Archive Collection
Newbery Medal Winners
1922–2026
The Newbery Medal is the most distinguished award in American children's literature, presented annually since 1922 by the American Library Association for the year's finest book for young readers. Winners include classics from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time to Lois Lowry's The Giver and Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux.
About the Newbery Medal
- Awarded by
- American Library Association
- First awarded
- 1922
- Country
- United States
- Winner receives
- A medal rather than money
When it is announced
Announced in January with the rest of the association's youth media awards. See the full announcement calendar.
How to enter
There is no entry. A committee of librarians considers books published in the United States during the previous year.
Official prize site · Checked August 2026. Dates move year to year, so confirm on the official site before entering.
| Year | Title & Author | Historical Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | All the Blues in the Sky | Bloomsbury Children's Books published All the Blues in the Sky on February 4, 2025, and it won the 2026 Newbery Medal, Renée Watson's second major… |
| 2025 | The First State of Being | Greenwillow Books published The First State of Being in 2024, and it won the 2025 Newbery Medal, Erin Entrada Kelly's second after Hello, Universe in… |
| 2024 | The Eyes and the Impossible | Knopf and McSweeney's jointly published The Eyes and the Impossible on May 9, 2023, illustrated by Shawn Harris, and it won the 2024 Newbery Medal.… |
| 2023 | Freewater | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers published Freewater on February 1, 2022, and it won both the 2023 Newbery Medal and the 2023 Coretta Scott King… |
| 2022 | The Last Cuentista | Levine Querido published The Last Cuentista on October 12, 2021, and it won both the 2022 Newbery Medal and the 2022 Pura Belpré Award for Author, a… |
| 2021 | When You Trap a Tiger | Random House published When You Trap a Tiger on January 28, 2020, and it won the 2021 Newbery Medal as well as the Asian/Pacific American Award for… |
| 2020 | New Kid | HarperCollins published New Kid on February 5, 2019, and it won the 2020 Newbery Medal, the first graphic novel to take the award, along with the… |
| 2019 | Merci Suárez Changes Gears | Candlewick Press published Merci Suárez Changes Gears on September 11, 2018, and it won the 2019 Newbery Medal. That year's two Newbery Honor books… |
| 2018 | Hello, Universe | Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, published Hello, Universe on March 14, 2017, and it won the 2018 Newbery Medal, Erin Entrada Kelly's… |
| 2017 | The Girl Who Drank the Moon | Algonquin Young Readers, a small independent press unusual among Newbery winning publishers, released The Girl Who Drank the Moon on August 9, 2016,… |
| 2016 | Last Stop on Market Street | G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin, published Last Stop on Market Street in 2015, and it won the 2016 Newbery Medal, only the second picture… |
| 2015 | The Crossover | The Crossover was published in 2014 and won the Newbery Medal in 2015, together with a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and it did something the… |
| 2014 | Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures | Candlewick Press published Flora and Ulysses in 2013, and it won the 2014 Newbery Medal, DiCamillo's second after The Tale of Despereaux in 2004,… |
| 2013 | The One and Only Ivan | HarperCollins published The One and Only Ivan in 2012, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, and it won the 2013 Newbery Medal along with the Christopher… |
| 2012 | Dead End in Norvelt | Farrar, Straus and Giroux published Dead End in Norvelt on September 13, 2011, and it won the 2012 Newbery Medal as well as the Scott O'Dell Award… |
| 2011 | Moon Over Manifest | Delacorte Press published Moon Over Manifest in 2010, and it won the 2011 Newbery Medal as well as the Spur Award for best juvenile Western fiction.… |
| 2010 | When You Reach Me | Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House, published When You Reach Me on July 14, 2009, and it won the 2010 Newbery Medal. That year's four… |
| 2009 | The Graveyard Book | The Graveyard Book won the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 2009 Newbery Medal and the 2010 Carnegie Medal, and it is the only book ever to take… |
| 2008 | Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village | Candlewick Press published Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village on July 24, 2007, illustrated by Robert Byrd, and it won the… |
| 2007 | The Higher Power of Lucky | Simon & Schuster published The Higher Power of Lucky on November 7, 2006, illustrated by Matt Phelan, and it won the 2007 Newbery Medal. That year's… |
| 2006 | Criss Cross | Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, published Criss Cross in September 2005, and it won the 2006 Newbery Medal. That year's four Newbery… |
| 2005 | Kira-Kira | Atheneum Books for Young Readers published Kira-Kira on February 1, 2004, and it won the 2005 Newbery Medal. That year's three Newbery Honor books… |
