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Reading

           The Ringworld Engineers >>

July 19, 2005

Happy B-Day, Newbery

Today is the birthday of John Newbery, namesake of one of the most prestigious awards for young adult novels. I spent a few minutes perusing the list of medal winners with a librarian friend yesterday and discovered I hadn't read nearly as many as I would have liked to. I am especially lacking in the newer publications. So, as a goal on the side, I am going to take the list of Medal winners and Honor books and attempt to read as many as my little mind can handle. I'm not going to set myself a deadline, but I have established a few rules.
  • My goal will be to focus on winners since 1950. I already have a few older ones under my belt (like Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson, 1945 Medal Winner), and I may choose to read more. My goal, however will not include winners between 1922 and 1949 by default, since a girl has to have limits.
  • My goal will "require" only Medal Winners, but I would like to attempt as many Honor Books as I can.
  • I will limit myself to books I can get through the library (including Inter Library Loan), from friends, and from the bowels of our stacks upstairs. I will not eBay just to finish the list.
  • I will finish the books. Any book that I can't get through does not count.


Here is more on the Newbery Award, taken from the ALA site:
  • The Newbery Award was the first children's book award in the world.
  • The Newbery Award was first awarded in 1922, and is still awarded today.
  • The purpose of the Newbery Medal was stated as follows: "To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."
  • In 1971 the term "runners-up" was changed to "honor books."


I'm debating adding the list of Caldecott Medal winners to the list, but that decision hasn't been made just yet....

For more on the Newbery Award visit the American Library Association's Newbery Medal Home Page.

July 19, 2005 09:21 PM

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