Newbery Books

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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52 Items found Print
Active Filters: Historical Fiction, Used Books & Materials
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)
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)
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)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Cedric the Forester
by Bernard Marshall
from CreateSpace
for 6th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Codfish Musket
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Armstrong Sperry
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Corn Grows Ripe
Puffin Newbery Library
by Dorothy Rhoads
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Downright Dencey
by Caroline Dale Snedeker, illustrated by Maginel Wright Barney
from Doubleday & Company
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Dragonwings
Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903
by Laurence Yep
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
1976 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Dragonwings
Golden Mountain Chronicles: 1903
by Laurence Yep
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical fiction for 5th-8th grade
1976 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
Nursery Rhymes for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from American Home-School Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
1994 Printing from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Incident at Hawk's Hill
by Allan W. Eckert
from Little, Brown & Company
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
Illustrated American Classics
by Esther Forbes
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Scholastic Inc.
for 7th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (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)
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
9th impression from Coward McCann
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick
from Scholastic Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2010 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
My Brother Sam Is Dead
by James & Christopher Collier
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Nothing But the Truth
by Avi
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1992 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Pran of Albania
by Elizabeth Miller, illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham
1930s printing from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$115.00 (1 in stock)
Road from Home
by David Kherdian
from Greenwillow Books
for 7th-9th grade
1980 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Road from Home
by David Kherdian
from Greenwillow Books
for 7th-9th grade
1980 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Sing Down the Moon
by Scott O'Dell
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 6th-8th grade
1971 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Historical Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.50 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Medal winner
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$19.95 $12.00 (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)
To Be a Slave
Puffin Modern Classics
by Julius Lester, illustrated by Tom Feelings
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
1965 Printing from Macmillan
for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
from Macmillan
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
White Stag
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Heroic Legend for 4th-6th grade
1938 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Young Mac of Fort Vancouver
by Mary Jane Carr, illustrated by Richard Holberg
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (2 in stock)