Newbery Medal Award Book Club

[Tuly]

I did not post 2017's winners. Here they are.

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature goes to The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill.

Three Newbery Honor Books include:
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan, written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan
The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog, written by Adam Gidwitz and illustrated by Hatem Aly
Wolf Hollow, written by Lauren Wolk

The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children goes to Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, written and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe.

Four Caldecott Honor Books include:
Leave Me Alone! illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol
Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Carole Boston Weatherford
Du Iz Tak? illustrated and written by Carson Ellis
They All Saw a Cat, illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel

Having said that, I did read The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill. I found this book particularly dark in tone, at the end of the story there is a great effort to bring hope to the story, it still is a dark story. True this is a fantasy book so it can be dark, however knowing that children will read this book I was concerned for some of the violence in the book. Those paper birds are creepy.

[Tuly]

I highly recommend The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli. This Newbery Medal winning story, set in medieval times, is about a boy who learns his own strength when he saves the castle and discovers there is more than one way to serve his king. I loved this book.

[Tuly]

I just read The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byers. I really enjoyed this book, it is beautifully written. The relationship between Sarah and her younger brother Charlie who is mentally challenged is inspiring. I would recommend it to all ages 11 and up.

[Oliver]

I liked "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin because it was kind of a mystery as Each pair of Characters Play a long game mentioned in a Will.

[Tuly]

Oliver, I love your book review on "The Westing Game". I also enjoyed the characters in this book. Your welcome to post more book reviews on the website.

[Oliver]

Thank you, Grandma.

[Oliver]

I recently read "Surviving the Applewhites" about two children in a home school, as they try to go along with the interesting things that the children do. i would recommend this book.

[Tuly]

Thanks Oliver. I also read that book few years ago. And was grateful to find a fiction book for youth about homeschoolers. I think it was a Newbery Medal Honor book. You could write a non-fiction book about your homeschooling experiences.

[Tuly]

I read - It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville. I was reminded so much of my childhood in NY in the 60's since the book takes place in NY in the early 60's. This is an unoffensive coming of age book - what I wish Catcher in The Rye would be to our youth. The book won the 1964 Newbery Medal Award. If you are sympathetic with cats you will like this. Here is a review -

IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT tells the coming-of-age story of Dave Mitchell, a sensitive 14-year-old boy growing up in New York in the early 1960s. Dave is an only child who fights with his father. His confidant is "Aunt Kate," the crazy cat lady down the street. When "Aunt Kate" introduces Dave to Cat, an orange-striped tomcat, he suddenly has a new best friend who accompanies him everywhere.
A classic tale of a young man growing up, believably and poignantly told, IT'S LIKE THIS, CAT won the 1964 Newbery Award

.

[Tuly]

Yesterday, February 12th - Abraham Lincoln's birthday - the winners of the 2018 Caldecott and Newbery awards were announced.

Erin Entrada Kelly's Hello, Universe won the Newbery Medal for outstanding contribution to children's literature, and Matthew Cordell's Wolf in the Snow won the Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children.

[Tuly]

I read Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly and liked it not loved it . The story has an intreguing plot with four Junior High children, the story is told from the four different points.

[Tuly]

I thoroughly enjoyed Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina - the Newbery Medal Award winner for 2019. This is a very family oriented book about a Cuban family. It addresses dealing with alzheimer's disease very well.

Merci Suarez knew that sixth grade would be different, but she had no idea just how different. For starters, Merci has never been like the other kids at her private school in Florida, because she and her older brother, Roli, are scholarship students. They don’t have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. So when bossy Edna Santos sets her sights on the new boy who happens to be Merci’s school-assigned Sunshine Buddy, Merci becomes the target of Edna’s jealousy. Things aren't going well at home, either: Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately — forgetting important things, falling from his bike, and getting angry over nothing. No one in her family will tell Merci what's going on, so she’s left to her own worries, while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school — and the steadfast connection that defines family.

[Tuly]

These are the winners for 2020 -
I thought that the book - The Invention of Hugo Cabret was the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Award but it turns out The Invention of Hugo Cabret received the 2008 Caldecott award. I did read the book New Kid and enjoyed the illustrations more than the story. With graphic novels it is mainly about the dialogue between the characters of the story and of course the illustrations.

The writer and illustrator Jerry Craft won this year’s John Newbery Medal for “New Kid,” the first graphic novel to receive the prize for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature.

“New Kid” is about a 12-year-old boy named Jordan who lives in New York City’s Washington Heights and dreams of going to art school, but his parents instead enroll him in a prestigious private school where he is one of the few students of color. Published by HarperCollins, “New Kid” marks a shift from Craft’s previously self-published work and reflects changing attitudes about the literary merits of graphic novels.

“The Undefeated,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander, won the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. An ode to African-American life and accomplishments, it includes references to slavery, the civil rights movements and black heroes such as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and others.

[Tuly]

These are the winners for 2021 -

The John Newbery medal, which honors an outstanding contribution to children's literature, went to When You Trap A Tiger, by Tae Keller.

The Randolph Caldecott medal, which honors the most distinguished picture book for children, went to
We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade and written by Carole Lindstrom.

[Jane]

I've been wanting to read When You Trap a Tiger!