Newbery Medal Winners and Honor Books:

[2001]  [2000] [1999] [1998] [1997] [1996]
[1995] [1994]  [1993]  [1992]  [1991] [1990]
[1989] [1988] [1987] [1986] [1985] [1984]
[1983] [1982] [1981] [1980]

indicates the Paul Meek Library or the LRC has a copy.

 
 

2001

      
         
 

A Year Down Yonder  
by Richard Peck 
Gr 5-8  

   From School Library Journal  
Richard Peck's Newbery Award-winner (Dial, 2000) is a multi-layered story of small town life spiced with humor, love, and a bit of history. Although 15-year-old Mary Alice Dowdel is none too happy when she must spend a year with Grandma Dowdel. It's 1937, and her parents are only able to afford a small room in Chicago, and her much-loved older brother, Joey, is off serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Mary Alice worries about fitting in at the two-room schoolhouse, and wonders how she'll cope with her crusty, sometimes embarrassingly eccentric grandmother. Harsh Depression era realities are not ignored, but listeners will spend most of their time laughing at the way Grandma outwits a classroom bully, some Halloween pranksters, and the local D.A.R. An itinerant artist, a risqu postmistress, and a community full of memorable characters provide more laughs. After twelve months, Mary Alice feels at home in this tiny Illinois town, and has developed a new respect and abiding affection for her maverick grandmother.Even high school and adult audiences will enjoy A Year Down Yonder.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library. Rocky Hill, CT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.		  

Newbery Award  2001
         
  From School Library Journal  
When it comes to creating strong, independent, and funny teenaged female characters, Bauer is in a class by herself and the 16-year-old waitress in this book is no exception. Hope Yancey and her Aunt Addie, a much-sought-after diner cook, have toured the country, one diner at a time. With each move, the teen leaves her mark, "HOPE WAS HERE," in ballpoint pen somewhere on the premises. Now in Mulhoney, WI, she has no idea that the residents of this small town will make their mark on her. G. T. Stoop, the Quaker owner of the Welcome Stairways, has leukemia, and while the disease can keep him from running the diner he loves, it can't keep him from running for mayor against a corrupt incumbent. Taking part in his campaign allows Hope to get to know Braverman, a fellow worker at the Welcome Stairways and G. T.'s greatest supporter. The mix of dealing with illness, small-town politics, and budding romance for both Hope and Addie is one that will entertain and inspire readers. Bauer tells a fast-paced, multilayered story with humor but does not gloss over the struggle of someone who is unable to trust, someone who has been left before, and who avoids getting close to anyone for fear of being left again. Teens who have come to expect witty, realistic characters and atypical (but very funny) story lines from Bauer's previous books will not be disappointed and new readers will be sure to come back for seconds.-Tracey Firestone, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.		  

Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer
Gr 8 - 12

  

Newbery Honor Book 2001
         
 

Because of Winn-Dixie 
by Kate DiCamillo
Gr 4-6

   From School Library Journal  
India Opal Buloni, 10, finds a big, ugly, funny dog in the produce department of a Winn-Dixie grocery store. She names him accordingly and takes him home to meet her father, a preacher. Her daddy has always told her to help those less fortunate, and surely Winn-Dixie is in need of a friend. Opal needs one, too. Since moving to Naomi, FL, she has been lonely and has been missing her mother more than usual. When she asks her father to tell her 10 things about her mother, who left the family when Opal was three, she learns that they both have red hair, freckles, and swift running ability. And, like her mother, Opal likes stories. She collects tales to tell her mother, hoping that she'll have a chance to share them with her one day. These stories are lovingly offered one after another as rare and polished gems and are sure to touch readers' hearts. They are told in the voice of this likable Southern girl as she relates her day-to-day adventures in her new town with her beloved dog. Do libraries need another girl-and-her-dog story? Absolutely, if the protagonist is as spirited and endearing as Opal and the dog as lovable and charming as Winn-Dixie. This well-crafted, realistic, and heartwarming story will be read and reread as a new favorite deserving a long-term place on library shelves.-Helen Foster James, University of California at San Diego Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|		  

Newbery Honor Book 2001
         
  From VOYA  
In this sequel to Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998/VOYA February 1999), Joey begins his visit with his father on a relatively even keel because of the medication he takes to treat his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is not, however, an easy father-and-son reunion, as Carter Pigza is an adult version of the non-medicated Joey, so wired that "a humming sound [comes] out of his body." Joey pitches for the baseball team that his father coaches, and Carter has plans for a winning season. Joey handles the demanding role of being the hotshot pitcher-son of the coach until Carter decides that Joey is a normal kid who does not need "crutches" and flushes Joey's medicine down the toilet. Although he wants to believe in his father, Joey knows that it will not be long before the old wired Joey comes back. The reader is drawn into Joey's struggle for self-control while his medication wears off and as his father's behavior becomes more erratic with the increased consumption of alcohol. Through Joey's narration, Gantos brilliantly portrays the often-manic pace of an ADHD mind, but he alleviates the tension with touches of humor. Joey accidentally pierces his Chihuahua Pablo's ear with a wayward dart and wants to put an earring in the hole. His mother is not amused, although the reader cannot help but smile at Joey's antics. Joey is a young teen struggling to maintain control in an often out-of-control world, a struggle with which many teens will relate. Gantos's style of writing and the subject matter make this book a great middle school read-aloud. Reviewer: Ruth Cox		  

Joey Pigza Loses 
Control 
by Jack Gantos
Gr 6-9

  

Newbery Honor Book 2001
         
 

The Wanderer 
by Sharon Creech
Gr 4-8

  From Publisher's Weekly 
Like Creech's Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird, this intimate novel poetically connects journey with self-discovery. When 13-year-old Sophie learns that her three uncles and two male cousins plan to sail across the Atlantic to visit the uncles' father, Bompie, in England, she begs to go along. Despite her mother's protests and the men's misgivings, Sophie joins the "motley" crew of the 45-foot The Wanderer and soon proves herself a worthy sailor. The novel unfolds through travel logs, predominantly penned by Sophie (with intermittent musings from her clownish cousin, Cody) that trace each leg of the eventful voyage; each opens with a handsome woodblock-like print by Diaz (Smoky Night). The teens' insightful observations reveal the frailties of both the boat and its six passengers, whose fears and regrets anchor them down. Sophie, who was adopted just three years ago, proves the most complicated and mysterious of all the characters; her ambivalent feelings about the sea ("The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me... but some said I was too young and the sea was a dangerous temptress...") correlate to a repressed memory of a tragic accident. Stories Sophie tells about Bompie, as well as clever throwaway bits (such as the brothers' given names: Ulysses, Jonah and Moses), temper the novel's more serious undercurrents. Creech once again captures the ebb and flow of a vulnerable teen's emotional life, in this enticing blend of adventure and reflection. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|		  

Newbery Honor Book 2001
      2000  
         
  From School Library Journal  
When 10-year-old Bud Caldwell runs away from his new foster home, he realizes he has nowhere to go but to search for the father he has never known: a legendary jazz musician advertised on some old posters his deceased mother had kept. A friendly stranger picks him up on the road in the middle of the night and deposits him in Grand Rapids, MI, with Herman E. Calloway and his jazz band, but the man Bud was convinced was his father turns out to be old, cold, and cantankerous. Luckily, the band members are more welcoming; they take him in, put him to work, and begin to teach him to play an instrument. In a Victorian ending, Bud uses the rocks he has treasured from his childhood to prove his surprising relationship with Mr. Calloway. The lively humor contrasts with the grim details of the Depression-era setting and the particular difficulties faced by African Americans at that time. Bud is a plucky, engaging protagonist. Other characters are exaggerations: the good ones (the librarian and Pullman car porter who help him on his journey and the band members who embrace him) are totally open and supportive, while the villainous foster family finds particularly imaginative ways to torture their charge. However, readers will be so caught up in the adventure that they won't mind. Curtis has given a fresh, new look to a traditional orphan-finds-a-home story that would be a crackerjack read-aloud.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information		  

Bud, Not Buddy  
by Christopher Paul Curtis
Gr 4-7

  

Newbery Award 2000
         
 

Getting Near to Baby 
by Audrey Couloumbis
Gr 5 - 8

   From Publisher's Weekly 
In her first novel for children, Couloumbis deftly constructs an intricate montage of thoughts and memories from the perspective of 12-year-old Willa Jo Dean who, with Little Sister, mourns the death of their baby sister. As the story opens, Willa Jo and Little Sister are sitting on the roof, ignoring their Aunt Patty's orders to come down. Over the course of a single day, Willa Jo, from her high perch, mulls over the events of the past few weeks: her mother's depression, Little Sister's refusal to talk and Aunt Patty's efforts to make things right by taking the girls into her home. But Aunt Patty and her nieces don't see things the same way. Willa Jo and Little Sister would rather play with the children across the street (dirty "mole rats," in Aunt Patty's opinion) than attend Bible School or associate with the socially acceptable daughters of Aunt Patty's friends. The tension rises until Uncle Hob, in his soft-spoken way, forms a bridge of understanding that unites them all. Willa Jo's narrative, with its subtle cadences of a Southern drawl, achieves a child's sense of the timelessness of long summer days stretching before her. Coloumbis infuses the heroine's voice with an elegiac quality, even as the child's humor and determination to keep up Little Sister's spirits shine through. The tale of this one day on the roof chronicles the changes in the other three characters as much as the changes in Willa Jo, and the combined strength of this unforgettable cast of characters leaves a lasting and uplifting impression. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.		  