| 2004 | The Tale of Despereaux | Candlewick Press published The Tale of Despereaux in August 2003, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, and it won the 2004 Newbery Medal, DiCamillo's… |
| 2003 | Crispin: The Cross of Lead | Hyperion Books for Children published Crispin: The Cross of Lead in 2002, and it won the 2003 Newbery Medal, Avi's first Newbery win after two… |
| 2002 | A Single Shard | A Single Shard won the 2002 Newbery Medal, published in 2001 by Clarion Books. That year's Newbery Honor went to two books, Polly Horvath's… |
| 2001 | A Year Down Yonder | A Year Down Yonder won the 2001 Newbery Medal, succeeding Bud, Not Buddy. It is a direct sequel to A Long Way from Chicago, which had received a 1999… |
| 2000 | Bud, Not Buddy | Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Audrey Couloumbis's Getting Near to Baby, Jennifer L. Holm's Our Only May… |
| 1999 | Holes | Holes won the 1999 Newbery Medal, with Richard Peck's A Long Way from Chicago as that year's sole honor book, and it also won the 1998 National Book… |
| 1998 | Out of the Dust | Out of the Dust won the 1998 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Patricia Reilly Giff's Lily's Crossing, Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted… |
| 1997 | The View from Saturday | The View from Saturday won the 1997 Newbery Medal, Konigsburg's second, almost thirty years after her first win for From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs.… |
| 1996 | The Midwife's Apprentice | The Midwife's Apprentice won the 1996 Newbery Medal, a year after Cushman had already earned a Newbery Honor for her debut novel, Catherine, Called… |
| 1995 | Walk Two Moons | Walk Two Moons won the 1995 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy and Nancy Farmer's The Ear, the Eye… |
| 1994 | The Giver | The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal, Lois Lowry's second after Number the Stars in 1990. That year's honor books were Jane Leslie Conly's Crazy… |
| 1993 | Missing May | Missing May won the 1993 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Bruce Brooks's What Hearts, Patricia McKissack's The Dark Thirty, and Walter… |
| 1992 | Shiloh | Shiloh won the 1992 Newbery Medal, with Avi's Nothing but the Truth and Russell Freedman's The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane as… |
| 1991 | Maniac Magee | Maniac Magee won the 1991 Newbery Medal, with Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as that year's sole honor book. Little, Brown published… |
| 1990 | Number the Stars | Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Janet Taylor Lisle's Afternoon of the Elves, Gary Paulsen's The Winter… |
| 1989 | Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices | Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices won the 1989 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Virginia Hamilton's In the Beginning: Creation Stories… |
| 1988 | Lincoln: A Photobiography | Lincoln: A Photobiography won the 1988 Newbery Medal, the first work of nonfiction to take the award in roughly thirty years. That year's honor books… |
| 1987 | The Whipping Boy | The Whipping Boy won the 1987 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Marion Dane Bauer's On My Honor, Patricia Lauber's Volcano: The Eruption… |
| 1986 | Sarah, Plain and Tall | Sarah, Plain and Tall won the 1986 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Rhoda Blumberg's Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun and Gary… |
| 1985 | The Hero and the Crown | The Hero and the Crown won the 1985 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Bruce Brooks's The Moves Make the Man, Paula Fox's One Eyed Cat, and… |
| 1984 | Dear Mr. Henshaw | Dear Mr. Henshaw won the 1984 Newbery Medal. That year's honor books were Bill Brittain's The Wish Giver, Kathryn Lasky's Sugaring Time, Elizabeth… |
| 1983 | Dicey's Song | Dicey's Song won the 1983 Newbery Medal, succeeding A Visit to William Blake's Inn, in a year with an unusually large field of five honor books: Paul… |
| 1982 | A Visit to William Blake's Inn | A Visit to William Blake's Inn won the 1982 Newbery Medal, the first year the medal's winner and a Caldecott Honor book were the same title: Alice… |
| 1981 | Jacob Have I Loved | Thomas Y. Crowell published Jacob Have I Loved in 1980, and the American Library Association gave Katherine Paterson the 1981 Newbery Medal for it,… |
| 1980 | A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal | Charles Scribner's Sons published A Gathering of Days in 1979, and the American Library Association gave Joan Blos the 1980 Newbery Medal for it over… |
| 1979 | The Westing Game | E. P. Dutton published The Westing Game on May 1, 1978, and the American Library Association gave Ellen Raskin the 1979 Newbery Medal for it over a… |
| 1978 | Bridge to Terabithia | Thomas Y. Crowell published Bridge to Terabithia on October 21, 1977, and the American Library Association gave Katherine Paterson the 1978 Newbery… |
