Poetry in Newberry Award Books

When determining Newberry Medal and Honor winners, the ALA also considers books that are poetry.  

Of the books which I read for this project, two were written in verse. Additional books written in poetry  that have won a Newberry award include Paul Fleischman's Joyful Noise, Nancy Willard's A Visit to William Blake's Inn  and Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust.

The first book which I read for this project written in verse was Inside Out & Back Again. Each poem is written at as a diary entry by the main character. They all have a title summarizing what the piece is about such as "Feel Dumb" or "Wishes". These encompass the main character's feelings and development as the plot progresses. The poems are easy to understand for children and piece together the overall story yet use beautiful language that is continuously engaging for the reader.

The second Newberry winning book of poetry that I explored was Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village. The formatting of this book is different from Inside Out & Back Again. In contrast to one story line this book contains 22 short poems form the perspectives of different villagers during the medieval times. Each poem is written in a different style from the others and written for either one or two readers dependent on the poem. Each style of the poem creates variation that keeps the reader wanting to read more. To date not many Newberry award winners are poetry. This is not surprising due to the stereotype that poetry is "boring" to children. These books begin to change that stereotype for children and hopefully many more will follow their path.

Caldecott Medal and Honor Books

Through my explorations, I have not found a distinct difference between the Caldecott Honor and Medal books. I have found that all have extraordinary pictures and are completely different from one another. The mediums of the pictures are not alike which makes it hard for me to compare one against another. The honor and medal books, all have illustrations that compliment the text and help portray the story in a supplemental way. I enjoyed the illustrations of all of the books I have explored for this project but here are a few of my favorites.

Philip A. Stead's A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

I love the medium and texture that the illustrations display throughout the book. The use of color greatly impacts the reader's experience of the story. They images, are composed of very soft colors with a strategic use of white space of specific pages. My favorite is the spread pictured below. The background, except for the trees are shown as open white space, which draws the reader's eye to the characters and trees. The following page, shows the animals on the bus heading towards Amos McGee's house. The animals however no longer maintain the same color they did before. Stead uses blue, gray and white shading to tell the story and show the animals inside the vehicle. It's as if the windows of the bus impact the color of the animals and all the reader can see are the shadows and outlines of the characters. The green of the trees are even downplayed in this image. This draws the attention once again to the animals.

With a limited art background, I was curious how the artist was able to create such powerful images for this text.  The most effective way to learn about this process I had found is from the author herself. Check out this video of Stead explaining the process.

A second favorite of mine is the Ken Henkes, Kitten's First Moon. It shares the same simplicity as Stead's illustrations but in a completely different way. The illustrations in this text, are entirely black and white, giving the reader the sense of the night in which the book takes place. 

These pictures , shows an example of the black and white sketch like illustrations created by Henkes. The character of the cat, contrasts with the grays of the night sky and grass. The use of white is also used to represent the brightness of the moon and fireflies in the background. 

The kitten is continually represented as a bright, white creature against the a dark background. This gives the reader a sense of innocence that the little kitten displays as she tries to get the "little bowl of milk in the sky" which is also represented by the brightness of the white.

A third favorite of mine is Lane Smith's Grandpa Green. I have always admired the outline style illustrations that she typically produces within other pictures books, but with this particular text, the texture of the topiaries are what stuck out to me. The background and characters were minimalized in pencil like black lines while the greenery seemed to pop off of the pages with their 3D like affect. In these particular pages from the book below, the surrounding trees are drawn with whimsical, curvy lines. By doing this, Smith creates an archway leading down the path to the main focus of the garden; the topiaries.

A main feature of this book, that is evident to the reader is the strong interdependency of the pictures with the text. While reading the text, I found myself studying the pictures in order to fully interpret the message and story. If there were no text, this book would still effectively tell the story of Grandpa Green and his life. This is why I believe this book was selected for the Caldecott Honor. The illustrations are what make the book. The text aids in the story telling, but the quality of the pictures are what tell the story. 

Common Themes in Newberry Medal & Honor Books

Historical: Many of the books I have read for this exploration took place in the past rather than present day. Although they were fictional, many historical facts and elements were included. I have not read all Caldecott and Newberry Award and Honor books but here are some of the books that I have found to include historical elements or settings.