Newbery Honor Book 2000
         
  From Kirkus Reviews  
May Amelia, the feisty lovable heroine of Holm's fetching novel, "ain't no proper young lady." A 12-year-old girl with an adventurous spirit and "a nose for trouble," May Amelia is the youngest of eight children and the only girl. Life in the rough world of logging camps and farming in the wilderness of the state of Washington in 1899 is not easy, and May Amelia and her brothers have to work hard to keep farm and family going. May Amelia dreams of being a sailor and traveling to China, but is hampered by everyone, especially her strict Finnish-born father, who is always yelling at her for "doing what the boys are doing." The book chronicles May Amelia's adventures with her brothers, a brush with a wild bear, conflicts with her mean-tempered grandmother, and the long-awaited birth of a baby sister who later dies in her sleep. The story, which is episodic and somewhat shapeless, careens along before stopping without much resolution. Still, the robust characterizations captivate, the lilting dialogue twangs, and the sharply individual first-person narrative gives the material authority and polish. 		  

Our Only May Amelia 
by Jennifer L. Holm
Gr 5 - 8

  
 

Newbery Honor Book 2000
         
 

26 Fairmount Avenue 
by Tomie dePaola
Gr 1 - 5

   From School Library Journal  
An autobiographical account of dePaolas childhood, centered on the building of his familys new house during the 1930s. Each short chapter is also a slice-of-life view of young Tomies worldwitnessing a hurricane, a disillusioning first day of kindergarten, a much anticipated theater trip to see Disneys Snow White, and holiday gatherings. The authors thrill at being allowed to draw on the walls of the new house before plastering would be a fantasy come true for many budding artists. DePaola presents it all with a keen understanding of the timeless concerns children share. Filled with subtle humor and detail that children will appreciate, the narrative is crisp and casual, making it an ideal read-aloud. Black-and-white drawings portray family members, many of whom are already familiar from earlier picture books. A thoroughly entertaining and charming story.Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.		  

Newbery Honor Book 2000
     

1999

  
         
  From School Library Journal  
Stanley Yelnats is an unusual hero-dogged by bad luck stemming from an ancient family curse, overweight, and unlikely to stick up for himself when challenged by the class bully. Perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time, Stanley is unfairly sentenced to months of detention at Camp Green Lake (a gross misnomer if ever there was one!) where he's forced to dig one hole in the rock-hard desert soil every day. The hole must be exactly five feet in diameter, the distance from the tip of his shovel to the top of the wooden handle. Each boy is compelled to dig until his hole is completed, no matter how long it takes. According to the warden the digging "builds character." Stanley soon begins to question why the warden is so interested in anything "special" the boys find. How Stanley rescues his friend Zero, who really stole Sweet Feet's tennis shoes, what the warden is desperately looking for, and how the Yelnats curse is broken all blend magically together in a unique coming of age story leavened with a healthy dose of humor.		  

 Holes 
by Louis Sachar 
Gr 4-7

  

Newbery Award 1999
         
  A Long Way from Chicago 
by Richard Peck
Gr. 6 -10		   From Booklist
 Grandma Dowdel is not a good influence--and that's one good reason why Joey likes visiting her. Each August, from 1929 (when Joey is nine) to 1935, he and his younger sister travel by train from Al Capone's Chicago to spend a week with Grandma in her scrappy small Illinois town. In seven short stories, one for each summer, Grandma lies, cheats, trespasses, and contrives to help the town underdogs (including her own worst enemy) outwit the banker, the Holy Rollers, and the establishment. Part vaudeville act, part laconic tall tale, the stories, with their dirty tricks and cunning plots, make you laugh out loud at the farce and snicker at the reversals. Like Grandma, the characters are larger-than-life funny, yet Peck is neither condescending nor picturesque. With the tall talk, irony, insult, and vulgarity, there's also a heartfelt sense of the Depression's time and place, when a knot of people wait outside the store for the day-old bread to become half price, and Grandma defies the sheriff, poaches catfish, and fries it up to feed the Depression drifters with her home-brewed beer ("They didn't thank her. She wasn't looking for thanks"). The viewpoint is adult--elderly Joe is looking back now at the changes he saw in those seven years--but many young people will recognize the irreverent, contrary voices of their own family legends across generations. The first story, "Shotgun Cheatham's First Night above Ground," appeared in the anthology Twelve Shots: Stories about Guns (1997), edited by Harry Mazer. Hazel Rochman		  
Newbery Honor Book 1999
     

1998

  
         
  From School Library Journal  
In the midst of the Dust Bowl, 13-year-old Billie Jo loses her mother and unborn brother in an accident that she is partly responsible for and burns her own hands so badly that she may never again find solace in her only pleasure playing the piano. Growing ever more distant from her brooding father, she hops on a train going west, and discovers that there is no escaping the dust of her Oklahoma home she is part of it and it is part of her. Hesse uses free-verse poems to advance the plot, allowing the narrator to speak for herself much more eloquently than would be possible in standard prose. The author's astute and careful descriptions of life during the dust storms of the 1930s are grounded in harsh reality, yet are decidedly poetic; they will fascinate as well as horrify today's readers. Hesse deals with questions of loss, forgiveness, home, and even ecology by exposing and exploring Billie Jo's feelings of pain, longing, and occasional joy. Readers may at first balk at a work of fiction written as poetry, but the language, imagery, and rhythms are so immediate that after only a few pages it will seem natural to have the story related in verse. This book is a wonderful choice for classrooms involved in journal-writing assignments, since the poems often read like diary entries. It could also be performed effectively as readers' theater. Hesse's ever-growing skill as a writer willing to take chances with her form shines through superbly in her ability to take historical facts and weave them into the fictional story of a character young people will readily embrace. Carrie Schadle, New York Public Library		   Out of the Dust 
by Karen Hesse
Gr 5 - 9		  

 
Newbery Award 1998
         
  Ella Enchanted 
by Gail Carson Levine
Gr 5-8		   From School Library Journal  
The "Cinderella" story is the jumping-off point for an original novel that nevertheless remains grounded in the traditional fairy tale. The plot turns upon a most unwelcome gift, bestowed on Ella at birth by the foolish fairy Lucinda: Ella must always be obedient no matter what the command. When her mother dies, Ella's life takes a definite turn for the worse. She soon meets Dame Olga and her two disagreeable daughters, who will obviously become the wicked stepsisters. There is much of this story to unfold before that happens, however. Ella becomes a good friend of Prince Char, heir apparent to the throne; is sent off to finishing school; and goes on a journey among ogres and giants in search of Lucinda in the hope of having her gift rescinded. When Ella and Prince Char are about to declare their love for one another, she realizes that she could endanger the entire kingdom and she renounces her feelings for him. How these difficulties resolve themselves into a "happily ever after" ending makes for absorbing reading. Ella is a delightful young woman, bright, witty, and resourceful. Prince Char is everything a good prince should be yet comes off as a credible character. The stepmother and sisters are appropriately avaricious, mean-spirited, and selfish. Like Robin McKinley's Beauty (HarperCollins, 1978) and Donna Jo Napoli's Zel (Dutton, 1996), this is a rich and creative retelling of a fairy tale. It is lighter in tone than those novels, however, having more in common with the fractured fairy tales of William Brooke. A thoroughly enchanting novel that deepens and enriches the original tale.Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC		  
Newbery Honor Book 1998
         
  From School Library Journal  
Set during World War II, this tenderly written story tells of the war's impact on two children, one an American and one a Hungarian refugee. Lily Mollahan, a spirited, sensitive youngster being raised by her grandmother and Poppy, her widower father, has a comfortable routine that includes the family's annual summer migration to Gram's beach house in Rockaway, NY. Lily looks forward to summer's freedom and fishing outings with Poppy. She meets Albert, a Hungarian boy who is staying at a neighbor's house. At first, her fertile imagination convinces her that perhaps Albert is a Nazi spy, but eventually the two become good friends. The war interferes directly with Lily's life when Poppy, an engineer, is sent to Europe to help with clean-up operations. History is brought to life through Giff's well chosen details and descriptions. Both children suffer from the separation from loved ones, and both live with guilt for not having said proper good-byes. Albert even feels that he in some ways betrayed his sister Ruth, who was too ill to make the transatlantic journey. The developing friendship between Lily and Albert, and Albert's plan to swim to Europe to find Ruth, will grab readers' attention and sustain it to book's end. Despite convenient plot twists to reach a happy ending, Giff's well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice. A fine addition to collections that include Sonia Levitin's Silver Days (Atheneum, 1989).-Renee Steinberg, Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ		   Lily's Crossing 
by Patricia Reilly Giff
Gr 5-7		  
Newbery Honor Book 1998
         
  Wringer 
by Jerry Spinelli 
Gr 4-8		   From School Library Journal  
When Palmer LaRue turns nine, he becomes one of the guys. Now a member of a popular gang, with the cool nickname of Snots, life is looking very good, except for one thing. He is now only a year away from becoming a wringer, one of the 10-year-old boys who break the necks of wounded birds in the town's annual pigeon shoot. Unlike his pals who can't wait for that privilege, Palmer dreads it. To make matters worse, a stray pigeon shows up at his window, and soon he is feeding and sheltering it in his room. His life becomes a balancing act of hanging out with the guys, who hate pigeons, and attending to his new pet, Nipper, and Palmer is required to go to great lengths to keep the two worlds apart. When he turns 10, and the pigeon shoot rolls around, the boy is forced to take a stand, and eventually has to rescue Nipper from being killed. Spinelli's characters are memorable, convincing, and both endearing and villainous; and they are involved in a plot that, from the first page, is riveting. The story is told in language simple enough for young readers, yet elegant enough for adults. There is humor, suspense, a bird with personality, and a moral dilemma familiar to everyone: how does one stand up for one's beliefs when they will be very unpopular? A wide audience will enjoy this thought-provoking book.Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT		  
Newbery Honor Book 1998
     

