Books I've read so far:
1920s
1922
The Story of Mankind
The Windy Hill (Honor)
The Old Tobacco Shop (Honor)
1923
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
1924
The Dark Frigate
1925
Tales from Silver Lands
1926
Shen of the Sea
1927
Smoky the Cowhorse
1928
Gay Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
Downright Dencey (Honor Book)
1929
Millions of Cats (Honor Book)
The Pigtail of Ah Lee Ben Loo (Honor Book)
A few facts about the award:
1.) It is named after John Newbery, an 18th century publisher of juvenile books.
2.) The Newbery has been awarded by the ALA since 1922 - each year there is only one Medal winner.
3.) A Newbery Honor is given to the runners-up. Sometimes there were as many as 8 honor books in one year and some years there were none.
4.) The criteria is as follows:
- The book must be published in English in the United States the previous year.
- The author must be a citizen or resident of the United States.
- The book must be considered for its theme, presentation (clarity, accuracy and organization), plot, characters, setting, and style.
- The book must relate to a child audience.
- The book must contribute to literature.
- The book must stand alone and not as a part of a multimedia presentation.
5.) All but 4 four of the Medal winners are still in print - the same can't be said of the Honor books, however.
6.) A complete list of Medal and Honor books can be found here.
7.) The award is not with out controversy. Several critics believe that the panel chooses books that are too difficult for children and therefor put children off reading. Another complaint is that the book rarely overlaps what is actually popular or appealing to children. Here is a link to a recent article if you would like to read more.
Now, what about me? Why on earth would I decide to take this project on? You will see that I have a penchant for making lists, so let me tell you (in list form) the who, what, when, where, why of my personal Newbery Project:
Why?
I've always enjoyed Young Adult/Children's Literature. Obviously, I had a passion for it as a child, but like many I veered away from it in my teens and early twenties. I think this is a natural progression. I just didn't feel like it had a lot to offer me during those years. Well, now I have a daughter of my own. She's only five at the moment and not even close to reading these types of books, but I do want to a) build a great young adult library for her to choose from and b) be aware of what she's reading and be available to discuss it with her. But, my motives aren't completely altruistic. I also have found that I just enjoy YA literature these days. I love reading Dickens, Austen, and Twain, but sometimes it's nice to pick up a short book with straightforward prose. And I often find that I'm surprised at how much depth some of these books can have. I'm also just fascinated to explore the progression of children's literature through the years.
What?
My goal is to read both Medal & Honor books. Now, I'm realistic and I am doing this for pleasure so I'm not going to force myself to slog through something that is not enjoyable. I will give everything a fighting chance though and even if I don't finish a book I will still chronicle that here. Even those books that I can't find because they are rare and out of print I will still make sure to note in my blog.
How?
My plan is to read the books in ascending order - starting with 1922 and work my way up to the present. I will log my reviews (which can also be found on goodreads.com) and I will also try to include some historical/background/biographical information about each book/author.
When?
Because of life commitments and other reading interests this will be a years long project. Each month starting with February 2009 will either be devoted to the Medal winner or the various Honor books. This means that some months I will only have one book to read and others I will have several to try to fit in.
I think that's about it!
1 comments:
What a fantastic idea!!!! I can't wait to read more of your reviews!
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