosts that only Charisse can see. Charisse only reading the Bible and Leaves of Grass. "Every good story is a love story." Uncle Ted's painting of the history of the world. "Mysterious Barricades." Astral projection.

Pinky, on the other hand, would be a hit with my kids. She needs her own early reader.

VERDICT: Keep

The Color of Sound by Emily Barth Isler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Too much description too often of the music AND the colors. I wish Isler had picked one or the other. Especially since so many of the music details will be lost on the intended readers. "[H]is grin like a glittering arpeggio" ... what does that even mean? Let alone the references to specific composers and pieces. I've played some, so I got some. But my students ... nope.

Also, her conversations with Shanna don't seem to have made any difference in the future, so what was even the point?

I wish the supernatural stuff had been cut and way more attention given to the past and its repercussions earlier on in the book.

VERDICT: Drop

DNF: 

• Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz (No thank you on the creatures) 
  VERDICT: Keep

Best Reads of the First Half of Summer

It is summer, which means I order dozens of books to prep for Mock Caldecott, Mock Newbery, and Mock Sibert! These were my favorites from the past five weeks. Plus a bunch of grownup entertainment. All images and summaries from Goodreads.

Picture Books

Ploof by Ben Clanton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SUPER adorable, but I'm not sure if I will use as a readaloud because of all the blowing ... students are so germy. I suppose I could paperclip those pages and skip them ...

 

Bubbles by Ben Clanton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet. Are board books appropriate for school libraries? May go ahead and add.

 

Spider in the Well by Jess Hannigan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cuckoo bananas. Echoes of Klassen's of "I haven’t seen any rabbits anywhere. I would not eat a rabbit. Don’t ask me any more questions." I'm sad Hannigan lives in Ontario, because that means I can't use this for Mock Caldecott.

 

Go and Get with Rex by David LaRochelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not sure playing Go and Get would work with a class of 20 kindergarteners, but I think reading this book will!

 

Jump for Joy by Karen Gray Ruelle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sweet. And I really liked the way the text was mirrored between Joy and Jump. But I can't help but wonder ... where does Jump live, and who is feeding him?

 

Built to Last by Minh Lê
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aw, it's a metaphor! Will my students understand? Not sure if I completely understood all of their creations and how they fell apart, honestly, but the illustrations are A plus.

Early Readers

Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the Kate DiCamillo I know. Sweetly serious and made me smile.

 

 

Chapter Books

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So good. The story just flowed, even if the time travel mechanics didn't QUITE make sense. But will they ever? I did appreciate that they did extensive research in the future on locations, to make sure nobody apparated inside a tree or under water. And Ridge's studied "slang" was hilarious. There was a good balance of adventure and FEEL-ings.

Most of all, I LOVED THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, my alma mater, and the mention of the Christiana Mall ... I literally JUST took a photo of it from the highway a couple of weeks ago to send to my family as R. and I drove home to RI from DC.



And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fipps describes Joe's hunger and fear effectively ... reading this book was was very stressful! And underscores why I don't think teachers should have their kids do stuff for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Because some parents SUCK. But this book doesn't.

p. 11: The longer I wait for her, / the more nervous I get / that she won't ever return, / and yet / the more I fear her coming home.

p. 24: Nobody even looked at us. / We were invisible. / People didn't want to see us, / because if they did, / they'd get scared that one day / they could be us.

p. 142: For some reason the game Rock, Paper, Scissors / pops into my head. / Hakeem's strong / like a rock. / I'm a lightweight / like paper. / Paper beats rock. / But Hakeem's words cut like scissors. / 'Cause they're true.

Quibble: Would 6th graders really be sitting crisscross applesauce on carpet squares for a readaloud?

Nonfiction

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is so adorable. Too bad Bunting is Australian, so I can't use it for Mock Sibert. But I'm adding it to my wishlist for the general collection. And maybe I will read it to K during our nonfiction unit.

 

Determined Dreamer: The Story of Marie Curie by Deborah Hopkinson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Concise, accessible account of Curie's life (although maybe a bit too long to read to my restless students as a Mock Sibert). The fact that will stick with me is that she boiled down literally tons of ore dust over the course of four years to isolate a whopping Cheerio-weight of radium. And the information about her helping to bring X rays to the WWI battlefields was new to me.

For Grownups

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oooh, I should have seen the big twist coming, but Clare was too clever for me! Great read, and I want Murray to be my neighbor.

 

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hoo wee! What a read! So well paced. Recommended for summer entertainment - at the beach or on the futon.