Newbery Winners

The Newbery Award was named after a British bookseller who lived in the 1700s: John Newbery. Every year, the American Library Association recognizes one author for making the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Below you’ll find all the books chosen since the first award was given in 1922!

2017 Medal Winner:
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Honor Books:
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz
Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

2016 Medal Winner:
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
Honor Books:
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan 

2015 Medal Winner:
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Honor Books:
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

2014 Medal Winner: 
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
Honor Books:
Doll Bones by Holly Black
The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes
One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
Paperboy by Vince Vawter

2013 Medal Winner:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Honor Books: Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

2012 Medal Winner:
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Honor Books:
Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

2011 Medal Winner:
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Honor Books:
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
Dark Emperor and other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

2010 Medal Winner:
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick

2009 Medal Winner:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Honor Books:
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom… by Ingrid Law
After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

2008 Medal Winner:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura A. Schlitz
Honor Books:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

2007 Medal Winner:
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Honor Books:
Penny from Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm)
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Rules by Cynthia Lord

2006 Medal Winner:
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
Honor Books:
Whittington by Alan Armstrong
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson

2005 Medal Winner:
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
Honor Books:
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
The Voice that Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson… by Russell Freedman
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

2004 Medal Winner:
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Honor Books:
Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
An American Plague: The True..Story of the Yellow Fever… by Jim Murphy

2003 Medal Winner:
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
Honor Books:
The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
A Corner of The Universe by Ann M. Martin
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan

2002 Medal Winner:
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
Honor Books:
Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
Carver: A Life In Poems by Marilyn Nelson

2001 Medal Winner:
A Year Down Yonder by by Richard Peck
Honor Books:
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

2000 Medal Winner:
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Honor Books:
Getting Near to Baby by by Audrey Couloumbis
Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. Holm
26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola

1999 Medal Winner:
Holes by Louis Sachar
Honor Book:
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

1998 Medal Winner:
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Honor Books:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

1997 Medal Winner:
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Honor Books:
A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer
Moorchild by Eloise McGraw
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White

1996 Medal Winner:
The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
Honor Books:
What Jamie Saw by Carolyn Coman
The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Yolonda’s Genius by Carol Fenner
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

1995 Medal Winner:
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Honor Books:
Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

1994 Medal Winner:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Honor Books:
Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie Conly
Dragon’s Gate by Laurence Yep
Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery by Russell Freedman

1993 Medal Winner:
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
Honor Books:
What Hearts by Bruce Brooks
The Dark-thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia McKissack
Somewhere in the Darkness by Walter Dean Myers

1992 Medal Winner:
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Honor Books:
Nothing But The Truth: a Documentary Novel by Avi
The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman

1991 Medal Winner:
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Honor Book:
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

1990 Medal Winner:
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Honor Books:
Afternoon of the Elves by Janet Taylor Lisle
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen

1989 Medal Winner:
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
Honor Books:
In The Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World by Virginia Hamilton
Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers

1988 Medal Winner:
Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
Honor Books:
After The Rain by Norma Fox Mazer
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

1987 Medal Winner:
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Honor Books:
A Fine White Dust by Cynthia Rylant
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens by Patricia Lauber

1986 Medal Winner:
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Honor Books:
Commodore Perry In the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg
Dogsong by Gary Paulsen

1985 Medal Winner:
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
Honor Books:
Like Jake and Me by Mavis Jukes
The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
One-Eyed Cat by Paula Fox

1984 Medal Winner:
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
Honor Books:
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
Sugaring Time by Kathryn Lasky
The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain

1983 Medal Winner:
Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
Honor Books:
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Doctor DeSoto by William Steig
Graven Images by Paul Fleischman (Harper)
Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz (Putnam)
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virginia Hamilton (Philomel)

1982 Medal Winner:
A Visit to William Blake’s Inn by Nancy Willard
Honor Books:
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Upon the Head of the Goat by Aranka Siegal

1981 Medal Winner:
Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
Honor Books:
The Fledgling by Jane Langton
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle

1980 Medal Winner:
A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos
Honor Book:
The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl by David Kherdian

1979 Medal Winner:
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Honor Book:
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

1978 Medal Winner:
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Honor Books:
Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey by Jamake Highwater

1977 Medal Winner:
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Honor Books:
Abel’s Island by William Steig
A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond

1976 Medal Winner:
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Honor Books:
The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep

1975 Medal Winner:
M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
Honor Books:
Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe by Bette Greene

1974 Medal Winner:
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
Honor Book:
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