-Title: Dead End in Norvelt
 Author: Jack Gantos
 This novel takes place in 1962 during the Cold War. In addition to facts about the 60's and current events in that time, the main character, Jack is very interested in history. Jack enjoys reading books about Mayans, Aztecs among other time periods in history. Throughout the novel, Jack is also constantly reading his favorite column in his local newspaper entitled This Day is History. The column contains true facts among a particular day and the historical events that have taken place on that day. Jack is very interested in the past and as a result, the reader learns many historical facts.

-Title: When You Reach Me
 Author:Rebecca Stead
This novel takes place in the 1970's. The dress, language, and aspects of everyday life are all authentic to the time period in which the book takes place. From the details described and the life of the children such as working during their lunch period during school, it is evident that the author knew much about the 70's and included that within the text.

-Title: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village
 Author:Laura Amy
All of the poems within this book contain facts about medieval times. The lives of villagers and the facts in the poems are true to the times. The book does a good job explaining terms that are used and what they had meant in the past. For example, in The Doctor's Son, it describes remedies such as using egg whites to cover a heal a wound. The book then describes in a sidebar that during this time period, this remedy was commonly used.

-Title: Breaking Stalin's Nose
 Author: Eugene Yelchin
This novel takes place during Stalin's reign in the Soviet Union. The main character abides by common communist beliefs and rules of the time and was raised by a strict Communist father in a communal living apartment building. The way of living and beliefs of the main character were common at this time period in the Soviet Union. The author -growing up in the country himself- is very knowledgeable and speaking from experience when he speaks of the time period.

-Title: Inside Out & Back Again
 Author: Thanhha Lai
This novel takes place at the end of the Vietnam War. The main character and her family are refugees coming to America. Lai describes the ships the family are on, and the processes of leaving the country with great detail. It places the reader into the time period of the novel.

-Title: Turtle in Paradise
 Author: Jennifer Holm
This novel takes place during the Great Depression. Turtle's family struggles to get by just as the rest of the country. It is discussed how adults are struggling to find work and children find ways to help their families out such as Turtle working on a boat.

Single Parents: Another commonality that I have recognized among Newberry Award winners, was that of single parents. Whether being the mother or father, many of the books that I read for this project were about a child being raised in a single-parent household. With this, many of the families worked hard to support the children off of one income while facing the loss of a second parent living with them.

-Title: When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
The main characters are of a girl, Miranda, and her mother. Miranda talks about the struggles her family has been through making ends meet as her mother works hard to support her. Throughout the novel, the relationship between Miranda's mother and her boyfriend strengthens and he becomes a father figure to Miranda by the end of the book.


-Title: Breaking Stalin's Nose
Author: Eugene Yelchin
In this book, the main character is a boy who lives with his father. He is told that his mother has died in the hospital when he was young but finds that it is not true. It is evident the bond between the father and the boy as the book progresses. He does anything for his father and constantly strives to make his father proud.


-Title: Inside Out & Back Again
Author: Thanhha Lai
Ha and her brothers live with her mother in Vietnam. Throughout, the mother hopes that their father will return and life will be easier. The family works hard to survive under the guidance of their mother. Meanwhile, the family deals with the loss and then acceptance of losing the father.

-Title: One Crazy Summer
Author: Rita Williams
The main character and her sisters are raised by their father and grandmother. Unexpectedly, their mother comes into the picture and the girls are swept away to visit her despite their lack of relationship for the entirety of their lives. The girls struggle to bond and accept their mother who was not in their lives. Although both parents are now present in the lives of the girls, they are not together and the children move from home to home.

-Title: Turtle in Paradise
Author: Jennifer Holm
Turtle is a girl who lives with her mother. Her mother; being a single parent during the Great Depression; is unable to support her daughter and sends Turtle away to live with her Aunt. The book deals with the struggles of a single family home living off of little income during the Depression.Turtle and her mother lean on each other for support when life gets tough.

What Makes An Award Winning Book?

Through my reading, on the American Library Association's website, the specifics and determination of quality literature is left open for interpretation to the committee members. There are few requirements that are set in stone such as the text being published in the United States. But other criteria is very open such as "Excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept".  Despite the fact that the word "excellence" states something extraordinary or above average, what is "excellent" means is left to the individual.

 Listed on the site is all of the current committee members which have a voice in the selection of the submitted texts. Scrolling through the list, I couldn't help but to question the qualifications of each member. What makes each individual qualified to rate and compare children's literature among one another? The manuals and guidelines, thoroughly cover the concerns of conflict in interest among the committee members (pertaining to the nominated books), but it does not state that the members need to have a background in children's literature. Although it can be assumed, that the president would only select members that are highly knowledgeable in children's literature it is not stated as such.

