I used to think that a Newbery Award meant a book would be an excellent read. After having gone through all 103 Newbery Award books (from 1922 to 2025), I've changed my mind.
Here are the stats from my evaluations.
50 -- abandoned or did not read or would not recommend because of objectionable content (sexual content, crude language, witches, glorifying pagan gods)
8 -- Uninteresting (to me), and there are some caveats (not enough to count as objectionable)
3 -- Uninteresting (to me) but no caveats
10 -- OK, but with some caveats
13 -- OK, with no caveats, but not outstanding
19 -- Outstanding, truly worth of the award, enjoyed by kids & adults
You are probably asking yourself which ones I think are outstanding?
In chronological order:
(1923) The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
(1936) Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Brink
(1943) Adam of the Road by Janet Gray
(1944) Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
(1948) The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois
(1949) King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
(1950) The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
(1951) Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
(1955) The Wheel on the School by Meindert De Jong
(1956) Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Latham
(1959) The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
(1972) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
(1987) The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
(1990) Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
(2002) A Single Shard by Linda Park
(2003) Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
(2004) The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
(2011) Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
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