2014 Newbery Hopefuls - and Other 2013 Titles for Kids

I've got a whole stack of books here that I want to read.  I've been checking out reviews and hitting some of the Mock Newbery lists.  The Tucson Library system has almost all that I was looking for, so I've taken them from the library, planning to read some of them myself and try to entice some of my students to try some out. (Hmmmm....notice all the blue or bluish-tinged covers - and DARK covers, too.....)

The Boy on the Porch
Sharon Creech
Sept. 2013, Harper Collins
a very compact 160 pages
Goodreads rating: 3.84 (404 ratings)
Amazon says ages 8-12/Grades 3-7
SLJ says grades 4-6

Paperboy
Vince Vawter
May 2013, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
224 pages - set up weirdly/interestingly with double space between paragraphs
Goodreads rating: 3.97 (516 ratings)
Amazon says ages 10 and up/Grades 5 and up
SLJ says grades 6-9; Booklist says grades 6-8

Road Trip
Gary Paulsen & Jim Paulsen
January 2013, Wendy Lamb Books
114 pgs. - a slender book
Goodreads rating: 3.66 (286 ratings)
Amazon says ages 10 up/Grades 5 up
SLJ says grades 5-7; Booklist says grades 3-7

The Hidden Summer
Gin Phillips
June 2013, Dial
198 pages
Goodreads rating:  3.66 (61 ratings)
Amazon says ages 10 up/Grades 6 up
SLJ says grades 5-7; Booklist says grades 5-8

Hokey Pokey
Jerry Spinelli
January 2013, Knopf Books for Young Readers
286 pages, small-sized book
Goodreads rating:  3.30 (723 ratings)
Amazon says ages 10 up/Grades 5 up
SLJ says grades 5-7; Booklist says grades 7 - 12??

Sure Signs of Crazy
Karen Harrington
August 2013, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
280 pages, another smallish-sized book
Goodreads rating:  4.00 (221 ratings)
Amazon says ages 9 up/Grades 4 up
SLJ says grades 6-9; Booklist says grades 5-8

The Year of Billy Miller
Kevin Henkes
September 2013, Greenwillow Books
Goodreads rating:  3.92 (342 ratings)
229 pages with larger, well-spaced-out font
Amazon says ages 8-12/grades 3-7
SLJ says grades 1-3; Booklist says grades 3-7

Navigating Early
Clare Vanderpool (Newbery-winning author of Moon Over Manifest)
January 2013, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Goodreads rating:  4.11 (1781 ratings)
306 pages
Amazon says ages 10 up/Grades 5 up
SLJ says grades 5-8; Booklist says grades 5-8, too...

Hold Fast
Blue Balliett
March 2013, Scholastic
288 pages (not yet in-hand, so have to check font, etc)
Goodreads rating:  3.78 (1152 reviews)
Amazon says ages 8-12/Grades 3-7
SLJ says grades 6-9; Booklist says grades 4-7

Doll Bones
Holly Black
May 2013, Margaret K. McIlderry Books
244 pages (not sure of size or font)
Goodreads rating:  3.78 (3725 reviews)
Amazon says ages 10-14 /Grades 5-9
SLJ says grades 4-7; Booklist says grades 5-8

The Water Castle
Megan Frazer Blakemore
January 2013, Walker Childrens
304 pages (not sure of size or font)
TAKES PLACE IN MAINE!!
Goodreads rating: 3.88  (416 reviews)
Amazon says ages 10-14/Grades 4-8
SLJ says grades 4-7; Booklist says grades 5-7

The Center of Everything
Linda Urban
March 2013, HMH Books for Young Readers
208 pages (not sure of size or font)
Goodreads rating:  3.78 (631 reviews)
Amazon says ages 9-12/Grades 4-7
SLJ says grades 4-6 ; Booklist says grades 4-6

Counting by 7s
Holly Goldberg Sloan
August 2013, Dell
384 pages (not sure of size or font)
Goodreads rating: 4.36   (1132 reviews)
Amazon says ages 10 up/Grades 5 up
SLJ says grades 7-10;  Booklist says grades 7-10

Far Far Away
Tom McNeal
June 2013, Knopf Books for Young Readers
384 pages (not sure of size or font)
Goodreads rating: 3.93  (912 reviews)
Amazon says ages 12 up/Grades 7 up
SLJ says grades 6 up ; Booklist says grades 7-10

Dead City (Dead City #1: Blue Moon)
James Ponti
October 2012 Simon & Schuster
328 pages
Goodreads rating:   4.19 (157 reviews)
Amazon says ages 9-13/Grades 4-8
SLJ and Booklist not included in Amazon review