Hello Readers!

 

It’s time to make the September recommendations for the 2016 Reading Challenge!

 

I have been looking forward to this month’s challenge since I created this challenge back in December.   Most of you know that I am a middle school reading teacher, but many of you may not know what I did my first year teaching.  🙂

 

My first year teaching (when I was not married and had no children!), I decided to read ALL of the Newbery Award winners as a way to build up my knowledge of children’s/ young adult literature.  I found some gems, and a few really…interesting books, along the way.  By the end of the year, I had done it!  And, now I’ll share some of my favorites with you.

 

I decided to arrange them by decade.  The Newbery Award has been given since 1922, so there were A LOT of books to choose from!

 

September’s Reading Challenge: A Newbery Award Winner

 

1920s

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting

Travel along with Doctor Dolittle as he journeys to other lands, meets new animals, and makes new friends.  There are definitely a few archaic references and (now) slightly offensive ways of viewing people from traditional cultures.  I think you can actually find some edited versions of the book that cut those out, though.  Overall, however, the story is a fun one.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly

A story based on the historical fire of 1462 that burned much of Krakow, an invasion, and bravery.

 

1930s

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

If you like the Little House on the Prairie books, you’ve got to read Caddie Woodlawn!  Caddie and her brothers roam wild in their pioneer town in the mid-1860s, despite her mother’s best attempts to make her a lady.  Filled with scrapes, practical jokes, and even danger, the book ages well and still appeals to readers today.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

Told from the perspective of a wooden doll named Mehitabel, the novel shows life over a century of early America.

 

1940s

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray

Adam is searching for his father.  In order to find him, Adam must travel alone over hundreds of miles on foot, avoid unsavory characters, and find ways to earn a little in order to feed himself and his dog.  Oh, and he’s doing this in medieval England!  A book with a leisurely, calm pace that draws the reader back into a different time.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

A fantasy-adventure that lets the reader travel with Professor Sherman across the Pacific Ocean all the way to Krakatoa in his fantastic balloons.

 

1950s

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

I was a bit obsessed with this book when I was younger!  After her grandfather’s death, Kit leaves her home in Barbados to go live with her aunt and uncle in Puritan New England.  She draws frowns wherever she goes because of her free spirit, colorful clothing, and choice of friends.  When the frowns turn into accusations of witchcraft, can Kit manage to fit in, or even stay alive?

 

 

Honorable Mention: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates

An excellent biography of a man captured and forced into slavery who is later freed.

 

1960s

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle

Another of my all-time favorites.  Meg Murray, her little brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin take a journey across the galaxy as they try to rescue Meg’s father.  A beautiful mixture of science fiction and fantasy, A Wrinkle in Time (as well as the three other books in the series), touches on themes of darkness and light, coercion and freedom, and the nature of love.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

The book that has made millions of children want to run away and live in a museum!

 

1970s

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Sunset Towers is a new apartment that is stylish, luxurious, and holding a big secret.  When the mysterious Mr. Westing dies, the tenants of Sunset Towers are informed that they are all heirs to the estate–if they can play and solve a game that may prove to be dangerous.  This Newbery Award Winner leads readers on a delightfully twisting mystery that few readers will solve before the end.

 

 

Honorable Mention: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

Powerful story of race relations and segregation in the Deep South during the 1930s.

 

1980s

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

I didn’t discover this gem until I was in college, but I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve read it since then!  McKinley’s ability to combine fantasy and elements of fairy tales into her stories is mesmerizing.  Aerin is the daughter of the king and yet still an outcast in her own country.  She soon finds a role for herself as Dragon-Killer.  Will her skills be enough to defeat one of the few remaining Great Dragons?  And, what about the greater evil behind it?

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

A quiet widower places an advertisement in the papers for a new wife and mother for his children.  Sarah responds and brings life back into the house.

 

1990s

The Giver by Lois Lowry

This dystopian novel was written a good 20 years before The Hunger Games, Divergent, and the like popularized the genre.  Jonas is a twelve year old boy living in a community where everything is decided for you, including your career.  Jonas finds out that he will become The Receiver of his community, the one who holds all of the memories of the past.  During this process, he meets The Giver who alone has held the memories for years, and he discovers secrets that cause him to question everything he ever knew.  A fantastically gripping book with three sequels.  The series will keep you  enthralled for weeks.

 

Honorable Mention: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

Salamanca sets out on a trip to bring her mother back home before her birthday.  The trip, however, brings more than expected.  An absolutely beautifully written story.

 

Holes by Louis Sachar

I had to do another one for this decade!  Through a series of circumstances that aren’t his fault, Stanley Yelnats finds himself at a camp for juvenile delinquents where he is forced to dig holes all day long.

 

2000s

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Nobody Owens is an unusual boy.  In fact, he is the only boy in the world who is being raised in a graveyard by ghosts.  His entire family was killed by an assassin when he was just a toddler, and he is welcomed in by the graveyard community.  They are also protecting him from the evil that destroyed his family.  A creepy tale by one of the masters of suspense.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

A charming fantasy involving a mouse, a princess, a rat, and soup.

 

2010s

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Ivan is a sweet story of a gorilla in captivity who tries to save his young elephant friend from a small-cage life.  Told from the perspective of Ivan the gorilla, the book is able to explore themes of friendship, freedom, and sacrifice in simple language and a unique story.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

A novel in verse that tells the story of twin brothers, their love of basketball, and their love of family.

 

I am so excited to hear what you think about the books!

 

Do you have any favorite Newbery Award winners?

 

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