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The Newbery Medal for Best Children's Book Winners, 1990-2000
The Newbery Medal honors the year's most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The medal was established in 1922 and is presented annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The recipient must be a citizen or resident of the United States.
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly (2025)
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers (2024)
ANIMAL STORY - A story of a dog who unwittingly becomes a hero to a park full of animals. Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea. His job is to be the Eyes--to see everything that happens within the park and report back to the park's elders, three ancient Bison. But changes are afoot. A story about friendship, beauty, liberation, and running very, very fast,.
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson (2023)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp. In this society created by formerly enslaved people Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (2022)
SCIENCE FICTION - Petra Peña wanted to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred people have been chosen to journey to a new planet. When Petra wakes to this new planet she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey and purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller (2021)
FANTASY & FOLKLORE - Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother. When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her Halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal--return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health--Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice...and the courage to face a tiger.
New Kid by Jerry Craft (2020)
REALISTIC FICTION - New Kid is a graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real. As seventh grader Jordan Banks makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, he soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina (2019)
REALISTIC FICTION - Thoughtful, strong-willed sixth-grader Merci Suarez navigates difficult changes with friends, family, and everyone in between. Merci and her older brother are scholarship students at a rich private school in Florida. They don't have a big house or a fancy boat, and they have to do extra community service to make up for their free tuition. At school Merci has to deal with bossy Edna Santos and at home she has to worry about her grandfather who has started to forget things. Who knew sixth grade would be this difficult?
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (2018)
REALISTIC FICTION - The lives of four misfits are intertwined when a bully's prank lands shy Virgil at the bottom of a well and Valencia, Kaori, and Gen band together in an epic quest to find and rescue him.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (2017)
FANTASY - Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge--with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch.
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De la Peña (2016)
REALISTIC FICTION - Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why they don't own a car like his friend Colby. How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question is met with an encouraging answer from grandma, who helps him see the beauty; and fun; in their routine and the world around them.
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (2015)
SPORTS STORY - REALISTIC FICTION - 12-year old Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.
Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (2014)
COMEDY - ANIMAL STORY - A cynical girl, who has read every issue of Terrible Things Can Happen to You, rescues a squirrel from a vacuum cleaner. But when the squirrel develops superpowers things get interesting. This is the laugh-out-loud story of their adventures together.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (2013)
ANIMAL STORY - When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (2012)
COMEDY - HISTORICAL FICTION - This novel is partly autobiographical and partly fictional. In Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2011)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up. Over the summer she pieces together her father's story, aided by some mysterious letters. It seems that Manifest's history is full of colorful and shadowy characters--and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2010)
REALISTIC FICTION - MYSTERY - SCI FI - As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009)
SUPERNATURAL FICTION - Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other residents of the graveyard
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (2008)
HISTORICAL PLAYS - A collection of short one-person plays featuring characters, between ten and fifteen years old, who live in or near a thirteenth-century English manor.
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (2007)
REALISTIC FICTION - Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (2006)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Teenagers in a small town in the 1960s experience new thoughts and feelings, question their identities, connect, and disconnect as they search for the meaning of life and love.
Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (2005)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Chronicles the close friendship between two Japanese-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the despair when one sister becomes terminally ill.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (2004)
FANTASY - The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (2003)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Falsely accused of theft and murder, an orphaned peasant boy in fourteenth-century England flees his village and meets a larger-than-life juggler who holds a dangerous secret.
A Single Shard by Linda Park (2002)
HISTORICAL FICTION - Tree-ear, a thirteen-year-old orphan in medieval Korea, lives under a bridge in a potters' village, and longs to learn how to throw the delicate celadon ceramics himself.
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (2001)
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