The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". Books selected are often recognized and popular to the point of being widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are often interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations have been written on winning works. Proposed by Publishers Weekly editor Frederic G. Melcher, the proposal was well received by the children's librarians present and then approved by the ALA Executive Board. According to The Newbery and Caldecott Awards Melcher and the ALA Board agreed to establish the award for several reasons that related to children's librarians. They wanted to encourage quality, creative children's books and to demonstrate to the public that children's books deserve recognition and praise.]]

As Barbara Elleman explained in The Newbery and Caldecott Awards, the original Newbery was based on votes by a selected jury of Children's Librarian Section officers. Books were first nominated by any librarian, then the jury voted for one favorite. Hendrik van Loon's non-fiction history book The Story of Mankind won with 163 votes out of 212. In 1924 the process was changed, and instead of using popular vote it was decided that a special award committee would be formed to select the winner. The award committee was made up of the Children's Librarian Section executive board, their book evaluation committee and three members at large. In 1929 it was changed again to the four officers, the chairs of the standing committees and the ex-president. Nominations were still taken from members at large. This proposal was met with both support and criticism by former committee members and recognized authors.

Criticism

In October 2008, Anita Silvey, a children's literary expert, published an article in the School Library Journal criticizing the committee for choosing books that are too difficult for children. Lucy Calkins, of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University's Teachers College, agreed with Silvey: "I can't help but believe that thousands, even millions, more children would grow up reading if the Newbery committee aimed to spotlight books that are deep and beautiful and irresistible to kids".]]

alt=A sepia portrait of Wilder from circa 1885|thumb|[[Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote five books each named a Newbery Honor between 1938 and 1944.]]alt=Crown Prince Akihito and Elizabeth Gray Vining|thumb|[[Elizabeth Gray Vining (right) won the Newbery Medal in 1943 for Adam of the Road, which was illustrated by Robert Lawson, who won the Newbery Medal himself in 1945.]]

alt=High school graduation photo of Lenski|thumb|[[Lois Lenski, who won two Newbery Honors and one Newbery Medal, wrote series that were connected by themes rather than characters.]]

thumb|alt=EB White and his dog Minnie|[[E. B. White won a Newbery Honor for Charlotte's Web for which he also recorded an unabridged audiobook.]]

alt=Jean Craighead George in Barrow, AK, 1994|thumb|[[Jean Craighead George won both a Newbery Medal and Honor.]]

thumb|[[Beverly Cleary won two Newbery Honors for her Ramona series and the Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw.|alt=Cleary at her desk writing, joined in the photo by her cat.]]

alt=Headshot of Fleischman in 2014|thumb|[[Paul Fleischman won the Newbery Medal in 1989, two years after his father Sid Fleischman won it.]]

alt=Lowry at the 2016 Texas Book Festival|thumb|[[Lois Lowry won two Newbery Medals four years apart.]]

alt=Spinelli signing one of his books|thumb|[[Jerry Spinelli is one of many authors to have been awarded both the Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor.]]alt=Author Karen Cushman at the 2016 Texas Book Festival.|thumb|[[Karen Cushman followed her 1995 Newbery Honor with a 1996 Newbery Medal.]]

alt=Sharon Creech standing at a lectern giving a speech.|thumb|[[Sharon Creech has been both a winner and Honor recipient.]]

alt=Sachar shown from the waist up, smiling, and holding a small box.|thumb|[[Louis Sachar won in 1999 for Holes.]]

alt=Kate DiCamillo at the 2018 US National Book Festival smiling at the camera holding a pen with red glasses resting on top of her head.|thumb|[[Kate DiCamillo is one of six authors to have been a Newbery winner multiple times.]]

alt=Smiling picture of Woodson.|thumb|[[Jacqueline Woodson has been a Newbery Honor recipient four times.]]

alt=Curtis sitting and smiling.|thumb|[[Christopher Paul Curtis won a Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal for the first two books he published, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 and Bud, Not Buddy.]]

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="font-size:1.00em; line-height:1.5em;"

|+ 1 Newbery Medal |Winners and Honor Books

]]

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:1.00em; line-height:1.5em;"

|+

!scope="col" |Author

!scope="col" |Total number of Medals and Honors

!scope="col" |Number of Newbery Medals

!scope="col" |Newbery Medals

!scope="col" |Number of Newbery Honors

!scope="col" |Newbery Honors

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|Avi

|3

|1

|2003

|2

|1991, 1992

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1947, 1952, 1954

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|1

|1984

|2

|1978, 1982

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1922, 1926, 1934

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|2

|1

|1976

|1

|1974

|-

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|1

|2000

|2

|1996, 2008

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1945, 1953, 1955

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|5

|1

|1955

|4

|1954, 1954, 1957, 1959

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|2

|2004, 2014

|1

|2001

|-

! scope="row"|

|4

|

|

|4

|1930, 1939, 1945, 1951

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1952

|3

|1943, 1944, 1945

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1995, 1997, 2003

|-

! scope="row"|

|4

|

|

|4

|1942, 1945, 1950, 1953

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1988

|3

|1992, 1994, 2005

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1943

|3

|1931, 1936, 1939

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1975

|3

|1972, 1983, 1989

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|2

|1

|1924

|1

|1922

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|1

|1949

|2

|1946, 1948

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1931, 1934, 1937

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|2000, 2007, 2011

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1951, 1954, 1957

|-style="background:#fff7c9

!

|3

|2

|2018, 2025

|1

|2021

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|2

|1968, 1997

|1

|1968

|-

! scope="row"|

|2

|2

|1954, 1960

|

|

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|1

|1946

|2

|1937, 1942

|-

! scope="row"|

|2

|2

|1990, 1994

|

|

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1953, 1962, 1997

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1934

|3

|1922, 1929, 1933

|-

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|4

|1

|1961

|3

|1967, 1968, 1971

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1925, 1931, 1951

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|2

|1978, 1981

|1

|1979

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1986, 1988, 1990

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|1

|1938

|2

|1936, 1940

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1967, 1968, 1969

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|1968, 1972, 1973

|-

! scope="row"|

|3

|

|

|3

|2021, 2021, 2023

|-style="background:#fff7c9

! scope="row"|

|3

|2

|1959, 1962

|1

|1984

|-

|-style="background:#fff7c9

!scope="row"|

|2

|1

|2026

|1

|2018

|-

! scope="row"|

|5

|

|

|5

|1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944

|-

! scope="row"|

|4

|

|

|4

|2006, 2008, 2009, 2015

|}

See also

  • Carnegie Medal for a children's or young-adult book published in the UK
  • Michael L. Printz Award for a young-adult book published in the US
  • Caldecott Medal for illustration of an American children's picture book
  • Children's Literature Legacy Award for lifetime contribution to American children's literature
  • Hans Christian Andersen Award for lasting contribution to children's literature

Notes

References

  • Online editions of Newbery Honor Books and Medal Winners by Women, 1922–1964
  • Free audiobook editions of Newbery Medal and Honor Books in the Public Domain by LibriVox
  • Newbery Medal winners at Faded Page (Canada)
  • The Newbery & Caldecott Awards Web Extra : an archive of "distinctive essays" from previous editions of the book.
  • The Newbery Video (Part 2), written by Mona Kerby and funded by the International Reading Association highlights favorite Newbery Award books and authors.
  • Choices Booklists: Children's Choices
  • Interview with Newbery Judge, on Beyond the Margins
  • Newbery Medal Winners and Honor Books (including cover art) at smallfrybooks
  • Caldecott and Newbery Medal Wins Bring Instant Boost to Book Sales