The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually, since 1922, by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
The Newbery Award was the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
Beside the Newbery Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to worthy runners-up, called the Newbery Honors or Newbery Honor Books.
We have compiled here a list of just some of the many Medal winners.
2019 Medal Winner
2018 Medal Winner
2017 Medal Winner
2016 Medal Winner
2015 Medal Winner
2014 Medal Winner
The 2013 Newbery Medal winner is The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Ivan’s transformative emergence from the “Ape at Exit 8” to “The One and Only Ivan, Mighty Silverback,” comes to life through the gorilla’s own distinct narrative voice, which is filled with wry humor, deep emotion and thought-provoking insights into the nature of friendship, hope and humanity. “Katherine Applegate gives readers a unique and unforgettable gorilla’s-eye-view of the world that challenges the way we look at animals and at ourselves,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Steven Engelfried.
The 2012 Newbery Medal winner was Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos. The importance of history and reading (so you don’t do the same “stupid stuff” again) is at the heart of this achingly funny romp through a dying New Deal town. While mopping up epic nose bleeds, Jack narrates this screw-ball mystery in an endearing and believable voice. “Who knew obituaries and old lady death could be this funny and this tender?” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Viki Ash.
The 2011 Newbery Medal winner was Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. The town of Manifest is based on Frontenac, Kan., the home of debut author Clare Vanderpool’s maternal grandparents. Vanderpool was inspired to write about what the idea of “home” might look like to a girl who had grown up riding the rails. She lives in Wichita with her husband and four children. “Vanderpool illustrates the importance of stories as a way for children to understand the past, inform the present and provide hope for the future,” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Cynthia K. Richey.
The 2010 Newbery Medal winner was When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Twelve-year-old Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future. These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot.
The 2009 Newbery Medal winner was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean. A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned graveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens. "A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising," said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. Treviño.
1979 Medal Winner: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
1978 Medal Winner
1972 Medal Winner: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
1963 Medal Winner: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
1959 Medal Winner: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
1950 Medal Winner
1945 Medal Winner: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
1937 Medal Winner
1936 Medal Winner: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
1923 Medal Winner: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
1922 Medal Winner - the very first one.