1997

  
         
  From Susie Wilde - Children's Literature  
This multi-layered novel tells the story of four sixth-grade children selected for an Academic Bowl team. Below the plot surface lies a web of interconnections. Though at first the children seem quite different, two of the children are "related" when their grandparents marry and a third is, through a string of accidents, best man at this wedding. The fourth boy is an East Indian newly arrived in America, who unites the team with his instincts about their shared sensibilities. Throughout, there is a strong sense of larger forces at work. Who put the team together? Mrs. Olinski, the paraplegic teacher who can't explain her choices to the administration or herself? Or did the children chose her? And why do each of the children's specific areas of expertise show up in the contest questions? Konigsburg brilliantly quarters the story's telling, letting each child tell a part while Mrs. Olinski provides the narrative mortar. And the telling is a connected flow of story that, as with the team, is a very great whole.		   The View from 
Saturday  
by E.L. Konigsburg
Gr 4-6		  
Newbery Award 1997
         
  A Girl Named 
Disaster  
by Nancy Farmer
Gr 6-9		   From School Library Journal  
Nhamo, an 11-year-old Shona girl living in Mozambique in 1981, life is filled with the traditions of her village people. When family circumstances, a ngozi (angry spirit), and a cholera epidemic force her into a horrible marriage, she flees with only her grandmother's blessings, some gold nuggets, and many survival skills. Still, what should have been a two-day boat trip across the border to her father's family in Zimbabwe spans a year. Daily conversations with spirits help to combat her loneliness and provide her with sage and practical advice. The most incredible leg of her journey is spent on an island where Nhamo closely observes and is warily accepted by a baboon family only to have one of them destroy her shelter and food supply. She makes mistakes, loses heart, and nearly dies of starvation. Even after she arrives in Zimbabwe where she lives with scientists before meeting her father's family, Nhamo must learn to survive in civilization and exorcise the demons that haunt her. A cast of characters, glossary, background information on South Africa and the Shona, and a bibliography ground this novel's details and culture. This story is humorous and heartwrenching, complex and multilayered, and the fortunate child who reads it will place Nhamo alongside Zia (Island of the Dolphins) and Julie (Julie of the Wolves). An engrossing and memorable saga.Susan Pine, New York Public Library		  
Newbery Honor Book 1997
         
  From School Library Journal  
This well-written novel incorporates elements of folklore into an examination of society's response to those who are perceived as different. The plot centers on the experiences of Saaski, a changeling who was cast out by the "Folk" because of her human father. While she does not initially recall her past life, persecution by the villagers eventually rekindles her memories and fires her resolve to rescue the human child for whom she was exchanged. Aided in her quest by Tam, an orphan who accepts her oddness and cherishes her friendship, Saaski is ultimately successful and thus repays the kindness of her "foster" family by returning their daughter to them. Some readers may find Saaski's cruel treatment by the villagers upsetting and her future with Tam unsettlingly vague, but both are consistent with McGraw's clear intention of using her novel to expose peoples' prejudices and emphasize the importance of being true to oneself. While this unusual blend of fantasy and contemporary concerns may not find a wide audience, the quality of McGraw's writing ensures that for those, like Tam, who can appreciate the unusual, The Moorchild will truly be a magical find.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh		   Moorchild  
by Eloise McGraw 
Gr 4 - 6		  
Newbery Honor Book 1997
         
  The Thief  
by Megan Whalen Turner
Gr 6 - 10		   From School Library Journal  
Things are not what they seem in this story of wit, adventure, and philosophy. Gen, an accomplished thief incarcerated for stealing the king's seal, is dragged from his cell by the king's magus, who is on a quest. The prize is Hamiathes's Gift, said to be a creation of the gods that confers the right of rule on the wearer. During the quest, the magus and Gen take turns telling the youngest member of their party myths about the Eddisian god of thieves. Turner does a phenomenal job of creating real people to range through her well-plotted, evenly paced story. No one is entirely evil or completely perfect. Gen is totally human in his lack of discipline, seeming lack of heroism, and need for sleep and food. The magus makes the transition from smug, superior scholar to decent guy in a believable fashion. Turner also does a neat job of puncturing lots of little prejudices. There are many deft lessons in this story. As absorbing as it is, the best part lies in the surprise ending. Though it is foreshadowed throughout, it is not obviousits impact is more like morning sunlight than a lightning bolt. This book is sure to be a hot item with adventure and fantasy lovers, and YAs who like snide, quick-tempered, softhearted heroes will love Gen.Patricia A. Dollisch, DeKalb County Public Library, Decatur, GA		  
Newbery Honor Book 1997
         
  From School Library Journal  
Belle Prater becomes the stuff of local legend in Coal Station, Virginia, when she disappears, leaving everyone mystified. Because his father drinks, Belle's boy, cross-eyed Woodrow, comes to live with his grandparents on the finest residential street in town; and 12-year-old Gypsy, his cousin who lives next door and narrates the story, is glad to get to know him. Like everyone else, she is curious about his mother; but Woodrow will only tell her a fantastic story about a magical place. Nevertheless, the girl comes to admire her cousin for the way he uses his superior intelligence and pleasant personality to adapt to a more affluent life, fend off rude questions about his mother, and handle the local bully. Gypsy seems to lead an idyllic life, but when a schoolmate puts a face on her recurring nightmare, she collapses in the rush of long-repressed sorrow. White paints a vivid picture of small town Appalachia in the 1950s, from the ostracism of a blind "sin eater" to the preening of social "wannabes." Characterization is superb. Gypsy's evolving understanding of her late father's values and her stepfather's virtues is especially well done. White's message-that there is no protection for any of us from pain, only a variety of ways to handle it-is delivered with just right dollops of humor and love. What's important, as Gypsy's grandmother puts it, is to let our true selves shine. A delightful read by a real truth teller.-Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY		   Belle Prater's Boy  
by Ruth White 
Gr 6-9		  
Newbery Honor Book 1997
     

1996

  
         
  The Midwife's Apprentice  
by Karen Cushman
Gr 6-9		   From School Library Journal  
With simplicity, wit, and humor, Cushman presents another tale of medieval England. Here readers follow the satisfying, literal and figurative journey of a homeless, nameless child called Brat, who might be 12 or 13-no one really knows. She wandered about in her early years, seeking food and any kind of refuge and, like many outsiders, gained a certain kind of wisdom about people and their ways. Still, life held little purpose beyond survival-until she meets the sharp-nosed, irritable local midwife, which is where this story begins. Jane takes her in, re-names her Beetle, and thinks of her as free labor and no competition. Always practical but initially timid, the girl expands in courage and self-awareness, acquiring a cat as a companion, naming herself Alyce, and gaining experience in the ways of midwifery. From the breathless delight of helping a boy to deliver twin calves, to the despair of failure during a difficult birth, to the triumph of a successful delivery, Alyce struggles to understand how she can allow herself to fail and yet have the determination to reach for her own place in the world. Alyce wins. Characters are sketched briefly but with telling, witty detail, and the very scents and sounds of the land and people's occupations fill each page as Alyce comes of age and heart. Earthy humor, the foibles of humans both high and low, and a fascinating mix of superstition and genuinely helpful herbal remedies attached to childbirth make this a truly delightful introduction to a world seldom seen in children's literature.-Sara Miller, Rye County Day School, NY		  
Newbery Award 1996
         
  From School Library Journal  
With wrenching simplicity and mesmerizing imagery, Coman articulates nine-year-old Jamie's baffled, stream-of-consciousness observations of a violent act that robs him of his security, but not his innocence. Awakened in the middle of the night by some primal sense of alarm, the sleep-disoriented boy watches his stepfather reach into his baby sister's crib and throw her across the room. And then he watches his mother step into the bedroom doorway and catch her flying baby. Patty deposits her pajama-clad children into the safety of her rusty old Buick, collects the bare necessities, and leaves. With the help of her friend Earl, Jamie's teacher, and even her mother-in-law, Patty finds her way back to work and into a support group for battered wives. In a trailer out in the middle of nowhere, she and Jamie tough it out, slowly reinventing their lives. Revealed through the boy's clear, unprejudiced eye, characters, though rough and uneducated, are not stereotyped. It is Jamie who is most delicately and lovingly wrought. His love of magic tricks, illusion, and sleight of hand sustains him through the bad times. Shocking in its simple narration and child's-eye view, What Jamie Saw is a bittersweet miracle in understated language and forthright hopefulness.-Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ
   What Jamie Saw 
by Carolyn Coman 
Gr 6-9		  
Newbery Honor Book 1996
         
