It’s that time of year again! We’ve read hundreds of books over the past year to find these outstanding It List nominees for the 2018-2019 It Lists. These books will serve as the content for our Reading Bowl and many of our other student competitions during the 18-19 school year. Students can vote for their favorite nominees until March 1, 2019 and the winners will be announced at TomeCon 2019.

Without further ado, the 2018-2019 Tome Student Literacy Society It List nominees are:

Tome Society nominees - High School (grades 9-12)

1. BlackHearts, by Nicole Castroman
2. Caraval, by Stephanie Garber
3. Disappeared, by Francisco X. Stork
4. In 27 Days, by Alison Gervais
5. It Started with Goodbye, by Christina June
6. Last Star Burning, by Caitlin Sangster
7. Long May She Reign, by Rhiannon Thomas
8. Losing Brave, by Bailee Madison & Stefne Miller
9. Midnight at the Electric, by Jodi Lynn Anderson
10. Nemesis, by Anna Banks
11. Solo, by Kwame Alexander
12. Spindle Fire, by Lexa Hillyer
13. The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol
14. The Beast is an Animal, by Peternelle van Arsdale
15. The Glass Spare, by Lauren DeStefano
16. The Lost Girl of Astor Street, by Stephanie Morrill
17. The Thing with Feathers, by McCall Hoyle
18. The Traitor’s Game, by Jennifer A. Nielsen
19. The Wish Granter, by C.J. Redwine
20. Toward a Secret Sky, by Heather Maclean
    
    

Jr Tome Society nominees - Middle School (grades 6-8)

1. League of Archers, by Eva Howard
2. The Emperor’s Riddle, by Kat Zhang
3. Siren Sisters, by Dana Langer
4. The Adventurers Guild, by Zach Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos
5. The Shadow Cipher, by Laura Ruby
6. The Trials of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend
7. The Voyage to Magical North, by Claire Fayers
8. The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid, by Colin Meloy
9. Tumble and Blue, by Cassie Beasley
10. Zap, by Martha Freeman
    
    

Club Tome nominees - Elementary School (grades 4-5)

1. Outside In, by Jennifer Bradbury
2. Tentacle and Wing, by Sarah Porter
3. The Emperor’s Riddle, by Kat Zhang
4. The Royal Rabbits Of London, by Santa Montefiore & Simon Sebag Montefiore
5. The Wizards of Once, by Cressida Cowell
6. WishTree, by Katherine Applegate

​Congratulations to all of our 2018-2019 It List authors! 
Happy reading!

The Tome Society It List 2017-2018 High School Nominees are:
​​​

1. Almost Autumn, Marianne Kaurin
2. Ever the Hunted, Erin Summerill
3. Everland, Wendy Spinale
4. Forget Tomorrow, Pintip Dunn
5. Frostblood, Kelly Blake
6. Genius: The Game, Leopoldo Gout
7. Gilt Hollow, Lori Langdon
8. Heartless, Marissa Meyer
9. Heir to the Sky, Amanda Sun
10. Hold Me Like a Breath, Tiffany Schmidt
11. Ivory and Bone, Julie Eshbaugh
12. Love and Gelato, Jenna Evans Welch
13. My Lady Jane, Hand, Ashton, Meadows
14. Projekt 1065, Alan Gratz
15. The Awakener, Amanda Strong
16. The Book Jumper, Mechthild Glaser
17. The Memory of Light, Francisco Stork
18. The Possibility of Now, Kim Culbertson
19. The Scourge, Jennifer Nielsen
20. What Light, Jay Asher

The Jr. Tome 2017-2018 Middle School Nominees are:
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1. Left Out, Tim Green
2. Listen to the Moon, Michael Morpurgo
3. Nine, Ten, Nora Baskin
4. Omega City, Diana Peterfreund
5. River Runs Deep, Jennifer Bradbury
6. The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill
7. The Nightsiders: The Orphan Army, Jonathan Maberry
8. The Scourge, Jennifer Nielsen
9. This is Not a Werewolf Story, Sandra Evans
10. Wishing Day, Lauren Myracle

