Newbery Award Books   Tags: kids_books, schools, subject guides  

The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. The purpose of the Newbery Medal is to encourage original creative work in the field of books for children.

The first Newbery Medal was awarded in 1922. The Newbery Medal is an award for writing and goes to the book's author. The medal is named in honor of the 18th century English bookseller John Newbery.

The Newbery Medal is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children which is a division of the American Library Association. For more information visit the ALSC webpage for the Newbery Medal.

The 2013 Newbery Award winner is:

The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate

This year three honor books were selected.

Splendors and Glooms - Laura Schlitz

Bomb: The Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon - Steve Sheinkin

Three Times Lucky - Sheila Turnage

The Newbery Award was the first children's book award in the world.

The Award usually goes to a story, but once it has been won by a book of plays, twice it has been won by a book of poetry, five times it has been won by a biography (the true story of someone's life) and the very first Newbery Award went to a history book.