Big Tree (novel)

Last updated
First edition (publ. Viking Press) BigTree.jpg
First edition (publ. Viking Press)

Big Tree is a children's novel written and illustrated by Mary and Conrad Buff. In the book a personified 5,000-year-old giant sequoia tells its life story. [1] The novel was first published in 1946 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1947. [2] It may have been inspired by the Wawona Tree.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newbery Medal</span> American childrens literary award

The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Seredy</span> American writer

Kate Seredy was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She won the Newbery Medal once, the Newbery Honor twice, the Caldecott Honor once, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Most of her books were written in English, which was not her first language. Seredy seems to be unknown in her native Hungary, despite the fact that her story of the Good Master, and the sequel set in World War I are intensely about Hungary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Fleischman</span> American writer

Albert Sidney Fleischman was an American author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage magic. His works for children are known for their humor, imagery, zesty plotting, and exploration of the byways of American history. He won the Newbery Medal in 1987 for The Whipping Boy and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in 1979 for Humbug Mountain. For his career contribution as a children's writer he was U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1994. In 2003, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators inaugurated the Sid Fleischman Humor Award in his honor, and made him the first recipient. The Award annually recognizes a writer of humorous fiction for children or young adults. He told his own tale in The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life (1996).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula Fox</span> American author

Paula Fox was an American author of novels for adults and children and of two memoirs. For her contributions as a children's writer she won the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978, the highest international recognition for a creator of children's books. She also won several awards for particular children's books including the 1974 Newbery Medal for her novel The Slave Dancer; a 1983 National Book Award in category Children's Fiction (paperback) for A Place Apart; and the 2008 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for A Portrait of Ivan (1969) in its German-language edition Ein Bild von Ivan.

Irene Hunt was an American children's writer known best for historical novels. She was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal for her first book, Across Five Aprils, and won the medal for her second, Up a Road Slowly. For her contribution as a children's writer she was U.S. nominee in 1974 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books.

<i>Miss Hickory</i> 1946 novel by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey

Miss Hickory is a 1946 novel by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1947.

<i>...And Now Miguel</i> 1953 childrens novel by Joseph Krumgold

...And Now Miguel is a novel by Joseph Krumgold that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1954. It deals with the life of Miguel Chavez, a 12-year-old Hispanic-American shepherd from New Mexico. It is also the title of a 1953 documentary directed by Krumgold. In 1966, a feature film adaptation was directed by James B. Clark and starred Pat Cardi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Enright</span> American writer

Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the Newbery Medal-winning author of Thimble Summer (1938) and the Newbery runner-up Gone-Away Lake (1957), she also wrote the popular Melendy quartet. A Newbery Medal laureate and a multiple winner of the O. Henry Award, her short stories and articles for adults appeared in many popular magazines and have been reprinted in anthologies and textbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Woodson</span> American writer

Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for Miracle's Boys, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. After serving as the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, by the Library of Congress, for 2018 to 2019. Her novel Another Brooklyn was shortlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction. She won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018. She was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020.

Mountains Are Free is a children's historical novel by Julia Davis Adams set in Switzerland in the 14th century. It retells the legend of William Tell and the Swiss struggle against the Habsburgs from the viewpoint of an orphan boy. The novel, illustrated by Theodore Nadajen, was first published in 1930 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1931.

<i>Young Mac of Fort Vancouver</i>

Young Mac of Fort Vancouver is a children's historical novel by Mary Jane Carr. Set in 1832, it recounts the adventures of Donald McDermott, a young mixed-blood fur trader. The novel, illustrated by Richard Holberg, was first published in 1940 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1941.

<i>Justin Morgan Had a Horse</i> 1945 childrens book

Justin Morgan Had a Horse is an American children's historical novel by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis and published by Wilcox & Follett of Chicago in 1945. It concerns the real figures of Justin Morgan and his bay stallion Figure, who lived in Vermont in the late eighteenth century. It was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1946.

<i>The Moved-Outers</i> 1946 childrens novel by Florence Crannell Means

The Moved-Outers is a 1945 children's novel written by Florence Crannell Means and illustrated by Helen Blair. The book received a Newbery Honor and the Bank Street Children's Book Award in 1946.

<i>Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear</i>

Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear is a children's novel by Christine Weston. Set in contemporary India, it follows the adventures of two boys, David and Gopali, as they roam the country with a dancing bear. The first edition was illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. The novel was first published in 1945 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1946.

<i>Wonderful Year</i>

Wonderful Year is a children's novel by Nancy Barnes with illustrations by Kate Seredy. Wonderful Year was published in 1946 by publisher Julian Messner. It describes a year in the life of the Martin family, including 11-year-old Ellen, who moved from Kansas to a fruit ranch in Colorado. This work of children's literature was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1947.

<i>The Heavenly Tenants</i>

The Heavenly Tenants is a children's fantasy novel by William Maxwell. The Marvell family farm in Wisconsin is visited by the living signs of the zodiac; meanwhile, the constellations associated with them disappear from the sky. The story was illustrated by Ilonka Karasz and published by Harper & Brothers in 1946. It was a runner-up for the 1947 Newbery Medal.

<i>The Avion My Uncle Flew</i> 1946 childrens novel by Darwin Teilhet

The Avion My Uncle Flew is a children's novel by Cyrus Fisher, a pseudonym of Darwin Teilhet. The plot concerns an American boy who uncovers a mystery while visiting his uncle in post-war France. The novel was first published in 1946 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1947.

<i>Tree of Freedom</i>

Tree of Freedom is a children's historical novel by Rebecca Caudill. It is a pioneer story set in Kentucky at the time of the American Revolutionary War. The novel, illustrated by Dorothy Morse, was first published in 1949 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1950.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarita Engle</span> American childrens writer, columnist, poet

Margarita Engle is a Cuban American poet and author of many award-winning books for children, young adults and adults. Most of Engle's stories are written in verse and are a reflection of her Cuban heritage and her deep appreciation and knowledge of nature. She became the first Latino awarded a Newbery Honor in 2009 for The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom. She was selected by the Poetry Foundation to serve from 2017 to 2019 as the sixth Young People's Poet Laureate. On October 9, 2018, Margarita Engle was announced the winner of the 2019 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature. She was nominated by 2019 NSK Prize jury member Lilliam Rivera.

Mildred DeLois Taylor is a Newbery Award-winning American young adult novelist. She is best known for her novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, part of her Logan family series.

References

  1. The Newbery Companion by John Thomas Gillespie and Corinne J. Naden, second edition, 2001, p. 146
  2. "Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922-Present". American Library Association. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-30.