RICBA Nominees 2024

I don't know that I'll try to read every single book this year, since we will no longer be holding a district-wide Rooster Games, but I'm thinking about doing a schoolwide one next year since we now have twice as many students as we used to. 

Update: We didn't get a full set of the books until December, so I didn't promote until then, so I had time to get through the list. Here's what I thought about them ... favorites at the top. 

Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories by Elise Gravel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't know how I managed to forget to review this, given that I bought my own copy and used it for 5th grade lessons in the spring. It is now part of my curriculum. So good. Sparked great discussion.

 

Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I never knew where the idea that black people can't swim came from ... but it makes sense that if you aren't allowed to go in a pool, then how the hell do you learn? Solid middle-grade story about overcoming the past and working towards the future.

The Whale Who Swam Through Time: A Two-Hundred-Year Journey in the Arctic by Alex Boersma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not sure if we can consider it "straight" nonfiction, since none of us can interview a bowhead whale about her feelings, and the mention of the Arctic warming being any kind positive gave me pause. But overall, a good presentation of how humans have changed the environment and informative backmatter to extend learning.

 

Fighting for YES!: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So many kids have 504s, but I never thought about where the name came from.

King of the Ice by Kelly Starling Lyons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished in 10 minutes! Which means my kids might actually make it to the end in less than two weeks. Realistic portrayal of 4th-grade thoughts and problems with a Black protagonist; I am adding the series to my wishlist. And adding an extra star for being illustrated but not a graphic novel.

 

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party by Saadia Faruqi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Extra star for being SHORT and illustrated but not a graphic novel. As in, a FIC title my students might actually finish. Relatable story of a 3rd grader who makes questionable decisions and her supportive family. We need more books like this. Even if all the characters look the same in said illustrations.

 


Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Book by Tonya Bolden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is very cagey about being nonfiction ... lots of "must have made" and "likely" and "maybe" and "I'm guessing" and "perhaps." And I hate the term "goo-gobs of information." But overall, pretty good. I will do it as a RICBA readaloud.

A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well written, although several choices made by characters were frustrating to this adult reader. I definitely did not quite understand Mom's choice at the end

 

Zia Erases the World by Bree Barton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting concept, although I'm not sure erased-word fallout was always consistent.

 

Nothing Is Little by Carmella Van Vleet
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mom should have given him the info he asked for. And he should not have cheated. Frustrating choices! My favorite parts were the crime scenes.

 

Forest Fighter: The Story of Chico Mendes by Anita Ganeri
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kind of depressing.

 

Growing Pangs: (A Graphic Novel) by Kathryn Ormsbee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kacey moved without telling her? Wow. Maybe she needs some therapy too.

Reminiscent of "Guts," but for OCD v. general anxiety disorder. We need as many of these types of books as we can get.

 

Flipping Forward Twisting Backward by Alma Fullerton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I listened to the audiobook, and it took me a while to realize that it was supposed to be "in verse," because it read like just regular sentences.

Pros: It had relatable situations and was short.

Cons: 20 hours of gymnastics a week?!? Maybe Claire could spend some of that time working on controlling her emotions. Tony, an uncontrolled emotion instigator. The mom - WHO IS A DOCTOR?!? - refusing to even get Claire tested and declaring that any learning disability would reflect badly on her as a parent.

As far as RICBA goes, I'm giving this a 3 because my students might actually finish it.

 

When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The "verse" didn't seem like poetry to me at all, and it felt like the riots came out of nowhere. Granted, I was skimming at that point.

 

Expedition Backyard by Rosemary Mosco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars







Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The settlers STOLE the corn. And the corn itself told the First Peoples to just let it go and teach them how to plant it? Ok. But then there are these lines: "That meal changed both our lives and theirs forever. Many Americans call it a day of thanksgiving. Many of our people call it a day of mourning." With no further explanation.

Yes, I would like to include more indigenous voices in my library collection. And absolutely I would like more truthful tellings of the time. But I am not a fan of this particular book.


The Button Box by Bridget Hodder
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Clunky dialogue and the ending speeches were kind of ridiculous. I appreciate what the authors were trying to do, but it didn't work for me.

