# All-Time Best Newbery Medal Book, In Your Opinion? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2017, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836 "2017-02-02T17:52:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/41 "2017-02-03T01:53:19Z")
I think I’ve read 27 of them. Currently my third graders are finishing up producing films for the [90-second Newbery film festival](http://90secondnewbery.com/), based on the three Newberies we’ve read this year: **Bud, Not Buddy** ; **Last Stop on Market Street** ; and **The Tale of Despereaux**. Given that I’ve done them as read-alouds, I clearly recommend all three. My favorite, though is probably **The Tale of Despereaux**. It’s so funny, and so beautiful, and so full of rich symbolism and pathos. The movie is an abomination, but the book? Just about perfect. Bud, Not Buddy and Holes both come in a close second, though–if you have any love at all for children’s lit, both are well worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/42 "2017-02-03T02:10:23Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Ah, well, awards are awards. Both _Sunset Boulevard_ and _All About Eve_ lost out on the 1950 Best Picture Oscar to _Born Yesterday._ Holy Mother of Beelzebub! CHARLOTTE’S WEB lost out to…SECRET OF THE ANDES? What the hell is SECRET OF THE ANDES, and has anyone read it since 1953? And what parent has not read CHARLOTTE’S WEB aloud to their kids, heaving great racking sobs when Charlotte dies? Oooops, spoiler alert. ---
**Author:** ![Lonehighway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lonehighway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lonehighway)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/43 "2017-02-03T02:19:12Z")
I agree with skara brae (I actually visited there–fascinating!) I still re-read The Witch of Blackbird Pond every few years… ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/44 "2017-02-03T02:30:21Z")
Of the ones I read when I was a kid, _Adam of the Road_ was my favorite. Travel, adventure, and medieval lyric poetry, what’s not to love? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/45 "2017-02-03T03:10:43Z")
I can overlook fantastic things in fantasy, like the people somehow losing the ability to see color and hear music, or the transfer of memories from Giver to Receiver. But it still bugs me when the non-fantastic things don’t work, like the population remaining steady despite a sub-replacement birthrate. It’s the same way that I have no problem with talking mice and messianic lions, but the double-counterweighted trebuchets in the _Prince Caspian_ movie took me right out of the story. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/46 "2017-02-03T03:17:40Z")
I’ve only read one of them. _The Hero and the Crown_. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/47 "2017-02-03T03:18:10Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Holy Mother of Beelzebub! CHARLOTTE’S WEB lost out to…SECRET OF THE ANDES? What the hell is SECRET OF THE ANDES, and has anyone read it since 1953? I read it for the specific purpose of finding out what literary treasure could possibly have beaten _Charlotte’s Web_ … and it’s really a slog. You’d think Incas would make for a more exciting read, but not, it turns out. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/48 "2017-02-03T03:30:27Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I’ve only read one of them. _The Hero and the Crown_. If I taught an older grade, I might read them The Hero and the Crown every year instead of Despereaux, and then that might be my favorite. It certainly stands up there as among the great fantasy novels. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/49 "2017-02-03T03:31:47Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > I read it for the specific purpose of finding out what literary treasure could possibly have beaten _Charlotte’s Web_ … and it’s really a slog. You’d think Incas would make for a more exciting read, but not, it turns out. I suppose the judges found it to be…“educational.” Kiss of death for any great kid lit. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/50 "2017-02-03T08:29:40Z")
Of the ones I’ve read,\* The Graveyard Book\* by Neil Gaiman. _Definitely_ not _A Wrinkle In Time_. I have no fucking idea why that book gets so much love. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/51 "2017-02-03T15:04:35Z")
Maniac Magee ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/52 "2017-02-03T16:43:34Z")
I haven’t re-read it as an adult, but my nine year old self enthusiastically votes for **It’s Like This, Cat** , by Emily Neville. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/53 "2017-02-03T17:01:54Z")
No contest,\*\* Dicey’s Song.\*\* That one will stay with me forever, even if I have no idea how to pronounce the main character’s name. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/54 "2017-02-03T17:35:15Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Kind of shocking to me that neither THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH (1961)… Not only is that a great book, but the film captured the concept very well. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/55 "2017-02-03T17:53:13Z")
> [@Wednesday\_Evening](#): > > I’ve read 24 of them. While my personal favorites are _The Hero and The Crown_ and _The Westing Game_, for all-time best I think I would have to go with _A Wrinkle in Time_. > [@DrDeth](#): > > It is very good, but imho the series didnt hold up, unlike the The Dark is Rising sequence. The Dark is Rising sequence is one of my favorite series. I think I agree, if you’re looking at series as a whole The Dark is Rising sequence is superior to the Wrinkle in Time series. Not that I need to add any more books to my want-to-read list (300+ and growing), but I now want to read all the winners that others have recommended and I haven’t read. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/56 "2017-02-03T19:17:45Z")
That depends on where you cut off the _Wrinkle in Time_ series. The first two are great, _A Swiftly Tilting Planet_ is meh, _Many Waters_ is decent, and the ones written many years later about Meg’s daughter are absolute drek. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/57 "2017-02-03T19:20:27Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > No contest,\*\* Dicey’s Song.\*\* That one will stay with me forever, even if I have no idea how to pronounce the main character’s name. I’ve always mentally said it like the adjective. It fits her personality, too! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/58 "2017-02-03T22:24:21Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’ve always mentally said it like the adjective. It fits her personality, too! 🙂 That’s the way I’ve always said it, but I wasn’t sure if it was correct. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/59 "2017-02-04T01:05:40Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I think I’ve read 27 of them. Currently my third graders are finishing up producing films for the [90-second Newbery film festival](http://90secondnewbery.com/), based on the three Newberies we’ve read this year: **Bud, Not Buddy** ; **Last Stop on Market Street** ; and **The Tale of Despereaux**. > > Given that I’ve done them as read-alouds, I clearly recommend all three. My favorite, though is probably **The Tale of Despereaux**. It’s so funny, and so beautiful, and so full of rich symbolism and pathos. The movie is an abomination, but the book? Just about perfect. > > Bud, Not Buddy and Holes both come in a close second, though–if you have any love at all for children’s lit, both are well worth reading. I agree, The Tale of Despereaux is a great read! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836/60 "2017-02-04T01:26:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Not only is that a great book, but the film captured the concept very well. You mean the animated film from…1968? Sweet horns of Satan, are you serious? Or is there another movie I don’t know about? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/all-time-best-newbery-medal-book-in-your-opinion/778836.md?page=4)