Comments on The Most Deserving Newbery - page 1

Argh... there was a problem saving all the titles. Now I have to go back and add those that weren't entered properly. I added the whole entire list of the Newbery past winners but now only 48 is on the list. Oh, well.

HOLES wins my "best book" vote from the list, but in truth my personal #1 will always be THE WESTING GAME. I know its not as well written, but darn if it doesn't make me so happy every time I read it.

I like the idea of this list allot. I love sooo many of these books. I have to say though. I don't love the book Holes. I think that the giver is much better.

I love almost all of these books. A couple I've never heard of but many are definately on my favorite book list. The Giver is probably my personal favorite though

Picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite color of M&M--they are all good. Although not every Newbery Award winner deserves the honor in my opinion, there are many really good books in their lists.

I have a hard time choosing my favorite since each are different in genre and each had messages or strengths that I appreciated while reading!

Sill love the big discussion about which is our favorite!!!

this is fun, i've read about 40% of the Medal books since feb. and about twenty of the Honor books. currently reading Graveyard Book (wonderful) and the book that beat Charlotte's Web (gentle and slow). so far my favourites are Mixed up Files, Young Masters/Young Ladies and Dark Frigate.

Um, if the Goodreads Gods are listening. There are quite a few books on the list that have not won Newberys. Unless it is a list of books that should have won, but that didn't seem to be the parameters.

Idon't think they had Newberry's 50 years ago when I read my favorite young adult book. I still love it and read it every few years -- as have my daughters and my daughter's daughters -- and LOVED it: Mara, Daughter of the Nile, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. So many generations have loved it, it's still in print.

For sheer excitement, not to mention painless vocabulary building, nobody can beat Edgar Rice Burroughs! His books have inspired some of the greatest sci-fi writers and filmmakers in history. Tarzan! John Carter of Mars 1,2,& 3. In 60 years of reading several books every week (and being a published novelist and English teacher)I attest that NO author I've ever read had Burrough's huge vocabulary! Yet the context is so clear, you can tell what the words mean, even though you have never heard them before. And in today's lax society, you probably never WILL hear them spoken!
He wrote 65 books, all of which I have read numerous times. As each of my kids turned 12 or so, I read them PRINCESS OF MARS as a bedtime story, knowing that after the 3rd chapter, the kid would turn on the light after our goodnights and read all night. How to hook a kid on reading! A Princess of Mars

Lorie, the first Newbery was 1921 or 1922. Story of Mankind was the first winner, ERB, in addition to being a pulp novelist was writing for a slightly older reader. try the Dark Frigate from the mid 20s and Smokey the Cowhorse for early 30s to see what erb would have been up against.

Jim wrote: "Lorie, the first Newbery was 1921 or 1922. Story of Mankind was the first winner, ERB, in addition to being a pulp novelist was writing for a slightly older reader. try the Dark Frigate from the ..."

OK THANKS FOR THE TIP.

cool

KOOL!!!

Is this list supposed to include all the Honor books, or just the Medalists?

Neither of the Penderwicks books were Newbery winners -- the first Penderwicks won the National Book award, but that's different.

There are several non-winners here.

Removed for not being a Newberry Medal winner:

The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer (Honor)
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, by Jeanne Birdsall
Rules, by Cynthia Lord (Honor)
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Jeanne Birdsall
Gossamer, by Lois Lowry
The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt (Honor)
The White Giraffe, by Lauren St. John
The Adventures of Monk the Monkey, by John Edgerton Stone IV
Malia and Teacup: Awesome African Adventure, by Molly Barrow
The Sword in the Tree, by Clyde Robert Bulla
The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner (Honor)
Somewhere in the Darkness, by Walter Dean Myers (Honor)

Karen, I believe there is a list for the Honor winners. (And I think Charlotte's Web was winning it the last time I saw it.)

Yep, I found the Honor list: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/18...

Currently Ella Enchanted is in a narrow lead over Charlotte's Web.

This is a great idea...I'm always surprised when I see some on the list and I think others should have been there.

