We’ve made it folks! I’ve read through 100 Newberies, reviewed over eight years! This is the last set of quick recommendations and ratings for Newberies 76 through 100. (If you’d like to see the first three sets here is # 1-25, 26-50, and 51-75. For links to each individual review you can go here.)
This last batch from 1997 to 2021 included some of my very favorite books of all time I got to re-read (again!).
#78. Holes by Louis Sachar (1999) #83. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2004) and #88. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009)
Also, I got to read some books for the first time that I’d highly recommend
#79. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000) #80. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001) #89. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2010) # 90. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2011) # 96. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (2017) and # 98. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (2019)
It was also interesting to get past 2008, when a number of articles were written criticizing Newberies awarded from 2000-2008. For years now I’ve scrolled past that section on Wikipedia page with the subheading “criticism” and wondered what it was all about. Was there really a noticeable decline in the readability or likeability of Newberies in the early 2000s?
Well, in short I’d say no.
Partially I still can’t really weigh in, because the critics were talking about Newberry honor books too which I haven’t read. It’s not that I disagreed with what the article was suggesting that Newbery books could be more of the kind of books that kids just fall in love with and make them want to read. I think that would be great, although I am not sure if my idea of which books are amazing is particularly objective.
But I didn’t see much of a change in the types of books that won the Newbery when I look at the history of the award as a whole. Sure, the first 25 Newberies contain more books that I wouldn’t really recommend to many people, but after that, it’s been a fairly consistent ratio of books I loved, books I thought were decent, and books that weren’t for me, but I know other people love.
Even the 2008 book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz that was singled out as an example of a book that was too difficult for kids to read and fall in love with, is not a clear-cut case for me. First of all, I read most of it aloud to my five year old and he liked it, so I don’t think kids across the board dislike it. Second, my husband uses that book in his seventh grade classroom every year, and it works really well for kids to put on plays. (Which is exactly why Laura Amy Schlitz wrote the book). Now just because it is a great classroom social studies project and my five year old liked it doesn’t make it an un-put-down-able book that is going to make kids fall in love with reading like Harry Potter can.
Would I like the Newbery to be a list of 100 books that are just as great as Harry Potter? Sure. But that’s not the way that annual awards work. And that’s not the way that we use books in our everyday lives. So even though books of plays and poetry aren’t my all time favorite Newbery books, I understand why they are chosen. And it really has been like that when I look back over the whole century of Newbery books.
So without further ado, my quick recommendations for Newberys 76 to 100!
100. When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller (2021) *4 stars *
Lily’s Korean Grandmother, Halmoni, has always told stories that seem magical, so when a tiger that seems directly out of her stories begins appearing to Lily, she knows that it has to do with her grandmother’s illness. The tiger trades in stories and says that Halmoni stole something and if Lily returns it, then Halmoni could be made well.
Recommended? Yes, for older kids. (For families sensitive to progressive themes, read reviews.) Especially for fans of magical realism.
99. New Kid by Jerry Craft (2020).*4 stars *
A graphic novel that follows 7th grader Jordan Banks to his new private school. He’s not thrilled about being there: he’d rather be at an art school, and he’d rather not be one of the only scholarship kids, and he’d rather not be one of the only kids of color at his new middle school. He feels out of place, both now with his neighborhood friends and with his classmates.
Recommended? Yes! A solid graphic novel that deals with race in a nuanced and helpful way. Probably a middle school book for middle school readers.
98. Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (2019). *4 1/2 stars *
Merci’s sixth grade year as a scholarship student at a fancy prep school while her grandfather’s neurological health deteriorates is not going well. Merci wants everything to stay the same, but middle school is not the same as grade school, with popular girl Edna driving her crazy and friendship with boys suddenly complicated. Also, while no one wants to explain to her what is going on with her beloved Abuelo Lolo, she knows something is not right.
Recommended? Yes! A great Newbery portraying a Latino family, adjusting to middle school, and dealing with grandparent illness.
97. Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (2018). *4 stars *
Five children’s (and a guinea pig’s) stories together, mainly over the course of one day of missed connections, serendipitous meetings, and a little mystery sleuthing to rescue Virgil Salinas and his guinea pig Gulliver from the bottom of an abandoned dry-well.
Recommended? Yes, for kids who like outcasts coming together and bullies being vanquished. (For families sensitive to spiritualist themes, read reviews.) For fans of The View from Saturday.
96. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (2017). *4 1/2 stars *
A high fantasy novel about the last baby, Luna, that good witch Xan saves from being abandoned in the forest. But Xan accidently “enmagics” the baby, letting Luna drink not a tiny bit of starlight, but a whole lot of moonlight. This magic baby finds a welcome family with old Xan and the good hearted ancient swamp monster Glerk and the tiny never-grown-up sweet dragon Fyrian, but she also changes things, forcing Xan and the evil that pushed her to be abandoned in the first place to meet and settle things once and for all.
