< 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!
Dear Mr. Henshaw
By: Beverly Cleary
Illustrated by: Paul O. Zelinsky
Medal Winner
NOT REVIEWED
Dear Mr. Henshaw,
My teacher read your book about the dog to our class. It was funny. We licked it.
Your freind,
Leigh Botts (boy)
First there was Henry Huggins . . . then Beezus and Ramona . . . now Beverly Cleary introduces a spunky new character named Leigh Botts, age ten.
Leigh has been Boyd Henshaw’s Number One fan ever since his second grade teacher read aloud Ways to Amuse a Dog. Now in the sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is "the new kid" in school. Troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious lunchbag thief steals all the "good stuff" from his lunch, Leigh feels his only friend is Mr. Fridley, the school custodian. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a project that requires writing letters asking questions of authors. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life.
Told through a series of letters to Leigh's favorite author, and later through Leigh's diary, this is a wise and funny book about finding one's own place in the world. Written with Beverly Cleary's unique blend of humor and compassion, Dear Mr. Henshaw will soon take its place beside the author's other beloved classics.
From the dust jacket
★
REVIEW TEAM FAVORITE
The Sign of the Beaver
By: Elizabeth George Speare
Honor
Reviewed by: Terri Shown
Also read and recommended by: Lara Lleverino, Sandy Hall, Sherry Early, Terri Shown
"The Sign of the Beaver" by Elizabeth George Speare provides readers with a compelling Pioneer's perspective on early American frontier life. The narrative follows young Matt Hallowell, tasked with guarding his family's cabin in the wilderness of Maine. As Matt confronts the challenges of survival, he forms a profound friendship with Attean, a boy from the native Penobscot community. The novel explores the intricacies of their friendship, cultural differences, and the resilience required in the harsh environment.
Speare's vivid descriptions immerse readers in the pioneer experience, offering a glimpse into the resourcefulness and adaptability needed to thrive in the untamed wilderness. The themes of friendship and survival are central to the narrative, as Matt's journey unfolds both physically and emotionally.
Set against the backdrop of colonial America, the novel provides insights into the historical context of the time, depicting the interactions between settlers and Native Americans. While "The Sign of the Beaver" offers a valuable Pioneer's perspective, readers are encouraged to explore additional works from Native American authors for a more comprehensive understanding of early American history and culture.
A Solitary Blue
By: Cynthia Voigt
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
JEFF GREENE was seven when Melody, his mother, left home for good. She left behind a note explaining that she had work to do in the world; starving children and an endangered ecology had need of her, she said, and she knew Jeff would understand. What Jeff understood was that it became very important to do things just right for the Professor, his father, lest he leave too. So Jeff took each breath, lived each moment, week by week and year by year, with extreme caution to keep things the way his distant, remote, perfectionist father wanted them.
Some years later, Jeff was invited to visit Melody in Charleston for the summer, and there he became so totally captured by her quick charm and her beauty that his adoration of her became the center of his existence. Until, in the summer that followed, Melody, all unwitting, betrayed Jeff's love for her. That betrayal and the pain it caused made Jeff see himself as "a ghost in his own life," as deep in his aloneness as the single blue heron he spotted in a Carolina marsh. The shock of Melody’s betrayal seemed to be a wound that would never heal.
Jeff broke down. But it took that to find genuine love and genuine healing. It took that for Jeff to see clearly and reach out to his father who had been, Jeff discovered, as wounded as he was. And there was help; Brother Thomas, the monk, who gave solid guidance to both Jeff and the Professor; and Dicey Tillerman—Melody’s opposite in so many ways—whose friendship became an important foundation for Jeff. Together they shared music; to each other, they told the truth.
A Solitary Blue is a moving journey into the mysteries and joys of relationships, within families and among friends. It is a companion book, but not a sequel, to Dicey’s Song.
From the dust jacket
Sugaring Time
By: Kathryn Lasky
Illustrated by: Christopher G. Knight
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
"The author and photographer record a family's old-fashioned method of sugaring. When the right time finally comes, family members tap the maple trees, boil the sap, and enjoy a sugar-on-snow party and a pancake breakfast. The family's enjoyment of sugaring is evident in the often poetic text and the clear black-and-white photographs."
From The Newbery and Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal and Honor Books (1999)
The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree
By: Bill Brittain
Illustrated by: Andrew Glass
Honor
NOT REVIEWED
THADDEUS BLINN
I CAN GIVE YOU
WHATEVER
YOU ASK FOR
ONLY 50¢
The annual Coven Tree Church Social was the same as any other year's, except for the funny little man who appeared from out of nowhere. He calls himself Thaddeus Blinn and tells anyone who wanders by his tent that he has the power to give people exactly what they ask for. But only Stew Meat and three young believers-in-magic are curious enough to listen. Just press your thumb on the red spot in the center of the card and wish, Blinn tells them. But what he doesn’t tell them is wishes that come true often bring more than one bargains for. . . .
With the same spirited fun and suspense that delighted readers of DEVIL'S DONKEY, Bill Brittain spins another magical tale filled with down-home characters and strange, marvelous events.
From the dust jacket