  The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963 
 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Gr 6 - 9		   From School Library Journal  
Kenny's family is known in Flint, Michigan, as the Weird Watsons, for lots of good reasons. Younger sister Joetta has been led to believe she has to be overdressed in the winter because Southern folks (their mother is from Alabama) freeze solid and have to be picked up by the city garbage trucks. Kenny, the narrator, does well in school and tries to meet his hard-working parents' expectations. After a string of misdeeds, Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide that tough guy, older brother Byron must be removed from the bad influences of the city and his gang. They feel that his maternal grandmother and a different way of life in Birmingham might make him appreciate what he has. Since the story is set in 1963, the family must make careful preparations for their trip, for they cannot count on food or housing being available on the road once they cross into the South. The slow, sultry pace of life has a beneficial effect on all of the children until the fateful day when a local church is bombed, and Kenny runs to look for his sister. Written in a full-throated, hearty voice, this is a perfectly described piece of past imperfect. Curtis's ability to switch from fun and funky to pinpoint-accurate psychological imagery works unusually well. Although the horrific Birmingham Sunday throws Kenny into temporary withdraw, this story is really about the strength of family love and endurance. Ribald humor, sly sibling digs, and a totally believable child's view of the world will make this book an instant hit.-Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY		  
Newbery Honor Book 1996
         
  From Marilyn Courtot - Children's Literature  
Yolonda knows that there is more to her brother Andrew than meets the eye. He is having trouble at school with reading, but he really seems to have a gift. Yolonda is also struggling to adjust to life in the suburbs, a place her mother feels is better for raising her children than the inner city street of Chicago. No one believes her when she tells them that Andrew has a talent. In the end she proves that her quiet musician brother is a true genius. 
 		   Yolonda's Genius 
by Carol Fenner 
Gr 3 - 7		  
Newbery Honor Book 1996
     

 

  
  The Great Fire 
by Jim Murphy
Gr 3 - 7		   From Frances Bradburn - BookList  
The great Chicago fire has long been the stuff of folklore and legend. Yet separating fact from fiction in this major disaster has often appeared a secondary priority at best. Murphy sets the record straight through carefully selected documents, personal accounts, photographs, and illustrations. Beginning on that warm Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, in the O'Leary barn, Murphy traces the fire through its three horror-filled days as, fed by lusty prairie winds, cinders from a Saturday night blaze, and structures (even streets and sidewalks) built almost entirely of wood, it consumed block after block of homes, businesses, and bodies, eventually leaving 100,000 people homeless. The book's design complements the author's treatment of the subject. Six double-page spreads of Chicago street maps show the sweep of the flames from the little-known Saturday blaze until rain finally extinguished the fire on Tuesday. Photographs and illustrations of the conflagration and the damage it left behind only add fuel to the author's dramatic text, a riveting narrative that combines the details of the fire itself with personal anecdotes gleaned from newspaper accounts and books written during and immediately after the fire. "The Great Fire" will automatically draw readers with its fiery cover and illustrations of disaster, but the text will keep them reading.		  
Newbery Honor Book 1996
     

1995

  
         
  From Ilene Cooper - BookList  
Thirteen-year-old Sal Hiddle can't deal with all the upheaval in her life. Her mother, Sugar, is in Idaho, and although Sugar promised to return before the tulips bloomed, she hasn't come back. Instead, Mr. Hiddle has moved Sal from the farm she loves so much and has even taken up company with the unpleasantly named Mrs. Cadaver. Multilayered, the book tells the story of Sal's trip to Idaho with her grandparents; and as the car clatters along, Sal tells her grandparents the story of her friend Phoebe, who receives messages from a "lunatic" and who must cope with the disappearance of her mother. The novel is ambitious and successful on many fronts: the characters, even the adults, are fully realized; the story certainly keeps readers' interest; and the pacing is good throughout. But Creech's surprises--that Phoebe's mother has an illegitimate son and that Sugar is buried in Idaho, where she died after a bus accident--are obvious in the first case and contrived in the second. Sal knows her mother is dead; that Creech makes readers think otherwise seems a cheat, though one, it must be admitted, that may bother adults more than kids. Still, when Sal's on the road with her grandparents, spinning Phoebe's yarn and trying to untangle her own, this story sings.		   Walk Two Moons 
by Sharon Creech
Gr 6 - 9		  
Newbery Award 1995
         
  Catherine, Called 
Birdy 
 by Karen Cushman
Gr 6 - 9		   From Mary Sue Preissner - Children's Literature  
"Corpus bones! I loathe my life." What teenager today hasn't thought this? (Admittedly, today's young adult uses different expletives.) This book is a peek into the private thoughts of a 13-year-old, somewhat privileged girl, living in the 13th century. Using diary format, we learn of life, family, joys, and tribulations of a young woman born to title but not wealthy circumstances. Her dislike of her brothers, frustration with parents, conniving to escape chores, and determination to avoid any possible marriage arranged by her father, will keep you in stitches. With religion as a driving force in these times, each diary entry begins with an acknowledgment of which saint is honored on this day, for which purpose, continuing with Catherine's observations of each day. What eventually happens to Catherine and her suitors, her relationship with her parents, her sharp tongue and quick wit, her fears and desires? The author has included an explanatory note of the medieval days, community, religious temperament, etc., and a list of additional sources of medieval information, both fiction and non-fiction.		  
Newbery Honor Book 1995
         
  From School Library Journal  
Gr 7-10-Set in Zimbabwe in 2194, this sci-fi/fantasy combines a coming-of-age quest with its attendant dangers and rewards and an interweaving of elements from African mythology. Tendai, 13; his younger sister, Rita; and preschool brother, Kuda, are children of Matsika, their country's Chief of Security. Frustrated by their choreographed existence, they attempt a cross-city trip that will fulfill requirements for a Scouting merit badge in exploring. They little realize the opportunity this unchaperoned escapade will afford their father's enemies, and find themselves abducted soon after their trip begins. Prisoners of the ``She Elephant,'' so-called queen of a toxic dump known as the Dead Man's Vlei, the children discover they are not to be ransomed, but to be worked and then sold to a terrorist group called The Masks, deadly and spirit-damning. Matsika calls in ``The Ear, The Eye, and The Arm Detective Agency,'' whose three agents each have a special power to aid in their search for the captives. They are steps behind as the children escape from one dire situation to another. Ultimately, the Masks are unveiled and destroyed, and the family is reunited. Rich in setting, the story is as complex as a weaver's kente pattern, as symbolic as an eijiri figure, as sophisticated as a Benin bronze. Demanding and intricate, but often convoluted, it will be rewarding to readers willing to travel beyond everyday places and to work to untangle its many strands.-Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY		   The Ear, the Eye and the Arm 
by Nancy Farmer 		  
Newbery Honor Book 1995
     

1994

  
         
  The Giver  
by Lois Lowry
Gr 6 - 9		   From School Library Journal  
In a complete departure from her other novels, Lowry has written an intriguing story set in a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. Twelve-year-old Jonas's confidence in his comfortable ``normal'' existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory ``back and back and back,'' teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is ``without color, pain, or past.'' The tension leading up to the Ceremony, in which children are promoted not to another grade but to another stage in their life, and the drama and responsibility of the sessions with The Giver are gripping. The final flight for survival is as riveting as it is inevitable. The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time. --Amy Kellman, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh		  
Newbery Award 1994
         
  From Mary Sue Preissner - Children's Literature  
Once again, an adolescent is having trying times. Vernon is having difficulties in school. He doesn't want to cause his dad any grief, but he wants to fit in with the rest of the guys. This is a tall order for a preteen. He strikes a balance in hanging with the guys, keeping his grades up, and doing selfless acts of kindness. Vernon's internal emotions, needs and desires combine with the story of a community, long ignored, coming together. There are some powerful issues in this book -alcohol abuse, mental retardation, foster homes, community service-all things that today's adolescents need to be aware of.		  

Crazy Lady 
by Jane Leslie Conly
Gr 7 - 10

  

Newbery Honor Book 1994
         
  Dragon's Gate 
by Laurence Yep 
Gr 6-10		   From School Library Journal  
Yep uses the lively storytelling techniques of his ``Dragon'' fantasy-adventure novels to re-create a stirring historical event-here, the construction of the transcontinental railroad. Serpent's Children (1984) and Mountain Light (1985, both HarperCollins) described the political and natural disasters that led to widespread famine in 19th-century Southern China. Cassia and Foxfire, the ``Serpent's Children,'' came from a long line of revolutionaries. Foxfire followed his dreams across the sea to the ``Golden Mountain,'' California, where he earned enough money to revitalize his village. Dragon's Gate opens in China with Foxfire making a triumphant visit home. Otter, Cassia's adopted son, who tells the story, worships his uncle and longs to follow him back to the Golden Mountain. Granted his wish at last, Otter finds Foxfire working on ``Snow Tiger,'' a mountain in the Sierra Nevada range, where Chinese laborers strive to hew a tunnel through solid rock. Appalled by the living conditions and disillusioned with his uncle, Otter must struggle to survive racial prejudice, cold, starvation, the foreman's whip, and the dangers of frostbite and avalanche while trying to reconcile his ideals and dreams with harsh reality, and to find his place in a strange land. Combining believable characters with thrilling adventure, Yep convinces readers that the Chinese railroad workers were indeed men to match the towering mountains of the west. Because the first few chapters, set in China, may be a bit confusing to children who have not read the previous two books, this will likely need booktalking.-Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA		  
Newbery Honor Book 1994
         
  From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly  
A natural follow-up to Freedman's biography of FDR, this impeccably researched, highly readable study of one of this country's greatest First Ladies is nonfiction at its best. As a role model for girls and an inspiration to both genders, Eleanor Roosevelt remains unsurpassed. Freedman relates how she transcended both an unhappy childhood (her parents separated when she was six; her mother died when Eleanor was eight, and her father, an alcoholic, died two years later) and a timid nature to become one of the most outspoken, vigorous, highly regarded women in history. The vast range of her interests and activities--journalism, politics and social  activism--becomes even more remarkable as the author deftly considers Eleanor Roosevelt's times and her social milieu. Approximately 140 well-chosen black-and-white photos amplify the text. Freedman writes both authoritatively and compellingly, and the Eleanor that emerges is a complex, flesh-and-blood individual, not a dull heroine of textbook history. He also deals plainly with some of the more sordid aspects of the Roosevelts' married life (namely FDR's infidelity), but he never sensationalizes, and his honesty and candor signal his respect for his subject and for his readers. This biography cannot be recommended highly enough. 		  

Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery 
by Russell Freedman 
Gr 4 - 9

  

Newbery Honor Book 1994
     

1993

  
         
  Missing May 
by Cynthia Rylant
Gr  5 - 8		   From School Library Journal  
They've been a family for half of Summer's 12 years, and when her Aunt May dies, a little bit of Summer and her uncle Ob dies too--and his whirligigs go ``still as night.'' Ob's 'gigs are his ``mysteries,'' works of art that capture the essence of Storms, Heaven, Fire, Love, Dreams . . . and May. For a time, he seems to be failing, and Summer fears she'll lose him, as well. Then he claims to have been visited by May's spirit. And, stranger still to Summer, he takes a liking to that ``flat out lunatic,'' Cletus Underwood. Lunatic or no, Cletus steps unhesitatingly into the space May has left, and all three take off on a journey in search of May. It's an ill - fated journey that, nevertheless, lets Ob and Summer turn a corner in their grieving--and sets Ob free. With homely detail, Rylant plunges readers into the middle of Summer's world, creating characters certain to live long in their memories. Her tightly woven plot wastes no words; May's death and the course of her husband and niece's grieving are both reflected in and illuminated by the state of Ob's mysteries and the course of that interrupted journey of discovery. There is much to ponder here, from the meaning of life and death to the power of love. That it all succeeds is a tribute to a fine writer who brings to the task a natural grace of language, an earthly sense of humor, and a well-grounded sense of the spiritual. --Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Pub. Lib., NY		  
Newbery Award 1993
         
  From Hazel Rochman - BookList  
Brooks tells a good story, and he makes the telling part of the tale. Many of the themes found in his earlier books, like "The Moves Make the Man" , are developed in these four long stories about the boy Asa, especially the child's relationship with his emotionally fragile mother and his hostile competition with his stepfather. Asa's seven years old in the first story when he rushes home to show off his great report card--only to find that his mother and he are leaving his father. They move seven times in the next three years. Like all of Brooks' protagonists, the kid is smart and sensitive and trying to stay in control as he grows older. Just when he irritates you the most with his deliberate analyzing and overarticulate view of what's happening to him, something upsets all his careful order, and his fragility grabs your heart. In the unforgettable first story, his stepfather-to-be forces the seven-year-old boy onto a solitary roller coaster ride; and the surreal images of jerking and whirling out of control--the terror and the thrill--recur throughout the book in dark, mysterious counterpoint to Asa's shining intelligence. These are sophisticated, perhaps adult, stories. As in "Midnight Hour Encores" , Brooks deliberately plays with formula and then shocks you out of it, whether it's a seventh-grader's declaration of love or a male bonding on the baseball field. The sports story, in which the stepfather helps Asa train for the Little League tryouts, combines fast, exciting action with scenes of domestic stress and gentleness as well as an astonishing ending that proves the power of the individual imagination. Always, that's what gets Asa through yet another disturbing upheaval, the order he finds through words.		  

What Hearts 
by Bruce Brooks 
Gr 4 - 8

  

Newbery Honor Book 1993
         
  The Dark-thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural  
by Patricia McKissack 
Gr 4 - 7		   From School Library Journal  
Ten original stories, all with a foundation in African-American history or culture. Some are straight ghost stories, many of which are wonderfully spooky and all of which have well-woven narratives. There is a tale from slavery times; a story set among the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; and one from the 1940s segregated South, in which a black man's ghost brings revenge upon the white klansman who murdered him. Strong characterizations are superbly drawn in a few words. The atmosphere of each selection is skillfully developed and sustained to the very end. Pinkney's stark scratch-board illustrations evoke an eerie mood, which heightens the suspense of each tale. This is a stellar collection for both public and school libraries looking for absorbing books to hook young readers. Storytellers also will find it a goldmine. --Kay McPherson, Central Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, GA		  
Newbery Honor Book 1993
         
  From School Library Journal  
A poignant story of motherless, 14-year-old Jimmy Little, whose convict father takes him on a search for truth, identity, and family. Whisked away from the stability of a homelife with his devoted grandmother, Mama Jean, Jimmy confronts the harsh realities of his father's life on the run. Jailed for his involvement in an armed robbery and falsely accused of killing a man, Crab escapes from prison to convince his son of his innocence. What Jimmy discovers is a man desperate to establish a relationship with his son but unable to break free of a lifestyle of stealing and moving on that leaves little room for security. On their highway odyssey, Crab becomes increasingly sick with a kidney ailment. Following a climactic encounter with the man who accused him, Crab is again arrested and hospitalized. For Jimmy, the flicker of hope that he and his father might work things out becomes a realization that love is built on trust, concern, and honesty. Through terse dialogue and characterization, Myers conveys a powerful message about the need for parent and child to believe in and respect one another. By story's end, the boy understands that to fully appreciate someone else's life you must first give meaning to your own. Whether from urban or rural backgrounds, single or double parent families, readers will find this universal journey of self-discovery gratifying. --Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, NC		  

Somewhere in the Darkness 
by Walter Dean Myers
Gr 7 - 10

  

Newbery Honor Book 1993
     

1992

  
         
  Shiloh  
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Gr 4-6		   From Publisher's Weekly - Publishers Weekly  
In the tradition of Sounder and Where the Red Fern Grows comes this boy-and-his-dog story set in rural West Virginia. When he finds a mistreated beagle pup, 11-year-old Marty knows that the animal should be returned to its rightful owner. But he also realizes that the dog will only be further abused. So he doesn't tell his parents about his discovery, sneaks food for the dog and gets himself into a moral dilemma in trying to do the right thing. Without breaking new ground, Marty's tale is well told, with a strong emphasis on family and religious values. This heartwarming novel should win new fans for the popular Naylor.		  
Newbery Winner 1992
         
  From School Library Journal  
Ninth grader Philip Malloy finds himself unable to participate on the track team because of his failing grade in English. Convinced the teacher, Margaret Narwin, dislikes him, he concocts a scheme to get transferred from her homeroom: instead of standing ``at respectful, silent attention'' during the national anthem, Philip hums. Throughout the ensuing disciplinary problems at school, his parents take his side, ignore the fact that he is breaking a school rule, and concentrate on issues of patriotism. The conflict between Philip and his school escalates, and he quickly finds the situation out of his control; local community leaders, as well as the national news media, become involved. At this point, the novel surges forward to a heartbreaking, but totally believable, conclusion. Avi carefully sets forth the events in the story, advancing the plot through conversations between students, Philip's parents, school personnel, and community politicians, while Philip's point of view is revealed through his diary entries, and Margaret Narwin's through letters to her sister. Also enriching the narrative are copies of school memos and newspaper articles, transcripts of speeches delivered, and copies of letters received by both Philip and his teacher; each document provides another perspective on the conflict and illuminates the many themes that beg to be discussed--most notably the irony of lives destroyed because of the misuse of power and the failure of people to communicate. Admirably well crafted and thought provoking. --Ellen Fader, Westport Public Library, CT		  

Nothing But The Truth: a Documentary Novel  
by Avi 
Gr 6 - 9

  

Newbery Honor Book 1992
         
  The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane  
by Russell Freedman 
Gr 4 - 8		   From School Library Journal  
What unusual people the Wright brothers were! Despite a four-year difference in age, the two grew up to be as close as twins, a patient bachelor pair who methodically set out to prove the possibility of powered, controlled human flight. Just as methodically, they promoted their new flying machine, made lots of money, and overcame the U. S. government's stubborn lack of interest. In his own inimitable way, Freedman takes readers back to that exciting time, using not only the Wrights' written descriptions and the accounts of awed observers, but also a large selection of the careful photographs that Wilbur and Orville took to document their experiments. After an opening chapter to set the stage, the author creates a detailed family portrait. He closes with discussions of the photographs, sites to visit, and sources of further information about the Wright brothers. Freedman's achievement is as splendid as those of his subjects. --John Peters, New York Public Library		  
Newbery Honor Book 1992
     

1991

  
         
  From School Library Journal  
Warning: this interesting book is a mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled throught the book; Mars Bar calls Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-read story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals. --Joel Shoemaker, Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA		  

 Maniac Magee 
by Jerry Spinelli
Gr 6 - 10

  

Newbery Winner 1991
         
  The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle  
by Avi 
Gr 5 - 8		   From School Library Journal  
On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12 year old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas.		  
Newbery Honor Book 1991
     

1990

  
         
  From School Library Journal  
The gripping story of a ten-year-old Danish girl and her family's courageous efforts to smuggle Jews out of their Nazi-occupied homeland to safety in Sweden. Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery. (Mar. 1989)		  

Number the Stars 
by Lois Lowry 
Gr 3 - 7

  

Newbery Winner 1990
         
  Afternoon of the 
Elves  
 by Janet Taylor Lisle 
Gr 4 - 6		   From School Library Journal  
A fascinating portrayal of a manipulative yet touching friendship. Nine-year-old Hillary lives in comfortable suburbia with her parents. In the house behind lives tough, independent Sara-Kate. Her father's gone, her sick mother hides, she dresses like an urchin, and is despised and mocked at school. However, Hillary stumbles on Sara-Kate's secret; she tends a tiny village in her weed-filled back yard, a village where she says elves live. Hillary is fascinated, and in helping her neighbor maintain the village, gradually becomes closer to Sara-Kate despite her school friends' disdain and parental disapproval. She starts not only to believe in elves, but also to wonder if Sara-Kate is not one herself. The ambiguous clues as to whether Sara-Kate is really an elf or just a disturbed child are so well wrought that readers will be as uncertain as Hillary. The children's emotions and behavior are believable and authentic, depicted clearly without over-explaining, especially Hillary's inner conflict. Lisle captures the subtlety of childhood feelings and perceptions, while maintaining a language and style accessible to average readers. Hillary grows from a bland follower to someone who knows that it is she, ultimately, who must make up her mind, despite the opinions of those around her, and perhaps become a little like all that was good in Sara-Kate herself. --Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, MD		  
Newbery Honor Book 1990
         
  From Maurya Simon - The New York Times Book Review  
It is a pleasure to read a book that explores a way of life profoundly different from our own, and that does so with such sensitivity, admiration and verisimilitude. Ms. Staples, who was a U.P.I. correspondent in Asia and has worked for The Washington Post, has surely accomplished a small miracle in the unfolding of her touching and powerful story. She has managed to present to her readers an engaging and convincing portrait of an adolescent girl who is alternately bewildered and exhilarated by her changing mind and body; at the sametime, the author offers rich and provocative insights into a culture so distanced from rock videos and designer jeans as to seem extraplanetary. I hope her readers will gain from it a renewed sense of self and a deep respect for what is other.		  

Shabanu, Daughter of the Wind  
by Suzanne Fisher Staples 
Gr 7 - 10

  

Newbery Honor Book 1990
         
  The Winter Room  
by Gary Paulsen
Gr 6 - 9		   From School Library Journal  
Of the four rooms downstairs in the northern Minnesota farmhouse, the one that might be called a living room is where Wayne and Eldon, their parents and great-uncle, and old Norwegian Nels spend their winters. There the family sits near the corner wood stove and listens, uninterrupting, as Uncle David tells stories--of the old country, of old times, of a semi-mythical lumberjack. Eldon, the younger son, begins his own story, in spring, when everything is soft. While he describes for readers the farm activities of each season and narrates memorable pranks and milestones of his boyhood, it is the palpable awareness of place and character that is unforgettable. Paulsen, with a simple intensity, brings to consciousness the texture, the smells, the light and shadows of each distinct season. He has penned a mood poem in prose. Uncle David's final story precipitates within the brothers a fuller understanding of personal identity and integrity. For those special readers who find delight in The Winter Room, it will become a part of their own identity and understanding. Teachers who seek to illuminate the use of ordinary English words with extraordinary descriptive power will find the introductory chapter, in particular, to be a godsend. --Katharine Bruner, Brown Middle School, Harrison, TN		  
Newbery Honor Book 1990
         
     

1989

  
  Joyful Noise is a children's book of poetry about insects that was designed for two readers to enjoy together. On each page are two columns of verse for children to alternate reading aloud about the lives of six-legged creatures ranging from fireflies writing in the sky to a love affair between two lice, crickets eating pie crumbs and the single day in the life of a mayfly. Charming large scale soft-pencil illustrations enhance the comical, easy-to-read text.   Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices 
by Paul Fleischman 
Gr 4 - 10
Newbery Winner 1989
   
In The Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World 
by Virginia Hamilton
Gr 5 - 9		 From Stephen Fraser - The Christian Science Monitor (Eastern edition)  
Three years ago, Virginia Hamilton collected black folk tales in 'The People Could Fly' {BRD 1986}. . . . In her new collection of creation myths . . .Hamilton has outdone herself. The stories included range from relatively obscure African, Australian, and American Indian myths to better known tales of the Greeks and Egyptians, ending with the seven days of creation as recorded in the Old Testament of the bible. Hamilton has written the foreword of this stunning new work, retold the stories, provided a running commentary, and assembled a very useful and impressive bibliography. As always, she writes with grace, restraint, and power. The illustrations by well-known artist Barry Moser are superb and capably capture the reverence and mystery that are inherent in world mythology. . . . This is a book that children will enjoy dipping into, that schools will be proud to own, that will become a useful tool in the research and appreciation of world mythology.
Newbery Honor Book 1989
  From Judy Sasges - Voice of Youth Advocates  
Jamal's feelings of powerlessness, insecurity, and ambivalence will strike a chord with readers. He is frustrated with his life yet not able to make any definite changes for the better. The decisions he must make (should he runcrack to earn money for Randy's appeal, should he take the gun to school, should he take the drug the school nurse offers to calm him down) are all decisions that a growing number of YAs face every day. Myers' matter-of-fact descriptions of Harlem offer a bleak portrayal of inner city life. His use of Black English, although the gang members have a much cleaner vocabulary than would be expected, adds to the plot's authenticity. Myers effectively illustrates the problems of guns, gangs, and inner city life; . . . however, the young characters will limit the appeal to middle and younger junior high readers.		   Scorpions 
by Walter Dean Myers
Gr 6 - 9
Newbery Honor Book 1989
   
     

1988

  
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
Gr 5 - 11		 From School Library Journal  
Few, if any, of the many books written for children about Lincoln can compare with Freedman's contribution. More than 80 photographs and prints illustrate the crisp and informative text. The pictures have been well-placed to coordinate with the text; captions have been written with care as well. While many of the photographs are well-known, many less familiar pictures are also included. Freedman begins by contrasting the Lincoln of legend to the Lincoln of fact. His childhood, self-education, early business ventures, and entry into politics comprise the first half of the book, with the rest of the text covering his presidency and assassination. Freedman's extensive research is apparent in the liberal use he makes of quotations from original sources (letters, contemporary newspaper articles, etc.). Freedman makes clear the controversy and vilification that Lincoln engendered and endured during his presidency. A listing of historic sites open to the public and a sampler of wise and witty excerpts from Lincoln's writings complete the book. Well-organized and well-written, this is an outstanding example of what (juvenile) biography can be. Like Lincoln himself, it stands head and shoulders above its competition. Elaine Fort Weischedel, Turner Free Library, Randolph, Mass.
Newbery Winner 1988
  From School Library Journal  
Step by grudging step, Rachel and her ornery grandfather come together in the last months of his life. In the background are Rachel's fear of social isolation; her irritation with her stolid, sweet parents; and her tentative romance with Lewis Olswanger. When Rachel's best friend brings her birthday party to the old man's apartment, they participate in a joyous celebratory dance, and the contrast of youth to age, life to death is poignantly reassuring. Even surrounding characters are revealed with care, and rich visual imagery adds depth. Close to death, Grandpa Izzy takes Rachel on a fruitless quest to find the concrete handprint Izzy left on a bridge that he helped to build as a young man. After Izzy's death, Rachel finds the print, creating a symbol which binds the book together, past, present, and future. Mazer's uncomplicated prose, mostly dialogue, is effective and readable. In its portrayal of a family coalescing around an old tyrant, and of a young woman achieving adulthood, After the Rain sounds a resonant note. Carolyn Noah, Worcester Public Library, Mass.		   After The Rain
by Norma Fox Mazer
Gr 6 - 11
Newbery Honor Book 1988
   
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
Gr 6 - 10 		From Stephen Fraser - The Christian Science Monitor (Eastern edition)  
Gary Paulsen writes with the intensity and power of Robert Cormier, and the grace and style of Paula Fox -- a winning combination of qualities. The bookis as much an inward journey as a wilderness hike. . . . Teachers will like this book for the richness of the text and the artfulness of the writing. Young adults will like it because its such an engaging tale. A minor flaw is the book's epilogue. In tidying up a lot of unanswered questions, it seems a bit too convenient, even tagged on. In fact, the way it is written, it could almost seem like an indication that this is a 'true' story -- which it isn't.
Newbery Honor Book 1988
     

1987

  
  From School Library Journal  
Roles are changed when young Prince Brat, as everyone calls him (he is so altogether rotten that ``Not even black cats would cross his path''), runs away with Jemmy, his whipping boy (the commoner who takes the Prince's punishments). Because Brat has never learned to write and Jemmy can, a couple of prince-nappers decide that Jemmy is the real prince. Chiefly through Jemmy's cleverness, the two escape and return to court. Brat has learned much and changed for the better during his adventures. He winds up calling Jemmy ``friend,'' and he is certain to be a better prince hereafter. This whimsical, readable story delights in the manner of Bill Brittain's books The Wish Giver (1983) and The Devil's Donkey (1981, both Harper). Full-page black-and-white illustrations somewhat grotesque but always complementaryadd attractiveness to the story. The mistaken identity plot is always a good one: children, even fairly old ones, like disguises and this kind of mix-up. Supplementary characters are well-drawn both by Fleischman and by Sis, so the whole hangs together in basic appeal. Readers could well move from The Whipping Boy to its much longer cousin, Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield		    The Whipping Boy
by Sid Fleischman
Gr 5 - 7
Newbery Winner 1987
   