1973 Medal Winner:
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Honor Books:
Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss
The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1972 Medal Winner:
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
Honor Books:
Incident At Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert
The Planet of Junior Brown by Virginia Hamilton
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin
Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1971 Medal Winner:
Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
Honor Books:
Knee Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt
Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
Sing Down the Moon by Scott O’Dell

1970 Medal Winner:
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
Honor Books:
Our Eddie by Sulamith Ish-Kishor
The Many Ways of Seeing: An Introduction to…Art by Janet Gaylord Moore
Journey Outside by Mary Q. Steele

1969 Medal Winner:
The High King by Lloyd Alexanderv
Honor Books:
To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer

1968 Medal Winner:
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
Honor Books:
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me… by E. L. Konigsburg
The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell
The Fearsome Inn by Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1967 Medal Winner:
Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt
Honor Books:
The King’s Fifth by Scott O’Dell
Zlateh The Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
The Jazz Man by Mary Hays Weik

1966 Medal Winner:
I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
Honor Books:
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
The Animal Family by Randall Jarrell
The Noonday Friends by Mary Stolz

1965 Medal Winner:
Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska
Honor Book:
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

1964 Medal Winner:
It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville
Honor Books:
Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North
The Loner by Ester Wier

1963 Medal Winner:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Honor Books:
Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland by S.N. Leodhas, pseud.
Men of Athens by Olivia Coolidge

1962 Medal Winner:
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Honor Books:
Frontier Living by Edwin Tunis
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Belling The Tiger by Mary Stolz

1961 Medal Winner:
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Honor Books:
America Moves Forward: A History for Peter by Gerald W. Johnson
Old Ramon by Jack Schaefer
The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden, pseud.

1960 Medal Winner:
Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
Honor Books:
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
America Is Born: A History for Peter by Gerald W. Johnson
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

1959 Medal Winner:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Honor Books:
The Family Under The Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson
Along Came A Dog by Meindert Dejong
Chucaro: Wild Pony of the Pampa by Francis Kalnay
The Perilous Road by William O. Steele

1958 Medal Winner:
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
Honor Books:
The Horsecatcher by Mari Sandoz
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson
Tom Paine, Freedom’s Apostle by Leo Gurko

1957 Medal Winner:
Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
Honor Books:
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert DeJong
Mr. Justice Holmes by Clara Ingram Judson
The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads
Black Fox of Lorne by Marguerite de Angeli

1956 Medal Winner:
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
Honor Books:
The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Golden Name Day by Jennie Lindquist
Men, Microscopes, and Living Things by Katherine Shippen

1955 Medal Winner:
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
Honor Books:
Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
Banner In The Sky by James Ullman

1954 Medal Winner:
…And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold
Honor Books:
All Alone by Claire Huchet Bishop
Shadrach by Meindert Dejong
Hurry Home, Candy by Meindert Dejong
Theodore Roosevelt, Fighting Patriot by Clara Ingram Judson
Magic Maize by Mary & Conrad Buff

1953 Medal Winner:
Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
Honor Books:
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Red Sails to Capri by Ann Weil
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
Birthdays of Freedom, Vol. 1 by Genevieve Foster

1952 Medal Winner:
Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
Honor Books:
Americans Before Columbus by Elizabeth Baity
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
The Defender by Nicholas Kalashnikoff
The Light at Tern Rock by Julia Sauer
The Apple and the Arrow by Mary & Conrad Buff

1951 Medal Winner:
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
Honor Books:
Better Known as Johnny Appleseed by Mabel Leigh Hunt
Gandhi, Fighter Without a Sword by Jeanette Eaton
Abraham Lincoln, Friend of the People by Clara Ingram Judson
The Story of Appleby Capple by Anne Parrish

1950 Medal Winner:
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Honor Books:
Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill
The Blue Cat of Castle Town by Catherine Coblentz
Kildee House by Rutherford Montgomery
George Washington by Genevieve Foster
Song of the Pines: A Story of Norwegian Lumbering… by Walter & M. Havighurst

1949 Medal Winner:
King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
Honor Books:
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Daughter of the Mountains by Louise Rankin
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth S. Gannett
Story of the Negro by Arna Bontemps

1948 Medal Winner:
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
Honor Books:
Pancakes-Paris by Claire Huchet Bishop
Li Lun, Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger
The Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot by Catherine Besterman
The Cow-Tail Switch, and Other West African Stories by Harold Courlander           Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

1947 Medal Winner:
Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
Honor Books:
Wonderful Year by Nancy Barnes
Big Tree by Mary & Conrad Buff
The Heavenly Tenants by William Maxwell
The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher, pseud.
The Hidden Treasure of Glaston by Eleanor Jewett

1946 Medal Winner:
Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
Honor Books:
Justin Morgan Had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
The Moved-Outers by Florence Crannell Means
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear by Christine Weston
New Found World by Katherine Shippen

1945 Medal Winner:
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Honor Books:
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
The Silver Pencil by Alice Dalgliesh
Abraham Lincoln’s World by Genevieve Foster
Lone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams by Jeanetter Eaton

1944 Medal Winner:
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Honor Books:
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Fog Magic by Julia Sauer
Rufus M. by Eleanor Estes
Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates

1943 Medal Winner:
Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Honor Books:
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes
Have You Seen Tom Thumb? by Mabel Leigh Hunt

1942 Medal Winner:
The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds
Honor Books:
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
George Washington’s World by Genevieve Foster
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison by Lois Lenski
Down Ryton Water by Eva Roe Gaggin

1941 Medal Winner:
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Honor Books:
Blue Willow by Doris Gates
Young Mac of Fort Vancouver by Mary Jane Carr
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Nansen by Anna Gertrude Hall

1940 Medal Winner:
Daniel Boone by James Daugherty
Honor Books:
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Runner of the Mountain Tops: The Life of Louis Agassiz by Mabel Robinson
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Boy with a Pack by Stephen W. Meader

1939 Medal Winner:
Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
Honor Books:
Nino by Valenti Angelo
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater
Hello the Boat! by Phyllis Crawford
Leader By Destiny: George Washington, Man and Patriot by Jeanette Eaton
Penn by Elizabeth Janet Gray

1938 Medal Winner:
The White Stag by Kate Seredy
Honor Books:
Pecos Bill by James Cloyd Bowman
Bright Island by Mabel Robinson
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

1937 Medal Winner:
Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
Honor Books:
Phebe Fairchild: Her Book by Lois Lenski
Whistler’s Van by Idwal Jones
The Golden Basket by Ludwig Bemelmans
Winterbound by Margery Bianco
The Codfish Musket by Agnes Hewes
Audubon by Constance Rourke

1936 Medal Winner:
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Honor Books:
Honk, the Moose by Phil Stong
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
Young Walter Scott by Elizabeth Janet Gray
All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud by Armstrong Sperry

1935 Medal Winner:
Dobry by Monica Shannon
Honor Books:
Pageant of Chinese History by Elizabeth Seeger
Davy Crockett by Constance Rourke
Day On Skates: The Story of a Dutch Picnic by Hilda Von Stockum

1934 Medal Winner:
Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs
Honor Books:
The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Snedeker
Swords of Steel by Elsie Singmaster
ABC Bunny by Wanda Gág
Winged Girl of Knossos by Erik Berry, pseud.
New Land by Sarah Schmidt
Big Tree of Bunlahy: Stories of My Own Countryside by Padraic Colum
Glory of the Seas by Agnes Hewes
Apprentice of Florence by Ann Kyle

1933 Medal Winner:
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis
Honor Books:
Swift Rivers by Cornelia Meigs
The Railroad To Freedom: A Story of the Civil War by Hildegarde Swift
Children of the Soil: A Story of Scandinavia by Nora Burglon

1932 Medal Winner:
Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer
Honor Books:
The Fairy Circus by Dorothy P. Lathrop
Calico Bush by Rachel Field
Boy of the South Seas by Eunice Tietjens
Out of the Flame by Eloise Lownsbery
Jane’s Island by Marjorie Allee
Truce of the Wolf and Other Tales of Old Italy by Mary Gould Davis

1931 Medal Winner:
The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
Honor Books:
Floating Island by Anne Parrish
The Dark Star of Itza: The Story of A Pagan Princess by Alida Malkus
Queer Person by Ralph Hubbard
Mountains are Free by Julie Davis Adams
Spice and the Devil’s Cave by Agnes Hewes
Meggy MacIntosh by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Garram the Hunter: A Boy of the Hill Tribes by Herbert Best
Ood-Le-Uk the Wanderer by Alice Lide & Margaret Johansen

1930 Medal Winner:
Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
Honor Books:
A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland by Jeanette Eaton
Pran of Albania by Elizabeth Miller
Jumping-Off Place by Marion Hurd McNeely
The Tangle-Coated Horse and Other Tales by Ella Young
Vaino by Julia Davis Adams
Little Blacknose by Hildegarde Swift