Recommended? Yes! I great fantasy novel with mystery and magic. For fans of The Hero and The Crown. (There is more violence than a typical Newbery, and some families might be a little uncomfortable with the cosmology.)
95. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña (2016). *4 stars *
CJ and his grandmother take a trip on the bus to serve at a soup kitchen, in this beautiful picture book. CJ is not thrilled about the rain, or having to take the bus, or not having headphones for music, or how dirty everything is, or having to go to the soup kitchen at all. But Nana takes it all in stride, seeing beauty and pointing it out to CJ, making him feel like he might be the luckiest boy in the world to be taking this trip, at this moment, surrounded by these people.
Recommended? Yes! It’s a beautiful short picture book that children of all ages (my three year old loves it) will enjoy!
94. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2015). *4 stars *
Told in free verse, two African American middle-school, basketball-loving, twin brothers are sons of a semi-pro player who had a career in Italy, but his career was cut short by injury. On and off the court, the brothers compete against and with each other, struggling to work together as team and family in the face of romance and stardom and possibilities of making it big.
Recommended? Yes, it’s powerful and sad. A middle school book for middle schoolers.
93. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (2014). *4 stars *
Flora, who loves her comics, and her divorced father who gave them to her, finds herself with her own superhero squirrel who she saved from death-by-vacuum. Ulysses, the squirrel, and Flora set out to save each other and bring an unlikely band of neighbors and her estranged parents together in the process.
Recommended? Yes, quirky and lovely Kate DiCamillo. It feels like one of her older books; Flora is pretty sad and angry at the beginning, but like all DiCamillo books it has a beautiful and true-feeling ending.
92. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2013). *4 stars *
A gorilla named Ivan is living in small cage in a mall next to an old elephant named Stella and a tiny mangy stray dog named Bob. When the mall’s owner buys a new baby elephant, Ruby, to help the financially declining mall, Ivan and Stella begin to work for a change so that Ruby does not have the life that they do. With help from the janitor and his little art-loving daughter Julia, Ivan uses his own art to try and get Ruby help.
Recommended? Yes, a little bit sad at the beginning, but a generous hearted book that breaks your heart in a good way and puts it back together again with hope. Especially for animal lovers.
91. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2012). *4 stars *
In a fictional autobiography, Jack Gantos’s mid 1960s summer is ruined when he accidently shoots off his father’s Japanese sniper rifle. His only reprieve from two months of being grounded is to help his elderly neighbor Ms. Volkner write obituaries for the town paper. Set in the real planned community of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, the brain-child of Eleanor Roosevelt for whom the town is named, this summer romp through the past as each original Norvelt resident dies and gets written up in the paper is funny and original.
Recommended? Yes, quirky and very middle school boy-ish, this seems like it might be a great grandpa-grandson book club if both parties were interested. Definitely more potty humor and blood and guts than a typical Newbery.
90. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2011) *5 stars *
Set in the fictional (but inspired by a real) town of Manifest, Kansas and told half in the summer of Depression Era 1936 and half in the end of World War I 1918 and 1919, Abilene Tucker is a young girl dropped off for the summer of 1936 in the town of Manifest. She spends her time looking for clues about when her father lived in the town in 1918, 18 years before. Manifest is a mining town filled with immigrants and stories and secrets.
Recommended? Yes! This is such a beautiful book that feels akin to movies like O Brother Where Art Thou, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Big Fish, stories within stories, a great historical novel.
89. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2010). *4 1/2 stars *
Miranda is writing back to the sender of mysterious letters from the future. The letters predicted what happens in a way that make Miranda trust that they were authentic, and the letter writer said that in order to save a life she must write a true story and tell no one about it. It’s a tightly woven mystery with a splash of sci-fi time travel and a big love letter to Miranda’s favorite book: A Wrinkle In Time.
Recommended? Yes! Especially for fans of A Wrinkle In Time and science fiction. A mystery that makes you want to re-read it when you finish it.
88. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009). *5 stars *
Part fairytale, part retelling of The Jungle Book, the tale of a boy called Nobody (Bod for short) who was rescued and raised by the ghosts of a graveyard when he was a baby to escape the murderous intensions of a group of mysterious men.
Recommended? Yes! Especially on audiobook. One of the very best Newberies. A little creepy, so probably for older kids, but just a great book.
87. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (2008). *4 stars *
A set of 19 related monologues (plus 2 dialogues) about children during the Middle Ages in England. Each monologue can stand alone, but also is connected to stories with references to other characters.
Recommended? Yes, especially for school history assignment, history buffs, or kids looking for forensics pieces. Probably older kids would understand and appreciate it, but the illustrated version is engaging for younger kids who might miss some of the references to harder parts of medieval life.
86. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (2007). *4 1/2 stars *
After Lucky’s mother dies, her father contacts his first wife, beautiful French Brigitte (who had divorced him when he refused to have children), to come look after Lucky in the middle of the southwest desert in a tiny town. Lucky loves Brigitte but is worried that Brigitte misses France too much to want to stay and become her permanent guardian.
