Special Collections
Newbery Award Winners
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My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead GeorgeTerribly unhappy in his family's crowded New York City apartment, Sam Gribley runs away to the solitude--and danger--of the mountains, where he finds a side of himself he never knew.
Newbery Medal Honors book.
Julie of the Wolves
by Jean Craighead GeorgeFaced with the prospect of a disagreeable arranged marriage or a journey acoss the barren Alaskan tundra, 13-year-old Miyax chooses the tundra. She finds herself caught between the traditional Eskimo ways and the modern ways of the whites. Miyax, or Julie as her pen pal Amy calls her, sets out alone to visit Amy in San Francisco, a world far away from Eskimo culture and the frozen land of Alaska.
During her long and arduous journey, Miyax comes to appreciate the value of her Eskimo heritage, learns about herself, and wins the friendship of a pack of wolves. After learning the language of the wolves and slowly earning their trust, Julie becomes a member of the pack.
Newbery Medal Winner
Blue Willow
by Doris GatesJaney Larkin can't remember when she's lived in the same place for more than a year. Her family has to keep moving so that her father can find work. But Janey longs for a real home and the chance to make friends. When Mom gets sick and the Larkins don't have rent money. Janey offers to pay the rent with her beloved treasure - the beautiful blue willow plate that once belonged to her great-great-grandmother. Losing the plate seems like the end of the world to Janey, but it's really the beginning of something wonderful.
Newbery Honor book
Joey Pigza Loses Control
by Jack Gantos"He was wired. No dougbt about it... Now I know what Mom meant when she said he was like me, only bigger. "
Joey Pigza really wants his six-week visit with his dad to count, to show him he's not as wired as he used to be, to show his dad how much he loves him. But Carter Pigza's not an easy guy to love. He's eager to make it up to Joey for past wrongs and to show him how to be a winner, to take control of his life. With his coaching, Joey's even learned how to pitch a baseball, and he's good at it. The trouble is, Joey's dad thinks taking control means giving up the things that "keep Joey safe." And if he wants to please his dad, he's going to have to play by his rules, even when the rules don't make sense.
Newbery Medal Honor book
Dead End in Norvelt
by Jack GantosDead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newbery Medal for the year's best contribution to children's literature and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore - typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels. . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air.
Newbery Medal Honor book
My Father's Dragon
by Ruth Stiles GannettWhen Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of an overworked and underappreciated baby flying dragon, he stows away on a ship and travels to Wild Island to rescue the dragon.
A Newbery Honor book
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman and Dave MckeanIn this Newbery Medal-winning novel, Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place — he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings — such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.
Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are being such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.
The Graveyard Book won the Newbery Medal and the Carnegie Medal, and is also a Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel.
Millions of Cats
by Wanda GágAn American classic with a refrain that millions of kids love to chant: Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.
Wanda Gág's enchanting tale of the very old man who went off in search of the prettiest cat in the world for his wife and returned instead with millions to choose from has become an American classic, widely recognized as the first modern picture book. First published in 1928, it was a recipient of the 1929 Newbery Honor Award and has gone on to sell over a million copies.
With its charming illustrations and rhythmic, singsong refrain, Millions of Cats remains as beloved today as it was when it first appeared almost a century ago.
Homesick
by Jean FritzThis heartwarming fictionalized autobiography tells the story of what it is like for a little girl to be growing up in an unfamiliar place.
While other girls her age were enjoying childhood in America, Jean Fritz was in China in the midst of political unrest. During this time, foreigners were becoming more and more unpopular, and evacuation at a moment's notice was imminent. Although Jean appreciated the beauty of China - the mountains, the countryside, the sea - she knew she belonged in America and longed to make her home there.
Newbery Honor Book
Winner of the National Book Award
The Wright Brothers
by Russell FreedmanHe saw the first regular airmail service introduced in 1918, the first nonstop transcontinental flight in 1923, the first round-the-world flight in 1924, the first polar flight in 1926, and the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. He witnessed two world wars in which the airplane played a critical role. He saw the earth shrink as the jet engine replaced propellers. He lived to see airplanes that flew faster than the speed of sound, and planes whose wings stretched farther than the distance of his first flight at Kitty Hawk. There were moments when he looked back wistfully to those long-ago days when flying was still a dream that he shared with his brother. He once said, “I got more thrill out of flying before I had ever been in the air at all – while lying in bed thinking how exciting it would be to fly.”
