The Newbery Medal

Named after John Newbery, an 18th Century English publisher, the Newbery Medal was first awarded in 1922.  The artist who designed it depicted an open book on one side and an author giving his book to a boy and girl to read on the other.  The Newbery Honor is awarded to worthy runners up, anywhere from zero to eight authors.  A committee makes the final selection.

Here are some titles, winners and honorees, that stood out for me:

1922 The Story of Mankind (Hendrik Willem van Loon)

1923 The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle (Hugh Lofting)

1925 Nicholas:  A Manhattan Christmas Story (Annie Carroll Moore)

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2814860-nicholas

1929 Millions of Cats (Wanda Gag)

1933 A Railroad to Freedom:  A Story of the Civil War (Hildegarde Swift)

1939 On the Banks of Plum Creek (Laura Ingalls)*

http://smartypantsyoga.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/On-the-Banks-of-Plum-River.jpg

1942 George Washington's World (Genevieve Foster)

1945 Rabbit Hill (Robert Foster)

1948 Twenty One Balloons (William Pene du Bois)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/27/21BalloonsCover.jpeg

1953 Secret of the Andes (Ann Nolan Clark)

1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)

1972 Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O'Brien)

1976 The Hundred Penny Box (Sharon Bell Mathis)

http://cb.pbsstatic.com/l/83/2383/9780590422383.jpg

1982 Upon the Head of a Goat:  A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944 (Aranka Siegal)

1992 The Wright Brothers:  How They Invented the Airplane (Russell Freedman)

1999 A Long Way From Chicago (Richard Peck)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/A_Long_Way_from_Chicago.jpg

2005 The Voice That Changed The Nation:  Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Civil Rights (Russell Freedman)

2011 Moon over Manifest (Clare Vanderpool)

*Note:  Laura Ingalls Wilder was a five time honoree.  For more information visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal.