Saying Goodbye To My Newbery Year

Chances are, if you read this blog you know that the ALA announced the Youth Media Awards on Monday morning.  It was a bitter sweet time, as it signaled the end of my Newbery tenure.

This past year (and a half) has been filled with more books than you can possibly imagine.  I was reading with a critical eye, thinking and re-thinking, reading and re-reading.

I am particularly proud of our committee and our hard work.  It does seem a little strange to be reading for the sake of it, but I am pleased that this blog will be going back to its old format.  I will be keeping up with the tween interviews and the "on the clip-board" posts, but they will be interspersed with book recommendations!

ALA

Like many of you all, I will be winging away to Dallas Texas to attend the ALA Midwinter Conference.  I will be in meetings most of the time, but will hopefully get onto the floor to check out what's coming next in the world of tween literature!
If you see me out and about, please stop me and say "hi"!

Real Life Tween Reader

"Mak" is a kid who defies categorization.  He is a reader, an athlete, and a music fan among other things.  He can be counted on to provide his peers with book-talks, especially when they show some interest in a series that he enjoys.  He's a kid who is always on the go, and even though he has officially entered teendom,  I took advantage of a quiet moment in the library today to get him to answer some of my questions!

Do you consider yourself a reader?
Yes, I enjoy reading.

What are your favorite genres to read?
Action, adventure and realistic fiction (books about high school life).  I enjoy humor in books.

How do you select the books you want to read?
I am a fan of following a series!  If not I usually hear about them from from my friends or librarians.

What is your favorite book so far?
The Ranger's Apprentice   series [Flanagan] and  the Harry Potter series [Rowling].

What is your favorite thing about reading?
I love that reading makes me feel like I am there in the moment.

Do you read on an e-reader/phone/computer?
No.

What kinds of books do you think are the most possible with kids your age?
It really depends on the person, but two very popular ones in my grade are Pretty Little Liars  [Shepard](I don't read them), and Harry Potter.

What are you currently reading?
Ranger's Apprentice 10.