Project: Newbery Award: Past Reviews

Carolyn's Newbery Perspective

Newbery Award has, to me, always meant “This book is worth reading.” It may not always be a pleasant book with a happy ending, it may make me feel sad, it may make my heart soar. But one thing is likely - it will stick in my head and make me think. I like the longevity of this award. For over 80 years the little gold seal on the cover of the award-winning books has beckoned kids to “take a chance and read me.” I like to think that future generations still to come will see it too and look for the literary treasure inside.

Melinda's Newbery Perspective

As a child, a ¨Newbery Award¨ distinction on the cover of a book was a sign of automatic rejection. It meant a book that was boring, ¨meaningful¨, and full of ¨purpose¨. In short, NOT an entertaining afternoon reading.

In my mid-20ś my mother explained her new ambition: read and collect the Newbery Award winners. I allowed her to press in my hands ¨The Princess Academy¨ (2005 Honor recipient). In contrast to my earlier impatience with the books, now as a budding fictional author, I could appreciate the mastery used to construct these novels. I was intrigued. What could I learn about the art of fiction from Newbery?

Before Project Newbery, my life changing books were Tess of D´Ubervilles, East of Eden, and Atlas Shrugged, all read as a student before becoming a time-crunched working adult. The Newbery books are a way to redisover the world of fiction in the short ¨gaps¨ of my life - at a bus stop, on a train, or a rare evening at home - and redisover the magic of a well-told story.

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