The Newbery Medal
This has been awarded annually by the American Library Association since 1922 "to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." There is a medal winner and usually from one to five honor books.
Newbery Medal winners:
- 2009: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
- Neil Gaiman blogs about his reaction to winning
- Neil Gaiman interview on The Colbert Report
- 2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz.
- 2007: The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron.
2006: Criss Cross, by Lynne Rae Perkins. 2005: Kira-Kira, by Cynthia Kadohata. 2004: The Tale of Despereaux, by Kate DiCamillo. 2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi. 2002: A Single Shard, by Linda Sue Park.Newbery Honor books:
- 2009:
- The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt.
- The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom, by Margarita Engle (also a Belpré Author Award winner).
- Savvy, by Ingrid Law.
- After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson.
- 2008:
- Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis.
- The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt.
- Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson.
- 2007:
- Penny from Heaven, by Jennifer L. Holm.
- Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson.
- Rules, by Cynthia Lord.
- 2006:
Whittington written by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S. D. Schindler. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson with illustrations by Hudson Talbott.- 2005:
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:
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes 2003:
The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer: also the National Book Award winner. 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:
More information:
To buy: Newbery winners and Honor Books: this link leads to a list of those available for purchase at Amazon.com. To buy: Newbery books available at BookCloseouts.com: these are discontinued or otherwise discounted titles (50% or more off list price). More information about the Newbery Medal: this link leads to the official site for the Newbery, which includes a complete list of past winners.- The Newbery Awards, by Elizabeth Cosgriff: A good background article.
- Has the Newbery Lost Its Way? by Anita Silvey: A controversial article by a respected critic.
- Washington Post coverage of the debate kicked off by Silvey.
Children's Book Awards Index page
Caldecott Medal | Coretta Scott King Award | Lifetime Achievement Awards | Young Adult Awards
Sibert Informational Book Award | Pura Belpré Award | Scott O'Dell Award