My Newbery Award Project

November 18, 2021

My Newbery Project (white text above the top view of a middle school child curled up on a comfortable recliner with a reddish afghan reading a hardback book)

Background Image Source: Canva

My Newbery Project

Do you have a reading project?
One of my reading joys is to read Middle-Grade (first acquired as a fifth-grade teacher).
Mostly, I appreciate the hope-filled endings.
When I’m in a reading slump, I often turn to Middle-Grade books that can be read in one day or one sitting.
Reading Middle Grade also enables me to make reading recommendations to young readers (a necessity in my years as a fifth-grade teacher).

One list I often reference for my next great Middle-Grade read is the Newbery Award Winners including the honor books (which I find just as compelling).

Have you read any Newbery books?
Here is the complete list with books I’ve read marked with an X:
(I’ve also included the Honor Books I’ve read)


AWARD WINNERS: NEWBERY MEDAL

The John Newbery Medal is awarded to ONE book each year by the American Library Association. It was named in honor of 18th century English bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded to the AUTHOR of the best contribution to American books for children.

1922 The Story of Mankind – Hendrick Van Loon

1923 The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle – Hugh Lofting

1924 The Dark Frigate – Charles Boardman Hawes

1925 Tales from the Silver Lands – Charles Joseph Finger

1926 Shen of the Sea: Chinese Stories for Children – Arthur Bowie Chrisman

1927 Smoky, the Cowhorse – Will James

1928 Gay-Neck: the Story of a Pigeon – Boris Artzybasheff

1929 The Trumpeter of Krakow – Eric P. Kelly

1930 Hitty: Her First Hundred Years – Rachel Field

1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven – Elizabeth Coatsworth

1932 Waterless Mountain – Laura Adams Armer

1933 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze – Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

1934 Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women – Cornelia Miegs

1936 Caddie Woodlawn – Carol Ryrie Brink X

1937 Roller Skates – Ruth Sawyer
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1938 The White Stag – Kate Seredy
…..Honor: On the Banks of Plum Creek (Laura Ingalls Wilder) X

1939 Thimble Summer – Elizabeth Enright

1941 Call It Courage – Armstrong Sperry

1942 Matchlock Gun – Walter D. Edmonds

1943 Adam of the Road – Elizabeth Janet Gray

1944 Johnny Tremain – Esther Forbes X

1945 Rabbit Hill – Robert Lawson

1946 Strawberry Girl – Lois Lenski

1947 Miss Hickory – Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

1948 The Twenty-One Balloons – William Pene Du Bois

1949 King of the Wind – Marguerite Henry

1950 The Door in the Wall – Marguerite De Angeli

1951 Amos Fortune: Free Man – Elizabeth Yates

1952 Ginger Pye – Eleanor Estes

1953 Secret of the Andes – Ann Nolan Clark
…..Honor: Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White) X

1954 And Now Miguel – Joseph Krumgold

1955 The Wheel on the School – Meindert De Jong

1956 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham

1957 Miracles on Maple Hill – Virginia Sorensen
…..Honor: Old Yeller (Fred Gipson) X

1958 Rifles for Watie – Harold Keith

1959 The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Elizabeth George Speare X

1960 Onion John – Joseph Krumgold
…..Honor: My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George) X

1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins – Scott O’Dell X

1962 The Bronze Bow – Elizabeth George Speare

1963 A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle X

1964 It’s Like This, Cat – Emily Neville

1965 Shadow of a Bull – Maia Wojciechowska

1966 I, Juan de Pareja – Elizabeth Borton de Trevino

1967 Up a Road Slowly – Irene Hunt

1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg X

1969 The High King – Lloyd Alexander

1970 Sounder – William H. Armstrong

1971 The Summer of the Swans – Betsy Byars

1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh – Robert C. O’Brien

1973 Julie of the Wolves – Jean Craighead George

1974 The Slave Dancer – Paula Fox

1975 M. C. Higgins, the Great – Virginia Hamilton

1976 The Grey King – Susan Cooper

1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D. Taylor X

1978 Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Paterson X

1979 The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin
…..Honor: The Great Gilly Hopkins (Katherine Paterson) X

1980 A Gathering of Days: a New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-32 – Joan Blos

1981 Jacob Have I Loved – by Katherine Paterson X

1982 A Visit to William Blake’s Inn – Nancy Willard

1983 Dicey’s Song – Cynthia Voigt X

1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw – Beverly Cleary X
…..Honor: The Sign of the Beaver (Elizabeth George Speare) X

1985 The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley

1986 Sarah, Plain and Tall – Patricia MacLachlan X

1987 The Whipping Boy – Sid Fleischman X (DNF)

1988 Lincoln: a Photobiography – Russell Freedman
…..Honor: Hatchet (Gary Paulsen) X

1989 Joyful Noise: a Poem for Two Voices – Paul Fleischman

1990 Number the Stars – Lois Lowry X

1991 Maniac Magee – Jerry Spinelli
…..Honor: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Avi) X

1992 Shiloh – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor X

1993 Missing May – Cynthia Rylant|

1994 The Giver – Lois Lowry X

1995 Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech X

1996 The Midwife’s Apprentice – Karen Cushman

1997 The View from Saturday – E. L. Konigsburg

1998 Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse X

1999 Holes – Louis Sachar X

2000 Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis X

2001 A Year Down Yonder – Richard Peck
…..Honor: Because of Winn Dixie (Kate DiCamillo) X

2002 A Single Shard – Linda Sue Park

2003 Crispin: the Cross of Lead – Avi

2004 The Tale of Despereaux – Kate DiCamillo

2005 Kira-kira – Cynthia Kadohata

2006 Criss Cross – Lynne Rae Perkins

2007 The Higher Power of Lucky – Susan Patron

2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices From a Medieval Village – Laura Amy Schlitz
…..Honor: The Wednesday Wars (Gary D. Schmidt) X (DNF)
…..Honor: Feathers (Jacqueline Woodson) X

2009 The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

2010 When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead

2011 Moon Over Manifest – Clare Vanderpool

2012 Dead End in Norvelt – Jack Gantos
…..:Honor: Inside Out and Back Again (Thanhha Lai) X

2013 The One and Only Ivan – Katherine Applegate X

2014 Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventure – Kate DiCamillo

2015 The Crossover – Kwame Alexander
…..Honor: El Deafo (graphic novel) (Cece Bell) X
…..Honor: Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson) X

2016 Last Stop on Market Street – Matt De La Pena
…..Honor: The War That Saved My Life (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley) X
…..Honor: Roller Girl (graphic novel) (Victoria Jamieson) X

2017 The Girl Who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill

2018 Hello Universe – Erin Entrada Kelly
…..Honor: Piecing Me Together (Renee Watson) X

2019 Merci Suarez Changes Gears – Meg Medina X

2020 New Kid – Jerry Craft X (DNF 50%)
…..Honor: Other Words For Home (Jasmine Warga) X

2021 When You Trap a Tiger – Tae Kel
…..Honor: Fighting Words (Kimberly Brubaker Bradley) X

How many Newbery Award (or Honor) winners have you read?