Reading Central : Mock Newbery Club

What is the Newbery Medal?

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Visit the new ALSC Awards Shelf to browse all current and past ALSC award recipients!

First awarded in 1922 “the purpose of the Newbery Medal was stated as follows: "To encourage original creative work in the field of books for children. To emphasize to the public that contributions to the literature for children deserve similar recognition to poetry, plays, or novels. To give those librarians, who make it their life work to serve children's reading interests, an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field."

Book Choice Number 1 Info

Timeline and Calendar

Criteria: Most distinguished book for children this year * by an American author

• Characters

• Plot

• Setting

• Themes

• Language

Prompts, Considerations, Ponderings

• What have you read this week/month?

• What did you like about this book?

• Do you think the characters were well developed? Is there a place that shows that?

• Were the secondary characters fleshed out, so you could imagine them as real people?

• How well did the author describe the setting? Could you put yourself in that setting?

• Did the plot hold your attention, or did it have slow moments that didn’t work with the story?

• Did you notice the language that the author used? Was it effective?

• Were the themes meaningful to you? Maybe to the characters in the book?