1952 Newbery Medal and Honor Books

Ginger Pye

By: Eleanor Estes
Illustrated by: Eleanor Estes

Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED

Once again Eleanor Estes has written with tenderness and humor a family story in which children will find all the realities of their world, and grownups will catch echoes of years gone by.

Who can resist the Pyes? There is Mrs. Pye, the youngest mother in the town of Cranbury; Mr. Pye, a famous bird man who is often called down to Washington for consultation ("Call in Mr. Pye," is a family by-word); Rachel and Jerry, who see the world through fresh eyes and sometimes react surprisingly; Uncle Bennie, their real uncle though he is only three years old; Gramma and Grampa, and many delightful friends. And there is Ginger, a puppy whom Jerry and Rachel buy with a hard-earned dollar. With the coming of Ginger, a mysterious stranger enters the children's lives, and the only clue they have to his identity is that he wears a mustard yellow hat. Then Ginger disappears on Thanksgiving Day—spirited away, the children feel sure, by the stranger in the yellow hat. After months of fruitless search, a chance gust of wind reveals the villain to Jerry and Rachel, Ginger returns home, and Uncle Bennie is the hero of the day.

A new book by this gifted author-artist is a real event, and the host of young readers who have taken The Moffats, The Middle Moffat and Rufus M. to their hearts will love equally this unforgettable story.

From the dust jacket

Americans Before Columbus

By: Elizabeth Chelsey Baity
Illustrated by: C.B. Falls

Honor
NOT REVIEWED

Here is unfolded to the mind and imagination of the reader an impressive panorama of life on the American continents before even Columbus opened the way for European exploration and conquest.

Beginning with an exciting account of the ice-age animals—"horses and camels and dogs and many other animal families that were really and truly American"—the story sweeps in dramatic episodes from the cold and lonely journey of Asiatic peoples across the Bering Strait, to the highly organized civilization of the Incas.

"It is a story of epic size, of ordinary human beings faced with the challenge of the unknown and the dangerous, and of the courage and endurance with which these men, women, and children traveled across the ice top of the world. . . [and] found their way down from the cold northland into the endless Great Plains from which they spread in countless ways. Some of the groups settled here and there along the way. Others pushed on across high mountains and through danger-infested jungles until, perhaps many centuries after the first arrival in America, people had reached the southern tip of the continent, the cold land strangely named Tierra del Fuego, or 'Land of Fire.'"

A profusion of scrupulously authenticated drawings by C.B. Falls and photographs assembled from museums and anthropological collections strengthen and illuminate the author's detailed and lively descriptions of the customs and costumes, the arts, crafts, and architecture characteristic of the various cultural patterns that developed in various parts of the Americas. Vividly told imaginative stories are interspersed among the direct factual accounts of life among the Eskimos, the Hunters and Fishermen of the northwest, the Food Gatherers and Basketmakers of the Southwes, the Mound Builders of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, the Indians of the eastern forests, the Vikings who "found and lost America," the Astecs and Mayas of the Central American areas, and the Incas of the Andean region.

An arresting feature of the book is its consistent emphasis on the immense knowledge, skill, and resourcefulness which anthropologists have brought to the "patient toil" of piecing together the pre-Columbian history of the Americas. This adds greatly to the fascinating interest of the book, and combines with the romance and excitement of the story to invite the reader to extend his exploration of this thrilling segment of history beyond the bounds of any one book.

From the dust jacket

The Apple and the Arrow

By: Conrad and Mary Buff
Illustrated by: Conrad Buff

Honor
NOT REVIEWED

The story of William Tell's daring took place eight hundred years ago and half way around the world. It has been told many times. But this book has all freshness and vigor of a first telling. And twelve-year old Watler Tell, son of the Swiss hero, Walter's little brother Rudi, their family and friends, seem as real as the people next door—and much more exciting.

Walter is the hero of this book. The famous author-artist team, Mary and Conrad Buff, with vivid words and pictures tell the story of how he stood in the marketplace of Altdorf balancing an apple on his head while the Austrian tyrant, Gessler, commanded Walter's father to take aim at the apple with his great crossbow. His father's arrest and escape, the exciting eve of the new year, 1292, when bonfires on peaks of the Alps heralded the revolt of the Swiss against the Austrians, are a part of this dramatic tale.

Conrad Buff's full-page, full-color illustrations and many black and white drawings give added life to the quickly moving story. The Apple and the Arrow is a book to be read and reread—to be treasured as a handsome, permanent possession.

From the dust jacket

The Defender

By: Nicholas Kalashnikoff
Illustrated by: Claire and George Louden

Honor
NOT REVIEWED

In turn-of-the-century Siberia, Turgen, a widowed hunter and herbalist, becomes the target of the local shaman when he begins to protect the shy, fast-disappearing mountain rams. Turgen's only friends are a poor widow, whom he befriends and marries, and her two children.

From The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books (1993)

The Light at Tern Rock

By: Julia Sauer
Illustrated by: Georges Schreiber

Honor

Reviewed by: Sherry Early
Recommended age: All ages
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Sandy Hall, Sarah Kim

What a great Christmas story! I’m not sure why it is not more familiar and recommended as the Christmas story that it certainly is. Perhaps it needs a subtitle, A Christmas Story.

Eleven year old Ronnie and his Aunt Martha now live together on the edge of town, but before Ronnie came to live with his aunt, she and her late husband were the lighthouse keepers of Tern Rock Lighthouse. Now the current lighthouse keeper, Mr. Flagg, wants to make a pre-Christmas visit to his family, and he asks Martha Morse and Ronnie to substitute for him at the lighthouse, just for a couple of weeks until December 15th. Ronnie is eager to go on this lighthouse adventure as long as he can get back for Christmas and the festivities at school and at home that will be coming.

I expected this story to be about a storm or a wrecked ship or some other exciting event, but Ronnie’s stay at the lighthouse is much more about what doesn’t happen than what does. Ronnie learns some lessons about joy and contentment and keeping promises.

Minn of the Mississippi

By: Holling Clancy Holling
Illustrated by: Holling Clancy Holling

Honor

Reviewed by: Deanna Knoll
Recommended age: Age 6+
Also read and recommended by: Sandy Hall, Sarah Kim

While all of Holling C. Holling's books are worth owning, reading, and reading again, Minn of the Mississippi is truly a great book.  Taking the reader on a journey down the Mississippi through the lifespan of a turtle (combining both geography and nature study) in story form is the trifecta of a living book.   The detailed illustrations enhance the story as well and it is one not to be missed.