< Newbery Medal and Honor Books
Given the Newbery Award's prestige it would be easy to assume that the award winners are all excellent books for children. The Biblioguides Team has not found this to be the case. We always want to provide parents with the information they need to make the best book decisions for their families. With that goal in mind, we've put together a complete list of all medal winners and honor books since inception, and the Biblioguides Review Team is working together to read our way through the winners and to provide a review. Where we have not yet reviewed a book, a description directly from the dust jacket or from the publisher has been provided. In some cases, we have shared a brief synopsis from The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books (1999).
Reviews are the thoughts and opinions of the particular reviewer and do not necessarily represent all members of the team. Reviews will continue to be added as the team reads more of the Newbery books. We hope this list will help you familiarize yourself with the various winners and provide the necessary information to determine which books would be a good fit for your family!
...and now Miguel
By: Joseph Krumgold
Illustrated by: Jean Charlot
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
This is Miguel—Miguel Chavez who held in his heart a secret with and yearned to go with the men of his family to the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
He lives near Taos, New Mexico, where the members of the Chavez family have lived on a sheep-raising farm for many generations. They have guarded their sheep from the weather, sickness, and wild animals. Each week presents a new kind of danger to the flock and it is the job of the men of the family to protect it.
The Chavez who tells this story is not the oldest member of the family, nor the youngest, either. Miguel is right in the middle—too young to get everything he wants, like his older brother Gabriel; too old to be happy with everything he has, like little Pedro. And that is Miguel's problem and why he has a secret wish and why he tells his story. This last great adventure of a boy and his first great adventure as a man has its own peculiar mystery, it own special enchantment, because it takes place away out there between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the gorge of the Rio Grande.
Mr. Krumgold grew close to Miguel and his family when he visited them. He celebrated saints' days there with barbecues and dancing and fiddle playing. And now he tells the story of Miguel with such perception and understanding, with such power and beauty, that one feels that Miguel's own special San Ysidro must have wanted the story told.
From the dust jacket
All Alone
By: Claire Huchet Bishop
Illustrated by: Feodor Rojankovsky
Honor
Reviewed by: Deanna Knoll
Recommended age: Age 6+
Also read and recommended by: Sandy Hall
Claire Hutchet Bishop is a masterful creator of stories, and her ability to write of a sense of place along with a bit of adventure makes for a wonderful tale of two lonely goatherds. As a quick read-aloud, this is a soothing, enjoyable traipse through the French Alps.
Hurry Home, Candy
By: Meindert DeJong
Illustrated by: Maurice Sendak
Honor
Reviewed by: Sherry Early
Recommended age: Age 8 and up
Also read and recommended by: Sandy Hall
It’s a hard-knock life for Candy, a small terrier whose misfortunes multiply throughout this story, in which the dog does not die, but has many near-death experiences. Abused as a puppy, then lost, abandoned, and hungry as a stray, Candy loses his name, his owners, and his home several times over. If stories of animals being mistreated, neglected, and injured make you or your child sad or angry or both, this book is not for you.
Nevertheless, the book reminded me of The Incredible Journey, our book club book for this month, and it does have a redemptive and hopeful ending. I was also reminded of the story of the prodigal son and the Prodigal Father who welcomed him home. The writing is especially luminous and life-giving on the last few pages of the book where Candy finally does make it home.
Read full review
Magic Maize
By: Mary and Conrad Buff
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Fabian, an Indian boy of Guatemala, grew up in the old Mayan beliefs. He shared his father's fear of the new, and the ways of the gringo (white man).
Every spring, he and his father spent the entire night praying to their Gods of Nature before burning last year's dry brush from their field. Every spring before planting seed, they offered hot corn mush to their Gods hoping their field might become fruitful. So did many other Indians in Guatemala.
Yet, this boy had the courage to secretly plant twenty kernels of maize (corn) which his brother had given him. It was a new maize, developed by the feared gringo.
While planting, Fabian uncovers a rare jade earplug of the Ancients. On his way home he is frightened as he watches the moon go into an eclipse, thinking the Gods are angry at him for his deed.
But the earplug and the magic maize lead to adventures so unusual that even Fabian's stubborn father is convinced the old and the new can live in peace.
Many paintings by Conrad Buff, vivid with the color and heat of the Tropics, make MAGIC MAIZE come alive vigorously.
From the dust jacket
Shadrach
By: Meindert DeJong
Illustrated by: Maurice Sendak
Honor
Reviewed by: Sherry Early
Recommended age: age 8 and up, younger for read aloud
Davie, a six year old boy who lives in the Netherlands, is anxiously awaiting the coming of a little black rabbit, promised to him by his grandfather. Davie, who has been quite seriously ill, is now getting well, and his complete mind and focus is on the little black rabbit that he names Shadrach. The entire book is the story of Davie’s adventures with and anxieties about Shadrach, a pet whom Davie says is “the fairest of ten thousand to my soul” (from the hymn Lily of the Valley).
“A boy’s will is the wind’s will,. And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts,” said Longfellow. And Davie’s thoughts are captivating in their innocence and youth. Davie sings his own songs in his mind. He worries over his rabbit’s health and habits, and over whether his father is angry with him (he’s not), and whether his mother will ever realize that he is no longer sickly and weak. Davie also becomes angry and defensive when his older brother Rem speaks unkindly about Shadrach or even mistreats the rabbit. And Davie is sometimes disobedient, even a little bit “wicked”, as he puts it, but his parents and grandparents, who live nearby, are patient and understanding with a little boy who is absolutely, passionately obsessed with his little pet rabbit.
Read full review
Theodore Roosevelt: Fighting Patriot
By: Clara Ingram Judson
Illustrated by: Lorence F. Bjorklund
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
From early childhood, love of the outdoors was one of Theodore Roosevelt's greatest enthusiasms. Even as a sickly boy, he explored the world around him, collecting specimens of animal and plant life, and finding great joy in natural beauty.
This love of nature was to remain with him through all his busy life. In time, exercise and outdoor living, together with his own great fighting spirit, gave young Theodore the vigorous strength that was one of the outstanding qualities of his adult life.
His keen interest in law and government led him into politics. From membership in the Twenty-First District Republican Association of New York City to the presidency was a long journey, with many disappointments and defeats along the way. But, as Mrs. Judson writes, "in ward and city, in state and nation, Theodore Roosevelt did his best to bring honor to his country."
Giving special emphasis to his understanding of people, his integrity and unswerving patriotism, his brilliance in politics and international affairs, Clara Ingram Judson has written a most timely and inspiring biography of a great American and a great man.
From the dust jacket
