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."

Did you find this review helpful?
93 Items found Print
Active Filters: Realistic Fiction, 4th grade (Ages 9-10), New Books & Materials
Afternoon of the Elves
by Janet Taylor Lisle
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-7th grade
1990 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Apple and the Arrow
by Conrad & Mary Buff
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction/Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Blue Willow
Puffin Newbery Library
by Doris Gates
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
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)
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
El Deafo
by Cece Bell
1st edition from Amulet Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2015 Newbery Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
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)
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
First Square Fish, May 2008 from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Feathers
by Jacqueline Woodson
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Figgs & Phantoms
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Getting Near to Baby
by Audrey Couloumbis
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
2000 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Golden Basket
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Golden Goblet
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1962 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Golden Name Day
by Jennie D. Lindquist
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
1956 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Gone-Away Lake
by Elizabeth Enright, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Good Master
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 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)
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
Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
from Ember
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
House of Sixty Fathers
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.95
Hundred Dresses
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
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)
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
by E. L. Konigsburg
Third Aladdin Paperbacks: Feb.2007 from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
1968 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Like Jake and Me
by Mavis Jukes
Reprint from Yearling
for 1st-4th grade
1985 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
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
Maizy Chen's Last Chance
by Lisa Yee
from Yearling
for 4th-8th grade
2023 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
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)
Merci Suarez Changes Gears
by Meg Medina
from Candlewick Press
2019 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Middle Moffat
Moffats #2
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
2003 edition from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
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
New Kid
by Jerry Craft
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$12.99
Night Diary
by Veera Hiranandani
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2019 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Old Ramon
by Jack Schaefer
from University of New Mexico Press
for 4th-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.95
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)
$7.99
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Full Color Collector's Edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Other Words for Home
by Jasmine Warga
First Ed from Balzer & Bray
for 4th-8th grade
2020 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Penny from Heaven
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
2007 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Phebe Fairchild
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-8th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$17.99
Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe.
by Bette Greene
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-5th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Planet of Junior Brown
by Virginia Hamilton
Aladdin Paperbacks: May.2006 from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-5th grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Ramona and Her Father
Ramona Quimby Books
by Beverly Cleary
from Avon Books
Humorous Stories for 2nd-4th grade
1978 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
1982 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Red Sails to Capri
by Ann Weil
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
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
Roller Girl
by Victoria Jamieson
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
2016 Newbery Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$13.99
Rufus M.
Moffats #3
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Rules
by Cynthia Lord
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
2007 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Seabird
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1949 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Secret of the Andes
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ann Nolan Clark
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1953 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Shadrach
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Singing Tree
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Strawberry Girl
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1946 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Surviving the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
The Defender
by Nicholas Kalashnikoff
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Thimble Summer
by Elizabeth Enright
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1939 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Turtle in Paradise
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Upstairs Room
by Johanna Reiss
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
1973 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Waterless Mountain
by Laura Adams Armer
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Wednesday Wars
by Gary D. Schmidt
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Wheel on the School
by Meindert DeJong
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$21.90
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)
Whittington
by Alan Armstrong
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
2006 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Windy Hill
by Cornelia Meigs
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 4th-7th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Wringer
by Jerry Spinelli
Revised Paperback from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
1998 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Year of Billy Miller
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
for 2nd-4th grade
2014 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Yolonda's Genius
by Carol Fenner
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
1996 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99