Newbery Goal Finished!

I set out to read all the Newbery Award Winning books when I was working in a middle school library. I had already read a handful of them, but between getting a bachelor’s degree, getting married, getting a master’s degree, and having a baby, it took me ten years to finish. As of this year, there are 89 Newbery Winning books. It’s going to be easy to keep up the goal with reading one book a year.

I certainly did not enjoy all the books. The best ones are those written in the last twenty years or so—those are the ones written for me. There are a few that stand the test of time, and even those I didn’t like told me something about the time period they were written in—it was a small window into what was considered the best literature for youth at the time.

Some people have asked if I read all the Newbery Honor books too. No, and I don’t plan to. I might occasionally seek out Newbery Honor books written in my lifetime, but there were some years that the winning book was painful to read—why would I want to submit myself to the runners up?

This long-term goal finished, I find myself a little lost. Not that there isn’t plenty to read, but do I set out to read another list? The Pulitzers? No, there are some on that list that I know I don’t want to read. Top 100 classic books? No, everyone’s list is different and none of them are my top 100. So I’m going to read whatever suits my fancy with one exception—I have begun reading the favorite books of people I know, of real everyday readers. So, what is your favorite book? What do you think everyone should read?

And since this post is not long enough, here is a recap of some of the Newbery Award Winning books. You can find a full list on the ALA Website.

Top 5 Newbery Winners I Loved as a Youth:
1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley – I still read every book that McKinley writes. As a youth, I reread many of her books over and over again.
1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle – This book crosses over as one of my all-time favorites. I read it at least once a year.
1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell – I loved this story of a young girl who finds a way to live alone on an island. What young person doesn’t fantasize about that?
1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare – My fourth grade teacher recommended this book to me, but I thought the title was weird and didn’t read it until a few years later. But then it became a favorite to read again and again.
1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham – Not sure why I liked this one so much—the main character was a boy. But I read this one at least half a dozen times.

Top 5 Newbery Winners I’ve Loved as an Adult:
2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead – Beautiful and heartbreaking. This was the only Newbery Winner I read before it won.
2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – I'm a Neil Gaiman fan. And I love that a darker story won—it’s representative of the kinds of YA books that are being written right now.
2004: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo – If you watched the movie but didn’t read the book, shame on you. Read the book. 99% of the time, the book is better. And I love the illustrations.
2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park – Beautiful story. I’ve only read it once, but the ending really sticks with me.
1999: Holes by Louis Sachar – I was first in line with my little brother to see the movie—which was almost as a good as the book. But the book is a different experience that should not be missed.

Other Newbery Winners that Stood Out to Me:
1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson – This is a great book, but it took me at least half a dozen tries to finish it. I finally realized that it was a book I was supposed to do a book report on in front of my class in fifth grade, but I never finished it and so was humiliated in front of my class. So although it was short and an excellent story, it was one of the most difficult for me to read.
1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes – I couldn’t help but laugh at the squeaky clean 1950s story of a brother and sister who lose their dog and worry that he was stolen. Their mother suggests that maybe they should lock the front door since there seems to be an “unsavory character” lurking around town.
1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey – Completely disturbing. Spoiler alert: Follows a doll made of hickory with a nut for a head who is left outdoors for the winter. Ends with Miss Hickory making a stupid mistake and has her head eaten by a squirrel. Creeped me out—and they want our children to read this?
1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis – I remember this book because I was studying to take the GRE while I was reading it and encountered many words that were on my vocabulary list in this book. Words that I was expected to learn to be a grad student were taken for granted in a book written for young readers over 70 years ago.
1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James – Ugh. Not only an animal story from the animal’s point of view, but written in the voice of old western twang and slang. It hurt my editor’s brain to read this book.