Award Winning Children's Books

The two American medals for young readers reward different things. The Newbery honours the writing and the Caldecott the pictures, and a book almost never wins both. Listing them together gives a parent or a teacher one page covering a century of the best children's books rather than two lists to hold side by side.

217 books drawn from 7 prize lists, newest first.

• 2026 Newbery Medal
  All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson
• 2026 Caldecott Medal
  Fireworks by Cátia Chien
• 2025 Caldecott Medal
  Chooch Helped by Rebecca Lee Kunz
• 2025 Newbery Medal
  The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
• 2024 Caldecott Medal
  Big by Vashti Harrison
• 2024 Newbery Medal
  The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
• 2023 Newbery Medal
  Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
• 2023 Caldecott Medal
  Hot Dog by Doug Salati
• 2022 Newbery Medal
  The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
• 2022 Caldecott Medal
  Watercress by Jason Chin
• 2021 Caldecott Medal
  We Are Water Protectors by Michaela Goade
• 2021 Newbery Medal
  When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
• 2020 Newbery Medal
  New Kid by Jerry Craft
• 2020 Caldecott Medal
  The Undefeated by Kadir Nelson
• 2019 Caldecott Medal
  Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
• 2019 Newbery Medal
  Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
• 2018 Newbery Medal
  Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
• 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography
  Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser
• 2018 Caldecott Medal
  Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell
• 2017 Caldecott Medal
  Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
• 2017 Newbery Medal
  The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
• 2016 Caldecott Medal
  Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Sophie Blackall
• 2016 Newbery Medal
  Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
• 2015 Caldecott Medal
  The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
• 2015 Newbery Medal
  The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• 2014 Newbery Medal
  Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
• 2014 Caldecott Medal
  Locomotive by Brian Floca
• 2013 Newbery Medal
  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• 2013 Caldecott Medal
  This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
• 2012 Caldecott Medal
  A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
• 2012 Newbery Medal
  Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
• 2011 Caldecott Medal
  A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Erin E. Stead
• 2011 Newbery Medal
  Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
• 2010 Caldecott Medal
  The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
• 2010 Newbery Medal
  When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• 2009 Hugo Award for Best Novel
  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• 2009 Caldecott Medal
  The House in the Night by Beth Krommes
• 2008 Newbery Medal
  Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
• 2008 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• 2008 Caldecott Medal
  The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• 2007 Caldecott Medal
  Flotsam by David Wiesner
• 2007 Newbery Medal
  The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
• 2006 Newbery Medal
  Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
• 2006 Caldecott Medal
  The Hello, Goodbye Window by Chris Raschka
• 2005 Newbery Medal
  Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
• 2005 Caldecott Medal
  Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
• 2005 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• 2004 Caldecott Medal
  The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein
• 2004 Newbery Medal
  The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• 2003 Newbery Medal
  Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
• 2003 Caldecott Medal
  My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann
• 2002 Newbery Medal
  A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
• 2002 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• 2002 Caldecott Medal
  The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
• 2001 Newbery Medal
  A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
• 2001 Hugo Award for Best Novel
  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
• 2001 Caldecott Medal
  So You Want to Be President? by David Small
• 2000 Newbery Medal
  Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
• 2000 Caldecott Medal
  Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback
• 2000 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
• 1999 Newbery Medal
  Holes by Louis Sachar
• 1999 Caldecott Medal
  Snowflake Bentley by Mary Azarian
• 1998 Newbery Medal
  Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
• 1998 Caldecott Medal
  Rapunzel by Paul O. Zelinsky
• 1997 Caldecott Medal
  Golem by David Wisniewski
• 1997 Newbery Medal
  The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
• 1996 Caldecott Medal
  Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
• 1996 Newbery Medal
  The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman
• 1995 Caldecott Medal
  Smoky Night by David Diaz
• 1995 Newbery Medal
  Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
• 1994 Caldecott Medal
  Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
• 1994 Newbery Medal
  The Giver by Lois Lowry
• 1993 Caldecott Medal
  Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
• 1993 Newbery Medal
  Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
• 1992 Newbery Medal
  Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• 1992 Caldecott Medal
  Tuesday by David Wiesner
• 1991 Caldecott Medal
  Black and White by David Macaulay
• 1991 Newbery Medal
  Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
• 1990 Caldecott Medal
  Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China by Ed Young
• 1990 Newbery Medal
  Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• 1989 Newbery Medal
  Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
• 1989 Caldecott Medal
  Song and Dance Man by Stephen Gammell
• 1988 Newbery Medal
  Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
• 1988 Caldecott Medal
  Owl Moon by John Schoenherr
• 1987 Caldecott Medal
  Hey, Al by Richard Egielski
• 1987 Newbery Medal
  The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
• 1986 Newbery Medal
  Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• 1986 Caldecott Medal
  The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• 1985 Caldecott Medal
  Saint George and the Dragon by Trina Schart Hyman
• 1985 Newbery Medal
  The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
• 1984 Newbery Medal
  Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
• 1984 Caldecott Medal
  The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot by Alice and Martin Provensen
• 1983 Newbery Medal
  Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
• 1983 Caldecott Medal
  Shadow by Marcia Brown
• 1982 Newbery Medal
  A Visit to William Blake's Inn by Nancy Willard
• 1982 Caldecott Medal
  Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
• 1981 Caldecott Medal
  Fables by Arnold Lobel
• 1981 Newbery Medal
  Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson
• 1980 Newbery Medal
  A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal by Joan Blos
• 1980 Caldecott Medal
  Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney
• 1979 Caldecott Medal
  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
• 1979 Newbery Medal
  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
• 1978 Newbery Medal
  Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
• 1978 Caldecott Medal
  Noah's Ark by Peter Spier
• 1977 Caldecott Medal
  Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions by Leo and Diane Dillon
• 1977 Newbery Medal
  Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
• 1976 Newbery Medal
  The Grey King by Susan Cooper
• 1976 Caldecott Medal
  Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Leo and Diane Dillon
• 1975 Caldecott Medal
  Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott
• 1975 Newbery Medal
  M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
• 1974 Caldecott Medal
  Duffy and the Devil by Margot Zemach
• 1974 Newbery Medal
  The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
• 1973 Newbery Medal
  Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
• 1973 Caldecott Medal
  The Funny Little Woman by Blair Lent
• 1972 Newbery Medal
  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
• 1972 Caldecott Medal
  One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian
• 1971 Caldecott Medal
  A Story a Story by Gail E. Haley
• 1971 Newbery Medal
  The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
• 1970 Newbery Medal
  Sounder by William H. Armstrong
• 1970 Caldecott Medal
  Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
• 1969 Caldecott Medal
  The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Uri Shulevitz
• 1969 Newbery Medal
  The High King by Lloyd Alexander
• 1968 Caldecott Medal
  Drummer Hoff by Ed Emberley
• 1968 Newbery Medal
  From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
• 1967 Caldecott Medal
  Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness
• 1967 Newbery Medal
  Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt
• 1966 Caldecott Medal
  Always Room for One More by Nonny Hogrogian
• 1966 Newbery Medal
  I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
• 1965 Caldecott Medal
  May I Bring a Friend? by Beni Montresor
• 1965 Newbery Medal
  Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska
• 1964 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• 1964 Newbery Medal
  It's Like This, Cat by Emily Cheney Neville
• 1964 Caldecott Medal
  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• 1963 Newbery Medal
  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• 1963 Caldecott Medal
  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• 1962 Caldecott Medal
  Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown
• 1962 Newbery Medal
  The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
• 1961 Caldecott Medal
  Baboushka and the Three Kings by Nicolas Sidjakov
• 1961 Newbery Medal
  Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
• 1960 Caldecott Medal
  Nine Days to Christmas by Marie Hall Ets
• 1960 Newbery Medal
  Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
• 1959 Caldecott Medal
  Chanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney
• 1959 Newbery Medal
  The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
• 1958 Newbery Medal
  Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
• 1958 Caldecott Medal
  Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey
• 1957 Caldecott Medal
  A Tree Is Nice by Marc Simont
• 1957 Newbery Medal
  Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
• 1956 Newbery Medal
  Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
• 1956 Caldecott Medal
  Frog Went A-Courtin' by Feodor Rojankovsky
• 1955 Caldecott Medal
  Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper by Marcia Brown
• 1955 Newbery Medal
  The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
• 1954 Newbery Medal
  ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold
• 1954 Caldecott Medal
  Madeline's Rescue by Ludwig Bemelmans
• 1953 Newbery Medal
  Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
• 1953 Caldecott Medal
  The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward
• 1952 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
• 1952 Caldecott Medal
  Finders Keepers by Nicolas Mordvinoff
• 1952 Newbery Medal
  Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
• 1951 Newbery Medal
  Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates
• 1951 Caldecott Medal
  The Egg Tree by Katherine Milhous
• 1950 Caldecott Medal
  Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
• 1950 Newbery Medal
  The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
• 1949 Newbery Medal
  King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
• 1949 Caldecott Medal
  The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader
• 1948 Newbery Medal
  The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
• 1948 Caldecott Medal
  White Snow, Bright Snow by Roger Duvoisin
• 1947 Newbery Medal
  Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
• 1947 Caldecott Medal
  The Little Island by Leonard Weisgard
• 1946 Newbery Medal
  Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
• 1946 Caldecott Medal
  The Rooster Crows by Maud and Miska Petersham
• 1945 Caldecott Medal
  Prayer for a Child by Elizabeth Orton Jones
• 1945 Newbery Medal
  Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
• 1944 Newbery Medal
  Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
• 1944 Caldecott Medal
  Many Moons by Louis Slobodkin
• 1943 Newbery Medal
  Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
• 1943 Caldecott Medal
  The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
• 1943 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• 1942 Caldecott Medal
  Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• 1942 Newbery Medal
  The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds
• 1941 Newbery Medal
  Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
• 1941 Caldecott Medal
  They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson
• 1940 Caldecott Medal
  Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
• 1940 Newbery Medal
  Daniel Boone by James Daugherty
• 1939 Caldecott Medal
  Mei Li by Thomas Handforth
• 1939 Newbery Medal
  Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
• 1938 Caldecott Medal
  Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book by Dorothy P. Lathrop
• 1938 Newbery Medal
  The White Stag by Kate Seredy
• 1937 Newbery Medal
  Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
• 1937 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
• 1936 Newbery Medal
  Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
• 1935 Newbery Medal
  Dobry by Monica Shannon
• 1934 Newbery Medal
  Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs
• 1933 Newbery Medal
  Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis
• 1932 Newbery Medal
  Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer
• 1931 Newbery Medal
  The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
• 1930 Newbery Medal
  Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
• 1929 Newbery Medal
  The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
• 1928 Newbery Medal
  Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
• 1927 Newbery Medal
  Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James
• 1926 Newbery Medal
  Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
• 1926 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
• 1925 Newbery Medal
  Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger
• 1924 Newbery Medal
  The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes
• 1923 Newbery Medal
  The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
• 1922 Newbery Medal
  The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon
• 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature
  The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck
• 1911 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• 1909 Nobel Prize in Literature
  The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by Selma Lagerlöf
• 1908 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
• 1908 Best Books That Never Won a Prize
  The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• 1894 Classic Books
  The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• 1883 Classic Books
  The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
• 1883 Classic Books
  Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• 1880 Classic Books
  Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• 1877 Classic Books
  Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• 1871 Classic Books
  Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
• 1865 Classic Books
  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll