I’ve made it through 50 Newbery books! The good news is that they really do keep getting better. I stopped at the first 25 to offer up my favorites and general recommendations for those early Newberies (1922-1946) fully in this post.
Picking my favorites for this second set of 25 (from 1947 to 1971) is a bit harder, because there are more solid books to choose from. My very, very favorites were the Chronicles of Prydain (The High King), From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and A Wrinkle in Time.
But I thought The Wheel on the School and The Twenty-One Balloons were really charming, and I thought Bronze Bow, The Door in the Wall, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond were spiritually the most profound. Five books based on true stories I thought were very moving were Sounder , I, Juan de Pareja , Carry on Mr. Bowditch, Island of the Blue Dolphins and Amos Fortune, Free Man. But even that list leaves off a couple really good ones. Having a hard time choosing my favorites is a good problem to have, and I hope it continues!
Here are my tweet-length reviews for second 25 Newberies (1947 to 1971)
and who (if anyone) I would recommend these books to
#50. The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (1971) *4 stars *
Angsty, 14-year-old Sara Godfrey searches for her disabled younger brother Charlie who’s missing after he wants to go back to see the swans who’ve landed in the town’s lake.
Recommended? Yes, a short coming of age story that balances teenage angst and redemption well. Great for tween girls.
#49. Sounder by William H. Armstrong (1970) *3 1/2 stars *
Based on a true story of a young African American son of a sharecropper who is waiting and looking for his father who has been imprisoned for stealing some meat for his impoverished family.
Recommended? Yes, a painful but beautifully written story of the harsh reality of sharecropping and poverty in the south. Probably 5th grade and up.
#48. The Chronicles of Prydain #5: The High King by Lloyd Alexander (1969) *4 1/2 stars *
The last adventure of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his lovable crew as they journey through the mythic, medieval Prydian and face the final epic journey.
Recommended? Yes!! But read the whole series first! One of my very favorites.
#47. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg (1968) *5 stars *
Claudia Kincaid and her younger brother Jamie run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for about a week and uncover the secret of a supposed Michelangelo sculpture.
Recommended? Yes! It’s wonderful, and everyone loves it for a reason!
#46. Up A Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (1967) *4 1/2 stars *
Coming of age story about Julie who, upon her mother’s death, goes to live with her Aunt Cordelia in the country. She learns to love her family and be loved by them as she grows into adulthood.
Recommended? Yes, if you like Anne of Green Gables or Emily of New Moon. There isn’t the sparkly humor and vivaciousness of L.M. Montgomery, but there is a similar spirit of watching a girl grow into herself and her (unconventional/extended) family.
#45. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño’s (1966) *4 stars *
Using the few written records available and a wealth of dated paintings, the story centers around the life behind the subject of seventeenth-century Spanish artist Diego Velázquez’s painting of Juan de Pareja, artist and slave.
Recommended? Yes! It has a unique and compelling voice, strong relationships, and a vibrant setting (1600s Spain!), particularly good for artists and history lovers, and people looking for diversity in main characters in children’s books.
#44. Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (1965) *4 stars *
Manolo Olivar, age 11, son of a famous deceased matador and the townspeople of Arcangel, Spain are convinced Manolo will be just like his father if he too fights a bull at age 12.
Recommended? Yes, if you are interested in Spain and bull fights (and something somewhere in between The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Ernest Hemingway).
#43. It’s Like this, Cat, by Emily Neville (1964) *4 1/2 stars *
14-year-old Davy navigates New York City, friends, and his family in the 60s, taking trains and buses and ferries to pop over to Coney Island and Staten Island.
Recommended? Yes, especially if you love a story set in NYC or a solid coming of age story with a great setting.
#42. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1963) *5 stars *
Meg and Charles Wallace Murray with their friend Calvin O’Keefe travel through space with three former stars to rescue their father who has been trapped by evil on a far planet.
Recommended? Yes! It’s just one of the very best books of all time.
#41. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (1962) *4 stars *
Set in 30s AD Galilee, teenage Daniel, a runaway blacksmith apprentice, lives in the mountains and hopes to avenge his parents’ death by the Romans. Daniel gets swept back into village life, meeting zealots and students of the law and even Jesus of Nazareth.
Recommended? Yes, especially if you want to read a story with historical Jesus in it!
#40. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (1961) *4 stars *
Based on the true story of 19th- century Nicoleño tribe Native American Karana’s 18-year lone survival on California’s San Nicolas Island. She tries to rescue her brother and tame the wild dog who killed him.
Recommended? Yes, it’s a classic and such a strong story of survival.
#39. Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (1960) *3 1/2 stars *
The unlikely friendship of Andy, a baseball loving 12 year old in Serenity, New Jersey, and Onion John, an older Eastern European immigrant who lives on the edge of town growing onions, dumpster diving, and working odd jobs.
Recommended? Yes, it’s a coming of age tale with unique characters and a strong setting.
#38. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1959) *4 stars *
In her new 1600s New England Puritan town, Kit is accepted by the kind Quaker Hannah Tupper. Kit tries to help the old woman when she’s accused of witchcraft.
Recommended? Yes! It’s a great picture of early modern New England and Hannah Tupper is one of my favorite grandma characters.
#37. Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (1958) *4 stars *
Well-researched American Civil War book: Jefferson Davis Bussey joins the Union Army at age 17 and finds himself an undercover scout in the Rebel army under the Cherokee leader Watie.
Recommended? Yes, if you like a thick, authentic Civil War book.
#36. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen (1957) *4 stars *
Marly and her older brother Joe move into at an old family house. growing gardens and healing ailments for body and soul in the New England woods.
Recommended? Yes, especially if you are interested in the making of maple syrup and rural farm tales and families coming together.
#35. Carry on Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (1956) *4 stars *
A biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a great mathematician in early America who is dedicated to teaching rough and tumble sailors how to navigate and use the navigational charts he corrected (that saved many lives).
Recommended? Yes! Especially if you love biography and how it took something dry (navigational charts) and made it come alive.
#34. The Wheel on the School, by Meindert de Jong (1955) *4 1/2 stars *
The six children of a turn-of-the-century Dutch village school set out to make a home for a pair of storks on the roof of their school using a large wagon wheel and thereby bring their village together.
Recommended? Yes! Super charming, great setting, wonderful illustrations, a gem!
#33. …And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (1954) *3 1/2 stars *
A young shepherd boy in a large Latino New Mexican family longs to go with the Chevez men into the mountains (Sangre de Cristo) on the annual summer migration.
Recommended? Maybe, solid coming of age story with a good ending, but a painful middle full of tween boy angst.
#32. Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (1953) *3 1/2 stars *
Indigenous Peruvian llama shepherd, Cusi discovers why he’s been raised by a mysterious old wise man, Chuto, in an isolated Andean valley.
Recommended? Maybe, setting and point of view of an indigenous Peruvian make it unique.
#31. Ginger Pye, by Eleanor Estes (1952) *4 stars *
The search for Jerry & Rachel Pye’s missing puppy Ginger through Jerry’s school room and their little New England town.
Recommended? Yes, solid, sweet kids’ story involving a dog, a mystery, and a happy ending.
#30. Amos Fortune, Free Man, by Elizabeth Yates (1951). *4 stars *
The real story of an amazing gold coast slave through his various owners, wives, and employments until his death in 1801 at age 91.
Recommended? Yes! Especially if you want study 17th century American slavery (and look at the historical documents that the author used).
#29. The Door in the Wall,by Marguerite de Angeli, (1950). *4 1/2 stars *
Medieval English boy, separated from parents, and crippled by the plague, learns to walk and trust again, eventually saving a castle from attacking Welsh.
Recommended? Yes! Especially for lovers of castles and medieval settings with great illustrations.
#28. King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian,Marguerite Henry (1949) *3 1/2 stars *
Mute stable boy Agba and his beloved colt Sham are bought and sold, forgotten and celebrated throughout North Africa and Europe.
Recommended? Not really, only if you really love horse stories, especially ones like Black Beauty.
#27. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois’s (1948) *4 stars *
Retired math teacher – turned amateur balloonist – lands on Krakatoa right before its ill-fated (and real-life) volcanic eruption destroys the utopian society there.
Recommended? Yes! A great jumping off point to think about travel, tiny house living (in a balloon), and how you’d live on an island with limitless money.
#26. Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1947) *3 1/2 stars *
A wooden doll’s extraordinary year looking for a new home after being chased away by a chipmunk fending for herself in the great New England woods and the perils of squirrel friendships.
Recommended? Maybe, if you are especially fond of dolls or squirrels.
Have you read any of these Newberies? What did you think?
