Attending the ALA event at Loganberry in January to hear the Newbery awards reminded me of my goal to read all the Newbery Medals and to sample the more interesting Newbery Honors, so I loaded up February with Newberys. Many of the older ones are no longer in print and I dipped into LibriVox to listen to them.
How can I highlight notable books when everything I read this month (with two exceptions) was an award winner of some sort?
A free and fast dog
The uniquely-crafted tone of Dave Eggers’ The eyes and the impossible [2024 Newbery Medal] was what made this one super-special. Johannes is a dog (??) who lives free in an urban park. On an island. With Bison. And communicates with seagulls and raccoons and all the other free animals in the park. (But not the ducks.) This is story of self-discovery is masterfully crafted. I have no idea how I jumped to the top of the “holds” list to check out this library book so early, but I am grateful. I’ll be purchasing a copy for my personal library—it’s that good.
My Father’s Dragon
Written from the perspective of a young boy, this LibriVox recording by a young boy is the perfect way to experience this short, classic book by Ruth Stiles Gannett. [1949 Newbery Honor]
Dear Mr. Henshaw
A coming-of-age story (Newberys tend that way) of a boy, Leigh Botts, who reluctantly takes up pencil to write his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, as a class assignment. Through his letters, we journey with Leigh, navigating his several difficulties. [1984 Newbery Medal]
Heart of a Samurai
I didn’t research Preus’ Heart of a Samurai before starting it. It’s about a young Japanese fisherboy who is shipwrecked and then rescued by an American whaling vessel in 1841. It reads like something Patrick O’Brian or Richard Henry Dana would write. The subtitle should have given it away: Based on the true story of Manjiro Nakahama. It’s a researched, biographical story of the first documented Japanese person to reach mainland North America. Fantastic. Read it. [2011 Newbery Honor]
The Voyagers
I was surprised at how many of the legends and histories of exploring the Atlantic show up in Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But I shouldn’t have been. [1926 Newbery Honor]
Picture books
Both Fox has a problem and Worm and Caterpillar are friends were too young for me, but I could see their appeal. [2024 Theodore Seuss Geisel Award and 2024 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor, respectively]
I read Jumper: a day in the life of a backyard jumping spider simply to relate more to the little critters that inhabit my house and yard. The book of turtles is research for a project about Blanding’s turtles that I’m working on. [both 2024 Sibert Honor]
Both Papá’s magical water-jug clock and El Barrilito mágico de papá were fun books to help me practice my Spanish. [2024 Pura Belpré Honor]
Others
Starter Villain [2024 Alex Award] was a quick and fun read by John Scalzi (get his Red Shirts).
Miracles on Maple Hill [1957 Newbery Honor] helped me understand maple sugaring a bit more.
Number the stars [1990 Newbery Medal] made me reconsider my dislike of Lois Lowry. The hero and the crown [1985 Newbery Medal] is an adventure story written from a fresh perspective.
And try to find a copy of Smoky the cow horse [1927 Newbery Medal], it’s that good.
Skip Nicholls’ The silent stars go by but do read Yours from the tower. It’s an epistolatory coming-of-age novel (as was Dear Mr. Henshaw) about three girls in 1896. It has a chance to be a 2025 Newbery.
Read or finished in February:
Blos, J. W. (1979). A gathering of days: A New England girl’s journal. Scribner. [1980 Newbery Medal]
Clark, A. (1952). Secret of the Andes. Viking. [1953 Newbery Medal]
Cleary, B., & Zelinsky, P. O. (2000). Dear Mr. Henshaw. HarperTrophy. [1984 Newbery Medal]
Colum, P. (2023, July 2). The Voyagers: Being Legends and Romances of Atlantic Discovery. https://librivox.org/the-voyagers-being-legends-and-romances-of-atlantic-discovery-by-padraic-colum/ [1926 Newbery Honor]
DuBois, W. P. (2005). The twenty-one balloons. Puffin Books. [1948 Newbery Honor]
Eggers, D., & Harris, S. (2023). The Eyes and the Impossible. Alfred A. Knopf. [2024 Newbery Medal]
Freedman, R. (1989). Lincoln: a photobiography. Clarion Books. [1988 Newbery Medal]
Gannett, R. S. (2009, September 14). My Father’s Dragon. https://librivox.org/my-fathers-dragon-by-ruth-stiles-gannett/ [1949 Newbery Honor]
Holm, J. L. (2007). Penny from heaven. Yearling. [2007 Newbery Honor]
Hopson, N. R. (2023). Eagle Drums. Roaring Brook Press. [2024 Newbery Honor]
James, W. (2023, January 27). Smoky the Cowhorse. https://librivox.org/smoky-the-cowhorse-by-will-james/ [1927 Newbery Medal]
Lanan, J. (2023). Jumper: A day in the life of a backyard jumping spider. Roaring Brook Press. [2024 Sibert Honor]
Lowry, L. (2022). Number the stars. HarperCollins Children’s Books. [1990 Newbery Medal]
McKinley, R. (1985). The hero and the Crown. Greenwillow Books. [1985 Newbery Medal]
Montgomery, S., & Patterson, M. (2023). The Book of Turtles. Clarion Books. [2024 Sibert Honor]
Moore, A. C. (2023, December 2). Nicholas: A Manhattan Christmas Story. https://librivox.org/nicholas-a-manhattan-christmas-story-by-anne-carroll-moore/ [1925 Newbery Honor]
Murdock, C. G. (2020). The book of boy. Greenwillow Books. [2019 Newbery Honor]
Nayeri, D. (2023). The many assassinations of Samir, the seller of dreams. Levine Querido. [2024 Newbery Honor]
Nicholls, S. (2022). The silent stars go by. Walker Books.
Nicholls, S. (2024). Yours from the tower. Walker Books.
Parrish, A. (2019, October 30). The Dream Coach. https://librivox.org/the-dream-coach-by-anne-parrish/ [1925 Newbery Honor]
Preus, M. (2012). Heart of a Samurai: Based on the true story of Manjiro Nakahama. Amulet Books. [2011 Newbery Honor]
Rhodes, E. (2006). Criss Cross. Dafina Books/Kensington Pub. Corp. [2006 Newbery Honor]
Scalzi, J. (2023). Starter Villain. Tor/Forge. [2024 Alex Award]
Sorensen, V. (2003). Miracles on Maple Hill. Harcourt. [1957 Newbery Honor]
Tabor, C. R. (2023). Fox has a problem. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen. [2024 Theodore Seuss Geisel Award]
Taylor, M. (2023). Roll of thunder, hear my cry. Penguin. [1977 Newbery Medal]
Trejo, J., & Kinkz, E. (2023a). El Barrilito mágico de papá. Minerva. [2024 Pura Belpré Honor]
Trejo, J., & Kinkz, E. (2023b). Papá’s magical water-jug clock. Minerva. [2024 Pura Belpré Honor]
Windness, K. (2023). Worm and Caterpillar are friends. Simon Spotlight. [2024 Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor]