The Club Tome 2017-2018 It List Nominees are:
​

1. Hour of the Bees, Lindsay Eagar
2. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, Joseph M Marshall III
3. Soar, Tracy Edward Wymer
4. The Girl Who Could Not Dream, Sarah Beth Durst
5. The Island of Dr. Libris, Chris Grabenstein
6. The Silver Gate, Kristin Bailey

Congratulations to all of the 17-18 It List authors! These books will provide the content for our 2017-2018 discussion guides, Reading Bowl, and other It List competitions. 

To learn more about how It List books are selected and how to submit books for Tome to consider for future lists, visit this page: http://www.tomesociety.org/it-list-guidelines.html. 

On Pinterest? Pin these images to your reading or library boards to help spread the word about Tome Society!

See below for the month each book will be highlighted and the Reading Bowl exam order:

Dear Reading Bowl Coaches,
Thank you so much for an amazing year of Reading Bowl competitions. In an effort to offer our Tome Society chapters the best possible Reading Bowl experience we have implemented some changes to the 2016-2017 Reading Bowl Competition. Below you can find a list of the new rules and procedures.

2016-2017 Rules and Procedures

1. ​​Teams must be registered by Oct 1, 2016.
2. Teams can consist of 1-15 members. Members cannot be substituted or added after the Oct 1 deadline.
3. Teams will receive Canvas usernames and passwords from tomereadingbowl@gmail.com before the initial testing window. Coaches should ask team members to test this login prior to the first test.
4. Teams will play ONLY 1-5 team members in each online round of testing. Teams should decide ahead of time which students will participate in each online round. 
5. Teams should choose one date and time during the testing window to take each digital test.
6. Students cannot use any resources during the test, including books or other team members.
7. Team Coaches should supervise the testing session.
8. Students will have 60 minutes to complete each digital test.
9. Each team member will be generated a unique test through the Canvas testing platform. Students will not be able to go back to a question once it has been submitted.
10. Each test will consist of 10 questions per book. 
11. Team score is determined as an average of all team member scores in each round of online testing using this formula: Total number of points accrued by team/total number of students participating in round from team.
12. Current rank is determined from total points in online testing rounds at time of ranking. 
13. At the end of online testing, a Digital Testing winner for each chapter level will be awarded.
14. At the end of online testing, the top 4 ranked teams from each chapter level based on total points accumulated will advance to a face-to-face competition at TomeCon.
15. Face-to-face competition at TomeCon will begin with a "clean slate" with each team beginning with zero points. Team scores will be determined by number of correct questions answered during face-to-face buzzer board style competition. Each round will consist of 10 quiz-bowl style questions. Teams will compete in up to 3 rounds depending on the number of teams competing. Teams may play up to 5 students in each face-to-face round. A coach must be present with the team at all times. Parents are welcome to attend the competition. 
16. The top 3 teams from each chapter level will be recognized on stage at TomeCon, and the Reading Bowl Champion for each chapter level will be awarded.
17. ed will advance to a face-to-face competition at TomeCon.
18. The top 3 teams from each chapter level will be recognized on stage at TomeCon, and the Reading Bowl Champion will be awarded.

Next year the Reading Bowl Chair will generate all usernames and passwords for the Reading Bowl teams in an effort to combat the lost or forgotten password/username issue. Teams can still be made up of 1-15 members; however, 1-5 students can compete in each round. Below, you will see the testing windows as well as the testing lists.

