FINISHED: 
de la Peña, Matt. (2008). Mexican Whiteboy. New York: Delacorte.

[.]

STARTED:
Ryan, Pam Muñoz. (2015).  Echo.  New York: Scholastic.

[GLADLY re-reading before I get to meet her at a special luncheon at ALA next week.  Kind of exciting to read it again for the first time after having helped to select it as a 2016 Newbery Honor winner!]

*

To Commemorate Having Been on the 2016 Newbery Committee!

FINISHED: 
DiCamillo, Kate. (2016).  Raymie Nightingale.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Raymie is determined to learn to twirl a baton - she NEEDS to so that she can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition.  If she does then she is certain that her father will see her picture in the paper and come home (he ran off with a dental hygienist...).  Nothing goes as planned, however, as the baton classes don't happen, her reading aloud to the elderly creeps her out (plus, she loses the book under one of their beds), and she becomes friends with cynical Beverly and Louisiana, who's determined to get back the cat she had to give away (though he was almost certainly put down...) because she couldn't afford to keep him anymore. 

REALLY liked this one.  Kind of quiet and mindful, spare and lovely.  Louisiana was a FANTASTIC character - her unbending enthusiasm and perseverance were hilarious and moving.  SURELY this year's Newbery Award committee will be looking at this one very closely.]

STARTED:
de la Peña, Matt. (2008). Mexican Whiteboy. New York: Delacorte.

[Realized that aside from his other picture book (other than LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET, natch), I haven't read anything else by him...]

*

FINISHED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2016). The Lie Tree. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[Took me awhile to finish this one...  True, I read The BFG in between, but although I found The Lie Tree just as remarkable as the hype, it was still a bit of a slog for me.]

STARTED:
DiCamillo, Kate. (2016).  Raymie Nightingale.  Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[We finally got copies in!  I can now see what all of the chatter is about!]

*

STARTED & FINISHED:
Dahl, Roald. (1982).  The BFG.  New York: Puffin/Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Appelt, Kathi, and Alison McGhee. (2016). Maybe a Fox. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[Pretty moving, with a solid mood.  Vaguely reminiscent of one of my personal favorites from last year, MOONPENNY ISLAND.  Imagine that this year's Newbery committee will be talking about this one...]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2016). The Lie Tree. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[Starred Reviews from pretty much EVERYBODY.]

*

FINISHED:
Dougherty, Michael. (2015). Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead. Burbank, CA: Legendary Comics.

[.]

STARTED:
Appelt, Kathi, and Alison McGhee. (2016). Maybe a Fox. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Wolk, Lauren. (2016). Wolf Hollow. New York: Dutton/Penguin/Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Dougherty, Michael. (2015). Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead. Burbank, CA: Legendary Comics.

[You may not know this, but TRICK 'R TREAT has become one of my favorite films.  May have even surpassed HALLOWEEN as my favorite film to watch during that season...]

*

FINISHED:
Albertalli, Becky. (2015). Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[Finally got around to reading this one after getting a free copy at the Morris Awards while at ALA Midwinter.  FANTASTIC read.  This is another case of "why wasn't this book around when I was a teenager?" envy.  Great voice.  Cleverly has every other chapter be emails between Simon's secret identity and Blue (another student at school who is keeping his identity under wraps).  A fun coming out story with a sweet romance that builds slowly, and virtually!]

STARTED:
Wolk, Lauren. (2016). Wolf Hollow. New York: Dutton/Penguin/Random House.

[4 starred reviews (from all of the majors) - and having fun trying to pick what might be up for the 2017 Newbery.]

*

FINISHED: 
Brown, Peter. (2016). The Wild Robot. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Albertalli, Becky. (2015). Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[.]

*