Fond Books
Archive Collection

Newbery Medal Winners

1922–2026

The Newbery Medal is the most distinguished award in American children's literature, presented annually since 1922 by the American Library Association for the year's finest book for young readers. Winners include classics from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time to Lois Lowry's The Giver and Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux.

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Year Title & Author Historical Context
2026 All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson Renée Watson, a Newbery Honor recipient for Piecing Me Together, won the Newbery Medal with this verse novel.
2025 The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly This second Newbery Medal made Erin Entrada Kelly one of only a handful of authors to win the award more than once.
2024 The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers The novel was published in a special edition bound in wood, and illustrator Shawn Harris earned a Caldecott Honor for the work.
2023 Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson Freewater won both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award in the same year.
2022 The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera The Last Cuentista also won the Pura Belpré Award, recognizing a Latino writer whose work celebrates the Latino cultural experience.
2021 When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller Tae Keller, the granddaughter of writer Nora Okja Keller, drew on Korean folktales she heard in her own childhood for the book.
2020 New Kid by Jerry Craft New Kid was the first graphic novel ever to win the Newbery Medal.
2019 Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina Meg Medina became the first Cuban American author to win the Newbery Medal, and she later served as the National Ambassador for Young People's Lite...
2018 Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly This was the first Newbery Medal for Erin Entrada Kelly, who later won a second medal in 2025 for The First State of Being.
2017 The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill The Girl Who Drank the Moon was published by a small independent press, a rarity among Newbery Medal winners.
2016 Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña Last Stop on Market Street was the first picture book to win the Newbery Medal, and its illustrations by Christian Robinson earned a Caldecott Honor.
2015 The Crossover by Kwame Alexander The Crossover is one of the few Newbery Medal winners written entirely in verse and launched a popular series and stage adaptation.
2014 Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo Flora and Ulysses won DiCamillo her second Newbery Medal after The Tale of Despereaux, and includes comic illustrations by K. G. Campbell.
2013 The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate The story was inspired by a real gorilla named Ivan who lived for decades in a Washington state mall before moving to a zoo.
2012 Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos The town of Norvelt is real and was named for Eleanor Roosevelt, who helped found it as a New Deal community.
2011 Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool Moon Over Manifest was Vanderpool's debut novel, making her the first writer since 1980 to win the Newbery for a first book.
2010 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead When You Reach Me also won the Boston Globe Horn Book Award and openly references A Wrinkle in Time, which Miranda reads throughout the book.
2009 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Graveyard Book made Gaiman the first author to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal for the same book.
2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz Schlitz wrote the monologues for students at the school where she worked as a librarian so every child could have a speaking part.
2007 The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron The book drew national attention when some school librarians objected to the word scrotum appearing on its first page.
2006 Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins Criss Cross is a companion to Perkins earlier novel All Alone in the Universe, returning readers to the character of Debbie.
2005 Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata Cynthia Kadohata was the first Asian American author to win the Newbery Medal.
2004 The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo The Tale of Despereaux was adapted into an animated feature film in 2008, and DiCamillo later won a second Newbery Medal for Flora and Ulysses.
2003 Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi This was the first Newbery Medal for Avi, a prolific author who had previously earned two Newbery Honors, and it launched a trilogy.
2002 A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park Linda Sue Park was the first Korean American author to win the Newbery Medal.
2001 A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck This sequel to A Long Way from Chicago earned Richard Peck the Newbery Medal after the earlier book received a Newbery Honor.
2000 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Christopher Paul Curtis became the first author to win both the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the same book.
1999 Holes by Louis Sachar Holes also won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and was adapted into a 2003 Disney film with a screenplay by Sachar himself.
1998 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse Out of the Dust was one of the first verse novels to win the Newbery Medal, helping bring the form into mainstream children's literature.
1997 The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg This was E. L. Konigsburg's second Newbery Medal, won nearly thirty years after her first for From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler ...
1996 The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman Karen Cushman won the Newbery Medal here just one year after earning a Newbery Honor for her debut, Catherine, Called Birdy.
1995 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech Sharon Creech was the first author to win both the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal, the latter for her novel Ruby Holler.
1994 The Giver by Lois Lowry This was Lois Lowry's second Newbery Medal, following her 1990 win for Number the Stars, and the book later anchored a companion quartet and a 2014...
1993 Missing May by Cynthia Rylant Rylant, known for her Appalachian settings, drew on the rural mountain region of her own childhood for the story.