2016-2017 Testing Windows

• Exam Window #1 - October 12-19, 2016
• Exam Window #2 - December 7-14, 2016
• Exam Window #3 - February 22 - March 1, 2017

Book Testing Lists
High School
Exam #1

• Mark of the Thief
• Beneath
• Code of Honor
• The Eighth Day
• Soundless
• Ink and Ashes

Exam #2

• 5 to 1
• The Six
• Reawakened
• Salt to the Sea
• Icebreaker
• Spinning Starlight

Exam #3

• Walk on Earth a Stranger
• The Distance Between Lost and Found
• Lois Lane: Fallout
• The Orphan Queen
• The Revelation of Louisa May
• MiNRS
• Velvet Undercover
• The Blackthorn Key

Middle School
Exam #1

• A Night Divided
• The Eighth Day
• Fish in a Tree

Exam #2

• Fuzzy Mud
• Circus Mirandus
• Icebreaker

Exam #3

• The Doublecross
• Book Scavenger
• MiNRS
• Serafina and the Black Cloak

Elementary School
Exam #1

• Charlie Bumpers vs the Perfect Little Turkey
• Fish in a Tree

Exam #2

• Fuzzy Mud
• Nightbird

Exam #3

• Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures
• Book Scavenger

Reading Bowl Tips:

• Encourage your students to be reading during the summer so that they have a jump start on the year.
• Have “experts”. Divide the books amongst your 15 members so that the five testing during each window have become the most knowledgeable on their assigned books.
• Submit practice questions so that you can have access to a large group wiki that supplies practice Reading Bowl questions to students. The Google Form can be found here: http://www.tomesociety.org/reading-bowl.html

Thank you again for all your hard work Coaches, it is with your help and support that the Tome Society has been able to offer such high quality activities that promote student literacy.

The 2016-2017 Tome Society It List Nominees have been announced and here they are! Thank you to the hundreds of volunteer readers who make this list happen each year!

The 2016-2017 Tome Society It List
Grades 9-12

1. 5 to 1, by Holly Bodger (2015, Knopf Books for Young Readers)
2. Beneath, by Roland Smith (2015, Scholastic Press)
3. Code of Honor, by Alan Gratz (2015, Scholastic Press)
4. Fallout, by Gwenda Bond (2015, Switch Press) – Lois Lane #1
5. Icebreaker, by Lian Tanner (2015, Feiwel & Friends) – The Hidden #1
6. Ink and Ashes, by Valynne E. Maetani (2015, Tu Books)
7. Mark of the Thief, by Jennifer Nielsen (2015, Scholastic Press) – Mark of the Thief #1
8. MiNRS, by Kevin Sylvester (2015, Margaret K. McElderry Books)
9. Reawakened, by Colleen Houck (2015, Delacorte Press) – Reawakened #1
10. Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys (2016, Philomel Books)
11. Soundless, by Richelle Mead (2015, Razorbill)
12. Spinning Starlight, by R.C. Lewis (2015, Disney Hyperion)
13. The Blackthorn Key, by Kevin Sands (2015, Aladdin) – Christopher Rowe #1
14. The Distance Between Lost and Found, by Kathryn Holmes (2015, HarperTeen)
15. The Eighth Day, by Dianne K. Salerni (2014, HarperCollins) – Eighth Day #1
16. The Orphan Queen, by Jodi Meadows (2015, Katherine Tegen Books) – The Orphan Queen #1
17. The Revelation of Louisa May, by Michaela MacColl (2015, Chronicle Books)
18. The Six, by Mark Alpert (2015, Sourcebooks Fire) – The Six #1
19. Velvet Undercover, by Teri Brown (2015, Balzer + Bray)
20. Walk on Earth a Stranger, by Rae Carson (2015, Greenwillow Books) – The Gold Seer Trilogy #1

The 2016-2017 Jr Tome Society It List
Grades 6-8

1. A Night Divided, by Jennifer Nielsen (2015, Scholastic)
2. Book Scavenger, by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (2015, Henry Holt and Co.) – Book Scavenger #1
3. Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley (2015, Dial Books)
4. Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015, Nancy Paulsen Books)
5. Fuzzy Mud, by Louis Sachar (2015, Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
6. Icebreaker, by Lian Tanner (2015, Feiwel & Friends) – The Hidden #1
7. MiNRS, by Kevin Sylvester (2015, Margaret K. McElderry Books)
8. Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty (2015, Disney Hyperion) – Serafina #1
9. The Doublecross, by Jackson Pearce (2015, Bloomsbury USA Childrens) – Superspy #1
10. The Eighth Day, by Dianne K. Salerni (2014, HarperCollins) – Eighth Day #1

