Number the Stars, Newbery Medal 1990

Number the Stars won the Newbery Award the year I was born and it is one of the best pieces of children's literature I've ever read. I first heard this book on tape on some long ago car trip and was in great suspense. As someone who has yet to read The Diary of a Young Girl I consider this to be my World War II book, although the endings are quite different. The main character Annemarie struggles throughout the book with whether or not she is brave, but when she is called upon to help her best friend and many others she rises to the challenge.

I identify personally with Annemarie because I often struggle with bravery in my personal life. I read the book on a flight from Detroit to Omaha returning from a conference that addressed many of the things I struggle most with in my life. As we got closer and closer to my destination the suspense grew as I strained to remember the ending. The ending was realistically left open-ended but with the message of happiness and hope. The same the conference ended; once again I find that literature reflects life in amazing ways.

Bridge to Terabithia, Newbery Medal 1978

This one I had heard before, but I'll admit I wasn't really paying attention when my fifth grade teacher read it to our class (I was likely reading something else). I was aware that Leslie died thanks to the Disney movie and having been to a theatre production. I really enjoyed some of the tough questions this book poses facing morality, mortality, spirituality, and growing up. I don't think I would have gotten the same ideas from this book as a child, it holds a magic of its own that makes you desire to create your own imaginary country. This book is written in such a skillful manner that you become very close with the protagonist, Jesse. While the book is written in third person, I was surprised each time I picked it up that it wasn't written in first person. I felt that it was Jesse's story and he was telling it, when, in reality, I was an outsider looking over everything.

Bud, Not Buddy, Newbery Medal 2000

What a charming book! I had never read anything by Christopher Paul Curtis but if his other books are anything like Bud, Not Buddy then I can see why he has won numerous awards. The protagonist is by no means perfect, Curtis has captured a young boy almost perfectly, he is lovable but occasionally naughty. He even has a list of rules for "a funner life and to be a better liar".

I empathised with young Bud and was pleased with the book's resolution. I was even surprised by what happened. I must say that I'm glad the book didn't finish everything up nice and tidy, the end was left, much like life, yet to be decided.

When I first began reading independent level books I read mostly contemporary realistic fiction and historical fiction. I even remember hearing that this book had won an award and thought the idea sounded interesting. So what happened? Well, when I look at the date of the award the answer was clear. In the year 2000 I discovered another genre that would drive my book choice to this day: fantasy. 2000 was the year I first read Harry Potter, unfortunately this book was just a little late for me to have been the target audience.

Out of the Dust, Newbery Medal 1998

A first-time read for me Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse was an exciting read which I finished in just a few hours. I'm not sure why I'd never read it before, perhaps because it is written in the intimidating blank verse style. The style actually lends a realism to this work that I feel could not have been captured with the usual prose.

I felt myself relating not just to Billie Jo, the protagonist, but to the entire community. I remember the drought years of my early teens, but what we feared then was not dust, it was ash. The years without rain seemed to stretch on, I think time moves slower in a drought. I remember praying for rain in church and at school. Once I was outside during a brief rain but my mother called me back in and began cleaning my brother and I immediately. Just as Billie Jo described the rain being full of dust, our rain was full of black, sticky ash.

It is only now, talking with friends that we can realize that brown is not the natural color of the landscape, that green can last and often does all summer. For me the book was relatable in a very personal way, which is something all great literature strives for.

The Heavy Medals I'll Be Working With...

I am a voracious reader, and my reading level was extra high as a child. Yet, as an adult, I still prefer children and young adults' literature. However, this works to my advantage when I talk to kids because I'm reading what they're reading, I know just what the shelves they peruse at the library hold, and I can suggest books based on what I've already read.
But for all that I've read and enjoyed I seem to be missing a few important books: medal winners. I can't really hope to teach elementary without having read what has been deemed the cream of the crop. So here are the stats:

Newbery Award Winner: 8 previously read (ouch, I have a lot of catching up to do seeing as this medal started in 1922)

Newbery Honorees: 11 previously read (that's even worse than the first statistic seeing as some years have four or five honor books)

Carnegie Medal: 2 previously read (I just looked that one up, seems I have a busy year of reading ahead of me!)

Caldecott Award Winner: 14 previously read (but lots more that I feel like I may have read at some point...)

Caldecott Honorees: 15 previously read

.... So as you can tell I'm a little behind. I'd like to do the Newbery Winners first, then follow up with the Carnegie Winners. I'm not sure which category I'll move onto afterwards. Also, do not expect any sort of chronologically order, I will read the books as I acquire them. Here's to a great year! (How many do you think I'll get through?)