Recommended? Yes, a few parts might be better for older kids or at least read in tandem with a parent, although I was 9 when I went with my grandparents to an actual AA meeting, so perhaps kids are ready for this earlier than I’d think. All the sensitive things are handled well.
85. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (2006). *4 stars *
Four teenagers on the verge of high school who have crisscrossed paths. The book switches narrators each chapter as they tell and retell the story of their summer. Incorporating illustrations, poetry, and connected small vignettes, the book is loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and tells the story of young teenage summers, love, and friendship.
Recommended? Yes, it feels more interested in high school and romance than some Newberies, but I liked it.
84. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (2005). *3 1/2 stars *
Japanese-American sisters Katie and Lynn move to the South in the 1970s with their baby brother and under-employed parents. It’s a story about the relationship between the sisters as Lynn gets sicker and sicker with untreatable cancer and their parents desperately work under terrible conditions in a chicken processing plant in the South to try and earn enough to care for their family.
Recommended? Maybe, it’s one of the sad and important but mostly just very sad Newberies like Out of the Dust, Sounder, M.C. Higgins the Great, and Slave Dancer, although there are some lighter moments than those interspersed with the sad and hard things.
83. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2004). *5 stars *
A lovely fairy tale about a brave knight who loved a princess, the knight happens to be a very small mouse, and the princess happens to be recently motherless human girl after a rat fell into her bowl of soup causing the queen’s untimely death, but it has all the makings of a classic fairytale in the extremely capable hands of the wonderful Kate DiCamillo.
Recommended? Yes! I love this book. It’s sweet and fun while tackling hard things. It’s a classic Kate DiCamillo book and one of my favorites.
82. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (2003). *4 stars *
A medieval boy with no name and only a mother who had no current social status but could read. The book opens with her death and a great concern about what is going to happen to the boy. He learns that he has a name, a noble name far too important for a nobody peasant boy: Crispin. At the same time, he’s accused of a serious crime he did not commit, becoming a fugitive on the run.
Recommended? Yes, prolific Avi (he’s written over 80 books!) is a strong writer who spins a solid medieval tale with intrigue and friendship. For fans of Adam of the Road, Door in the Wall, Whipping Boy, Midwife’s Apprentice and Witch of Blackbird Pond.
81. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (2002). *4 stars *
Set in 12th century Korea, orphan boy Tree-ear accidently breaks a pot of Min’s and begs to be able to work to repay it, he becomes an unlikely assistant to gruff potter Min whose only son had died some years before.
Recommended? Yes, beautiful and moving this well-researched book about medieval Korea is well done.
80. A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001). *4 1/2 stars *
Mary Alice spends the year with her formidable Grandmother in a little town in rural Illinois in the middle of the Great Depression. A sequel to the delightful A Long Way From Chicago, this episodic novel continues the humorous schemes and quirky sense of justice of Grandma who rules her little town by knowing everyone’s secrets and keeping everyone out of her own.
Recommended? Yes! Funny and quirky, this book and it’s prequel is probably for slightly older kids since it has a little violence and dark humor, but I thought it was very good.
79. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000). *5 stars *
Bud Caldwell, age ten, is a motherless African American boy with spunk and a hunch that he can find his long-lost father in the famous Herman E. Calloway and the “Dusky Devastators of the Depression!!!!!!” Bud sets out alone on an across-state journey to find his family.
Recommended? Yes! It’s a really great book with a really great young narrator and a fairly gentle introduction to the difficulties of the great depression and 1930s racism. A good companion to Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.
78. Holes by Louis Sachar (1999). *5 stars *
Stanley Yelnats, a chronically unlucky boy who is sent to the juvenile detention Camp Greenlake on false charges of theft. With half the story taking place a hundred years before, the past and present of Stanley, the other inmate/campers, and “The Warden” are spun into a tight, well-plotted tale.
Recommended? Yes! One of my all time favorite books! It does have a little bit of junior high boy humorous nicknames (Armpit) and violence, so probably best for ages 10+.
77. Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (1998). *3 stars *
A verse novel set in Depression-era panhandle Oklahoma during the devastating Dust Bowl, narrator Billie Jo is an only child of fourteen whose mother is finally pregnant with a much anticipated new baby while their farm is enduring a terrible drought, and their family endures a terrible accident.
Recommended? Maybe, it is very very sad. It’s important and well written, but pretty bleak most of the way through. I think middle schoolers learning about the Dust Bowl would learn a great deal from this account.
76. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (1997). *4 stars *
Four unlikely sixth grade academic quiz bowl team members live in a town in New York State. Exploring the backstory of each character’s specific talents and knowledge, the book is told in a series of five narrators: the four competitors and their teacher and coach Mrs. Olinski.
Recommended? Yes, not quite as charming as her first Newbery, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, but fun and clever. Probably especially good for kids who feel a little out of sync starting middle school or starting at a new school.
How about you! Have you read any of these Newberies? Which ones did you love?