Notable NON-Newbery Winners: Waiting for Gold?

Emily: In September, we introduced a Friday series about Notable Newbery authors and kicked off a Newbery Authors Poll, which is still open. In October we discussed the “powerhouse” Newbery authors. This month we thought it might be fun to focus on authors who have not won a Newbery Medal, including those who have won at least one Honor and also some of the many excellent writers who haven’t yet been awarded any Newbery recognition.

STEVEN: Our second question on that poll is “Are there any authors/ books that you feel like were “robbed” of a Newbery?” How do the results from that one look so far, Emily

EMILY: There’s a lot of interesting thoughts on here when looking at today’s post authors who have not won a Newbery. For example, someone listed Gary Paulsen as a prolific Newbery author and he won three honors, but no medal. And E.B White and Laura Ingalls Wilder are the ones most listed as being “robbed” of the medal. I’ll always remember the first time I met a Newbery committee member, she spoke about her fear of being “hated for all of history like the Charlotte’s Web committee.”

STEVEN: Also E. B. White’s first book, STUART LITTLE, didn’t even get an Honor…not everyone’s favorite, but still a pretty impressive book for 1945. Also impressive: five Honor books in seven years for L. I. Wilder, but never a Medal. A record that seemed unmatchable…but Jacqueline Woodson is closing in (4 Honors, 0 Medals) and Christina Soontornvat is not far behind (3 / 0). 

EMILY:  I’m the one that called this the Jacqueline Woodson tribute post. She’s done so much for children’s literature in the past decade, I’m in shock she has not medalled. I remember someone saying that the publishers plan her book covers so that there’s lots of room for all the medal stickers on it. (probably not true).

STEVEN: Wikipedia has a handy list of multiple Newbery recipients where it’s easy to pick out the writers who have won multiple Newbery Honors…but no Medal. I count 17 of those. Some I’ve never heard of outside of this list (apologies to Jeanette Eaton and her four Honors). But some jump out from that list. I remember when Gary Paulsen won three Honors in five years (1986,1988, 1990), it seemed like just a matter of time before he would get the Medal…but it never happened. I thought THE RIFLE or SOLDIER’S HEART might have had a chance, and I always liked his funny books, like LAWN BOY and LIAR, LIAR, but I still feel like HATCHET and THE WINTER ROOM are his best works in Newbery terms.

EMILY:  In some of the older years, you are able to dive in the archives and see things like how many votes Charlotte’s Web lost by. I think what’s important to say about these authors is they all COULD have won a Newbery and definitely are strong writers that produced books which appeal to countless young readers.

STEVEN:  And then there are the authors who have no Newbery Medals or Honors at all. Several names showed up on our survey when we asked who people thought might have been “robbed” of a Newbery, including:

• Brian Selznick
• Judy Blume
• Shel Silverstein
• Dr. Seuss
• Rick Riordan
• Andrew Clements
• Norman Juster
• Sharon Draper
• Jeanne Birdsall

Do any of those stand out to you, Emily?

EMILY: I was very surprised Sharon Draper and Judy Blume did not win anything. Judy Blume is definitely one who shaped my childhood, and I still think about Phantom Tollbooth…

STEVEN:   I would add a few names to that list, but it’s harder than I thought it would be. I’ll think of someone (Natalie Babbitt!) and then remember, no that author does have an Honor (though it’s for KNEE KNOCK RISE, not (somehow) TUCK EVERLASTING). Among current authors, I feel like Lesa Cline-Ransome and Anne Ursu have both had more than one might’ve-won-a-Newbery book…and both have eligible books out this year. And then there are the nonfiction writers: Gail Jarrow and Candice Fleming come to mind, and they could both be in the running this year too. 

EMILY: There’s so many names out there and so many amazing authors- the medal has only been awarded 102 times (AND) there are multiple time-winners. So I think it really shows what an honor it is to win the Newbery medal and how career changing it is- for so many authors it never happens. You could compare it to an Olympic medal.

Stay tuned for our final post in the author series in December, where we look at notable Newbery medal speeches.

Filed under: Newbery History