Northward to the Moon by Polly Horvath

"Our family lasted almost one year in Saskatchewan."

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Summary: When her stepfather loses his job in Saskatchewan, Jane and the rest of the family set off on a car trip, ending up in Nevada after improbably being given a bag full of possibly stolen money.

Publisher: Random House Children's Books; 244 pages

A Nest for Celeste - A Story About Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home by Henry Cole

"Below the crackled and faded picture of a horse,

beneath the heavy sideboard,
under the worn carpet
and dusty floorboards of the dining room
sat Celeste, hunched over her worktable."

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Summary: A beautifully illustrated novel about a mouse, her friendship with Audubon's apprentice, and her search for home. Beneath the crackled and faded painting of a horse, underneath the worn and dusty floorboards of the dining room, lives Celeste, a mouse who spends her days weaving baskets, until one day she is thrust into the world above. Here Celeste encounters danger--and love--unlike any she's ever imagined. She dodges a hungry cat and witnesses the brutality of hunting for the first time. She makes friends with a singing thrush named Cornelius, a talkative osprey named Lafayette, and Joseph, Audubon's young apprentice. All the while, Celeste is looking for a new home. Is her home in the toe of a worn boot? Nestled in Joseph's pocket? Or in the dollhouse in the attic, complete with mouse-size furniture perfect for Celeste? In the end, Celeste discovers that home is really the place deep inside her heart, where friendships live. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 336 pages

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

"It looks like a one-winged bird crouching in the corner of our living room."

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Summary: In Caitlin’s world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That’s the stuff Caitlin’s older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon’s dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger’s, she doesn’t know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white—the world is full of colors—messy and beautiful.

Publisher: Philomel Books; 232 pages

The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz

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"Flory was a night fairy."

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Summary: Newbery Medalist Schlitz and a world-renowned illustrator and miniaturist venture into the realm of the illustrated classic with this tale about what happens to a fairy who loses her wings and is unable to fly. Full color.

Publisher: Candlewick; 117 pages

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper

"Words. I'm surrounded by thousands of words. Maybe millions."

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Summary: Eleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. Her head is like a video camera that is always recording. Always. And there's no delete button. She's the smartest kid in her whole school—but no one knows it. Most people—her teachers and doctors included—don't think she's capable of learning, and up until recently her school days consisted of listening to the same preschool-level alphabet lessons again and again and again. If only she could speak up, if only she could tell people what she thinks and knows . . . but she can't, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write.Being stuck inside her head is making Melody go out of her mind—that is, until she discovers something that will allow her to speak for the first time ever. At last Melody has a voice . . . but not everyone around her is ready to hear it.

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 288 pages

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley

"According to Susy, people were... well, just plain wrong about her papa."

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Summary: Thirteen-year-old Susy Clemens wants the world to know that her papa, Mark Twain, is more than just a humorist and sets out to write a comprehensive biography of the American icon.

Publisher: Scholastic Press; unpaged.

A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

"Y'Tin Eban watched Tomas fasten the rope around Lady's neck."

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Summary: In 1975 after American troops pull out of Vietnam, a thirteen-year-old boy and his beloved elephant escape into the jungle when the Viet Cong attack his village.

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 216 pages.

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen

"He was not sure exactly when he became a child of the forest."

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Summary: Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and Iroquois attack. Samuel s parents are taken away, prisoners. Samuel follows, hiding, moving silently, determined to find a way to rescue them. Each day he confronts the enemy, and the tragedy and horror of this war. But he also discovers allies, men and women working secretly for the patriot cause. And he learns that he must go deep into enemy territory to find his parents: all the way to the British headquarters, New York City.

Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books; 164 pages.

Newbery Medal Winners -- Ranked!

A group of interested and opinionated individuals met early this afternoon to place Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me on the Newbery Medal Winners - Ranked! list. With our bellies full of good food -- the chocolate chip muffins and the homemade cornbread were particularly yummy -- we discussed various titles and their merits (or lack thereof). Although many of us find the placing of some titles just plain wrong, and we discussed the possibility of reorganizing the list, we easily settled on #10 for When You Reach Me. The newest addition to the Newbery canon stood out for each of us as a title that belongs near the top of the list, easily in the top 25%. If you have an opinion about the newest addition to the list, or any other title for that matter, share it here.

Keep your eyes peeled for the updated list. It will be here soon.

Beginning tomorrow, we'll start blogging about possible titles for the Newbery 2011 discussion. We'd love to hear which new titles you are reading that are great!