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 and Honor winners.
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.
A 2013 Newbery Honor winner is Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz.
Lizzie Rose, Parsefall and Clara are caught in the clutches of a wicked puppeteer and a powerful witch in this deliciously dark and complex tale set in Dickensian England, where adventure and suspense are interwoven into nuanced explorations of good versus evil.
A 2013 Newbery Honor winner is Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin.Balancing intersecting threads of scientific discovery, political intrigue and military strategy, “Bomb” is a riveting historical nonfiction drama. Sheinkin’s engaging narrative explores the complex series of events that led to the creation of the ultimate weapon and introduces many memorable personalities involved in the pursuit.
A 2013 Newbery Honor winner is Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.
In the rich tradition of Southern storytelling, rising sixth-grader Mo LoBeau leads the eccentric residents of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, on a rollicking journey of mystery, adventure and small-town intrigue as she investigates a murder and searches for her long-lost mother.
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.
A 2012 Newbery Honor winner was Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai.
Hà and her family flee war-torn Vietnam for the American South. In spare yet vivid verse, she chronicles her year-long struggle to find her place in a new and shifting world.
A 2012 Newbery Honor winner was Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin.
On the eve of his induction into the Young Pioneers, Sasha’s world is overturned when his father is arrested by Stalin’s guard. Yelchin deftly crafts a stark and compelling story of a child’s lost idealism.
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.
A 2011 Newbery Honor winner was Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.
Sassy eleven-year-old Turtle finds her life turned on end when she is sent to live with her aunt in Depression-era Key West. With vivid details, witty dialogue and outrageous escapades, Jennifer Holm successfully explores the meaning of family and home… and lost treasures found.
A 2011 Newbery Honor winner was Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus.
Shipwrecks, whaling, a search for home and a delightful exploration of cultures create a swashbuckling adventure. This historical novel is based on the true story of Manjiro (later John Mung), the young fisherman believed to be the first Japanese person to visit America, who against all odds, becomes a samurai.
A 2011 Newbery Honor winner was One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.
The voices of sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern sing in three-part harmony in this wonderfully nuanced, humorous novel set in 1968 Oakland, Calif. One crazy summer, the three girls find adventure when they are sent to meet their estranged poet-mother Cecile, who prints flyers for the Black Panthers.
A 2011 Newbery Honor winner was Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen.
Welcoming her readers into the “wild, enchanted park” that is the night, Joyce Sidman has elegantly crafted twelve poems rich in content and varied in format. Companion prose pieces about nocturnal flora and fauna are as tuneful and graceful as the poems. This collection is “a feast of sound and spark.”
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.
1923 Medal Winner: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
1936 Medal Winner: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
1945 Medal Winner: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
1959 Medal Winner: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
1963 Medal Winner: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
1972 Medal Winner: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
1979 Medal Winner: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
1994 Medal Winner: The Giver by Lois Lowry
1999 Medal Winner: Holes by Louis Sachar