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Voice That Challenged a Nation
by Russell Freedman"A voice like yours," celebrated conductor Arturo Toscanini told contralto Marian Anderson, "is heard once in a hundred years." This insightful account of the great African American vocalist considers her life and musical career in the context of the history of civil rights in this country. Drawing on Anderson's own writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. Though not a crusader or a spokesperson by nature, Marian Anderson came to stand for all black artists -- and for all Americans of color -- when, with the help of such prominent figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, she gave her landmark 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which signaled the end of segregation in the arts.
Carefully researched, expertly told, and profusely illustrated with contemporary photographs, this Newbery Honor and Sibert Medal-winning book is a moving account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history. Through her story, Newbery Medal-winning author Russell Freedman, one of today's leading authors of nonfiction for young readers, illuminates the social and political climate of the day and an important chapter in American history. Notes, bibliography, discography, index.
Newbery Honor book and Winner of the Sibert Medal
Lincoln
by Russell FreedmanThe Newbery Medal–winning book for young readers presents &“a human portrait of a politician honorably confronting the most vexing issues of his era&” (The New York Times Book Review). Abraham Lincoln stood out in a crowd as much for his wit and rollicking humor as for his height. This Newbery Medal-winning biography of our Civil War president is warm, appealing, and illustrated with dozens of carefully chosen photographs and prints. Russell Freedman begins with a lively account of Abraham Lincoln's boyhood, his career as a country lawyer, and his courtship and marriage to Mary Todd. Then the author focuses on Lincoln&’s presidency, skillfully explaining the many complex issues he grappled with as he led a deeply divided nation through the Civil War. The book's final chapter is a moving account of his tragic death at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865. The volume concludes with a sampling of Lincoln writings and a detailed list of Lincoln historical sites. "Few, if any, of the many books written for children about Lincoln can compare with Freedman's contribution…This is an outstanding example of what (juvenile) biography can be. Like Lincoln himself, it stands head and shoulders above its competition." —School Library Journal
Eleanor Roosevelt
by Russell FreedmanAlmost anything scares young Eleanor: mice, the dark, and a host of imaginary dangers. But she learns to hide her feelings - her father disapproves of fear, and she longs only to please him. She knows she will always disappoint her beautiful, socialite mother, because Eleanor is painfully shy and plain.
As a young debutante in Manhattan, she spends her days teaching needy children and touring crowded tenements. There, she makes a life-changing discovery that later enables her to redefine the role of America's first lady - being shy doesn't matter as long as she's helping others.
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Slave Dancer
by Paula FoxOne day, thirteen-year-old jessie Bollier is earning pennies playing his fife on the docks of New Orleans; the next, he is kidnapped and thrown aboard a slave ship, where his job is to provide music while shackled slaves "dance" to keep their muscles strong and their bodies profitable. As the endless voyage continues, Jessie grows increasingly sickened by the greed, brutality, and inhumanity of the slave trade, but nothing prepares him for the ultimate horror he will witness before his nightmare ends -- a horror that will change his life forever.
Newbery Medal Winner
One Eyed Cat
by Paula FoxNed Wallis knows he's forbidden to touch the rifle in the attic. But he can't resist sneaking it out of the house, just once. Before he realizes it, Ned takes a shot at a dark shadow.
When Ned retums home, he's sure he sees a face looking down at him from the attic window. Who has seen and heard him?
Ned's feelings of guilt and fear only get worse when one day, while helping an elderly neighbor, he spots a wild cat with one eye missing. Could this be the thing Ned shot at that night? How can Ned bring himself to reveal his painful secret?
Newbery Medal Honor book
George Washington's World
by Joanna Foster and Genevieve FosterFoster's telling of the life story of George Washington does justice to the man it celebrates.
Abraham Lincoln's World
by Joanna Foster and Genevieve FosterOriginally published in 1944, Foster earned her reputation by her masterful display of "horizontal history" telling the story of world events in the geo-political sphere, while giving as much importance to advances in science, medicine, music, literature, and exploration.
Thus, while Abe Lincoln was a boy romping the woods of Kentucky, Thomas Jefferson was completing his eighth year as president, George III reigned in Great Britain and Napolean was about to meet his Waterloo. Beethoven and Sir Walter Scott were at the height of their creative powers, while Victor Hugo was staging plays at school. By the time Lincoln was old enough to help his father chop wood, other young boys and girls were being prepared for the future parts they would play. Harriet Beecher was reading anything she could get her hands on, Charles Darwin was collecting toads, crabs and shells, and the impoverished boy Dickens was working in a shoe blacking factory in London. When Lincoln opened his shop in Salem, David Livingstone was opening up deepest Africa, and thousands of Americans were opening up the West on the Oregon Trail. The spirit of freedom was moving around the globe as the abolitionist movement gained power in the States and serfdom saw its demise in Russia. Technologically the world was bursting with the invention of the telegraph, the railroad and the steamboat.
