Newbery Medal
The Newberry Medal is awarded each year to the author of the previous year’s most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Runners-up are called Newbery Honor Books.
The medal is named in honor of John Newbery. He was an eighteenth-century British publisher of juvenile books. He made it a priority to create books specifically for children.
The Newberry Medal and the Caldecott Medal are the most prestigious American Children’s Book awards.
No Award was given in 1923, 1924, or 1927. That is because no book was considered suitable.
Learn more: official Newberry Medal homepage.
Winners:
The Story of Mankind (1921)
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922)
In search of Long Arrow the Indian, Doctor Dolittle and his companions journey to the floating Spidermonkey Island. Read online at archive.org.
Shen of the Sea (1925)
Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon (1928)
Hitty: Her First Hundred Years (1929)
The adventures of a doll, carved from a piece of mountain ash, brought from Ireland to the state of Maine.
Read online at archive.org.
The Cat Who Went to Heaven (1930)
A little cat comes to the home of a poor Japanese artist and, by humility and devotion, brings him good fortune.
Waterless Mountain (1931)
Sidney Armer
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1932)
At age thirteen Young Fu is apprenticed to a coppersmith in the big city of Chungking.
Read online at archive.org.
Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women (1933)
Dobry (1934)
Caddie Woodlawn (1935)
Pioneer adventures of a girl growing up in northern Wisconsin.
Read online at archive.org.
Roller Skates (1936)
Lucinda spends a year on her own in New York city in the 1890’s while her parents travel abroad for her mother’s health.
The White Stag (1937)
The legendary tale of the migration of the Huns and Magyars from the east to Hungary.
Read online at archive.org.
Thimble Summer (1938)
Garnet lives on a farm in Wisconsin and has adventures all summer long.
Read online at archive.org.
Call It Courage (1940)
A story of a boy who overcomes his fear of the sea and proves his courage to himself and his tribe. This story is based on a Polynesian legend.