Newbery Award
FACTS ABOUT THE NEWBERY MEDAL
In the 18th century England, John Newbery was the first to see a need for books to entertain and please children without attempting to instruct or improve; he felt the books should be attractive and have appeal to young readers. His book store in London dedicated space to “juvenile library” books. Frederic Melcher continued this interest in children’s literature in America; he organized the nationwide observance of Children’s Book Week in 1919 and, in 1922, the Newbery Award was established under his guidance. The following information comes directly from the ALA website.
How the Newbery Medal Came to Be
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. On June 21, 1921, Frederic G. Melcher proposed the award to the American Library Association meeting of the Children's Librarians' Section and suggested that it be named for the eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by the children's librarians, and Melcher's official proposal was approved by the ALA Executive Board in 1922. In Melcher's formal agreement with the board, 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."
The Newbery Award thus became the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
From the beginning of the awarding of the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, committees could, and usually did, cite other books as worthy of
In the 18th century England, John Newbery was the first to see a need for books to entertain and please children without attempting to instruct or improve; he felt the books should be attractive and have appeal to young readers. His book store in London dedicated space to “juvenile library” books. Frederic Melcher continued this interest in children’s literature in America; he organized the nationwide observance of Children’s Book Week in 1919 and, in 1922, the Newbery Award was established under his guidance. The following information comes directly from the ALA website.
How the Newbery Medal Came to Be
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year. On June 21, 1921, Frederic G. Melcher proposed the award to the American Library Association meeting of the Children's Librarians' Section and suggested that it be named for the eighteenth-century English bookseller John Newbery. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by the children's librarians, and Melcher's official proposal was approved by the ALA Executive Board in 1922. In Melcher's formal agreement with the board, 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."
The Newbery Award thus became the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
From the beginning of the awarding of the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, committees could, and usually did, cite other books as worthy of