1992 Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor It launched a trilogy and was adapted into a feature film, becoming one of Naylor's most enduring works.
1991 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli It confronts racial segregation directly, a subject rarely tackled so openly in Newbery winners of its era.
1990 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry It is based on the true wartime rescue of nearly all of Denmark's Jewish population in 1943.
1989 Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman Paul Fleischman won the Newbery just two years after his father Sid Fleischman won it, a rare achievement for a parent and child.
1988 Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman It was the first work of nonfiction to win the Newbery Medal in decades, helping revive respect for the genre in children's literature.
1987 The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman Fleischman, a former magician and screenwriter, won the Newbery for this short novel after decades of writing for children.
1986 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan It grew into a series and was adapted into a popular television film starring Glenn Close.
1985 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley It serves as a prequel to McKinley's earlier Damar novel The Blue Sword, which had received a Newbery Honor.
1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary It marked a departure into more serious realistic fiction for Cleary, long beloved for the lighter Ramona and Henry Huggins books.
1983 Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt It is the second book in Voigt's Tillerman Cycle, following Homecoming, and won the Newbery Medal the year after that first installment appeared.
1982 A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard It remains the only book to win the Newbery Medal and earn a Caldecott Honor in the same year.
1981 Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson This was Katherine Paterson's second Newbery Medal, making her one of the few authors to win the award twice within a few years.
1980 A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal by Joan Blos The novel won both the Newbery Medal and the American Book Award, presented in the diary format of a fictional period journal.
1979 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin The intricately plotted puzzle mystery has stayed continuously in print since publication and is widely studied in classrooms for its clever constr...
1978 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Katherine Paterson based the story on the real death of her son's friend, and the novel has been frequently challenged yet also adapted into film t...
1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor The book is the best known of Mildred D. Taylor's Logan family saga, which she based on stories told by her father about their Mississippi relatives.
1976 The Grey King by Susan Cooper The Grey King is the fourth book in Susan Cooper's acclaimed The Dark Is Rising sequence and also won the Tir na n Og Award for Welsh themed writing.
1975 M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton Virginia Hamilton became the first Black author to win the Newbery Medal, and the book also took the National Book Award and the Boston Globe Horn ...
1974 The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox The win drew controversy over a white author's depiction of enslaved people, even as critics praised the historical rigor of Fox's research into th...
1973 Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George Jean Craighead George studied wolves at the Arctic Research Laboratory in Alaska, and the book grew into a trilogy with two later sequels.
1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien The novel inspired the 1982 animated film The Secret of NIMH and launched a series later continued by the author's daughter, Jane Leslie Conly.
1971 Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars Betsy Byars wrote the novel partly in response to a magazine article about teaching children with disabilities, bringing rare attention to such cha...
1970 Sounder by William H. Armstrong The novel became a celebrated 1972 film and drew lasting debate over a white author writing a Black family's story, which Armstrong said he based o...
1969 The High King by Lloyd Alexander The High King won the Newbery Medal as the concluding book of Lloyd Alexander's five volume Chronicles of Prydain, a fantasy cycle inspired by the ...
1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg In an unusual feat, E. L. Konigsburg won the Newbery Medal and took the Newbery Honor in the same year, the only author to claim both at once.
1967 Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt Up a Road Slowly was Irene Hunt's second novel, following her acclaimed Civil War book Across Five Aprils, which had been a Newbery runner up.
1966 I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño The book is rooted in fact, since the real Juan de Pareja was freed by Velázquez and went on to become a recognized painter whose work hangs in maj...
1965 Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska Maia Wojciechowska, who was born in Poland and fled during World War Two, drew on her firsthand knowledge of Spain and bullfighting for the novel.
1964 It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville The novel was praised for bringing a frank, contemporary urban setting and a modern teenage narrator to a Newbery list long dominated by historical...
1963 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle's manuscript was rejected by more than two dozen publishers before its release, after which it won the Newbery Medal and launched...
1962 The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare The Bronze Bow earned Elizabeth George Speare her second Newbery Medal, making her one of the few authors to win the award more than once.
1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Scott O'Dell modeled Karana on the real Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, who lived by herself for roughly eighteen years before her rescue in 1853.
1960 Onion John by Joseph Krumgold Joseph Krumgold became the first author to win the Newbery Medal twice, having earlier won for And Now Miguel in 1954.
1959 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare This was the first of two Newbery Medals Elizabeth George Speare would win, with The Bronze Bow following just three years later.