The 2016-2017 Club Tome It List
Grades 4-5

1. Book Scavenger, by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman (2015, Henry Holt and Co.) – Book Scavenger #1
2. Charlie Bumpers vs The Perfect Little Turkey, by Bill Harley (2015, Peachtree Publishers)
3. Fish in a Tree, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015, Nancy Paulsen Books)
4. Fuzzy Mud, by Louis Sachar (2015, Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
5. Nightbird, by Alice Hoffman (2015, Simon & Schuster UK)
6. Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures, by Jackson Pearce, Maggie Stiefvater (2015, Scholastic Press) – Pip Bartlett #1
   
   See more about the It List, including our current lists here. 

Each year the Tome Society selects 20 high school, 10 middle school, and 6 elementary school books to be featured on the It List. Each book must meet the Tome Society's requirements of being new, clean, encouraging, and engaging. The selection of the It List is an exciting, and somewhat stress-filled, time of year of the Tome Society. With over 107 reader responses sent in throughout the year the It List Selection Committee had a difficult time choosing which books to put on the list. Each book on the It List has been vetted by a committee member, which means between the four committee members thousands of hours were spent reading the nominees.

This year when the Selection Committee gathered to make the final decisions for the It List the room was filled with books, plots were shared, and interests were peaked. In years past, the Selection Committee has had heated battles about which books to put on the list because each member has high hopes for their favorites to be chosen. This year, after hours of discussion about genres, trends, and plot lines the It List was chosen.

 However, dear readers, you will have to wait just a little longer to see the new It List nominees. But take my word for it, you will be fascinated!

View our LIVE video chat with Carrie Ryan, co-author of our Club Tome and Jr. Tome It List Nominee book, Map to Everywhere.

The event will be live cast to YouTube on Tuesday, March 1st at 1 PM EST.  The video will also be archived on YouTube for later viewing.

Find more Literacy Week ideas at www.tomesociety.org/tome-literacy-week

Share your Lit Week activities online with the hashtag #TLW16 and tag @TomeSociety all week February 22-26, 2016.

Chapter Advisers -- Carrie Ryan (author of Map to Everywhere) has agreed to do a Google Hangout with our chapters TOMORROW (Wednesday), 2/24 at 1 PM Eastern.  The video chat will last no longer than one hour.  If you are an official chapter, you can participate for FREE in this online event.  


This is in honor of Tome Literacy Week this week, Feb. 22-26.

Please work with your schools this morning and email tomesociety@gmail.com TODAY if your chapter can do an "at-school field trip" tomorrow at 1 pm to participate in this online event.

Remember, Map to Everywhere was an It List book for Club Tome (4-5) and Jr. Tome(6-8)  levels, but all grades are invited to participate.  More information to follow.

To participate live you have two options, you can VIEW the event on YouTube LIVE and submit questions for Mrs. Ryan to our designated Today's Meet channel (info coming soon) OR you can participate in the video portion via GoogleHangout (you will need a webcam and google hangout capabilities at school). 

We are proud to share the following schedule and events for our upcoming TomeCon 2016 on March 17.

TomeCon 2016 Schedule

• Summary of Events
• Draft Agenda
  

TomeCon 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
9 AM - 5 PM
Gainesville Campus - University of North Georgia 
3820 Mundy Mill Rd.
Oakwood, GA 30566

Regular registration fee per student $12 (advisers and chaperons free). Checks payable to Tome Society.  More registration details included in registration forms. Early registration postmarked by Friday, February 12, 2016. Late registration payment ($15 per student) must be postmarked by Tuesday, March 1, 2016. 

Please see the registration form.