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Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan is the winner of our 2014 Mock Newbery poll.

w00t!

Yay!!!

Wow, cool!

Hope it's foreshadowing

Yes! Can't wait for next week; hope this wonderful book gets recognition at the ALA YMA!

I really hope this book wins the medal or at least gets an honor. I absolutely loved it!

Love this book!

This book was excellent. I wonder if this will be a Printz candidate as well?

finally read this. I loved it and would be happy if this wins!

Navigating Early and Doll Bones tied to win our honor award. What do you think of our choices?

I definitely expect to see Doll Bones on the list of award winners. I have already recommended it to several young readers.

Is Doll Bones as creepy as it sounds? I am REALLY not into creepy, but I hate to miss a good book.

it is a little creepy, not as much as I thought it would be. perfect amount for kids 10+ or more tolerant younger kids. and that's about my level, so I was good.

LauraW wrote: "Is Doll Bones as creepy as it sounds? I am REALLY not into creepy, but I hate to miss a good book."

I also can't do creepy (e.g. I could only read Miss Peregrine during the day) and Doll Bones was safe enough that I stayed up late and read it in one night. The characters are very likeable and are doing interesting things. The creepy doll is just a small part of it. I contrast this book with stories that rely heavily on the creepy factor to get you to keep reading them.

The awards take place at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. You can watch a live broadcast of the event on January 27th, 8:00 a.m. ET at this link:

I am curious about why Counting by 7s missed out on awards. It was one of my favorite books this past year.

LauraW wrote: "I am curious about why Counting by 7s missed out on awards. It was one of my favorite books this past year."

My favorites NEVER win the Newbery. And usually don't get honors, either. And books win the Caldecott and I think "huh?" That's just how it goes and how it is for lots of folks.

Counting by 7s, while one of my favorites, really did have some gaping plot holes. Books that win the awards are those that a whole diverse committee can get behind. Divisive books don't usually make it through.

I wouldn't describe the books that have flaws as divisive, which, to me, means that it handles a subject in a manner that could alienate certain groups of people.

That said, I am interested in what you consider to be the gaping plot holes. The one that bothered me was why the mother would keep so much money stashed away and have herself and her children living in poverty.

But I thought the characterizations, especially of the ineffective counselor, were extremely well done.

Yes I agree the characterization, voice, and sentence level writing IS distinguished. The ending being a little too happy ever after tied with a bow in the middle of bureaucratic red tape, the mother hoarding $ while living in poverty, etc. created a lot of angst on other message boards I didn't see it gaining much consensus in a group.

Too happy endings don't seem to bother some other well-awarded books.

The reason I am especially interested is that I frequently like books that have good plots and good characters and I thought I had finally found one I liked that actually had good writing, too, since people usually fault the books that I like for having poor writing.

Oh, well! It is what it is, as they say.

Good news! Counting By 7's is number 10 on the New York Times best seller list! :) So the book is well loved. I was shocked last year when Wonder didn't get any medal love but it is still going strong! Sometimes well loved is better than a medal in my humble opinion.

Wonder sooooo deserved the Newbery last year. It is still the most requested intermediate book in my children's department. Well that one and Hard Luck from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series :)

I am actually surprised that kids like Wonder as much as they do. It is one that I would have expected teachers to recommend and kids pick up only because of teacher recommendations, but that doesn't appear to be true. I am a sub and I often ask kids I am subbing for what books they would recommend for me to read. Wonder is a frequent recommendation. Fablehaven, too (which I haven't yet read).

I enjoyed Wonder as well, but I feel it does best as a read aloud, so that rich discussion happens with the story. My classes that read it last year still ask for it now, but I don't have as many new students flocking to it. Could just be my readers.

My students enjoyed it at the beginning of the year, but no one is asking for it anymore. Maybe it reached its saturation point.

I was sorry that Counting By 7s was passed over, but I was still happy for the award winners!

Niki (Daydream Reader) wrote: "Good news! Counting By 7's is number 10 on the New York Times best seller list! :) So the book is well loved. I was shocked last year when Wonder didn't get any medal love but it is still going str..."
So true!!

I don't think message driven books like Wonder last through a committe selection process. I think Wonder is a popular book and it connects with curriculum and the anti-bullying work we teachers are having to teach. I didn't think of it as award winner.

Although Counting 7s was not my favorite of 2014 (Hokey Pokey was), I fully expected it to win the Newbery, so imagine my surprise when it didn't even get recognized as an honor book. FYI, I gave Counting 7s 4 stars on goodreads.