< 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!
Julie of the Wolves
By: Jean Craighead George
Medal Winner
Reviewed by: Diane Pendergraft
Julie of the Wolves is a title I have often seen on lists of good books for children. It seems to be recommended for children starting in about fifth grade. Because there is a perpetual controversy surrounding this book because of a “rape” scene, I wanted to know for myself what all the hubbub was about. Julie is already “married” to a boy her age. It is a traditional marriage of convenience and expedience, such as we see in most cultures throughout human history. Though Julie isn’t expected to live with the boy, Daniel, and his family, Daniel’s mother encourages her to move in with them so Julie can help with the work. Julie and Daniel spend most of their time ignoring each other, until the “incident” that causes the controversy. It’s possible a ten or eleven-year-old might pass over the scene without really understanding what happened. What is more disturbing to me is the pervading theme. Wolves are not only much like people but, being part of nature, they are actually better than people.
Read full review
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
Frog and Toad Together
By: Arnold Lobel
Illustrated by: Arnold Lobel
Honor
Reviewed by: Terri Shown
Also read and recommended by: Christine Kallner, Diane Pendergraft, Liv Conroy, Sandy Hall, Sara Masarik, Sarah Kim, Sherry Early, Terri Shown
"Frog and Toad Together" is a charming collection of short stories celebrating the enduring friendship between two lovable characters. Written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, the book is a delightful read for families. The simple tales, accompanied by engaging illustrations, convey valuable lessons about friendship, loyalty, and shared experiences. With accessible language and humor, it's a timeless classic that both children and adults can enjoy together.
The Upstairs Room
By: Johanna Reiss
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
In the part of the marketplace where flowers had been sold twice a week — tulips in the spring, roses in the summer— stood German tanks and German soldiers. Annie de Leeuw was eight years old in 1940 when the Germans attacked Holland and marched into the town of Winterswijk where she lived. Annie was ten when, because she was Jewish and in great danger of being captured by the invaders, she and her sister Sini had to leave their father, mother, and older sister Rachel to go into hiding in the upstairs room of a remote farmhouse.
Johanna de Leeuw Reiss has written a remarkably fresh and moving account of her own experiences as a young girl during World War II. Like many adults she was innocent of the German plans for Jews, and she might have gone to a labor camp as scores of families did. "It won't be for long and the Germans have told us we'll be treated well," those families said. "What can happen?" They did not know, and they could not imagine. . . . But millions of Jews found out.
Mrs. Reiss's picture of the Oosterveld family with whom she lived, and of Annie and Sini, reflects a deep spirit of optimism, a faith in the ingenuity, backbone, and even humor with which ordinary human beings meet extraordinary challenges. In the steady, matter-of-fact, day-by-day courage they all showed lies a profound strength that transcends the horrors of the long and frightening war. Here is a memorable book, one that will be read and reread for years to come.
From the dust jacket
The Witches of Worm
By: Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Illustrated by: Alton Raible
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
Was Worm a witch's cat? Did a witch control him, or maybe even a devil? Was Mrs. Fortune, the strange old lady downstairs, responsible for the awful things Worm did? Or was it someone else, someone Jessica didn't even know? Jessica was determined to find out. She had to know because of the terrible things Worm was making her do.
Jessica had no one but Worm she could count on. Brandon, who had once been her friend, now spent his time with boys and with his trumpet. Joy, Jessica's mother, worked, and in the evenings went out with her new boy friend Allan. Even the two girls Jessica had come to know the year before had disappeared as friends. She had filled her time reading books about witches and witchcraft until the day Worm had come along as an ugly, helpless, newborn kitten. She had cared for him against her will. And now he was making her do dreadful things to other people. Worst of all, too often she was caught doing them, and her actions were becoming harder and harder to explain.
Finding out what made Worm the cat he was, was indeed the answer to Jessica's problems. But it was not the answer she expected or wanted.
From the dust jacket
