Let’s lay the groundwork for now and for future reference, shall we? The Newbery Award, an award of distinction in the field of children’s literature, is given yearly by the Association for Library Service to Children and the American Library Association. The intent has always been to award an Author with the most distinguished contribution to American literature for Children. The award itself was named for a publisher from the 19th Century, John Newbery. While the actual medal has remained the same over the years, the make-up of the committee determining the winner has changed in size from a relatively large group determining winners with popular votes to the current set up of a smaller committee meeting in person twice yearly to discuss the nominations. While largely to show the deserving nature of and quality and creativity of children’s literature, the award has on occasion been criticized by librarians and the public alike (myself some years) for not being what “kids like,” and instead focusing on “issues of the day” or “what could be a classic.” Regardless of the concerns, frustrations, joys, and triumphs that have come from the John Newbery Award, there have undoubtedly been true winners and, yes, true question marks. During the next, months and years, let’s dive into each year’s award winners and honor winners. Let’s use the same criteria that the Committee must use and determine if the actual winner should have won. Let’s (and by “let’s” I mean, I will) dive into the culture of the day, briefly, and see if there may or may not have been any touchstones that could have influenced the choices. I’ll give brief reviews of each book for each year and what I thought of them, and conclude with my own determination, a committee of one, of what book should have won the Medal that year. Some years there are multiple honor books and other years there are none. I will not be digging into other literature from each year to find a diamond in the rough, that’s a prospect too outrageous to take. But confining myself to a year and its award/honor winners? That I can do. I hope you’ll follow along, offer feedback, response, criticism of your own, jubilation at the “new” winner, and perhaps… just perhaps… discover a new classic for your shelves. Do you have a favorite? A hated winner? A spurned yet beloved honor book? Leave it in the comments below. For reference, the link below contains the terms and definitions required of the committee for choosing the Newbery Award. ALSC Newbery Award Terms and Criteria
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