With her whimsical and informative illustrations and timelines Foster has magnificently captured a remarkable age and a remarkable man.
Newbery Honor Winner
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Hoskins ForbesJohnny Tremain, winner of the 1943 Newbery Medal, is one of the finest historical novels ever written for children.
As compelling today as it was fifty years ago, to read this riveting novel is to live through the defining events leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Fourteen-year old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In his new job as a horse-boy, riding for the patriotic newspaper, the Boston Observer, and as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, he encounters John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren. Soon Johnny is involved in the pivotal events shaping the American Revolution from the Boston Tea Party to the first shots fired at Lexington.
The Whipping Boy
by Sid FleischmanThis Newbery winning book is about an orphan named Jemmy. As the whipping boy Jemmy must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat. Jemmy plans to run away from the castle. Unfortunately Prince Brat beats him to it, and takes Jemmy along. Jemmy then hears he's charged with the Prince's abduction. Will Jemmy escape or be hanged for this crime?
Joyful Noise
by Paul FleischmanWritten to be read aloud by two voices—sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous--here is a collection of irresistible poems that celebrate the insect world, from the short life of the mayfly to the love song of the book louse. Funny, sad, loud, and quiet, each of these poems resounds with a booming, boisterous, joyful noise.
In this remarkable volume of poetry for two voices, Paul Fleischman verbally re-creates the "Booming/boisterious/joyful noise" of insects. The poems resound with the pulse of the cicada and the drone of the honeybee. Eric Beddows′s vibrant drawings send each insect soaring, spinning, or creeping off the page in its own unique way.
Paul Fleischman has created not only a clear and fascinating guide to the insect world—from chrysalid butterflies to whirligig beetles—but an exultant celebration of life.
Newbery Medal Winner
Graven Images
by Paul FleischmanPaul Fleischman spins three engrossing stories about the unexpected ways an artist's creations reveal truths - tales whose intriguing plots and many moods will entertain readers and inspire future writers.
Can wood, copper, or marble communicate? They can if they are the graven images in Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman's trio of eerie, beguiling short stories. If you whisper a secret into a wooden statue's ear, will anyone find out? Can a wobbly weathervane bearing the image of Saint Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers, steer a love-struck apprentice toward the girl of his dreams? And if a ghost hires a sculptor to carve a likeness of him holding a drink to a baby's lips, what ghastly crime might lie behind his request?
Newbery Medal Honor book
The Avion My Uncle Flew
by Cyrus Fisher and Richard FloetheSpending the summer in a dull French village is not what Johnny had in mind . . . but soon he’s hot on the trail of a Nazi spy!
When twelve-and-a-half-year-old Johnny Littlehorn’s dad returns from the front lines and announces they’re spending the summer in France, Johnny is appalled. He doesn’t understand why they’re going to France when they could stay home at their Wyoming ranch instead. But that’s before he discovers an old German pistol hidden in a loaf of bread.
When Johnny arrives, he finds the village of Saint-Chamant anything but boring. With the help of his new friends Suzanne and Charles, Johnny follows a winding trail that leads to a fugitive spy and a stolen fortune. Before long, he’s learning French, helping his oncle Paul build a real airplane, and unraveling an evil Nazi plot!
A Newbery Honor Book
Tales From Silver Lands
by Charles J. FingerThis children's book is a collection of nineteen folk tales collected and retold by the author from his travels throughout Central and South America.
Newbery Medal Winner
Hitty
by Rachel FieldHitty is a very special doll who belongs to Phoebe. Phoebe is proud of her beautiful doll and brings Hitty everywhere she goes. This is thrilling for Hitty, who finds herself involved in the most wonderful adventures both on land and at sea. She meets many people and makes new friends. This is the story of the first hundred years of Hitty's life. And that's only the beginning for a doll as special as Hitty.
A Newbery Medal Winner.
Calico Bush
by Rachel FieldThis heartwarming and enthralling classic is the story of a young girl who is left orphaned and alone shortly after her French family arrives in the New World. First published in 1931, this memorable story by a Newbery Award winner offers a historically significant portrait of pioneer life in the eighteenth century.
Newbery Medal Honors book.