Newbery Medal Books
 | 1922 The Story of Mankind This classic history, first published in 1921 and winner of the first Newbery Medal, was illustrated in pen and ink by the author. This version has incorporated recent events to make it an up-to-date world history. |
 | 1923 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Written by Hugh Lofting Tells the story of the good doctor who learned the languages of animals and made adventurous voyages. |
 | 1924 The Dark Frigate Written by Charles Flawes A young man dares not return to England after his ship is taken over by pirates and he becomes a member of their crew. |
 | 1925 Tales from Silver Lands Written by Charles Finger A collection of nineteen folktales. In them an assortment of animals, magical creatures, witches, giants, and children struggle for a life in which good overcomes evil. These fastmoving and adventuresome fantasies provide insight into the values and culture of native South American peoples. They stress the importance of close relationships, hard work, bravery, gentleness, and beauty, and contain colorful explanations of natural phenomena. |
 | 1926 Shen of the Sea Written by Arthur Chrisman Sixteen original stories reflecting the spirit of Chinese life and thought. |
 | 1927 Smoky the Cowhorse Written by Will James Describes the experiences of Smoky, the mouse-colored horse, from his birth on the range, his capture by humans, through his work in the rodeo and on the ranch, and his eventual old age. |
 | 1928 Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon Written by Dhan Mukerji The story of the training of a carrier pigeon and its service during the First World War, revealing the bird's courageous and spirited adventures over the housetops of an Indian village, in the Himalayan Mountains, and on the French battlefield. |
 | 1929 The Trumpeter of Karakow Written by Eric P. Kelly A Polish family in the Middle Ages guards a great secret treasure and a boy's memory of an earlier trumpeter of Krakow makes it possible for him to save his father. |
 | 1930 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years Written by Rachel Field Hitty is a very special doll who belongs to Phoebe. Phoebe is proud of her beautiful doll and brings Hitty everywhere she goes. This is thrilling for Hitty, who finds herself involved in the most wonderful adventures both on land and at sea. She meets many people and makes new friends. |
 | 1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven Written by Elizabeth Coatsworth In ancient Japan, a struggling artist is angered when his housekeeper brings home a tiny white cat he can barely afford to feed. But when the village's head priest commissions a painting of the Buddha for a healthy sum, the artist softens toward the animal he believes has brought him luck. |
 | 1932 Waterless Mountain Written by Laura Armer A young Navajo boy's spiritual odyssey and coming of age as a medicine man provides a vivid portrait of the beliefs, traditions, and lifestyle of the Navajo people |
 | 1933 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze Written by Elizabeth Lewis In the 1920's a Chinese youth from the country comes to Chungking with his mother where the bustling city offers adventure and his apprenticeship to a coppersmith brings good fortune. |
 | 1934 Invincible Louisa Written by Cornelia Meigs The fascinating life of Louisa May Alcott, from her happy childhood to her successful career as a writer. Children who loved Little Women will enjoy reading about the real-life Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. |
 | 1935 Dobry Written by Monica Shannon A Bulgarian peasant boy must convince his mother that he is destined to be a sculptor, not a farmer. |
 | 1936 Caddie Woodlawn Written by Carol Brink The adventures of an eleven-year-old tomboy growing up on the Wisconsin frontier in the mid-nineteenth century. |
 | 1937 Roller Skates Written by Ruth Sawyer The discoveries and adventures of ten-year-old Lucinda, who spends a wonderful year exploring the New York City of the 1890's. |
 | 1938 The White Stag Written by Kate Seredy Retells the legendary story of the Huns and Magyars' long migration from Asia to Europe where they hope to find a permanent home. |
 | 1939 Thimble Summer Written by Elizabeth Enright Unusual things begin to happen when a young girl finds a silver thimble. |
 | 1940 Daniel Boone Written by James Daugherty Daniel Boone was a farmer who couldn't stay put. Something was always pulling him westward into new and mysterious lands, and when this pull got so strong that he could no longer ignore it, and his wife and children could not persuade him to stay, he just went, with his toes pointing into the West and his eyes glued to the hills. |
 | 1941 Call It Courage Written by Armstrong Sperry Relates how Mafatu, a young Polynesian boy whose name means Stout Heart, overcomes his terrible fear of the sea and proves his courage to himself and his people. |
 | 1942 The Matchlock Gun Written by Walter Edmonds In 1756, New York State was still a British colony, and the French and the Indians were constant threats to Edward and his family. When his father was called away to watch for a raid from the north, only Edward was left to protect Mama and little Trudy. His father had shown him how to use the huge matchlock gun, an old Spanish gun that was twice as long as he was, but would Edward be able to handle it if trouble actually came? |
