Newbery Hopefuls From Our Reading Friends

When we started our blog (almost 2 years ago!) we started it as a way to make public our conversations about the books we hoped would win the Newbery Award. We have never been right, but we love the fun of guessing. This year, we asked some of our reading friends--people who we share our book thinking with throughout the year--to share their thoughts with us. These are people who read lots and know books. We know that we may scramble a bit this next month, reading those 2007 titles that we've haven't gotten to yet. With holiday break coming, we thought others might be interested in doing the same thing. We'll feature a different Reading Friend each day for a while. Enjoy!

Our first installment comes from Jen Allen, a Literacy Coach in Maine. She is also the author of Becoming a Literacy Leader. For anyone who has a job as a literacy coach, this is a must read.

If I had to choose one book to receive the Newbery award it would be
The Aurora County All -Stars by Deborah Wiles. It is just a great read-aloud for students
in the intermediate grades. Good clean fun! Although book evolves around
the kid grabbing topic of baseball, it also weaves in layers about
friendship, gender, judging others, and segregation. Great lessons to be
learned. During this read- aloud I also shared the book, Teammates by
Peter Golenbock to help students strengthen their understanding on the
history of baseball and segregation. An additional treat is how the author
incorporates quotes from poet Walt Whitman and famous baseball players.
I tried this book as a read aloud with both my ten year old son and a 4th
grade class this fall. Both audiences enjoyed the book. I love the feel
good ending. The Aurora County All- Stars is my Newbery pick for the year.