Newbery Award – Cannonball Read 17

“God is a Troubadour!”

The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz

September 29, 2025 by cosbrarian Leave a Comment

Well, here it is, the book that made me cry, the book I’ll be throwing at anyone who seems vaguely interested in historical fantasy books that introduce children to big ideas and big research in an accessible way. Watch your head! *throws* Yes, I’m here to tell you a Newbery-honor book is supremely good, follow me for more shocking revelations. The Inquisitor’s Tale follows three remarkable kids and their magical dog as they try to survive Medieval France. Peasant girl Jeanne has visions of the […]

Belief in mysteries—all manner of mysteries—is the only lasting luxury in life.

August 27, 2018 by melanir 6 Comments

The Witches of Worm was nominated for a Newbery Award in 1973, but ultimately lost to Julie of the Wolves. It is still one of the creepiest books I can remember reading, yes even Goosbumps or Scary Tales to Tell in the Dark, partly because the horror was all psychological. Anyway, I wanted to see if the book still holds up so I reread it this weekend, and boy does it. As an old favorite this fills the Throwback Thursday slot on my Bingo card. […]

People don’t want to listen to their thoughts, so they fill the world with noise.

August 3, 2018 by melanir Leave a Comment

In my ongoing quest to read all the Newbery Award Winners, I decided to read the most recent addition to the list. Hello, Universe won the Newbery Award in 2018, and boy am I under the impression that 2017 was a bad year for children’s books. It’s not a bad book, per se, it’s just not great in the way I’ve come to expect Newbery winners to be. It was a very fast read, even for a children’s novel, and it contained about a short […]

Dolittle the Animal Lover

December 29, 2017 by melanir Leave a Comment

In my quest to read all the Newbery Medal winners, I decided to tackle one of the oldest books given this award and The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. I had a hard time getting through this, and I need to be honest here, I skimmed a lot of this book. A LOT. If it weren’t for my stated goal of reading all the Newbery Medal Winners, I don’t think would have done finished the book. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle won the Newbery Medal in […]

The first ugly cry of 2015

March 16, 2015 by bonnie Leave a Comment

Kwame Alexander won the Newbery Award the same week that Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman was announced for publication. Of course, Lee’s news totally trumped Alexander’s achievement, so to show some solidarity, I requested his novel from the library. And I was blown away. The Crossover is a verse novel (that is, a novel told in poems) about Josh Bell, a tween boy who is a star basketball player on his middle-school team. His twin brother Jordan, or JB, is on the team with […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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