Thursday, April 10, 2014

Let's Get It Started! First Three Titles!

Welcome to the 2015 Mock Newbery Search!

Here are the first three titles we are looking at:

Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

Click on the specific title to leave your thoughts!



Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage 
Kathy Dawson Books (Penguin), 2014

from Goodreads:
When Miss Lana makes an Accidental Bid at the Tupelo auction and winds up the mortified owner of an old inn, she doesn't realize there's a ghost in the fine print. Naturally, Desperado Detective Agency (aka Mo and Dale) opens a paranormal division to solve the mystery of the ghost's identity. They've got to figure out who the ghost is so they can interview it for their history assignment (extra credit). But Mo and Dale start to realize that the Inn isn't the only haunted place in Tupelo Landing. People can also be haunted by their own past. As Mo and Dale handily track down the truth about the ghost (with some help from the new kid in town), they discover the truth about a great many other people, too.

A laugh out loud, ghostly, Southern mystery that can be enjoyed by readers visiting Tupelo Landing for the first time, as well as those who are old friends of Mo and Dale.



Sheila Turnage won a Newbery Honor with Three Times Lucky (2013) and here she is revisiting Tupelo and hoping for the gold this time.  She's bringing the same cast of characters with a little ghostly twist but will that be enough or will the judges feel like they are reading the same "mo" same old??

Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Snicker of Magic, A by Natalie Lloyd
Scholastic Press, 2014

From Goodreads:
Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.


A Snicker of Magic is well-loved by the Nerdy Bookclub and has been all over twitter.  I hear Lloyd read from the book at ALA Midwinter in Philadelphia and if that excerpt carries throughout the book - Lloyd would do well in style and delineation of characters.  But how will this early release debut fair with some of the seasoned authors releasing books this year including 2013 Honor Book winner Sheila Turnage? We shall see.


Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle

Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle
Simon and Schuster, 2014

from Goodreads:
Nate Foster's Broadway dreams are finally coming true. Armed with a one-way ticket to New York City, small-town theater geek Nate is off to start rehearsals for E.T.: The Broadway Musical . It's everything he ever practiced his autograph for! But as thrilling as Broadway is, rehearsals are nothing like Nate expects: full of intimidating child start, cutthroat understudies, and a director who can't even remember Nate's name. 

Now, as the countdown to opening night is starting to feel more like a time bomb, Nate is going to need more than his lucky rabbit's foot if he ever wants to see his name in lights. He may even need a showbiz miracle.


Despite the childish cover, last year's Better Nate Than Ever tackled some serious topics and concluded with Nate reaching his dream.

It's hard for sequels in the Newbery because they need to be complete stories in and of themselves. Can Five, Six, Seven, Nate follow in the footsteps of past winners; Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1977) or The Grey King by Susan Cooper (1976) which where both #4 in a series?

Thoughts?