| 1977 | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Dial Press published Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry in 1976, and the American Library Association gave Mildred D. Taylor the 1977 Newbery Medal for it… |
| 1976 | The Grey King | Atheneum published The Grey King in the United States in October 1975, and the American Library Association gave Susan Cooper the 1976 Newbery Medal… |
| 1975 | M. C. Higgins, the Great | Macmillan published M. C. Higgins, the Great in 1974, and the American Library Association gave Virginia Hamilton the 1975 Newbery Medal for it over… |
| 1974 | The Slave Dancer | Bradbury Press published The Slave Dancer in October 1973, and the American Library Association gave Paula Fox the 1974 Newbery Medal for it, over a… |
| 1973 | Julie of the Wolves | Harper and Row published Julie of the Wolves in 1972, and the American Library Association gave Jean Craighead George the 1973 Newbery Medal for it… |
| 1972 | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH | Atheneum published Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH in 1971, and the American Library Association gave Robert C. O'Brien the 1972 Newbery Medal over… |
| 1971 | The Summer of the Swans | Viking Press published Summer of the Swans in 1970, and the American Library Association gave Betsy Byars the 1971 Newbery Medal over three honor… |
| 1970 | Sounder | Harper and Row published Sounder in 1969, and the American Library Association gave William H. Armstrong the 1970 Newbery Medal for it over three… |
| 1969 | The High King | Holt, Rinehart and Winston published The High King on October 27, 1968, closing Lloyd Alexander's five volume Chronicles of Prydain, and the American… |
| 1968 | From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler | Atheneum published From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler in 1967, and the American Library Association gave E. L. Konigsburg the 1968… |
| 1967 | Up a Road Slowly | The Follett Publishing Company brought out Up a Road Slowly in 1966, and the American Library Association awarded Irene Hunt the 1967 Newbery Medal… |
| 1966 | I, Juan de Pareja | Farrar, Straus and Giroux published I, Juan de Pareja in 1965, and the American Library Association gave Elizabeth Borton de Treviño the 1966 Newbery… |
| 1965 | Shadow of a Bull | Atheneum published Shadow of a Bull in 1964, one hundred fifty five pages, and the American Library Association awarded it the 1965 Newbery Medal… |
| 1964 | It's Like This, Cat | Harper and Row published It's Like This, Cat, Emily Cheney Neville's debut novel, in 1963, and the American Library Association gave it the 1964… |
| 1963 | A Wrinkle in Time | Farrar, Straus and Giroux published A Wrinkle in Time in January 1962 after more than two dozen publishers, twenty six by most later counts, turned… |
| 1962 | The Bronze Bow | Houghton Mifflin published The Bronze Bow in 1961, and the American Library Association gave it the 1962 Newbery Medal over three honor books, Edwin… |
| 1961 | Island of the Blue Dolphins | Island of the Blue Dolphins won the 1961 Newbery Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published in 1960. That year's honor books were Gerald W.… |
| 1960 | Onion John | Onion John won the 1960 Newbery Medal for a book Thomas Y. Crowell published in 1959, illustrated by Symeon Shimin. That year's honor books were Jean… |
| 1959 | The Witch of Blackbird Pond | The Witch of Blackbird Pond won the 1959 Newbery Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published on December 1, 1958. That year's honor books were… |
| 1958 | Rifles for Watie | Rifles for Watie won the 1958 Newbery Medal for a book Thomas Y. Crowell published in 1957. That year's honor books were Mari Sandoz's The… |
| 1957 | Miracles on Maple Hill | Miracles on Maple Hill won the 1957 Newbery Medal for a book Harcourt published in 1956, illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush. That year's honor books… |
| 1956 | Carry On, Mr. Bowditch | Carry On, Mr. Bowditch won the 1956 Newbery Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published on September 9, 1955. That year's honor books were Marjorie… |
| 1955 | The Wheel on the School | The Wheel on the School won the 1955 Newbery Medal for a book Harper published in 1954, illustrated by Maurice Sendak years before he wrote and… |
| 1954 | ...And Now Miguel | ...And Now Miguel won the 1954 Newbery Medal for a book Thomas Y. Crowell published in 1953, illustrated by Jean Charlot; the New York Herald Tribune… |
| 1953 | Secret of the Andes | Secret of the Andes won the 1953 Newbery Medal for a book Viking published in 1952, illustrated by Jean Charlot. Its most discussed honor book, then… |
| 1952 | Ginger Pye | Ginger Pye won the 1952 Newbery Medal for a book Harcourt, Brace published in 1951, written and illustrated by Estes herself. That year's honor books… |
| 1951 | Amos Fortune, Free Man | Amos Fortune, Free Man won the 1951 Newbery Medal for a book E. P. Dutton published in 1950, illustrated by Nora Spicer Unwin. That year's honor… |
| 1950 | The Door in the Wall | The Door in the Wall won the 1950 Newbery Medal for a book Doubleday published in 1949, written and illustrated by de Angeli herself. That year's… |
