A to Z: How many Newbery Honor Medal winners have you read?

Throughout April, I’m tackling 26 A to Z topics related to children’s literature. I’m a day late on N day, but I couldn’t bring myself to skip it entirely. Today’s topic is too much fun — it’s all about Newbery Honor Medal books today!


While browsing a list of Newbery Honor Medal books, I began to wonder how many of them I’ve read. Below is a list of every medal winner from 1922 through 2016, with the titles I’ve read listed in bold.

One thing is clear — I haven’t read enough Newbery Medal winners. Out of 94 years of awards, I’ve only read 37 of the medal winners. Looks like I have a new reading goal!

Take a look at the list to tally how many you’ve read, too.

  • The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
  • The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes
  • Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger
  • Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
  • Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James
  • Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
  • The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
  • Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
  • The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
  • Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer
  • Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis
  • Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs
  • Dobry by Monica Shannon
  • Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
  • Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
  • The White Stag by Kate Seredy
  • Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
  • Daniel Boone by James Daugherty
  • Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
  • The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds
  • Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
  • Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
  • Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
  • Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
  • Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
  • The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
  • King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
  • The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
  • Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
  • Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
  • Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
  • …And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold
  • The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
  • Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
  • Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
  • Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
  • Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
  • The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  • It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville
  • Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska
  • I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
  • Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt
  • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
  • The High King by Lloyd Alexander
  • Sounder by William H. Armstrong
  • Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
  • Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
  • The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
  • M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
  • The Grey King by Susan Cooper
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
  • Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
  • The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
  • A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos
  • Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
  • A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard
  • Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
  • Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
  • The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
  • The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
  • Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
  • Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
  • Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
  • The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
  • The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
  • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
  • A Year Down Yonder by by Richard Peck
  • A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
  • Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
  • The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering
  • Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
  • Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
  • The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan
  • Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean
  • When You Reach Me  by Rebecca Stead
  • Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
  • Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
  • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
  • Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
  • The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
  •  Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
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11 Responses to A to Z: How many Newbery Honor Medal winners have you read?

  1. I went through the entire list and only counted 2 – Holes and Bridge to Terabithia :/

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  2. I too have a bunch of reading to do…as does my daughter. thanks.
    Nancy Thornton from
    Lightheaded

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I’ve read forty-eight of them!

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  4. Carrie-Anne says:

    I think I’ve read 18 of those, though I could’ve read some of the other titles years ago and forgotten. I was supposed to read When You Reach Me for a children’s lit class recently, though I just couldn’t get into it (mostly because of the first-person present tense), and ended up skimming through it and reading other people’s reviews.

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    • I had to read Rifles for Watie, Johnny Tremain, and Call It Courage for school. I never really got into the war books. I understand why they won, but they definitely weren’t my favorites on the list. On the other hand, I *loved* reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond — it’s one of my forgotten favorites from childhood. On my next library trip I’m going to grab a copy and reread.

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  5. Jennifer says:

    I think I’ve only read about 7 of them. Several others I have either seen the movie version or read summaries of. I’m just not big on reading books just because they are award winners. I do try to keep up with them now, but I’m not too motivated to go back and read all the old ones. I like to read what I want, not what someone else says I should, I guess. I just find that I rarely think medal winners are as great as the committee evidently did.

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  6. catmichaelswriter says:

    I’ve read a fair amount; need to read more AND Witch of Blackbird Pond and Johnny Remain were girlhood faves. Funny, how just seeing those names brings back so many lovely childhood memories! (Stopping by from the Linky Hop to say hello and discover your lovely blog.)

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  7. Xyra says:

    This is a wonderful list! Thank you for publishing it. I have not read nearly as many as you have, but I do have a few on my shelves and in my “to read” pile. [While beautifully written, I find award winning books are sometimes much more serious than I like to read.] There are so many titles on here that I have heard about from friends so I will have to take a closer peek next time we encounter one.

    Stopping by to say, “Hello” from the Kid Lit Blog Hop.

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  8. ccarpinello says:

    Thanks for sharing this list with the Kid Lit Blog Hop! I’ve only read 6.

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