Newbery Buzz Discussion Series

We love discussing books here at Redeemed Reader! We also love “prognosticating the awards”: discussing potential Newbery Medal candidates (these are potentials to us; the actual awards discussions are always super secret) and weighing their pros and cons. While the annual Newbery awards have already been awarded for most of the years referenced below, we hope the virtual discussions will help you better understand a given title and also promote further discussion. You can also see how well we had a finger on the pulse of a given year.

Wondering why we care about the Newbery? See Betsy’s post “What’s the Big Deal with the Newbery Medal” for more information!

We’ve linked the winning titles to reviews (or Newbery Buzz discussions) at Redeemed Reader. The “discussion” titles are linked to our Newbery Buzz discussions of those titles.

2024 Newbery Buzz Discussions

We’ll update actual winners/honors once awards are announced (January 22).

Freewater

2023 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners and Honors: Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson (winner); honors: Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango; The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat; and Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee.

2022 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners and Honors: The Last Cuentista (winner); honors (all reviewed together): Red, White, and Whole; A Snake Falls to Earth; Watercress; Too Bright to See

cover of when you trap a tiger

2021 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners and Honors: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller (winner); All Thirteen: The Incredible Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat (honor); BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford (honor); Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (honor); We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly (honor); A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat (honor)

**In our predictions, Janie got one title right! And, one of our team favorites, Everything Sad Is Untrue, won the Printz award!

Cover image of New Kid by Jerry Craft

2020 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners: New Kid by Jerry Craft (winner); The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (honor); Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay and illustrated by Junyi Wu (honor); Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga (honor); Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (honor)

**We discussed two of the winners in our Newbery Buzz discussion series this year!**

 

Cover image of Merci Suarez Changes Gears

2019 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners: Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (winner), The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani (honor)The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (honor).

**We discussed two of the winners in our Newbery Buzz discussion series this year! And, nearly every book we discussed earned some awards-love for something this year!**

Cover image of Hello, Universe

2018 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners: Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (winner), Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

Our Discussions:

Cover image of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

2017 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual WinnersThe Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill; honors went to Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan, The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz, and Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

Our Discussions:  **we discussed one of the winners!**

Cover image of Last Stop on Market Street

2016 Newbery Buzz Discussions  (totally struck out this year!)

Actual winners: Last Stop on Market Street (winner), The War That Saved My Life, Roller Girl, Echo

Our Discussions….

Cover image of The Crossover

2015 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners: The Crossover (winner), El Deafo, Brown Girl Dreaming

Cover image of Flora & Ulysses

2014 Newbery Buzz Discussions

Actual Winners: Flora & Ulysses (winner), The Year of Billy Miller, Doll Bones, One Came Home

Our Discussions:

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Stay Up to Date!

Get the information you need to make wise choices about books for your children and teens.

Our weekly newsletter includes our latest reviews, related links from around the web, a featured book list, book trivia, and more. We never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Betsy Farquhar

Betsy is the Managing Editor at Redeemed Reader. When she reads ahead for you, she uses sticky notes instead of book darts and willfully dog ears pages even in library books. Betsy is a fan of George MacDonald, robust book discussions, and the Oxford comma. She lives with her husband and their three children in the beautiful Southeast.

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