Mock Newbery 2026 discussion

Linda Sue Park has written some wonderful books in the past. Could The One Thing You'd Save earn her a second Newbery award?

What did you think of it?

I really, really liked The One Thing You'd Save. I liked that the question was posed to omit the family and pets choice. This would be a great discussion starter for teachers and I would love to hear student's choices and the WHY behind it.

I couldn't decide what I'd save, but I definitely pondered the question the more the characters added. As mentioned, it could be a great discussion starter, especially due to its briefness. An excellent question for defining value in one's life.

Read this book this summer and then gave it to my daughter, who is a fifth grade teacher. She is going to use it in her classroom.

So, then I asked my two grandsons, both in high school the question, noting that pets and people were all safe. Both, said at the same time, "Our X-box!" And, why? I asked? Well, grandma, we can replace everything else, but you can't even get your hands on a X-box! Then I started suggesting other things, and I was laughed out of the house! I almost took those baby books that I made for them with me. Just sayin'

ONE THING YOU’D SAVE by Linda Sue Park seems more like a preamble to classroom activities than a novel. Readers could be asked to answer the question about what they would save in a fire. Groups could be asked to critique the responses in the book or from each other. Writers could be asked to use the Sijo poetry structure to create their own works.
No plot, very little character development. It is difficult to evaluate this as a stand-alone book since most people respond by answering the question posed by the author.

Quick read, reflective, and a good “prompt” for a classroom discussion (as described in the book). It seemed a bit too short/under-developed for me, as I’d have liked to better know characters and why they chose what they did. This book left me longing for more.

Maybe I read it too fast, but was it a little confusing for anyone else? It was not clear to me which parts were being said by which characters and whether they were at home or at school while saying them.

I really enjoyed it, though I couldn't tell if I enjoyed it more as a theoretical exercise than as a novel. I agree with those that said they wished for more, especially in evaluating it as a children's novel.

I thought her Prairie Lotus last year was deserving of awards recognition, and was disappointed to see it hadn't. I don't feel as strongly about this title.

An invaluable tool for teachers and desperate librarians charged with finding a book group title - short, accessible and with a great hook for discussion. As a Newbery title, no.

I sort of wish that there had only been 17 students giving their answer, and you, the reader, was the 18th student. But that may have been too gimmicky.

I like that it makes readers think about what they would save, and also think about why each student chooses what they choose. It's hard to compare it to other novels, so I could see it winning the Newbery for being different.

My favorite part of The One Thing You'd Save is the interactions between the students as they responded to one another's suggestions. Some students shared very personal items to save, such as the box on their mom's nightstand with nail clippings and a curl of brown hair inside, so touching. The idea about only saving one item is not new however, kids have been given that challenge before. I prefer Linda Sue Park's historical fiction books such as Prairie Lotus.

I borrowed this book with Libby (Overdrive) and as usual the electronic formatting messed up the unique page design. As a result, the virtual book is a jumbled mess of weirdly spaces blurbs. Reading the author’s note completely changed my mind about this book. The little poems are cute and authentic. I like how the teacher facilitates the conversation, guiding them back on topic when necessary but not leading/controlling it. The characters are well defined and interesting. I’d love to hear more about them. Solid 4 out of 5 book.

I shall echo many others in saying I liked the premise of this book, but overall it fell flat.

I read a physical copy earlier in the year and listened to the audiobook more recently. Both versions had aspects I enjoyed - unique formatting for the physical version and full cast for the audiobook (which helped me differentiate between characters).

Overall, I don't see this as a Newbery contender, though.