A Fine White Dust
by Cynthia Rylant
Gr 5 - 7		 From Betsy Hearne - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books  
Rylant focuses sharply on a thirteen-year-old boy's brief, pivotal encounter with a charismatic evangelist. Although the book is more an outline than a fully realized novel, it is strong in delineating the nature of the boy and his intense crisis. . . . The characterization of his stable best friend and parents is limited but credible. Neither the Preacher nor his services, however, are vividly enough rendered to make totally convincing Pete's decision to leave a home he loves. . . . The style is spare and rhythmic, sometimes self-consciously so, as in the repetition in the boy's narrative of a phrase 'The telling,' showing the weight and difficulty of his confession.
Newbery Honor Book 1987
  From School Library Journal  
Twelve-year-old Joel has unwillingly agreed to bike out to the state park with his daredevil friend Tony. ``On his honor,'' he promises his father to be careful, knowing that Tony wants them to climb the dangerous park bluffs. When they arrive, however, Tony abruptly changes his mind and heads for the river. With his promise jangling in his mind, Joel follows Tony in for a swim. Tony drowns in the dirty, turbulent water, leaving Joel to face his guilty conscience, and his father, alone. In this short but solid novel, Bauer effectively portrays the dilemma of pre-adolescents, old enough to want to meet their own challenges without adult interference, young enough to want grownup protection and reassurance. Joel understands only too well the moral dilemma he faces, but he is so bound by peer pressure that wrong choices and tragedy are almost inevitable. Bauer's association of Joel's guilt with the smell of the polluted river on his skin is particularly noteworthy. Its miasma almost rises off the pages. Descriptions are vivid, characterization and dialogue natural, and the style taut but unforced. A powerful, moving book. Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, Canada		   On My Honor
by Marion Dane Bauer
Gr 4 - 6
Newbery Honor Book 1987
   
Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens
by Patricia Lauber
Gr 2 - 5 		From Beverly Kobrin - Children's Literature  
One of the last decade's most impressive rock events created a "stone wind" of steam and rocks that traveled at speeds up to 200 miles an hour, leveling 150 square miles of countryside. Ms. Lauber documents and explains how nature heals its self-inflicted wounds in a moving testimony to the precarious balance between plants and animals and their life-sustaining interdependence
Newbery Honor Book 1987
     

1986

  
  From the Publisher
"Did Mama sing every day?" Caleb asks his sister Anna. "Every-single-day," she answers. "Papa sang, too."

Their mother died after Caleb was born. Their house on the prairie is quiet now, and Papa doesn't sing anymore. Then Papa puts an ad in the paper, asking for a wife, and he receives a letter from one Sara Elisabeth Wheaton, of Maine. Papa, Ana, and Caleb write back. Caleb asks if she sings.

Sarah desides to come for a month. She writes Papa: I will come by train. I will wear a yellow bonnet. I am plain and tall, and Tell them I sing. Anna and Caleb wait and wonder. Will Sarah be nice? Will she like them? Will she stay?

   Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
Gr 3 - 5
Newbery Winner 1986
   
Commodore Perry In the Land of the Shogun by Rhoda Blumberg
Gr 5 - 12 		From School Library Journal  
Blumberg's book succeeds on two levels. First it is a well-written story of Matthew Perry's expedition to open Japan to American trade and whaling ports. The account is sensitive to the extreme cultural differences that both the Japanese and Americans had to overcome. Especially good are the chapters and paragraphs explaining Japanese feudal society and culture. The text is marvelously complemented by the illustrations, almost all reproductions of contemporary Japanese art, underscoring the unbiased approach of the book. On the second level, the book is a well-researched chronicle of the events of the trip. Blumberg has gone to the original sources to capture the sights, emotions, reactions and even tastes of both the Japanese and Americans. Yet she has not neglected the political and economic importance or mission of Perry's trip. The notes, appendixes and bibliography show a carefully thought out book which holds valuable information for sophisticated readers. There is no better book for students on this historical event. John Buschman, Solanco Senior High School Library, Quarryville, Pa.
Newbery Honor Book 1986
   
  From Nel Ward - Voice of Youth Advocates  
{This novel's} journey results in Russel's 'dogsong,' describing the closeness he feels to his dogs and the value they give his life. While the language of the book is lyrical, Paulsen recognizes the reality of Russel's world--the dirty smoke and the stinking yellow fur of the bear. He also recognizes the reality of killing to save lives, and of dreaming to save sanity, in the communion between present and past, life and death, reality and imagination, in this majestic exploration into the Alaskan wilderness by a master author who knows his subject well. Dogsong is a novel of survival that can be read on manylevels and by different age groups. Its flowing language describing Russel's experiences make the book ideal for reading aloud to groups.		   Dogsong
by Gary Paulsen
Gr 7 - 10
Newbery Honor Book 1986
   
     

1985

  
The Hero and the Crown
by Robin McKinley
Gr 7 - 12		 From Merri Rosenberg - The New York Times Book Review  
The author writes a sonorous, deliberately repetitive prose that, in its somber rhythms, evokes the sounds of Middle Earth as well as of ancient bards. It sustains the otherworldy atmosphere she painstakingly creates through the judicious use of arcane and invented words like 'hathor' and 'sorka,' restrained descriptions and interior monologues. . . . In this haunting fantasy of spells and sorcerers, long-lost amulets and primeval struggles between good and evil, Miss McKinley borrows liberally from J.R.R. Tolkien, the Arthurian legends, Celtic and Norse mythology--and even 'Star Wars' symbolism. . . . Miss McKinley, the author of 'The Blue Sword' {BRD 1983}, . . . has in this suspenseful prequel, which is the 1985 Newbery Award winner, created an utterly engrossing fantasy, replete with a fairly mature romantic subplot as well as adventure.
Newbery Winner 1985
   
  From Nancy B. Cardozo - The New York Times Book Review  
The writing is lyrical and accurate, with colorful descriptions of the landscape. Lloyd Bloom's soft-edged illustrations use an autumnal palette complete with the subdued reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks of fall foliage. Whilesome may find them overblown, others will enjoy the ethereal look they lend to this story. 'Like Jake and Me' has much wisdom to offer children (and parents) who are in situations similar to that of young Alex. Mavis Jukes has written one other book, 'No One Is Going to Nashville' {BRD 1984}, which also emphasizes the positive potential of a stepfamily.
   Like Jake and Me
by Mavis Jukes
Gr 3 - 5
Newbery Honor Book 1985
   
The Moves Make the Man
by Bruce Brooks
Gr 6 - 12 		From Allan A. Cuseo - Voice of Youth Advocates  
Told in a fast hilarious prose this first novel begs to be read aloud. Brooks captures his characters' complexities, their language and style and delights the reader with vivid settings that evoke sights, sounds and aromas. Shattering in its execution, Brooks shakes the reader to respond with chuckling affirmation. . . . Although Foxworthy moves fast, many of the basketball scenes are belabored and pace lessens. The ending sputters and flattens although Jerome's final message 'if nobody else is there to take the fake, then for good or bad a part of your own self will follow it. There are no moves you truly make alone' is finely tuned.
Newbery Honor Book 1985
   
  From Anne Tyler - The New York Times Book Review  
{This} is a story about an introspective 11-year-old boy, the only child of a minister and his wife, who is immobilized by arthritis. The year is 1935, the place is a small town in New York State, and Ned Wallis is the boy attempting to be the perfect person his parents believe him to be. . . . The story moves slowly at times, perhaps too slowly for younger readers, and it suffers on occasion from a sense of indirection. . . . Generally, though, 'One-Eyed Cat' succeeds. . . . If I had a child right now in his middle years--old enough to land himself in some sort of mess, young enough not to know yet that his parents themselves are imperfect--I would offer him this book. It says clearly, but never too baldly, that parents are not so easily scandalized as all that, that what disturbs them more than their children's mistakes is the sense that their children are concealing serious worries. This is what makes 'One-Eyed Cat' a book of real value.		   One-Eyed Cat
by Paula Fox
Gr 5 - 9
Newbery Honor Book 1985
   
     

1984

  
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
Gr 4 - 7		 From Natalie Babbitt - The New York Times Book Review  
Cleary has written many very good books over the years. This one is the best. It is a first-rate, poignant story in the form of letters and a diary--a new construction for a Cleary book. . . . What makes 'Dear Mr. Henshaw' so special is Leigh's candid acceptance of all that happens to him. He hasn't the least idea how brave he is. . . . The story closes as it should. There will be no reunion between Leigh's parents; he has come to understand that and accept it. Wisely, Mrs. Cleary does not fix things so that the lunch box thief is caught; she does not arrange a meeting between Leigh and Henshaw; and she never allows Leigh's writing to slide a millimeter away from the natural humor and unconscious pathos that make it work so honestly.
Newbery Winner 1984
   
  From School Library Journal  
Elizabeth George Speare's acclaimed, captivating historical novel (BDD) set in the 1700s receives a fresh treatment here, thanks to narrator Greg Schaffert's fine, crystal clear narration that brings the story to life. Speare's evocative tale tells of the mutually beneficial friendship that develops between Matt, a 13-year-old white boy living alone in the wilderness, and Attean, a proud Native American on the verge of manhood. Matt is guarding his family's newly built cabin while his father travels to retrieve Matt's mother and sister. Attean saves Matt's life after a terrifying bee attack (beautifully brought to life by both Speare and Schaffert). The two become reluctant pals: Matt teaches Attean how to read, and Attean shows Matt how to hunt, set traps and gather. Soon Matt must make a choice: join Attean's tribe or wait for his family to return. Speare's Newbery Honor winner is a good adventure story that will hook those interested in survival stories. It will also serve multicultural collections.-Brian E. Wilson, Oak Lawn Public Library, IL		   The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Gr 5 - 8
Newbery Honor Book 1984
   
