Newbery Award The Newbery Medal is awarded every year by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published in the previous year. Members of the 2011 Newbery Medal Selection Committee contains both school and public children's librarians

Newbery Award History The Newbery Award was the first children's book award in the world. The Newberry Award was first suggested by Frederic G. Melcher on June 22, The first Newberry Award was awarded to Story of Mankind in 1922.

Newbery Award History The Newberry award was with created with the purpose "To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."

It is limited to works by American citizens or legal residents All work must be original, although retellings of folk stories are acceptable It can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry intended for children up to age 14. Criteria for Newbery Award

Key Elements of Winners Committee members look for excellence in these key elements: Interpretation of a theme or concept Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization Development of plot Delineation of characters Delineation of setting Appropriateness of style All information from Newbery Medal Homepage

Newbery Award Books 1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field 1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty 1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli 1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold

Newbery Award Books 1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong 1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, by Joan W. Blos 1990: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry 2000: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis 2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron 2007 Newbery Medal Winner Lucky is a ten year old girl in search of the higher power she overhears people talking about in the twelve step programs. The theme of the book is a child’s understanding of and search for her own higher power and guiding light.

Newbery Honors From the beginning of the Newbery the committees could cite other books worthy of attention. Such books are referred to as Newbery "honor books."

Newbery Honor Books 2010: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Neil Gaiman 2009: The Underneath by Kathi Appelt The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle Savvy by Ingrid Law After Tupac and D Foster by Jaqueline Woodson 2008: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt Feathers by Jaqueline Woodson 2007: Penny from Heaven by Jennifer Holm Hattie Big Sky by Kirby lawson Rules by Cynthia Lord