Over on The Library Adventure, two of our writers have put together their list of favorite Newbery Medal Winner books. As I was editing them, I made notes to check out certain books. Then I realized that my kids are coming into the right age/stage/ability to read these. So I decided to put together a checklist of all the Newbery Medal Winner books to print off for each of my kids.

A little background before I continue…

About the Newbery Medal

The Newbery Medal is awarded by the American Library Association each year to the book deemed “most distinguished” among children’s books. It is named after 18th century bookseller, John Newbery. The purpose of the medal is to encourage original creative works for children.

It was the first children’s book award in the world. The American Library Association also typically names Newbery Medal Honor Books, which are considered to be noteworthy also. Previously called “runner-ups,” the name was changed in 1971.

The Newbery Medal has been awarded annually since 1922.

My Favorite Newbery Medal Winners

As I put the list together, I was surprised by how many I remembered reading. I don’t know why, seeing as I had some great English teachers through the years, but I digress. I decided to give give you my top 5 favorites, in case you want an idea of where to begin.

• Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink – I read this aloud to my kids. We enjoyed it almost as much as The Little House on the Prairie series.
• The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois – I think I was in 7th grade when I read this for language arts. I remember it being one of my favorite reads that year.
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E.L. Konigsburg – Hands-down, my favorite book on the list. I devoured this one in 6th grade. Living in a museum (or library) was a part of my dreams regularly at the time.
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry – This book touched my young heart. I re-read it several times before leaving 5th grade.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry – Probably the first dystopian novel I read. I am still fond of that genre to this day. I am also reeling from the fact that this wasn’t a stand-alone book, there are three other books that I now need to read.

My runners-up would include Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli and Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.

The Books on Our Immediate To Read List

You know I’m a fan of to read lists. Here are the three on my list to read to my kids as read alouds in the near future:

• The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
• Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
• The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Kushman

I’m also going to see if I can get my hands on some of the older books and see about adding those in.

About the Printable

This printable is nice and simple. I have organized it into two columns per page, for a total of three pages. The books are listed from the earliest (1922) to the most recent (2014). There is a check box next to each title so you can check it off as you read it.