DNF: Amazing Landmarks (I liked it, but didn't read the entire thing), A Rover's Story, Singing with Elephants

Mock Newbery 2024 - December List

I got through 5 more of the books on the list ... 7 if you count the ones I stopped reading. Posting after our meeting so we can see what made it to the finals.

 
You Are a Story by Bob Raczka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this, but may skip the "You are a miracle" page when reading aloud for Mock Caldecott, because I don't want 6-year-olds asking me about zygotes.

VERDICT: Drop

 

The Song of Us by Kate Fussner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Other "novels in verse," take note. This is legit poetry. So many good lines. So many different formats. And a poetry club to boot. With authentic tween voices. Eden's dad is the suck.

VERDICT: Drop

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hold up. They never heard of accommodations? What kind of school is this? Does nobody in the entire place have a 504 or IEP?

I liked that Selah advocated for herself, but I did not like that her mom pretended not to have any of the same issues and refused to accept that she did at first. Also liked that while a couple of kids were bullies, most of them were just confused, and that Selah realized she had been jumping to conclusions, just as she assumed they were.

VERDICT: Drop

We Still Belong by Christine Day
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked that it was short, took place all in one day, didn't have super mean characters, and had a sweet romance that culminated in HOLDING HANDS and a HUG GOODBYE.

But I had issues with Chris and mom ... they seriously broke up and he had nothing to do with the baby because of a last name? And had they been in touch throughout the past decade, or did he just stalk her social media, because he mentioned that she wasn't posting as much?

Also, can we PLEASE all stop using the term "Columbus Day"? Go Skye!

VERDICT: Drop

 

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Umm ... that was a children's book? No f'ing way would a kid have written that "play." And none of my students would read it. Even though the book is short and full of pictures.

VERDICT: Keep

DNFs: 

• Hope in the Valley by Mitali Perkins (it's fine, but not a Newbery) - VERDICT: Drop
  
  
• Conjure Island by Eden Royce (same) - VERDICT: Drop
  
  

Books I read for October that had been kept: 

Leeva At Last by Sara Pennypacker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whoever wrote the jacket copy needs a better editor. Because I almost didn't even bother reading this one for Mock Newbery. But I figured "I can always just stop if I hate it." But then I did not! Because I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!

Definite Matilda vibes, which I did not mind one bit. SO MANY quotable lines. Leeva is a wonderful heroine. I teared up a few times. I hugged the book a few times. I am going to tell everyone I know that they should read this book.

Oh, and Matthew Cordell's illustrations were reminiscent of Quentin Blake's and worked so well. I don't know how to add images to Goodreads or else I would take some pictures and include them.

VERDICT: Still keep

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

VERY reminiscent of "The Wednesday Wars," which is one of my favorites ever, and I'm ok with that, although the structure following the Labors of Hercules was a bit forced. Too coincidental that they even went in order. But a clever idea. However, I didn't feel as emotionally invested in Hercules as I did in Holling, and there were several stock figures, like Mr. Moby. Oh boy oh boy.

Still, Schmidt has a way with words.

p. 235: There was more light now - the clouds had shoved away and every star in the whole galaxy was glittering, and Orion was twisting his shoulders to watch, and the planet Jupiter had turned its lights up to High Beam, and Taurus the Bull was pointing his horns.

VERDICT: Still keep

  

What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the interviews, emails, and texts, but the narrative parts seemed to sloooow everything down. While I understand how one of the characters was very torn between her public persona and her true feelings, the way she decided to avoid a situation was kind of ridiculous; the ending was kind of a letdown.

VERDICT: Drop

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For the most part, I liked Simon's voice and Bow's writing style. The whole microwave plot was confusing, though. And at 305 pages, the entire thing was too long.

P.S. I'm all for disgusting facts, but I CANNOT have someone talking about the smell of semen in a book in an elementary school library.

p. 28: To me, it kind of sounds like she doesn't know what to do with commas.

p. 77: "That squirrel is now thirty percent Jesus by volume," says Mom. "It's our new god."

p. 255: It starts to get dark, and then darker - that kind of blue dar, where you can still see everything, but the green of the trees and the red of Mr. Bagshott's emu barn both look black.

  

VERDICT: Still keep

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

VERDICT: Still keep

  

DNF: When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn (fast-forwarded to the end to hear that there was a twist) - VERDICT: Drop

Best Reads of T1 2023-2024

Here are my favorite books that I read during the first trimester. Click on the titles to read plot summaries. If you'd like to see all of my books, you can follow me on Goodreads.