1958 Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith Harold Keith based the book partly on interviews he conducted with surviving Confederate veterans during the 1930s, lending the story unusual histo...
1957 Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen Sorensen, who also wrote for adults, set the story in the maple syrup country of western Pennsylvania where she once lived.
1956 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham Bowditch's real navigation manual, The New American Practical Navigator, is still carried aboard United States Navy vessels today.
1955 The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong The book was illustrated by Maurice Sendak, years before he created Where the Wild Things Are, and De Jong drew on his own childhood in the Netherl...
1954 ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold The book grew out of a documentary film Krumgold made about a real New Mexico family, and he won the Newbery again in 1960 for Onion John.
1953 Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark Clark drew on her work as a teacher among Indigenous communities in Latin America, and the book won over Charlotte's Web in the same year.
1952 Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes Estes wrote and illustrated the book, which features a dog so smart he learns to climb the stairs to a schoolhouse to find the children.
1951 Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates Yates based the book on the actual gravestone and records of Amos Fortune, who died in 1801 and left money to the town of Jaffrey.
1950 The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli De Angeli wrote and illustrated the book, and its sympathetic portrayal of a child with a physical disability was notable for children's literature...
1949 King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry The book was illustrated by Wesley Dennis, Henry's frequent collaborator, and remains one of her best known horse stories alongside Misty of Chinco...
1948 The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois Pene du Bois both wrote and illustrated the book, and he later cofounded The Paris Review as its first art editor.
1947 Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey The original edition featured woodcut illustrations by Ruth Gannett, who also illustrated My Father's Dragon.
1946 Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski The book is part of Lenski's Regional series, in which she traveled across the United States to document the lives of children in different America...
1945 Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson Robert Lawson illustrated the book himself and remains the only person to win both the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal.
1944 Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes Esther Forbes wrote the novel while researching her Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Paul Revere, and the book was later adapted into a Disney f...
1943 Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray Vining The book was illustrated by Robert Lawson, who would himself win the Newbery Medal two years later for Rabbit Hill.
1942 The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds Walter D. Edmonds drew the story from a documented incident in colonial New York, though its portrayal of Native Americans has drawn criticism in l...
1941 Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry Armstrong Sperry based the story on a Polynesian legend he encountered during his own travels in the South Seas, and he illustrated the book himself.
1940 Daniel Boone by James Daugherty James Daugherty both wrote and illustrated the biography, a year after winning a Caldecott Honor for Andy and the Lion.
1939 Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright Thimble Summer was Elizabeth Enright's first novel, and she illustrated it herself.
1938 The White Stag by Kate Seredy Kate Seredy both wrote and illustrated the book, drawing on the Hungarian legends she grew up with before emigrating to the United States.
1937 Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer Ruth Sawyer based the book on her own girlhood in New York and later wrote a sequel called The Year of Jubilo.
1936 Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink Carol Ryrie Brink modeled Caddie on the real childhood of her grandmother, Caddie Woodhouse, whose stories inspired the novel.
1935 Dobry by Monica Shannon The book features illustrations by the Bulgarian artist Atanas Katchamakoff, whose work helped bring the village setting to life.
1934 Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs Cornelia Meigs published the book in 1933 to mark the hundredth anniversary of Louisa May Alcott's birth.
1933 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis Lewis wrote from firsthand experience after living and teaching in China during the 1920s.
1932 Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer Armer drew on years she spent living among and studying the Navajo people in Arizona.
1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth Coatsworth blended prose with original verse and Buddhist parable, a structure unusual among Newbery winners.
1930 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field Rachel Field was the first woman to win the Newbery Medal for a work of fiction.
1929 The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly Kelly based the book on the real Heynal trumpet call still played daily from the tower of St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow.
1928 Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji Mukerji, who emigrated from India to the United States, was the first author of color to win the Newbery Medal.
1927 Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James Will James was a working cowboy and self taught artist who illustrated the book with his own drawings of horses and range life.
1926 Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman Chrisman wrote these stories as original inventions in a Chinese style rather than translations of authentic traditional tales.
1925 Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger Finger drew the tales from stories he heard firsthand while traveling and working across South America.
1924 The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes Hawes died in 1923 at the age of thirty four, several months before the book was named the Newbery winner, making him the only author to receive th...
1923 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting Lofting conceived Doctor Dolittle in illustrated letters he wrote to his children from the front lines during the First World War.
1922 The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon This was the inaugural Newbery Medal, awarded in 1922 when the American Library Association established the prize as the first children's book awar...