Newbery award books – best children’s books of the year.
Award-winning books can be a great resource, and new Newbery Books turn up annually, and have since 1922. This award is given for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. In other words, for the author of the book.
I’m sure that if you’ve perused our site much you’ll see that we’re book people, so there will be many posts about that subject, and yes, this is one of them. Newbery winner and honor books are an interesting mix of literature. There are lists available online of each of the medals and honors in each year, which I printed out for my children and myself, and as we read one, we mark it off. The list as a whole appeals to different people, as the books on them vary in subject matter.
Not every book on this list is one that we as a family will want to read, nor is it likely to be a list of which you will want to read every one. But perhaps you will. One thing a list of award-winning books like this does is to provide a sampling of well-written new books. Libraries are likely to get them in, so you can borrow them when you want to. They may even have a section dedicated to award-winning books as one of our local libraries does.
Here is a list of some that we have read and enjoyed:
- Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (1992 winner)
- The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (1987 winner)
- Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1986 winner)
- Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel (1973 honor)
- Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (1965 honor)
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1961 winner)
- The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden (1961 honor)
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1953 honor)
- Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry (1948 honor)
- Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1942 honor)
- The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1941 honor)
- By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1940 honor)
- Mr Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater (1939 honor)
- On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1938 honor)
While having others vote on books that they think are worth reading has some benefits, don’t be limited to what other people say. Take out books, explore different sections of the library, and find your own gems.