Deleted a bunch of miscategorized books (Sadly, Roald Dahl has never won the Newbery. Neither has Kate Gosselin). There have only been 88 Newbery winners, so if the list is longer than that, some of those books don't belong here.

dahl, being a brit that never lived in the states wasn't eligible. he may have won britian's carnegie medal though. isn't kate gosselin the "reality" tv person?

Yeah, she is. I was being snarky with that comment--someone had added one of her books to this list, which is ridiculous, because she doesn't even write for children.

I know Dahl won several Edgar awards for his adult fiction. As far as I know, he never won the Carnegie.

my name is yusuf

Uh, that's a nice way to break the margins.

Lorie wrote: "Idon't think they had Newberry's 50 years ago when I read my favorite young adult book. I still love it and read it every few years -- as have my daughters and my daughter's daughters -- and LOVED..."

My mother and I both love that book :)

Did The Thief Lord win a Newbery? I can't see it on the list I'm looking at.

Removed for not being on the list:

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Newbery Honor)
Malia & Teacup Awesome African Adventure
Malia and Teacup: Out on a Limb
A Song in My Heart
The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963 (Newbery Honor)
My Brother Sam is Dead (Newbery Honor)

Colleen wrote: "HOLES wins my "best book" vote from the list, but in truth my personal #1 will always be THE WESTING GAME. I know its not as well written, but darn if it doesn't make me so happy every time I read ..."

Thank you! I've been trying to remember the name of 'The Westing Game' for weeks! And to just stumble across it in your comments - you made my day. Off to see if they have the ebook at the library, I hope so!

westing game trivia. prior to winning the Newbery for westing game, what Newbery winner was she closely associated with?
raskin did the famous intersecting rings cover for Wrinkle in Time (look at older editions, pre 1980)

I had that edition - didn't know that about Raskin, though.

Removed:

My Brother Sam is Dead (Newbery Honor)

"The Thief Lord" isn't a winner, either (may be Honor book).

I believe it's neither, as I don't think it was eligible for a Newbery in the first place. Cornelia Funke is German.

ETA: Removed The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke.

Thank you for making this list! I love Newbery books and have tried to read as many as I can- even now that I'm an adult. Well, ESPECIALLY now that I'm an adult :)

Removed for not being a Newbery winner:

The Lost Queen, by Mark Miller

The Book thief didn't get a Newbery did it? It needs to be removed.

Kerri wrote: "The Book thief didn't get a Newbery did it? It needs to be removed."

You're right. I removed that one as well as another non-Newbery book.

Removed, for not being a winner of the Newbery:

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer, by John Grisham
Enclave, by Ann Aguirre
The Kill Order, by James Dashner
The Death Cure, by James Dashner
The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner
The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen (Newbery Honor)

Removed, for not being a winner of the Newbery Medal:

The Golden Goblet (Newbery Honor)
Parvana's Journey
Mud City
Foster Fox
I am a Taxi
The Breadwinner
Hoot (Newbery Honor)

Removed for not being a Newbery Winner:

Nocturne, Opus 1: Sea Foam

Removed for not being a Newbery Winner:

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Removed Charlotte's Web (again), removed Watership Down. Neither won the Newbery.

Old Yeller is an Honor Book not a winner - deleted.

Someone added three books by O.L. Ramos - none of which are Newbery winners. How does this happen?!

Joe wrote: "Someone added three books by O.L. Ramos - none of which are Newbery winners. How does this happen?!"

This list, like most goodreads lists, are not locked. When anyone wants to, they can add any book to any list. And then a librarian removes it - like I'm removing those O. L. Ramos books.

The first of those Ramos books has been put on 200+ lists.

Michelle wrote: "Picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite color of M&M--they are all good. Although not every Newbery Award winner deserves the honor in my opinion, there are many really good books in the..."

I agree to that and m&m's are just as delicious as reading a good book.

I can't believe The Grey King won over the Dark is Rising! It's a great book but... No Harry Potter? Really?