 | 1943 Adam of the Road Written by Elizabeth Grey Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout thirteenthcentury England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone. He searches the same roads he traveled with his father, meeting various people along the way. But will Adam ever find his father and dog and end his desperate search? |
 | 1944 Johnny Tremain Written by Ester Forbes After injuring his hand, a silversmith's apprentice in Boston becomes a messenger for the Sons of Liberty in the days before the American Revolution. |
 | 1945 Rabbit Hill Written by Robert Lawson New folks are coming to live in the Big House. The animals of Rabbbit Hill wonder if they will plant a garden and thus be good providers. |
 | 1946 Strawberry Girl Written by Lois Lenski Ten-year-old Birdie can not wait to pick the strawberries her family has planted at their new home in the Florida backwoods. |
 | 1947 Miss Hickory Written by Carolyn Bailey Miss Hickory is very worried. Her owner has moved to Boston, and how can Miss Hickory survive a harsh New Hampshire winter all alone? After all, she is just a doll whose body is an apple -wood twig and whose head is a hickory nut, and whose house is made out of corncobs. But Miss Hickory has ingenuity, and the help of neighbors like Crow, Bull Frog, and Ground Hog to see her through. And near the end of those cold, dark months, something unexpected happens to Miss Hickory--something even more welcome than the coming of spring. |
 | 1948 The Twenty-One Balloons Written by William Pene Du Bois Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. |
 | 1949 King of the Wind Written by Marguerite Henry Follows the adventures of the Arabian stallion brought to England to become one of the founding sires of the Thoroughbred breed and the mute Arab stable boy who tended him with loyalty and devotion all his life. |
 | 1950 The Door in the Wall Written by Marguerite de Angeli A crippled boy in fourteenth-century England proves his courage and earns recognition from the King. |
 | 1951 Amos Fortune, Free Man Written by Elizabeth Yates The life of the eighteenth-century African prince who, after being captured by slave traders, was brought to Massachusetts where he was a slave until he was able to buy his freedom at the age of sixty. |
 | 1952 Ginger Pye Written by Eleanor Estes Presents an adventure story surrounding the disappearance of the Pye family's intellectual dog Ginger. |
 | 1953 Secret of the Andes Written by Ann Nolan Clark An Indian boy who tends llamas in a hidden valley in Peru learns the traditions and secrets of his Inca ancestors. |
 | 1954 ...And Now Miguel Written by Joseph Krumgold Every summer the men of the Chavez family go on a long and difficult sheep drive to the mountains. All the men, that is, except for Miguel. All year long, twelve-year-old Miguel tries to prove that he, too, is up to the challenge'that he, too, is up to the challenge'that he, too is ready to take the sheep into his beloved Sangre de Cristo Mountains. |
 | 1955 The Wheel on the School Written by Meindert DeJong Why do the storks no longer come to the little Dutch fishing village of Shora to nest? It was Lina, one of the six schoolchildren who first asked the question, and she set the others to wondering. And sometimes when you begin to wonder, you begin to make things happen. So the children set out to bring the storks back to Shora. The force of their vision put the whole village to work until at last the dream began to come true. |
 | 1956 Carry on, Mr. Bowditch Written by Jean Lee Lathan After finding a way to teach the ship's crew members to understand navigation, Nat, a self-taught mathematician and astronomer in eighteenth-century Salem, Massachusetts, writes down his explanations and compiles them into "The American Practical Navigator," also known as the "Sailors' Bible." |
 | 1957 Miracles on Maple Hill Written by Virginia Sorenson When Marley's father returns home from World War II a broken man physically and spiritually, her mother decides that the family needs to leave the city for an extended visit to Grandma's house in the country. Listeners are drawn into the tale of a year in the life of this family as the father slowly regains his strength and confidence. |
 | 1958 Rifles for Watie Written by Harold Keith Just sixteen, Jefferson Davis Bussey can't wait to leave his Kansas farm and defend the Union against Colonel Watie, leader of the dreaded Cherokee Indian rebels. But - exhausted, starved, and scared - he soon learns that there's more to war than honor and glory. And when he is sent to infiltrate the enemy camp as a spy, Jeff makes his most important discovery of all: The rebels are just men - and boys - like him. |
 | 1959 The Witch of Blackbird Pond Written by Elizabeth George Speare Kit Tyler left her luxurious home in Barbados to visit her Puritan aunt in colonial Connecticut. While there she became friendly with Hannah, the witch of Blackbird Pond. |
 | 1960 Onion John Written by Joseph Krumgold The story of a friendship between a 12-year-old boy and an immigrant handyman, almost wrecked by the good intentions of the townspeople. |
 | 1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins Written by Scott O'Dell Story of a 12-year old girl who lives alone on a Pacific island after she leaps from a rescue ship. Isolated on the island for eighteen years, Karana forages for food, builds weapons to fight predators, clothes herself in a cormorant feathered skirt, and finds strength and peace in her seclusion. |