| 1949 | King of the Wind | King of the Wind won the 1949 Newbery Medal for a book Rand McNally published in 1948, illustrated by Wesley Dennis, Henry's regular collaborator on… |
| 1948 | The Twenty-One Balloons | The Twenty-One Balloons won the 1948 Newbery Medal for a book Viking published in 1947, written and illustrated by du Bois himself. That year's honor… |
| 1947 | Miss Hickory | Miss Hickory won the 1947 Newbery Medal for a book Viking published in 1946, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett, whose stepdaughter Ruth Stiles… |
| 1946 | Strawberry Girl | Strawberry Girl won the 1946 Newbery Medal for a book J. B. Lippincott published in 1945, illustrated by Lenski herself. That year's honor books were… |
| 1945 | Rabbit Hill | Rabbit Hill won the 1945 Newbery Medal for a book Viking published in 1944, illustrated by Lawson himself. That year's honor books were Eleanor… |
| 1944 | Johnny Tremain | Johnny Tremain won the 1944 Newbery Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published in 1943, illustrated by Lynd Ward. That year's honor books were Laura… |
| 1943 | Adam of the Road | Adam of the Road won the 1943 Newbery Medal for a book Viking published in 1942, illustrated by Robert Lawson, who would win the medal himself two… |
| 1942 | The Matchlock Gun | The Matchlock Gun won the 1942 Newbery Medal for a book published by Dodd, Mead in 1941, illustrated by Paul Lantz. That year's honor books were… |
| 1941 | Call It Courage | Macmillan published Call It Courage in 1940, known as The Boy Who Was Afraid in some British editions, and it won the 1941 Newbery Medal. No… |
| 1940 | Daniel Boone | The Viking Press published Daniel Boone in January 1939, and it won the 1940 Newbery Medal a year after Daugherty had already won a Caldecott Honor… |
| 1939 | Thimble Summer | Farrar and Rinehart published Thimble Summer on August 18, 1938, and it won the 1939 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but… |
| 1938 | The White Stag | The Viking Press published The White Stag in 1937, and it won the 1938 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but that year's… |
| 1937 | Roller Skates | The Viking Press published Roller Skates in October 1936, illustrated by Valenti Angelo, and it won the 1937 Newbery Medal. No committee citation… |
| 1936 | Caddie Woodlawn | Macmillan published Caddie Woodlawn in 1935, illustrated in its original edition by Kate Seredy, and it won the 1936 Newbery Medal. No committee… |
| 1935 | Dobry | The Viking Press published Dobry in 1934, and it won the 1935 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but that year's runners up… |
| 1934 | Invincible Louisa | Little, Brown published Invincible Louisa in 1933, and it won the 1934 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but that year's… |
| 1933 | Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze | The John C. Winston Company published Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze in 1932, and it won the 1933 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from… |
| 1932 | Waterless Mountain | Longmans, Green published Waterless Mountain in 1931, and it won the 1932 Newbery Medal as well as the publisher's own Longmans Juvenile Fiction… |
| 1931 | The Cat Who Went to Heaven | Macmillan published The Cat Who Went to Heaven in 1930, illustrated by Lynd Ward, and it won the 1931 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives… |
| 1930 | Hitty, Her First Hundred Years | Macmillan published Hitty, Her First Hundred Years in 1929, and it won the 1930 Newbery Medal, making Rachel Field the first woman to win the award.… |
| 1929 | The Trumpeter of Krakow | Macmillan published The Trumpeter of Krakow in 1928, and it won the 1929 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but that year's… |
| 1928 | Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon | E. P. Dutton published Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon in 1927, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff, and it won the 1928 Newbery Medal. No committee… |
| 1927 | Smoky the Cowhorse | Charles Scribner's Sons published Smoky the Cowhorse in 1926, and it won the 1927 Newbery Medal. The committee published no citation in this era, and… |
| 1926 | Shen of the Sea | E. P. Dutton published Shen of the Sea in 1925, and it won the 1926 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but a single runner… |
| 1925 | Tales from Silver Lands | Doubleday published Tales from Silver Lands in 1924, and it won the 1925 Newbery Medal. No committee citation survives from this era, but that year's… |
| 1924 | The Dark Frigate | Little, Brown published The Dark Frigate in 1923. Charles Boardman Hawes died that same year, only thirty four years old, several months before the… |
| 1923 | The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle | Lofting began the Doctor Dolittle stories as illustrated letters he sent home to his children from the trenches of the First World War, a way of… |
| 1922 | The Story of Mankind | The Story of Mankind won the very first Newbery Medal in 1922, the year the American Library Association created the prize, at editor Frederic G.… |