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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.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Beside the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
Meindert De Jong, sometimes spelled de Jong, DeJong or Dejong was a Dutch-born American writer of children's books. He won the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1962 for his contributions as a children's writer.
Nancy Farmer is an American writer of children's and young adult books and science fiction. She has written three Newbery Honor Books and won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature for The House of the Scorpion, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2002.
Cornelia Lynde Meigs (1884–1973) was an American writer of fiction and biography for children, teacher of English and writing, historian and critic of children's literature. She won the Newbery Medal for her 1933 biography of Louisa May Alcott, entitled Invincible Louisa. She also wrote three Newbery Honor Books.
Dragonwings is a children's historical novel by Laurence Yep, published by Harper & Row in 1975. It inaugurated the Golden Mountain Chronicles and is the fifth chronicle in narrative sequence among ten published as of 2012. The book is used in school classrooms and has been adapted as a play under its original title. Yep and Dragonwings won the Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association in 1995, recognizing the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award. It had been a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal.
A Daughter of the Seine: The Life of Madame Roland is a biography written for children by Jeanette Eaton. It recounts the life story of Marie-Jeanne Roland de la Platière, an influential figure in the French Revolution. Born in relative obscurity, she became a prominent Girondist and was executed in one of Robespierre's purges. The biography was first published in 1929 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1930.
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.
Ood-Le-Uk the Wanderer is a children's novel by Alice Alison Lide and Margaret Alison Johansen, illustrated by Raymond Lufkin and published by Little, Brown & Co., in 1930. It tells the story of an Alaskan Eskimo who crosses the Bering Strait, has many adventures and returns to establish trade between his people and the Siberian tribesmen. The novel was first published in 1930 and was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1931.
Swift Rivers is a children's historical novel by Cornelia Meigs. Set initially in 1835 in Minnesota, it is a story of the early days of the logging industry, when logs were floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis. The novel, illustrated by Forrest W. Orr, was first published in 1931 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1933.
The Railroad to Freedom: A Story of the Civil War is a children's book by Hildegarde Swift. It is a fictionalized biography of Araminta Ross telling of her life in slavery and her work on the Underground Railroad. The book, illustrated by James Daugherty, was first published in 1932 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1933.
Young Walter Scott is a fictionalized biography of the early life of Walter Scott by Elizabeth Janet Gray, set in Edinburgh in the late eighteenth century. Illustrated by Kate Seredy, it was first published in 1935 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1936.
Have You Seen Tom Thumb? is a biography of General Tom Thumb written for children by Mabel Leigh Hunt. It tells the story of Charles Sherwood Stratton, a charming and humorous dwarf who traveled all over the world with the showman P. T. Barnum. The book, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg, was first published in 1942 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1943.
Lone Journey: The Life of Roger Williams is a biography of Roger Williams, champion of religious freedom and founder of Providence Plantation, written for children by Jeanette Eaton. First published in 1944, it was illustrated with full-page woodcuts by Woodi Ishmael. The book was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1945.
Li Lun, Lad of Courage is a children's novel by Carolyn Treffinger. Set on an island off the coast of China, it tells the story of a boy who tries to survive and grow rice on a barren mountain after being banished from his village. The novel, illustrated by Kurt Wiese, was first published in 1947 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1948.
George Washington: An Initial Biography is a 1949 children's book written and illustrated by Genevieve Foster about the life of George Washington, the first President of the United States. Though written in simple language, the biography has been described as comprehensive and scrupulously authentic. The book was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1950.
The Apple and the Arrow is a children's novella written and illustrated by Mary and Conrad Buff, published by Houghton Mifflin in 1951. It retells the legend of William Tell from the viewpoint of his 12-year-old son Walter. It is set in 1291, during the political upheaval that led to the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
All Alone is a children's book by Claire Huchet Bishop, published by Viking Press with illustrations by Feodor Rojankovsky in 1953. It was a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal from the American Library Association, which recognizes the year's most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Jeanette Eaton was an American writer of children's books, primarily biography and history. Four times she was one of the runners-up for the annual Newbery Medal. She was a suffragist and feminist.
Mabel Louise Robinson was an American writer of children's books. She was passionate about writing books for young adults. Her "primary goal in life [was to] write books for young women, showcasing the protagonists worth, intelligence, and sensitivity". Robinson reached her goal by “bring[ing] realistic and believable young adult problems to modern girl readers looking not only for excitement and fun but for honestly and reality as well. Additionally,… [she] created vivid characters with whom girls could easily identify ”. Robinson was a runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal twice.