 | 1962 The Bronze Bow Written by Elizabeth George Speare When the Romans brutally kill Daniel bar Jamin's father, the young Palestinian searches for a leader to drive them out, but comes to realize that love may be a more powerful weapon than hate. |
 | 1963 A Wrinkle in Time Written by Madeleine L'Engle Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government. |
 | 1964 It's Like This, Cat Written by Emily Neville Story of a fourteen-year-old New York boy and his relationships with a stray tomcat, an eccentric old woman, a troubled older boy, the first girl with whom he has been friends, and his father. |
 | 1965 Shadow of a Bull Written by Maia Wojciechowska Manolo Olivar has to make a decision: to follow in his famous father's shadow and become a bullfighter, or to follow his heart and become a doctor. |
 | 1966 I, Juan de Pareja Written by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino When the great Velázquez was painting his masterpieces at the Spanish court in the seventeenth century, his colors were expertly mixed and his canvases carefully prepared by his slave, Juan de Pareja. In a vibrant novel which depicts both the beauty and the cruelty of the time and place, Elizabeth Borton de Treviño tells the story of Juan, who was born a slave and died an accomplished and respected artist. Upon the death of his indulgent mistress in Seville, Juan de Pareja was uprooted from the only home he had known and placed in the charge of a vicious gypsy muleteer to be sent north to his mistress’s nephew and heir, Diego Velázquez, who recognized at once the intelligence and gentle breeding which were to make Juan his indispensable assistant and companion—and his lifelong friend. |
 | 1967 Up a Road Slowly Written by Irene Hunt Describes the experiences of a seventeen-year-old in a rural area and how she copes with death and birth, love and hate and self discovery. |
 | 1968 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Written by E. L. Konigsburg When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn't just want to run from somewhere she wants to run to somewhere--to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and preferably elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Knowing that her younger brother, Jamie, has money and thus can help her with the serious cash flow problem she invites him along. Once settled into the museum, Claudia and Jamie, find themselves caught up in the mystery of an angel statue that the museum purchased at an auction for a bargain price of $250. The statue is possibly an early work of the Renaissance master Michelangelo, and therefore worth millions. Is it? Or isn't it? Claudia is determined to find out. This quest leads Claudia to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the remarkable old woman who sold the statue and to some equally remarkable discoveries about herself. |
 | 1969 The High King Written by Lloyd Alexander In this final part of the chronicle of Prydain the forces of good and evil meet in an ultimate confrontation, which determines the fate of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper who wanted to be a hero. |
 | 1970 Sounder Written by William H. Armstrong Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding by learning to read and with the help of the devoted dog Sounder. |
 | 1971 Summer of the Swans Written by Betsy Byars A teen-age girl gains new insight into herself and her family when her mentally retarded brother gets lost. |
 | 1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Written by Robert C. O'Brien Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory made them wise and long lived. |
 | 1973 Julie of the Wolves Written by Jean Craighead George While running away from home and an unwanted marriage, a thirteen-year-old Eskimo girl becomes lost on the North Slope of Alaska and is befriended by a wolf pack. |
 | 1974 The Slave Dancer Written by Paula Fox Kidnapped by the crew of an Africa-bound ship, a thirteen-year-old boy discovers to his horror that he is on a slaver and his job is to play music for the exercise periods of the human cargo. |
 | 1975 M.C. Higgins, the Great Written by Virginia Hamilton As a slag heap, the result of strip mining, creeps closer to his house in the Ohio hills, fifteen-year-old M. C. is torn between trying to get his family away and fighting for the home they love. |
 | 1976 The Grey King Written by Susan Cooper In this fourth book of The Dark Is Rising sequence, Will Stanton, visiting in Wales, is swept into a desperate quest to find the golden harp and to awaken the ancient Sleepers. |
 | 1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Written by Mildred D. Taylor A black family living in the South during the 1930's are faced with prejudice and discrimination which their children don't understand. |
 | 1978 Bridge to Terabithia Written by Katherine Paterson The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm. |
 | 1979 The Westing Game Written by Ellen Raskin The mysterious death of an eccentric millionaire brings together an unlikely assortment of heirs who must uncover the circumstances of his death before they can claim their inheritance. |
 | 1980 A Gathering of Days Written by Joan W. Blos The journal of a 14-year-old girl, kept the last year she lived on the family farm, records daily events in her small New Hampshire town, her father's remarriage, and the death of her best friend. |
