Those of you who know me well know that I like to read through lists of books. They present a challenge to be met.

One of the lists that I am working is composed of all the Newbery Medal and Honor books.

The Newbery Medal was first awarded in 1922 for The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon.

The Newbery Medal was named for John Newbery who was an 18th century publisher who popularized children’s books. I was actually surprised when I first found out that John Newbery was an English publisher. I had thought that the award would have been named for an American as the award is only open to a citizen or resident of the United States.

About a year ago I noticed that I had been reading several Newbery award winners and had even blogged about some of them. I decided that it was time to make it a challenge to read all of them.

I also like that many of them are historical fiction which is one of my favorite genres.

One of the Newbery Honor books that I read and blogged about was My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. The post is actually titled Frightful’s Mountain and covers the three books that make up the trilogy. I also have a follow-up post called Frightful Picture Books that talks about two picture books that she also wrote about the falcons of Frightful’s mountain.

Here are a few stats about the challenge.

Through 2013 there are 92 Newbery Medal books and 300 Newbery Honor books.

I just checked and I have read 42 of the Medal books and 18 of the Honor books.

Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote five Honor books, but never won a Medal.

There are five authors who have won two Medals.

Almost half of the authors who have won a Medal have also had a book that was an Honor book.

The Newbery Honor prize was not added until 1971, but they went back and retroactively named Honor books for previous years. I could simplify my challenge if I only read the Honor books starting in 1971. However, I would then miss this great Newbery Honor book from 1939.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater is one of the books that I read that got me thinking about starting the challenge. I had seen the book at the library book sale and had to pick it up. I wanted to see how it compared to the movie. I didn’t even know that the movie had been based on a book. Click on the link at the start of the paragraph to see what I thought.

I also really enjoyed the illustrations by Robert Lawson and when I saw another book sometime later at the book sale that was written and illustrated by him I had to pick it up. Click on Mr. Revere and I to find out another interesting reason why the book was of interest to me.

Does this picture make you think about a beloved children’s book?

Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White is also a Newbery Honor book. The blog post I wrote is about a book that was written about E. B. White and the writing of Charlotte’s Web. You may also enjoy another post about a book written by E. B. White: The Trumpet of the Swan

I usually read several books at a time, depending on where I am. Lately, at least one of the books in progress has been a Newbery winner. Some of them I pick up at the library book sale and others I have been checking out from the library. The Newbery books all have a distinct sticker, so I just walk up to a random section of shelves and look for the stickers. I will eventually have to request them from other libraries, but for now I have plenty to read.

Do you have a favorite Newbery book?

Steven