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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	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)
	Boy Who Was by Grace Taber Hallock, illustrated by Harrie Wood from E.P. Dutton & Co. for 4th-8th grade 1929 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Lynd Ward First Edition from Simon and Schuster Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade 1931 Newbery Medal winner in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Charlotte's Web by E. B. White from HarperCollins for 2nd-6th grade 1953 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $4.80 (2 in stock)
	Children of the Soil A Story of Scandinavia by Nora Burglon, illustrations by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire 1936 Printing from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc. for 3rd-6th grade 1933 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade 1961 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly from Greenwillow Books for 3rd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.99
	Floating Island by Anne Parrish, illustrated by "Mr. Doll" from Harper & Brothers for 3rd-6th grade 1931 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Graven Images by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Andrew Glass 1^st edition from Harper & Row for 4th-8th grade 1983 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman from HarperCollins for 6th-9th grade 2009 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Grey King Dark Is Rising Sequence #4 by Susan Cooper from Aladdin Paperbacks Fantasy for 4th-7th grade 1976 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.60 (1 in stock)
	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)
	Holes with Bonus Material Holes Series #1 by Louis Sachar 10th Anniversary Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 4th-6th grade 1999 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.60 (1 in stock)
	Knee-Knock Rise by Natalie Babbitt from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 5th-8th grade 1971 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat from Candlewick Press 2023 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.64
	Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Daniel Miyares from Levine Querido for 6th-9th grade 2024 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $18.69
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Edward S. Gazi from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Zena Bernstein from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	My Father's Dragon My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1 by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett and Helena Perez Garcia from Bushel & Peck Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1949 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	My Father's Dragon My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1 by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett from Dover Publications Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1949 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story by Annie Carroll Moore, illustrated by Jay Van Everen from G.P. Putnam's Sons for 5th-8th grade 1925 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser from Allida for 4th-10th grade 2026 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.99
	One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 1^st edition from HarperCollins for 3rd-7th grade 2013 Newbery Award Winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker, illustrated by Junyi Wu First Ed from Henry Holt and Company for 4th-8th grade 2020 Newbery Honor Book in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	String in the Harp by Nancy Bond from Atheneum for 4th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman from Little, Brown & Company for 3rd-9th grade 2026 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.29
	Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Sonja Lamut from Grosset & Dunlap Animal Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade 1923 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Scott McKowen Reprint from Sterling Publishing Co. for 3rd-7th grade 1923 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting from Dover Publications for 3rd-7th grade 1923 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller from Random House Books for Young Readers for 4th-7th grade 2021 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.29
	When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller from Random House Books for Young Readers for 4th-7th grade 2021 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.64
	Wish Giver Three Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain, illustrated by Andrew Glass from HarperCollins for 3rd-6th grade Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.60 (1 in stock)
	Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat 1^st edition from Candlewick Press for 5th-9th grade 2021 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.29
	Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, illustrated by Alton Raible Second Printing from Atheneum for 4th-7th grade 1973 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.80 (1 in stock)

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