The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a
literary award
A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author.
Organizations
Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...
given by the
Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
(ALSC), a division of the
American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
(ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children".
[ The Newbery and the ]Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them.
Named for John Newbery
John Newbery (9 July 1713 – 22 December 1767), considered "The Father of Children's Literature", was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported ...
, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world.[ The physical bronze medal was designed by ]Rene Paul Chambellan
Rene Paul Chambellan (September 15, 1893 – November 29, 1955) was an American sculptor who specialized in architectural sculpture. He was also one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style" and has subseque ...
and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
Besides the Newbery Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to leading contenders, called Newbery Honors or Newbery Honor Books; until 1971, these books were called runners-up. As few as zero and as many as eight have been named, but from 1938 the number of Honors or runners-up has been one to five. To be eligible, a book must be written by a United States citizen or resident and must be published first or simultaneously in the United States in English during the preceding year. Six authors have won two Newbery Medals each, several have won both a Medal and Honor, while a larger number of authors have won multiple Honors, with Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the ''Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...
having won five Honors without ever winning the Medal.
History
The Newbery Medal was established on June 22, 1921, at the annual conference of the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
(ALA). Proposed by ''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' editor Frederic G. Melcher, the proposal was well received by the children's librarians present and then approved by the ALA Executive Board. The award was administered by the ALA from the start, but Melcher provided funds that paid for the design and production of the medal. The Newbery Medal was inaugurated in 1922, considering books published in 1921. According to ''The Newbery and Caldecott Awards'' Melcher and the ALA Board agreed to establish the award for several reasons that related to children's librarians. They wanted to encourage quality, creative children's books and to demonstrate to the public that children's books deserve recognition and praise. In 1932 the committee felt it was important to encourage new writers in the field, so a rule was made that an author would win a second Newbery only if the vote was unanimous. The rule was in place until 1958. Joseph Krumgold
Joseph Quincy Krumgold (April 9, 1908 – July 10, 1980) was an American writer of books and screenplays. He was the first person to win two annual Newbery Medals for the most distinguished new American children's book.
Life
Krumgold was born in ...
became the first winner of a second Newbery in 1960. Another change, in 1963, made it clear that joint authors of a book were eligible for the award. Several more revisions and clarifications were added in the 1970s and 1980s. Significantly in 1971, the term ''Newbery Honor'' was introduced. Runners-up had been identified annually from the start, with a few exceptions only during the 1920s; all those runners-up were named Newbery Honor Books retroactively.
Medal
The physical medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan
Rene Paul Chambellan (September 15, 1893 – November 29, 1955) was an American sculptor who specialized in architectural sculpture. He was also one of the foremost practitioners of what was then called the "French Modern Style" and has subseque ...
and depicts an author giving his work (a book) to a boy and a girl to read on one side and on the other side the inscription, "For the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". The bronze medal retains the name "Children's Librarians' Section", the original group responsible for awarding the medal, despite the sponsoring committee having changed names four times and now including both school and public librarians. Each winning author gets their own copy of the medal with their name engraved on it. Currently the Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
(ALSC) is responsible for the award.
Committee
As Barbara Elleman explained in ''The Newbery and Caldecott Awards'', the original Newbery was based on votes by a selected jury of Children's Librarian Section officers. Books were first nominated by any librarian, then the jury voted for one favorite. Hendrik van Loon's non-fiction history book ''The Story of Mankind
''The Story of Mankind'' is a book written and illustrated by Dutch-American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon. It was published in 1921. In 1922, it was awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children ...
'' won with 163 votes out of 212. In 1924 the process was changed, and instead of using popular vote it was decided that a special award committee would be formed to select the winner. The award committee was made up of the Children's Librarian Section executive board, their book evaluation committee and three members at large. In 1929 it was changed again to the four officers, the chairs of the standing committees and the ex-president. Nominations were still taken from members at large.
In 1937 the American Library Association added the Caldecott Award
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
, for "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States". That year an award committee selected the Medal and Honor books for both awards. In 1978 the rules were changed and two committees were formed of fifteen people each, one for each award. A new committee is formed every year, with "eight elected, six appointed, and one appointed Chair".
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Selection process
Committee members are chosen to represent a wide variety of libraries, teachers and book reviewers. They read the books on their own time, then meet twice a year for closed discussions. Any book that qualifies is eligible; it does not have to have been nominated. The Newbery is given to the "author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year." Newbery winners are announced at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association, held in January or February. The Honor Books must be a subset of the runners-up on the final ballot, either the leading runners-up on that ballot or the leaders on one further ballot that excludes the winner.
The results of the committee vote are kept secret, and winners are notified by phone shortly before the award is announced. In 2015, K. T. Horning of the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Cooperative Children's Book Center proposed to ALSC that old discussions of the Newbery and Caldecott be made public in the service of researchers and historians. This proposal was met with both support and criticism by former committee members and recognized authors.
Criticism
In October 2008, Anita Silvey, a children's literary expert, published an article in the ''School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...
'' criticizing the committee for choosing books that are too difficult for children. Lucy Calkins, of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University's Teachers College, agreed with Silvey: "I can't help but believe that thousands, even millions, more children would grow up reading if the Newbery committee aimed to spotlight books that are deep and beautiful and irresistible to kids". But then–ALSC President Pat Scales said, "The criterion has never been popularity. It is about literary quality. How many adults have read all the Pulitzer Prize-winning books and... liked every one?"
John Beach, associate professor of literacy education at St. John's University in New York, compared the books that adults choose for children with the books that children choose for themselves and found that in the past 30 years there is only a five percent overlap between the Children's Choice Awards (International Reading Association
The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...
) and the Notable Children's Books list (American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
).[ He has also stated that "the Newbery has probably done far more to turn kids off to reading than any other book award in children's publishing."][
]
Recipients
![Laura Ingalls Wilder cropped sepia2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Laura_Ingalls_Wilder_cropped_sepia2.jpg)
![Jerry Spinelli (signing a book)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Jerry_Spinelli_%28signing_a_book%29.jpg)
Multiple award winners
Listed below are all authors who have won at least two Newbery Medals or who have three or more Medals and/or Honors. Won a Newbery Medal and Honor
See also
* Carnegie Medal for a children's or young-adult book published in the UK
* Michael L. Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...
for a young-adult book published in the US
* Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...
for illustration of an American children's picture book
* Children's Literature Legacy Award
The Children's Literature Legacy Award (known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal until 2018) is a prize awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to writers or illustrat ...
for lifetime contribution to American children's literature
* Hans Christian Andersen Award
The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...
for lasting contribution to children's literature
Notes
References
External links
*
Online editions of Newbery Honor Books and Medal Winners by Women, 1922–1964
*
''Newbery Medal winners''
at Faded Page
Distributed Proofreaders Canada (DP Canada) is a volunteer organization that converts books into digital format and releases them as public domain books in formats readable by electronic devices. It was launched in December 2007 and has published ...
(Canada)
''The Newbery & Caldecott Awards'' Web Extra
an archive of "distinctive essays" from previous editions of the book.
''The Newbery Video''
Part 2
, written by Mona Kerby and funded by the International Reading Association
The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialo ...
highlights favorite Newbery Award books and authors.
Choices Booklists: Children's Choices
Interview with Newbery Judge, on Beyond the Margins
Newbery Medal Winners and Honor Books (including cover art) at smallfrybooks
*
Caldecott and Newbery Medal Wins Bring Instant Boost to Book Sales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newbery Medal
1922 establishments in the United States
American children's literary awards
American Library Association awards
Awards established in 1922
English-language literary awards