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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76 Items found Print
Active Filters: 10th grade (Ages 15-16)
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$21.95
Abraham Lincoln's World (pictorial hardcover)
by Genevieve Foster
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Historical Non-fiction for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
America Is Born
A History for Peter #1
by Gerald W. Johnson
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
1960 Newbery Honor Book
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Americans Before Columbus
by Elizabeth Baity, illustrated by C.B. Falls
from Viking Press
for 5th-10th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Audubon
by Constance Rourke, illustrated by James MacDonald
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 7th-12th grade
1937 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Boy with a Pack
by Stephen W. Meader, illustrated by Edward Shenton
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Carver: A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
from Boyds Mill Press
for 7th-11th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.95
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)
Crazy Lady
by Jane Leslie Conly
from HarperTrophy
for 8th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Daughter of the Seine
by Jeanette Eaton
from Harper & Brothers
for 9th-Adult
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Echo
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
First Ed from Scholastic Press
for 7th-10th grade
2016 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Fighting Words
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
from Dial Press
for 9th-Adult
2021 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from Bethlehem Books
for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Frontier Living
by Edwin Tunis
from Lyons Press
Historical Reference for 7th-10th grade
Newbery Honor Book 1962
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$19.95
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
George Washington's World
by Genevieve Foster, expanded by Joanna Foster and edited by Rea Berg
from Beautiful Feet Books
History Reference/Biography for 7th-10th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$21.95
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Have You Seen Tom Thumb?
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Horsecatcher, The
by Mari Sandoz
from Westminster Press
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Horsecatcher, The
by Mari Sandoz
First Bison Book from Bison Books
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.95
House of the Scorpion
by Nancy Farmer
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-Adult
2003 Newbery Honor Book; 2003 National Book Award for Young People's Literature
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$12.99 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
1981 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Jane's Island
by Marjorie Hill Allee, illustrated by Maitland de Gogorza
from Riverside Press
Realistic fiction for 6th-10th grade
1932 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Joey Pigza Loses Control
by Jack Gantos
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 7th-10th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Last Cuentista
by Donna Barba Higuera
from Levine Querido
for 9th-Adult
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$18.99
Leader by Destiny
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Jack Manley Rosé
for 7th-10th grade
1939 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
Lone Journey
by Jeanette Eaton, illustrated by Woodi Ishmael
from Harcourt
for 7th-10th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Long Way Down
by Jason Reynolds
Reprint from Atheneum
for 8th-11th grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Meggy MacIntosh
by Elizabeth Janet Gray, illustrated by Marguerite de Angeli
from Viking Press
for 7th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1996 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
from Yearling
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
1st edition from Delacorte Press
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Award Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Mountains are Free
by Julia Davis Adams
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Moved-Outers
by Florence Crannell Means, illustrated by Helen Blair
for 6th-10th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Nansen
by Anna Gertrude Hall, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff
from Viking Press
for 6th-10th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
New Land
by Sarah Lindsay Schmidt
from Robert M. McBride & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Out of the Flame
by Eloise Lownsbery, illustrated by Elizabeth Tyler Wolcott
from Longmans, Green & Co.
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1932 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Puffin Books
Historical Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Piecing Me Together
by Renée Watson
Paperback Edition from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book, 2018 Coretta Scott King Award
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Pran of Albania
by Elizabeth Miller, illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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)
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
Runner of the Mountain Tops
Junior Literary Guild
by Mabel Louise Robinson, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Random House
for 7th-10th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Runner of the Mountain Tops
by Mabel Louise Robinson, illustrated by Lynd Ward
1st Printing from Random House
for 7th-10th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Savvy
by Ingrid Law
10th Anniversary Edition from Puffin Books
for 9th-12th grade
2009 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Scorpions
by Walter Dean Myers
Revised Paperback, 2013 from Amistad Press
for 7th-10th grade
1989 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind
by Suzanne F. Staples
Reprint from Ember
for 8th-12th grade
1990 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Simon Sort of Says
by Erin Bow
from Disney-Hyperion
for 7th-10th grade
2024 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
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)
Solitary Blue
Tillerman Cycle #3
by Cynthia Voight
Reprint from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Song of the Pines
Land of the Free Series
by Walter & Marion Havighurst, illustrated by Richard Floethe
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
1950 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spice and the Devil's Cave
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spice and the Devil's Cave
by Agnes Hewes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Dover Publications
for 4th-10th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
by Virginia Hamilton
from Amistad Press
for 8th-11th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Swords of Steel
by Elsie Singmaster, illustrated by David Hendrickson
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
To Be a Slave
by Julius Lester
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Non-fiction for 6th-10th grade
1969 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.99
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)
Tom Paine, Freedom's Apostle
by Leo Gurko, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Tombs of Atuan
Earthsea #2
by Ursula K. Le Guin
from Simon Pulse
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Vaino
by Julia Davis Adams, illustrated by Lempi Ostman
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 6th-10th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
from HarperCollins
for 7th-10th grade
1995 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Wolf Hollow
by Lauren Wolk
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
2017 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Young Walter Scott
by Elizabeth Janet Gray, jacket and end papers illustrated by Kate Seredy
from Viking Press
for 9th-Adult
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)