< 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!
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
I, Juan de Pareja
By: Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Sherry Early
Recommended age: 12+ for independent reading, younger for read aloud
Also read and recommended by: Sandy Hall, Sarah Kim
Ms. Borton de Trevino was not Hispanic, but she married a Mexican man and moved with him to his home, Monterrey, Mexico, then to Mexico City, and finally to Cuernavaca. The couple had two sons, and one of the sons, Luis, inspired his mother to write I, Juan de Pareja by telling her the story of the slave of a seventeenth century Spanish artist.
I, Juan de Pareja tells the fictionalized story of Spanish painter Diego Velasquez and his slave and protege, Juanico. Juan posed for one of Velasquez’s most famous paintings, and Velasquez taught Juan to paint even though it was against the law for a slave to learn a profession in seventeenth century Spain. The story itself moves rather slowly and covers a great many years in the life of Velasquez and Juan de Pareja. As the relationship between the two men grows, Velasquez comes to see Juan de Pareja as a friend and an equal instead of a lowly and inferior slave.
Read full review
The Animal Family
By: Randall Jarrell
Illustrated by: Maurice Sendak
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Once a man and woman and boy were wrecked on an uninhabited coast. The boy's mother and father grew old, and at last the boy, a man now, was left alone. There in the wilderness he saw and did many wonderful things, but he had no one to show what he had seen or tell what he had done—he was alone.
This is the story of how, one by one, the man found himself a family. Almost nowhere in fiction is there a stranger, dearer, or funnier family—and the life that the members of The Animal Family live together, there in the wilderness beside the sea, is as extraordinary and as enchanting as the family.
If you like wild animals and desert islands, if you want a second family besides your own, this is the book for you, a book that will find a place in your heart alongside Randall Jarrell's and Maurice Sendak's famous The Bat-Poet.
From the dust jacket
The Black Cauldron
By: Lloyd Alexander
Illustrated by: Evaline Ness
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
In the imaginary land of Prydain, where "evil is never distant," Prince Gwydion faced dangers more threatening than had ever been dreamed of. It had become imperative that the Black Cauldron, chief implement of the evil powers of Arawn, lord of the Land of Death, be destroyed.
For each of the warriors chosen to journey to Arawn's domain, the quest had a special meaning. To Ellidyr, youngest son of an impoverished king, it meant a chance to satisfy his bitter longing for fame. For Adaon, beloved for his gentleness and bravery, the quest was an omen whose significance he dreaded to discover. And to Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, the adventure seemed a glorious opportunity to wear his first sword, a man among men.
How each fulfilled his destiny in ways entirely unforeseen is related in a story filled with adventure and the sacrifice that great achievements entail. As in Lloyd Alexander's The Book of Three, the thrilling experiences of Prydain’s unforgettable characters will long be cherished by the young.
From the dust jacket
The Noonday Friends
By: Mary Stolz
Illustrated by: Louis S. Glanzman
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Eleven-year-old Franny Davis loved school and her family, but there were some things that bothered her. She positively longed to be able to turn down the free-lunch pass she received every day at school. And she worried about her friendship with Simone Orgella, who asked how people could be friends if they only saw each other during lunch hour at school and on occasional weekends. Franny didn’t mind taking care of her younger brother Marshall after school while her mother worked, but it would have been nice to have a little free time.
Then Franny quarreled with Simone, and Mr. Davis lost his job again, and the very fabric of the Davises' happiness seemed worn completely threadbare.
As Mrs. Stolz's young readers expect, this is a story distinguished by its perception and humor, by its deft portrait of family inter-relationships, and by people who are warm, winning, and absorbingly real.
From the dust jacket