1929 Medal Winner:
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
Honor Books:
Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo by John Bennett
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág
The Boy Who Was by Grace Hallock
Clearing Weather by Cornelia Meigs
Runaway Papoose by Grace Moon
Tod of the Fens by Elinor Whitney

1928 Medal Winner:
Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
Honor Books:
The Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young
Downright Dencey by Caroline Snedeker

1927 Medal Winner:
Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James

1926 Medal Winner:
Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
Honor Books:
The Voyagers: …Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery by Padraic Colum
1925 Medal Winner:
Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger
Honor Books:
Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Annie Carroll Moore
The Dream Coach by Anne Parrish

1924 Medal Winner:
The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes

1923 Medal Winner:
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

1922 Medal Winner:
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon
Honor Books:
The Great Quest by Charles Hawes
Cedric the Forester by Bernard Marshall
The Old Tobacco Shop by William Bowen
The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum
The Windy Hill by Cornelia Meigs

Your Responses and Reviews!

       “Calvin, IT has got Charles Wallace, what do we do?” What is IT? Is IT a person or magical force? On a crazy night, while the winds menacingly shake the Murry House, a strange visitor knocks on the door and insists that Meg, her brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin go on the most marvellous adventure of their life. They must travel to save countless planets and find Meg’s father who may know the only way to stop IT. Will they succeed or will IT forever rule the universe? Reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Square Fish, 2007) slowly draws, captivates and engages the reader in an adventure filled with fantasy and mystery. Be careful. Once you start reading this story, you won’t want to stop until all your questions are answered! (Roshan in grade eight)

http://images.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsfraser&Password=fraser&Return=1&Type=L&Value=9780439668187

Philbrick, Rodman. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. The Blue Sky Press, 2009.
This 2010 Newbery Honor Book tells the story of twelve-year-old Homer who runs away from his cruel guardian in Maine to save his brother from getting killed in the American Civil War. Full of humour and courage, this adventurous novel will appeal to readers who enjoy Charles Dickens’s and Mark Twain’s stories. (Adventure and adventurers; Orphans; Brothers; War; Humorous stories; Newbery Medal; Courage)

Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. Wendy Lamb Books, 2009.
What if we could go back in time?  What if we could go back and visit ourselves when we were younger? Twelve-year-old Miranda, living in New York City with her mother, discovers mysterious notes from an anonymous person and learns more about friendship and redemption.  Readers who enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle will appreciate this unusual novel, winner of the 2010 Newbery Award, which moves quickly but is quietly packed with important ideas about life. “‘Einstein says common sense is just habit of thought. It’s how we’re used to thinking about things, but a lot of the time it just gets in the way.’ (p. 51)”

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, 2009) is a story about believing in the impossible. Sixth-grader Miranda’s life is flipped upside down one day while she and her best friend, Sal, are walking home. Sal gets punched by a kid named Marcus and, all of a sudden, Sal doesn’t want to be Miranda’s friend anymore. Miranda starts receiving mysterious letters saying, “I am coming to save your friends life, and my own” (60). Miranda and Marcus become friends and they start talking about time travelling. Miranda is convinced it’s impossible, but Marcus says otherwise. Miranda is proven wrong when a series of events almost causing Sal to be killed by a truck. A man, whom Miranda realizes is really Marcus who has travelled back in time from the future, pushes Sal out of the way, sacrificing himself, and Miranda realizes anything is possible. I would recommend this book to kids who have read A Wrinkle In Time and who enjoy mystery and science-fiction novels. (Chelsea in grade eight)

Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Henry Holt and Company, 2009.
Eleven-year-old Callie Vee isn’t interested in learning how to be a proper lady. She’d rather be outside studying the natural world with her grandfather. Set in Texas in 1899, this Newbery Honor Book will be enjoyed by competent readers in grades five to seven. (Texas; Historical fiction; Grandfathers; Sex role; Family life; Naturalists) (Ms. Rosen)

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Sandpiper, 2007) is the story of Holling, a young boy who has to spend every Wednesday afternoon with his teacher, Mrs. Baker. Holling, only twelve, faces a conflict: will he please his father and take on the family business or will he explore his options? Because Holling doesn’t have to make his final decision for years, he decides not to think about his future. All in all, I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone. (Jezy in grade eight)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (Harper Collins, 1997) is the story of Ella who lives in a world of ogres, fairies, and giants. Ella faces a conflict: can she resist the power of the spell placed on her or will she do what everybody tells her to do?  In the end, Ella breaks the spell and is able to marry her true love, Prince Charmont. But what would have happened if Ella had not broken the spell? (Jezy in grade eight)

