Newbery Books - Exodus Books

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Click here for a complete list of Newbery Medalists, organized by year with ratings, FLAWS, and links to book reviews.

Once upon a time there was a bookseller. His name was Frederic G. Melcher, and he knew in his heart that books for children were just as important as books for adults, if not more so. Why, he wondered, are they so often ignored? He thought and thought, and decided in the end that it didn't matter why; what mattered was that he did something to change all that.

He did. In 1921, he proposed the Newbery Award to the American Library Association, a prize named for 18th-century English bookseller John Newbery to be given to the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. The Association's Executive Board approved the idea, much to the joy of children's librarians everywhere, and the first Newbery Award was given in 1922.

The express purpose of the medal was "To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."

Melcher's brainchild was the first children's book award in the world, and remains the measure of all the others. He went on to initiate the Caldecott Award for best illustrated children's book, and together the Newbery and the Caldecott provide an important standard for evaluating children's books in the United States and beyond.

Between 2012-2014, our friend Caleb undertook the project of reviewing ALL the medalists, which he completed (he wrote a sad summary of his journey here). While that is essentially done (we haven't managed to keep it up), we're now gathering information to compile reviews for the honor books! If you'd like to be a part of that process, we invite you to join us at the Facebook group "The Newbery Books Discussion Group."

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	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	All Sail Set by Armstrong Sperry from David R. Godine Nautical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1936 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
	Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade 1953 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $5.99
	Black Cauldron Prydain Chronicles #2 by Lloyd Alexander from Henry Holt and Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1966 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Black Cauldron Prydain Chronicles #2 by Lloyd Alexander from Holt, Rinehart and Winston Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1966 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Black Cauldron Prydain Chronicles #2 by Lloyd Alexander Revise Edition from Henry Holt and Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1966 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson from HarperCollins Fantasy for 5th-9th grade 1978 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1962 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade 1941 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham from Houghton Mifflin Biography for 5th-9th grade 1956 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes from Little, Brown & Company Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1924 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes Dover 2018 from Dover Publications Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1924 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99
	High King Prydain Chronicles #5 by Lloyd Alexander from Henry Holt and Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1969 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	High King Prydain Chronicles #5 by Lloyd Alexander from Holt, Rinehart and Winston Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1969 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	High King Prydain Chronicles #5 by Lloyd Alexander Revised 1999 Edition from Henry Holt and Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade 1969 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Li Lun Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger from Walker and Company Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1948 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Li Lun Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger from Walker and Company Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1948 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli from Little, Brown & Company Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1991 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds from PaperStar Books Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade 1942 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin from Bob Jones University Press Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade 1944 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99
	My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George from Puffin Books Adventure for 4th-8th grade 1960 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from HarperCollins Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Rascal Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North from Puffin Books Biography for 4th-8th grade 1964 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $8.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Rascal Memoir of a Better Era by Sterling North from Puffin Books Biography for 4th-8th grade 1964 Newbery Honor Book in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith from HarperCollins Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1958 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $15.99
	Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1965 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1965 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Shiloh Shiloh #1 by Phyllis R. Naylor from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-8th grade 1992 Newbery Medal winner in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $8.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1984 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade 1984 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Single Shard by Linda Sue Park from Sandpiper Books Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade 2002 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from Harper & Row Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Swift Rivers by Cornelia Meigs from Bloomsbury Publishing Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1933 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Swift Rivers by Cornelia Meigs from Walker and Company Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade 1933 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1987 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $6.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
	Winter Room by Gary Paulsen from Scholastic Press Action/Adventure for 6th-9th grade 1990 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Wonder-Smith and His Son by Ella Young from Dufour Editions, Inc. 1928 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Wright Brothers How They Invented the Airplane by Russell Freedman from Holiday House Biography for 5th-8th grade 1992 Newbery Honor Book in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA) $16.99
	Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by William Low from Square Fish Publishing Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1933 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by Ed Young from Henry Holt and Company Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1933 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by Ed Young 1963 Printing from Holt, Rinehart and Winston Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1933 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)

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