While we await the 100th Newbery announcement I'm going to stroll down memory lane. Let's take a little look at the 1920s - this decade only had eight winners since the award was first given in 1922. I'll tell you how I rated the books on Goodreads and which book I'd recommend (not always my favorite!).
Books that I read longer ago I may wish to give a different number of stars to because in the early days I had a tendency to give books 5 stars no matter if I liked them or adored them.
The Trumpeter of Krakow (1929) - 5 Stars - Easily my favorite from the decade. Aided in no small part by me reading it while in Krakow - my favorite European city.
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon (1928) - 5 Stars - A great read that really got me interested and held my attention throughout. But I have to admit that it must not be most people's cup of tea.
Tales from Silver Lands (1925) - 4 Stars - A book that I seemed to really love at the time but have trouble remembering now. Anthologies are harder to remember for me.
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1923) - 3 Stars - Easily the most recognizable title on this list - though primarily as part of a larger series. To date the only one from this list I've read twice.
Shen of the Sea (1926) - 4 Stars - Looking back I'd give this 3 stars, I liked it fine - but I didn't REALLY like it. Another anthology that I don't remember a lot about except that it reminded me of other old stories I like.
The Dark Frigate (1924) - 2 Stars - Sorry, but this is probably the biggest disappointment from all the Newbery books. One of my favorite books is Treasure Island and this book seemed like it would be in that vein - alas it wasn't.
The Story of Mankind (1922) - 2 Stars - I can't fault this book on concept and execution. But it is such a large undertaking that it was never going to work in a single novel length book.
Smoky, the Cowhorse (1927) - 2 Stars - Blech. Not only the worst of the decade but the worst of all the winners.
Recommendation of the Decade:
If I were to recommend just one book from the decade it would easily be The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle. Though I rate it solidly in the middle of the pack I think it has a more enjoyable concept for kids than any of the other books. It also is the one most recognizable to the public because every few decades a movie comes out. Most animal loving kids often wish to talk to the animals and this book delivers. It definitely has the old-fashioned feel of things just sort of happening as the author thinks them up.
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