Just as many award systems, the honor and medal winners are subjectively chosen by the board members at that time.The qualifications for the literature for both Newberry and Caldecott awards seem to be aligin with one another. Both require the book to be written or illustrated by an American that has been published within  one year within it's nomination. Although the Caldecott's primary focus are the illustrations, the story elements are also considered. This ensures that the text and pictures work together to create a high quality book for children.

The last information, I have learned in the exploration of the website is that anyone can submit a book for either award just by mailing it in. I had originally thought that books were sought out by members and then nominated. This is not the case however, the board members still nominate the books which will be considered but it is done through books submitted by the public. This system allows a more diverse and larger range of people to have a say in the award winning books.

The awards' regulations are all determined by theAmerican Library Association. Learn more about the American Library Association by following their Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ALALibrary or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmericanLibraryAssociation?fref=ts

2013 Caldecott Winner

Check out these animated illustrations of the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner!

2012 Newberry Medal vs. Honor Winners

In a quest for my answers, I read the some of the books I read read included the 2012 Newberry medal and honor novels, to compare the differences and similarities among them.Below are short summaries and my review of these novels.

Thanha's Lai's Inside Out & Back Again  is a 2012 Newberry Honor winner. It takes place at the end of the Vietnam War. A young girl and her family struggle to survive as they become refugees and come to begin a new life in America.

This novel is written in verse with meaningful and deliberate word choice. The short verses create a concise and straightforward plot line that is easy for the reader to follow. The character of Ha, is a lovable girl who child living at any time can relate to. Ha faces the struggles of learning a new language and being teased when she moves to her new school. Ha has a true, sometimes comical outlook on life. This book grabs the reader whether child or adult as they watch Ha's life transform in front of their eyes.

Breaking Stalin's Nose is a 2012 Newberry Honor winner. It takes place over a short two day span but is very fast paced and eventful. It is written from the perspective of a ten year old boy in the Soviet Union. At this time, Stalin is ruling over the Soviet Union and Sasha has been taught to to believe in the ideals of Stalin.

This book was inventively written and a great way to obtain a different perspective  In American schools, children only hear our country's perspective of the Soviet Union under Stalin's reign. In cartoonist sketches, help to bring the story to life as the reader envisions each event.



Dead End in Norvelt is the winner of the 2012 Newberry Medal. It is about the author Jack as a child and his experience growing up in a small town named Norvelt during the Cold War. Jack is a curious young boy who is punished to a summer helping a neighbor write obituaries when he plays with his dad's gun.

This novel is heavy in historical facts and analogies. It is vital that the reader is highly interested in history in order to enjoy the book at its fullest potential. I found that this book did not share the share universal humor that Ganto's other novels, many of the jokes are more apt to appeal to young boys than any other population of children. I anticipate that many preteen boys would enjoy this novel but that it would not be universally enjoyed among all students within a class.


Personally, I feel that the Newberry Honor books for 2012, were written in a more progressive and engaging way that the Medal winner. Although well written, Dead End in Norvelt would appeal to a smaller population of students. I found this book hard to get into and the characters not as easy to connect to than the Honor books. For me, the Honor books were ones that I did not want to put down and enjoyed the unique writing style of each.

Award Winners

So, what exactly is award winning children's literature? Just as movies are awarded an Oscar, children's literature is voted upon and some is put above the rest. We see a shinny medallion stuck to a cover a book and know it is (for some unbeknownst reason to us)what is deemed exceptional and should be read with our children or students. Just as the Oscars award movies for excellence in acting, screenplays and overall picture, the Newberry and Caldecott medals are supposed to place excellence in picture books above others. But what exactly do they measure?


Strating out as some reading for a children's literature class, I began to page through a long list of Caldecott and Newberry Medal and Honor winning books. As a teacher and well versed reader of children's literature (or so I thought), I was surprised to learn the quite a large number of the books I have never read. 

After asking myself, why I have not been reading award winning children's literature, I questioned why are these books noteworthy? And who determines that these books are above any other? My next steps were to discover these answers as I currently continue to seek these answers. This blog will be where I will be able to begin to answer these questions through m exploration of award winning books and how it all works.