Having everything taken away from you is deplorable. I couldn’t imagine how my life http://images.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=ebsfraser&Password=fraser&Return=1&Type=L&Value=0590371258would be if my family or friends were taken away from me. Since reading this book, I have learned to be grateful for everything that happens in life, good or bad. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic Inc., 1997) encouraged me to be thankful for every opportunity that life has to offer. Billie Jo, a middle school girl, lives in Oklahoma on a wheat farm. There is one problem: it almost never rains and the wheat hasn’t been growing for at least two years. Frequent dust storms come and go. Everyone in Billie Jo’s family is devastated that their farm is being destroyed. Billie Jo, herself, can’t believe that life can get any worse until her sweet and loving mother dies in a fire. After that, nothing is the same. Her father won’t talk about Billie Jo’s mom, and she is unable to fulfill her passion, playing the piano, with her wounded hands. She finally realizes that the only place she can find peace is in her heart. As she goes through life with only her father, she learns that even though not everything in life happens the way we want it to, making the most out of we do have is what matters most. (Luisa in grade eight)

When I read a novel, I make a connection in my head with the main character and sometimes I feel like I am in their shoes. In HOOT by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) I almost felt like I was Roy. When Roy saw the running boy with no shoes, he became very curious about what he was up to. So was I. I wanted to know where he was going. Then, all of a sudden, Roy was chasing him to find out for himself! When Mullet Fingers told Roy to come with him to mother Paula’s one night, he was super scared and nervous that Mullet Fingers would get caught and would have to go back home. I got nervous and scared too. And when a dog bit Mullet Fingers, causing him to feel violently ill and light-headed, I was scared for him. I really wanted somebody to help save Mullet Fingers. Finally, when I heard that the burrowing owls might have been buried and killed, I was frightened and scared and really wanted to do something to stop the carnage! Now you can see how the events in a story can really affect how you feel, even though they are not true or even happening to you! (Natalie in grade eight)

In The Tale of Despereaux, many strange events occured. For example, when a baby mouse was born with large ears and a small body, no one ever guessed that those features would help him in the future. As this story went on, people tried to tell the small rodent how to act which brought down his hopes and dreams for a bit until he met someone special and realized that he would do whatever it took to protect the girl he loved. Many harsh things happened to this poor mouse. He was banished from his family, thrown into a dungeon and sentenced to his death. But Despereaux escaped and his experiences taught him a valuable lesson: don’t try to be someone you are not. (Yasmine in grade eight)

I thought that Nothing But The Truth by Avi (Scholastic, 1991) was a a very realistic story that showed that even small misunderstandings of others can seriously affect the future. When Phillip hummed the American national anthem disruptively, he was sent to the office and suspended from school. This quickly spiraled into something he truly did not want, and it could have been stopped if he had talked to his teacher. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out as easily or as well as they could. I think this novel shows truth in how the world works and how misunderstandings in character can affect more than just one person.
(Connor in gr. 7)

I read Nothing but the Truth by Avi. When you read the back cover, it sounds like a real exciting book. But when you get into it, the dialogue is really confusing. Sometimes it’s written like a play. Sometimes it’s written like a narrative. Sometimes it’s written like letters and memos. So, the story is really confusing. At his first school, the main character is expected to stand in silence for the national anthem. He doesn’t and gets suspended. Then he gets in the news and stuff and his parents write letters and are proud of him and he goes to a special academy where he is asked to lead the national anthem but he says he doesn’t know the words. The novel gives you a sour taste in your mouth at the end because it has been told from so many points of view that you don’t know what is really true. (Brenden in gr. eight)

I really liked Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell, 1959). It was silly, funny and interesting. I especially liked when a group of kids had a Hallowe’en party downstairs and they’re parents thought they were having a fire in the basement because of all the smoke from some candles and papers they were burning. Onion John, an adult, was downstairs, too, but he wasn’t any help because he was more like a kid: he started the fires! Read this book if you want a good laugh and if you want to learn more about being responsible. (Joey in gr. 6)

I’m just finishing Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson. It is a very religious book. What I like about it is how the main character, Frannie, runs into obstacles, yet either her friends and her brother seem to back her up or she solves the problems on her own. I would recommend this book to all you readers. It’s about kids on different sides of a highway, but when one kid named Jesus who looks white comes to a school on the African American side of the highway, things start to happen. They find out that they aren’t so different from each other, after all. (Londyn in gr. 7)

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