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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91 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Hardcover
All Thirteen
by Christina Soontornvat
from Candlewick Press
Daring Rescues for 4th-7th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book, 2021 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
in 21st Century (Location: HISW-21)
$24.99
America Moves Forward
A History for Peter #3
by Gerald W. Johnson
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
American Plague
by Jim Murphy
from Clarion Books
for 4th-8th grade
2004 Newbery Honor Book, 2004 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner, NCTE Orbi Pictus Award
in New Nation (1783-1800) (Location: HISA-18NN)
$21.99
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear
by Christine Weston, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Birthdays of Freedom Book One
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Birthdays of Freedom Book Two
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
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)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (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)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
from Macmillan
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
1963 printing from Macmillan
for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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
Children of the Soil
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)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Daniel Boone
by James Daugherty
1st edition from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
1940 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-4th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Davy Crockett
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Constance Rourke, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Down Ryton Water
by E. R. Gaggin
from George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd.
for 4th-6th grade
1942 Newbery Honor
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Eagle Drums
by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
from Running Press
for 4th-6th grade
2024 Newberry Honor Book
El Deafo
by Cece Bell
2020 Living Book Press Edition from Amulet Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2015 Newbery Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
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)
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Eyes and the Impossible
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
2024 Newbery Medalist
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$19.99
Eyes and the Impossible (May 14, 2024)
by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Shawn Harris
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
2024 Newbery Medalist
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson
from Harper & Row
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Freedom Over Me
by Ashley Bryan
1st edition from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
2017 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Garram the Hunter
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Herbert Best, illustrated by Erick Berry
1939 Edition from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book, Junior Literary Guild
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 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 Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Heavenly Tenants
by William Maxwell, illustrated by Ilanka Karasz
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.95
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)
Higher Power of Lucky
by Susan Patron
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
2007 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Holes
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)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Honk, the Moose
by Phil Stong
from Trellis Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Honk, the Moose
by Phil Stong; illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 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)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by John Schoenherr
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry
1950th edition from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$19.99
King of the Wind (pictorial hardcover)
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Blacknose
by Hildegarde H. Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Magic Maize
by Mary & Conrad Buff
1968 First Cadmus Edition from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Maizy Chen's Last Chance
by Lisa Yee
from Yearling
for 4th-8th grade
2023 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Men of Athens
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Milton Johnson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1963 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Men of Athens
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by Milton Johnson
from Hillside Education
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1963 Newbery Honor Book
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (1 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)
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)
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)
On My Honor
by Marion Dane Bauer
from Clarion Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1987 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
One and Only Ivan
by Katherine Applegate
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
2013 Newbery Award Winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Ood-Le-Uk the Wanderer
by Alice Lide & Margaret Johansen, illustrated by Raymond Lufkin
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pancakes-Paris
by Claire Huchet Bishop, illustrated by Georges Schreiber
from Viking Press
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1948 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Pecos Bill
by James Cloyd Bowman, illustrated by Laura Bannon
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo
by John Bennett
from Longmans, Green & Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Red Sails to Capri
by Ann Weil, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from Viking Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
Newbery Honor
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Red, White and Whole
by Rajani LaRocca
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
2022 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Rules
by Cynthia Lord
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
2007 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Runaway Papoose
by Grace Moon, illustrated by Carl Moon
1st edition from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$54.00 (1 in stock)
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
$16.99
Shen of the Sea
by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
from Dutton Juvenile
for 3rd-5th grade
1926 Newbery Medal
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Shen of the Sea
by Arthur Bowie Chrisman, illustrated by Else Hasselriis
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-5th grade
1926 Newbery Medal
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Show Way
by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott
First Ed from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 1st-4th grade
2006 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99
Smoky the Cow Horse
by Will James
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Smoky the Cow Horse
by Will James
1929 printing from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-7th grade
1927 Newbery Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Smoky the Cow Horse
by Will James
1930 printing from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-7th grade
1927 Newbery Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
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)
String in the Harp
by Nancy Bond
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
1971 printing from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
1925 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Three Times Lucky
Mo and Dale Mysteries #1
by Sheila Turnage
Reprint from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Voyagers, The
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Wilfred Jones
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
1926 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
$14.95
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)
$16.99
Wish Giver
by Bill Brittain, illustrated by Andrew Glass
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
for 4th-9th grade
2001 Newbery Award Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (2 in stock)