Picture Books

You Are a Story by Bob Raczka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this, but may skip the "You are a miracle" page when reading aloud for Mock Caldecott, because I don't want 6-year-olds asking me about zygotes.

Dear Mr. G by Christine Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well now I am crying.

 


I Can Only Draw Worms by Will Mabbitt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

LOVE. Cannot wait to read it to the kids. Just need to learn the word for "worm" in Spanish so I can use with my MLL K.

 

In the Night Garden by Carin Berger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Love the gentleness, love the color palette, love that Berger creates all the tiny details as collages. Have read to a couple of classes for Mock Caldecott so far, and they love looking for the cat.

 

Sun Flower Lion by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Will use if I am assigned PreK or ASD classes again next year.

 

The Artist by Ed Vere
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why she HAD to go to the big city, but I love the message and the language, and I wish Vere were American so I could use it for Mock Caldecott. Will share with the art teacher.

Middle Grade Fiction

Leeva At Last by Sara Pennypacker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whoever wrote the jacket copy needs a better editor. Because I almost didn't even bother reading this one for Mock Newbery. But I figured "I can always just stop if I hate it." But then I did not! Because I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!

Definite Matilda vibes, which I did not mind one bit. SO MANY quotable lines. Leeva is a wonderful heroine. I teared up a few times. I hugged the book a few times. I am going to tell everyone I know that they should read this book.

Oh, and Matthew Cordell's illustrations were reminiscent of Quentin Blake's and worked so well. I don't know how to add images to Goodreads or else I would take some pictures and include them.

My Head Has a Bellyache: And More Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SO much better than so much other "children's poetry." Yes, there's a bunch of AABB and ABAB rhyming, but a lot of other poems that play with all kinds of formats and language.

I loved the footnotes in "I Love My Siblings So Much!"; "One Half a Poem" is pretty brilliant; I am the title character in "The Corrector"; the competing haiku and limerick are amazing; a middle name being "..." is sublimely absurd; "Parents are the Greatest!" is true; the poem about snakes made me LOL; the use of texts in "You Are Never All Alone" is very zeitgeist, leading into Jozy and Silas' simple yet effective collection of poems; I want to teach all of my students "The Perfectly Still"; "Song of the Mayfly" also made me LOL; the "Terrible Fables" were meta and hilarious; "Detritus" is brilliant.

And you know what, I just bumped my rating up to a 5 for the amazingly creative page number notations.

Well done, Chris Harris. Bravo.

 

Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit confused at times flipping back and forth between narrators so frequently, but overall this was really good and showed that situations can escalate into violence because of accidents, misunderstandings, and lack of communication. For most of my students, this will be a window book, but for many, it will be a mirror.

Also, I loved the idea of having an online chat with a friend via a shared Google Doc. How have I never thought of that before?

And the mention of Newsela reminded me that writing articles for students at different levels to read would be a good future job when I am too decrepit to carry books and furniture around.

 

King of the Ice by Kelly Starling Lyons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finished in 10 minutes! Which means my kids might actually make it to the end in less than two weeks. Realistic portrayal of 4th-grade thoughts and problems with a Black protagonist; I am adding the series to my wishlist. And adding an extra star for being illustrated but not a graphic novel.

 

Marya Khan and the Incredible Henna Party by Saadia Faruqi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Extra star for being SHORT and illustrated but not a graphic novel. As in, a FIC title my students might actually finish. Relatable story of a 3rd grader who makes questionable decisions and her supportive family. We need more books like this. Even if all the characters look the same in said illustrations.

Nonfiction  

Butt or Face? by Kari Lavelle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I cannot wait to read this for Mock Sibert. Thanks to one of my 2022 Mock Sibert readalouds - Odd Bods by Julie Murphy - I recognized the red-lipped batfish face!

 

Tomfoolery!: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books by Michelle Markel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So well done. A complete biography that didn't leave me with questions, and illustrations that included Caldecott originals. I may add this to my curriculum to kick off Mock Caldecott every year.