A Solitary Blue
by Cynthia Voigt
Gr 5 - 10		 Synopsis
"Jefferson Greene, a minor character from Dicey's Song {BRD 1983}, is the subject of the new novel. Beginning when Jeff was seven years old and ending when he was in high school, the book overlaps and goes beyond the earlier one. . . . {This novel} explores the relationships among Jeff, his mother Melody, and his father 'the Professor.' After Melody walked out on the family to pursue a long line of unrealistic causes, the Professor and his young son wenton as if nothing had changed. Their . . . coexistence continued until Jeff at the age of eleven received an unexpected invitation to spend the summer withhis mother and her family in South Carolina
Newbery Honor Book 1984
   
  From Noel Perrin - The New York Times Book Review  
Miss Lasky and Mr. Knight had the sense to pick a farm whose owners still sugar in an old-fashioned way. . . . Some of the pictures {in this book} will take your breath away, such as the shot of Jonathan Lacey, 8, and his father pouring sap into the gathering tank from opposite sides or the one of a workhorse stealing a drink from a full bucket. Although the text is too adult-poetic and too short on narrative to be fully satisfactory, there are sections that are excellently written, and the book is worth getting. Just one word of warning. The Laceys apparently call the lid you put on a sap bucket a hat. . . .Everyone else in the maple world thinks it means the wool strainer you use asthe final step in producing syrup.		   Sugaring Time
by Kathryn Lasky
Gr 3 - 6
Newbery Honor Book 1984
   
The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree
by Bill Brittain
Gr 4 - 8		 Synopsis
"Described by storekeeper Stewart Meade, familiarly known as Stew Meat, {this story deals with the} . . . consequences of the wishes purchased at the annual church social from the strange little man who calls himself Thaddeus Blinn. The blunt-spoken schoolgirl Polly Kemp . . . finds that she croaks like a frog whenever a smart remark crosses her lips; lovesick teenager Rowena Jervis transforms a smooth-talking traveling salesman into a tree when she wishes that he would put down roots; and hard-working Adam Fiske turns his father's arid farm into a lake by requesting enough water for all the chores. Aghast at the results of their meddling in magic, the three turn for help to Stew Meat--holder of the fourth and last wish. . . .
Newbery Honor Book 1984
   
     

1983

  
  Synopsis
"In the previous book, Homecoming {BRD 1981}, after a long journey on foot the four Tillerman children--abandoned by their distraught mother--find ahome with their eccentric grandmother on her run-down farm on Chesapeake Bay.. . . Recounted from thirteen-year-old Dicey's viewpoint {this book} tells oftheir developing relationship with taciturn, prickly Gram and of their schoollife, friends, jobs, and ongoing struggle with poverty. . . .		   Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
Gr  4 - 8
Newbery Winner 1983
   
The Blue Sword
by Robin McKinley
Gr 7 - 10		 Synopsis
"Harry (a nickname she prefers) is kindly taken in by the Resident, Sir Charles, as arranged by her soldier-brother; she promises herself that she'll be a proper young lady. . . . {She} is kidnapped by {Corlath} a local ruler . . . because his kelar, or psychic power, tells him he must. . . . After intensive training, {Harry} saves his kingdom by going into battle with the fabledblue sword and her own psychic power. . . . This is the first book in a projected trilogy. . . .
Newbery Honor Book 1983
   
  Synopsis
This story concerns "a diminutive mouse, the resourceful dentist Dr. De Soto, {who} was able to treat patients of all shapes and sizes. . . . But he and his wife--his assistant--'refused to treat animals dangerous to mice, andit said so on his sign.' One day, however, the compassionate dentist warily agreed to examine a fox suffering from a toothache. With the help of his anxious wife, he extracted the tooth without incident; but the mice were worried about the next day when the fox would return for his new tooth. And on his part, the fox 'wondered if it would be shabby of him to eat the De Sotos when the job was done.'" (Horn Book)		   Doctor DeSoto
by William Steig
Gr K - 3
Newbery Honor Book 1983
   
Graven Images
by Paul Fleischman
Gr 4 - 8		 From the Publisher
Three graven images' a wooden sailor-figure from a death ship; a copper weather vane depicting St. Crispin; and a statue commissioned by a ghost' effect revelations of murder and romance in three tales for young teens...
Newbery Honor Book 1983
   
  Synopsis
In this fictionalized autobiography, Fritz describes growing up in China in the 1920's. "Although the book covers only two years--1925-1927--'the events are drawn from the entire period of my childhood.' Born in Hankow, where her father was director of the YMCA, Jean loved the city as well as the wide, muddy Yangtze River swarming with human activity. But she knew she 'belonged on the other side of the world'--in Pennsylvania with her grandmother and her other relations. Already determined to be a writer, the ebullient, independent ten-year-old . . . tells of her days at the British school with her 'pinch-faced and bossy' teacher, of her devoted amah Lin Nai-Nai, and of holidays shared with her worldly-wise friend Andrea. . . .		   Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
Gr 4 - 8
Newbery Honor Book 1983
   
Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush
by Virginia Hamilton
Gr 7 - 12		 Synopsis
"With their mother, a practical nurse, gone all the time and no father around, Tree {fourteen years old} becomes mother and father to {her retarded seventeen-year-old brother} Dab, who is suffering from a little known disease called porphyria. . . . Into Tree's life comes Brother Rush, a ghost. . . . Through flashbacks with Brother Rush, she becomes acquainted with some of her family history and it leads her to blame her mother for most of Dab's problems. When Dab dies, she considers running away, but soon learns that you can't hide from your problems. . . .
Newbery Honor Book 1983
   
     

1982

  
  From Mary Quattlebaum - Children's Literature  
Tigers, cats, bears and a visionary poet frolic through this magical book, which received both a Newbery and a Caldecott honor.		   A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard
Gr 4 - 7
Newbery Winner 1982
   
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
Gr 3 - 5		 From the Publisher
Mr. Quinby's going to college, Mrs. Quinby's going to work. Now that Ramona is eight, she can go to a new school with a new teacher and ride the bus all by herself. But after school she has to stay with Grandmother Kemp and be nice to that bratty little Willa Jean until Beezus—who's tempermental enough to ruin anyone's day—comes to take her home. Life isn't as easy for Ramona as it used to be. All the Quimbys have to adjust, and Ramona gets her chance to prove that she's "big enough for her family to depend on."
Newbery Honor Book 1982
   
  From the Publisher
Nine-year-old Piri describes the bewilderment of being a Jewish child during the 1939-1944 German occupation of her hometown (then in Hungary and now in the Ukraine) and relates the ordeal of trying to survive in the ghetto.
   Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944
by Aranka Siegal
Gr 7 - 12
Newbery Honor Book 1982
   
     

1981

  
 Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
Gr 7 - 10		 From the Publisher
I was proud of my sister, but that year, something began to rankle beneath the pride.

Louise has had enough of her twin sister. Caroline is beautiful. Caroline is talented. Caroline is better. Growing up on the small island of Rass in Chesapeake Bay, Caroline seems to do nothing but take from Louise: their parents' love, Louise's chances for an education, her dreams for the future. They have spent their lives entwined—sleeping in the same room, eating at the same table, learning in the same classroom—and yet somehow nothing can bring them together. Louise's only hope lies in seeking a place for herself beyond the stretch of Rass's shores and her sister's shadow. What will it take for her to break free?

 
Newbery Winner 1981
   
  From the Publisher

It all started when Georgie, hardly more than a wisp of thistledown, discovered she could jump down twelve steps in two big graceful bounds. Next, to her great delight, she learned that jumping from the porch and floating as high as the rooftop was possible too. So when the mysterious Canada goose came to her window one night it seemed only natural to climb onto his back and go off with him to learn how to really fly.

Jane Langton spins a marvelous fantasy that wild delight all who dream that someday, somehow, we will magically find ourselves aloft and suddenly able to fly!		   The Fledgling
by Jane Langton
Gr 5 - 7
Newbery Honor Book 1981
   
A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L'Engle
Gr 5 - 12		 From the Publisher
Vicky Austin is filled with strong feelings as she stands near Commander Rodney's grave while her grandfather, who himself is dying of cancer, recites the funeral service. Watching his condition deteriorate as the summer passes on beautiful Seven Bay Island is almost more than Vicky can bear. To complicate things, she finds herself the center of attention for three very different boys: Leo is an old friend wanting comfort and longing for romance; Zachary, whose attempted suicide inadvertently caused the Commander's death, is attractive and sophisticated but desperately troubled; and Adam, her older brother's friend, offers her a wonderful chance to assist in his experiments with dophins but treats her as a young girl just when she's ready to feel most grown-up.
Newbery Honor Book 1981
   
     

1980

  
  From the Publisher
This novel, written in diary form, tells of "a pivotal year for 19th-century New Englander Catherine Cabot Hill--one of change, loss, and leave taking . . . a low-key, intense and reflective book."--School Library Journal. 		   A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832
by Joan W. Blos
Gr 6 - 8
Newbery Winner 1980
   
The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl  
by David Kherdian
Gr 7 - 12		 From the Publisher
An extraordinary biography, this is also a record and reminder of yet another infamous holocaust in our century. Poet-anthologist David Kherdian's story of his mother is a unique and gripping story of courage, survival and hope.
Newbery Honor Book 1980