 | 1981 Jacob Have I Loved Written by Katherine Paterson Feeling deprived all her life of schooling, friends, mother, and even her name by her twin sister, Louise finally begins to find her identity. |
 | 1982 A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers Written by Nancy Willard A collection of poems describing the curious menagerie of guests who arrive at William Blake's inn. |
 | 1983 Dicey's Song Written by Cynthia Voigt Now that the four abandoned Tillerman children are settled in with their grandmother, Dicey finds that their new beginnings require love, trust, humor, and courage. |
 | 1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw Written by Beverly Cleary In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world. |
 | 1985 The Hero and the Crown Written by Robin McKinley Aerin, with the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the Blue Sword, wins the birthright due her as the daughter of the Damarian king and a witchwoman of the mysterious, demon-haunted North. |
 | 1986 Sarah, Plain and Tall Written by Patricia MacLachlan When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by their new mother and hope that she will stay. |
 | 1987 The Whipping Boy Written by Sid Fleishman A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws. |
 | 1988 Lincoln: A Photobiography Written by Russel Freedman Photographs and text trace the life of the Civil War President. |
 | 1989 Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices Written by Paul Fleishman A collection of poems describing the characteristics and activities of a variety of insects. |
 | 1990 Number the Stars Written by Lois Lowry In 1943, during the German occupation of Demark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. |
 | 1991 Maniac Magee Written by Jerry Spinelli After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries. |
 | 1992 Shiloh Written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs. |
 | 1993 Missing May Written by Cynthia Rylant After the death of the beloved aunt who has raised her, twelve-year-old Summer and her uncle Ob leave their West Virginia trailer in search of the strength to go on living. |
 | 1994 The Giver Written by Lois Dowry Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives. |
 | 1995 Walk Two Moons Written by Sharon Creech After her mother leaves home suddenly, thirteen-year-old Sal and her grandparents take a car trip retracing her mother's route. Along the way, Sal recounts the story of her friend Phoebe, whose mother also left. |
 | 1996 The Midwife's Apprentice Written by Karen Cushman In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world. |
 | 1997 The View from Saturday Written by E. L. Konigsburg Four students, with their own individual stories, develop a special bond and attract the attention of their teacher, a paraplegic, who chooses them to represent their sixth-grade class in the Academic Bowl competition. |
 | 1998 Out of the Dust Written by Karen Hesse In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of the Depression. |
 | 1999 Holes Written by Louis Sachar A darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment. As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. There is no lake - it has been dry for over a hundred years - and it's hardly a camp. As punishment, the boys must each dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the hard earth of the dried-up lake bed. The warden claims that this pointless labor builds character, but she is really using the boys to dig for loot buried by the Wild West outlaw Kissin' Kate Barlow. The story of Kissin' Kate, and of a curse put on Stanley's great-great-grandfather by a one-legged gypsy, weaves a narrative puzzle that tangles and untangles, until it becomes clear that the hand of fate has been at work in the lives of the characters - and their forebears - for generations. |
 | 2000 Bud, Not Buddy Written by Christopher Paul Curtis Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. |
 | 2001 A Year Down Yonder Written by Richard Peck During the recession of 1937, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice is sent to live with her feisty, larger-than-life grandmother in rural Illinois and comes to a better understanding of this fearsome woman. |
 | 2002 A Single Shard Written by Linda Sue Park Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself. |
 | 2003 Crispin: the Cross of Lead Written by Avi Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret. |
 | 2004 The Tale of Desperaux Written by Kate DeCamillo The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. |
 | 2005 Kira-Kira Written by Cynthia Kadohata Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill. |
 | 2006 Criss Cross Written by Lynne Rae Perkins Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love. |
 | 2007 The Higher Power of Lucky Written by Susan Patron Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life. |
 | 2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village Written by Laura Amy Schlitz A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor. |
 | 2009 Graveyard Book Written by Neil Gaiman Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard. |
 | 2010 When You Reach Me Written by Rebecca Stead As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space. |
 | 2011 Moon Over Manifest Written by Clare Vanderpool Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past. |
 | 2012 Dead End in Novelt Written by Jack Gantos In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses. |
List last updated on December 21, 2012