# Best Children's Book post-1922 that did not win a Newbery Medal / Honor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 19, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771 "2017-04-19T04:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 21, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/21 "2017-04-21T23:46:50Z")
Is the Caldecott medal for best picture book, or for best pictures in a book? It makes a difference. One book might have lackluster illustrations but a really clever text, and thus be a better book overall than another with beautiful pictures but poor text. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/22 "2017-04-22T03:50:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Is the Caldecott medal for best picture book, or for best pictures in a book? It makes a difference. One book might have lackluster illustrations but a really clever text, and thus be a better book overall than another with beautiful pictures but poor text. The Caldecott is awarded to the illustrator, who may or may not have been the author. There have been a few times when there was talk the same book could win both awards, but it hasn’t happened yet. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/23 "2017-04-24T23:36:40Z")
I just remembered another: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. A fan favorite but apparently not a librarian favorite: “Harriet the Spy was controversial when it came out in the 60s, says Anita Silvey, author of 100 Best Books for Children, in part because Harriet was a very flawed character. Some critics hated the book, and some schools even banned it. Harriet saw too much, said too much. She even threw temper tantrums and had to visit a psychiatrist.” > **[Unapologetically Harriet, the Misfit Spy](https://www.npr.org/2008/03/03/87779452/unapologetically-harriet-the-misfit-spy)** > > Brash, disheveled and brutally honest, Harriet the Spy sees too much, says too much and never quite fits in — which is precisely why she strikes a chord with so many fans. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/24 "2017-04-27T01:13:56Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Well, Ellen Raskin, the author of _The Westing Game_ wrote another book a few years earlier called _The Tattooed Potato_, Not “worthy” enough for the Newbery, but excelent Newbery material in every other respect: a strong independent young character in the lead role, strong plot, clear language (introduced me to the word “corpus”), original premise, excelent writing. And a fun book. Not Oscar marterial only because nobody dies. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/25 "2017-04-27T15:49:21Z")
A book that has stayed with me since I was 10 years old (now 55) is The Velvet Room by Zilpha Snyder (1965). I checked it out of the school library more than once. I remember the feelings I had when I came to certain parts of the story…surprised, excited, amazed. It was probably the first book that gave me a “rush” and I was an avid reader. It was about a girl and her family who were migrant farm workers. I found it on Amazon a few years ago, bought it and read it again. Still loved it. I only wish my kids and grandkids loved to read like I did/do. I would love to share the book with them. I remember trying to explain to my mom how great the story was. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/26 "2017-04-29T20:25:42Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > The other was about some kid in modern day Peru, who found a lost Incan city and all the Spanish gold that was thought to be at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. I believe this is Secret of the Andes, by Ann Nolan Clark, and it did win a Newbery Medal. In fact, I think it beat Charlotte’s Web. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/27 "2017-04-29T20:41:32Z")
So many books I’d love to choose, but if I can only choose one, I’m going to say **A Drowned Maiden’s Hair** , by Laura Amy Schlitz. (She won the Newbery Award two years after this one.) It’s set about a century ago. The main character is an orphan adopted by the Hawthorne sisters. It’s a mystery and (possibly, though not necessarily) a fantasy. I strongly recommend it. Oh, and I just checked: Secret of the Andes did beat Charlotte’s Web, reportedly because they wanted a book about South America to win. It is a good book. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/28 "2017-04-29T22:35:28Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > A book that has stayed with me since I was 10 years old (now 55) is The Velvet Room by Zilpha Snyder (1965). I checked it out of the school library more than once. I remember the feelings I had when I came to certain parts of the story…surprised, excited, amazed. It was probably the first book that gave me a “rush” and I was an avid reader. It was about a girl and her family who were migrant farm workers. I found it on Amazon a few years ago, bought it and read it again. Still loved it. I only wish my kids and grandkids loved to read like I did/do. I would love to share the book with them. I remember trying to explain to my mom how great the story was. I was thinking Zilpha Keatley Snyder, too. I loved \*The Velvet Room \*and I reread it recently, as well. You might like _The Changeling_. It has a little darker feel to it, but I felt like it was similar. _The Egypt Game_, _The Headless Cupid_ and _The Witches of Worm_ are all Newberry Honor books, but _The Velvet Room_ is my favorite of hers. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/29 "2017-04-30T23:40:42Z")
The first book I thought of upon seeing this thread was _The Phantom Tollbooth_, which apparently has never won any awards. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/30 "2017-05-01T22:43:07Z")
> [@De\_La\_Rue](#): > > The first book I thought of upon seeing this thread was _The Phantom Tollbooth_, which apparently has never won any awards. I so agree. I have recommended this to or purchased it for every child I have known. I still occasionally reread it myself. Wonderful book for any child who might not think they like math. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/31 "2017-05-01T23:59:13Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > I so agree. I have recommended this to or purchased it for every child I have known. I still occasionally reread it myself. Wonderful book for any child who might not think they like math. Certainly this would be the book my son would vote for. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771/32 "2017-05-02T00:22:51Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Not “worthy” enough for the Newbery, but excelent Newbery material in every other respect: a strong independent young character in the lead role, strong plot, clear language (introduced me to the word “corpus”), original premise, excelent writing. > > And a fun book. Not Oscar marterial only because nobody dies. You could have a flashback to the parents’ murder. I could totally see this book as a movie. There might be too much material, though. Maybe a mini-series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-childrens-book-post-1922-that-did-not-win-a-newbery-medal-honor/784771.md?page=1)