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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122 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Trade Paperback, 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
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)
And Now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Anpao
by Jamake Highwater
from HarperCollins
for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
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
Avion My Uncle Flew
by Cyrus Fisher, illustrated by Richard Floethe
from Purple House Press
for 5th-7th grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$13.95
Black Cauldron
Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Blue Cat of Castle Town
by Catherine Coblentz, illustrated by Janice Holland
Dover 2017 from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.95
Book of Boy
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, illustrated by Ian Schoenherr
Frist Paperback from Greenwillow Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2019 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Breaking Stalin's Nose
by Eugene Yelchin
from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
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
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
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Clearing Weather
by Cornelia Meigs
Repint from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
by Rhoda Blumberg
from HarperCollins
Historical Non-Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1986 Newbery Honor Book
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$9.99 $7.00 (2 in stock)
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural
by Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
1993 Newbery Honor Book
$7.99
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Dogsong
by Gary Paulsen
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
1986 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.19
Doll Bones
by Holly Black
Reprint from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 5th-9th grade
2014 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Downright Dency
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.95
Ear, the Eye, and the Arm
by Nancy Farmer
First Printing from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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
Eleanor Roosevelt
by Russell Freedman
from Clarion Books
Biography for 4th-6th grade
1994 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.95 $7.50 (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)
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
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
Fine White Dust
by Cynthia Rylant
2nd Aladdin Paperbacks from Atheneum
for 5th-9th grade
1987 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Flora & Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2014 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Genesis Begins Again
by Alicia D. Williams
from Atheneum
for 6th-8th grade
2020 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$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
Golden Fleece
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
$10.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
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 Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Graven Images
by Paul Fleischman
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-7th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner, 2010 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
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)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.19
Hidden Treasure of Glaston
Bethlehem Books Living History Library
by Eleanore Jewett
from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.95
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Holes
Holes Series #1
by Louis Sachar
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1999 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
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)
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)
In the Beginning
by Virginia Hamilton, Illustrated by Barry Moser
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-8th grade
1989 Newbery Honor Book
$20.00 $11.00 (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)
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)
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99
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
Journey Outside
by Mary Q. Steele
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
1970 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1989 Newbery Medal winner
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.99
Jumping-Off Place
by Marion Hurd McNeely
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 6th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.95
Kira-Kira
by Cynthia Kadohata
from Atheneum
for 6th-9th grade
2005 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
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)
$8.99
Men, Microscopes, and Living Things
by Katherine B. Shippen (illustrated by Anthony Ravielli)
Reprint from Living Library Press
for 5th-8th grade
1956 Newbery Honor Book
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$13.95
Merci Suarez Changes Gears
by Meg Medina
from Candlewick Press
2019 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
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)
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)
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
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1990 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
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 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 Came Home
by Amy Timberlake
Reprint from Yearling
for 5th-8th grade
2014 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
Paperboy
by Vince Vawter
Reprint from Yearling
for 5th-8th grade
2014 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Pecos Bill
by James Cloyd Bowman, illustrated by Laura Bannon
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
$9.99
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
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
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
Rules
by Cynthia Lord
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
2007 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
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)
Smoky the Cowhorse
by Will James
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
1927 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
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
Splendors and Glooms
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 4th-7th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem Van Loon, updated and introduced by Robert Sullivan
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.95
String in the Harp
by Nancy Bond
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
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)
Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2004 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1925 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
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
The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt
Reprint from Atheneum
for 5th-8th grade
2009 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
Three Times Lucky
Mo and Dale Mysteries #1
by Sheila Turnage
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
2013 Newbery Honor Book
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$8.99
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