 

Bears Are Best!: The scoop about how we sniff, sneak, snack, and snooze! by Joan Holub
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is a LOT of information in this book. I have my students practice taking notes when we read Mock Sibert titles. This one will need a very specific graphic organizer, or they'll end up writing down pages and pages! Or maybe I'll give different kids different graphic organizers, so they can just be looking / listening for certain facts. Hmm. Will definitely use, though.

 

The Whale Who Swam Through Time: A Two-Hundred-Year Journey in the Arctic by Alex Boersma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not sure if we can consider it "straight" nonfiction, since none of us can interview a bowhead whale about her feelings, and the mention of the Arctic warming being any kind positive gave me pause. But overall, a good presentation of how humans have changed the environment and informative backmatter to extend learning.

YA Fiction

 

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This has been on my to-read shelf for a while, and now that I am at a middle school once a week, I can't help but notice that McManus' books are hugely popular. So I decided to move it to the top of my holds list.

It was good, although I figured out one of the twists fairly early on. And it made me so happy that social media didn't exist when I was in high school.

Mock Newbery 2024 - October List

And so it begins. I read 7 (and abandoned 5) of the 26 books on the list, and here's what I thought of them. And I am posting after our meeting, so I've included what others thought as well.

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

VERY reminiscent of "The Wednesday Wars," which is one of my favorites ever, and I'm ok with that, although the structure following the Labors of Hercules was a bit forced. Too coincidental that they even went in order. But a clever idea. However, I didn't feel as emotionally invested in Hercules as I did in Holling, and there were several stock figures, like Mr. Moby. Oh boy oh boy.

Still, Schmidt has a way with words.

p. 235: There was more light now - the clouds had shoved away and every star in the whole galaxy was glittering, and Orion was twisting his shoulders to watch, and the planet Jupiter had turned its lights up to High Beam, and Taurus the Bull was pointing his horns.

VERDICT: Keep

Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit confused at times flipping back and forth between narrators so frequently, but overall this was really good and showed that situations can escalate into violence because of accidents, misunderstandings, and lack of communication. For most of my students, this will be a window book, but for many, it will be a mirror.

Also, I loved the idea of having an online chat with a friend via a shared Google Doc. How have I never thought of that before?

And the mention of Newsela reminded me that writing articles for students at different levels to read would be a good future job when I am too decrepit to carry books and furniture around.

VERDICT: People read "EbB and Flow," so saving for the next list

  

What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the interviews, emails, and texts, but the narrative parts seemed to sloooow everything down. While I understand how one of the characters was very torn between her public persona and her true feelings, the way she decided to avoid a situation was kind of ridiculous; the ending was kind of a letdown.

VERDICT: Keep

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For the most part, I liked Simon's voice and Bow's writing style. The whole microwave plot was confusing, though. And at 305 pages, the entire thing was too long.

P.S. I'm all for disgusting facts, but I CANNOT have someone talking about the smell of semen in a book in an elementary school library.

p. 28: To me, it kind of sounds like she doesn't know what to do with commas.

p. 77: "That squirrel is now thirty percent Jesus by volume," says Mom. "It's our new god."

p. 255: It starts to get dark, and then darker - that kind of blue dar, where you can still see everything, but the green of the trees and the red of Mr. Bagshott's emu barn both look black.

VERDICT: Keep 

  

The Windeby Puzzle: History and Story by Lois Lowry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Interesting idea, I guess, but I did not like the stories.

VERDICT: Drop

 

You Are Here: Connecting Flights by Ellen Oh
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I get that this book aims to make people aware that "Asian" is a very broad term encompassing multiple cultures, that racism is wrong, and that you should speak up in situations. And it did that. But in a very repetitive way.

VERDICT: Drop

  

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

VERDICT: Keep

DNFs: 

• Big Tree by Brian Selznick (too out there for me) - VERDICT: Drop
  
  
• The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri (this is a book for kids?) - VERDICT: Drop
  
  
• Not an Easy Win by Chrystal D. Giles (I liked it and will go back eventually to finish, but not a Newbery ... maybe a RICBA book?) - VERDICT: Drop
  
  
• When Clouds Touch Us by Thanhhà Lại (too bad, because I loved Inside Out and Back Again) - VERDICT: Drop 
  
  
• When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn (fast-forwarded to the end to hear that there was a twist) - VERDICT: Keep