We are approaching one of my favorite times of the year. You might think it’s watching the first major snow of the season, but no. It is the time of year to participate in mock discussions and elections of recent children’s books, and to submit YOUR Mock YMA Election Results.
Each January, the highly anticipated ALA Youth Media Awards are announced. The next set of winning Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and other YMA titles will take place on Monday, January 30, 2023. At this event, to be held live-and-in-person for the first time since 2020, we will excitedly learn about the books which have been selected by very hard-working committee members who have spent the year reading, thinking about, and discussing children’s books published in 2022. The books they select as winners will proudly wear a shiny medal on their cover indicating the distinction they’ve won as the “best of the best” for the year.
In preparation for these award announcements, many people participate in mock discussions and elections in person or virtually:
- Librarians gather colleagues and customers together in mock discussions
- School kids gather – some before or after school, some during lunch hours, some during the traditional school day – to share their thoughts about the books they’ve read
- Bookstores host programs highlighting quality 2022 titles
- Book Clubs, SLIS students, and families get together to vote on what they think might win one of the prestigious YMA awards
- On-line groups offer opportunities for readers to share their thoughts through social media outlets
Since 2016, the ALSC Blog has offered a space for all of these groups to share their Mock Election results. Through the YMA Mock Elections Results page, the discussion expands as readers discover new titles or (sometimes) have their own thoughts affirmed.
Results are now being accepted on the ALSC Blog’s YMA Mock Election Results page for mock election programs including:
- Mock Caldecott Results
- Mock Newbery Results
- Mock Coretta Scott King Results
- Mock Geisel Results
- Mock Printz Results
- Mock Sibert Results
- Mock Pura Belpré Results
- Mock Batchelder Results
- Mock (Mildred L.) Batchelder Results
- Mock Sydney Taylor Results
It is SO MUCH FUN to see the results from the wide variety of mock discussions and elections held around the country! As I write this blog post, the Results page is empty. <sad face> Help us fill it up! To add your mock election results to this page, please use this form. We can’t wait to hear which titles your group has selected!
Read! Discuss! Vote! Report Your Results! And help us spread the word about the Mock Elections Results page. It’s a great way to excite kids and adults about reading and to build awareness of some of the many stellar books which have been published in 2022.