Top Ten Tuesday: Backlist Newbery Winners To Read In 2018

November 6, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme originated by The Broke and the Bookish now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week the theme is: Backlist books I want to read.

You might have seen on my October Month in Review post that I’m quite a bit behind on my Newbery Award reading. My goal is to read all the Newbery Award Winners before the 100th is presented in 2022. Thus far, I have read 11 this year, bringing my total read to 44. If I read ~20 books a year, I’ll achieve my goal! Therefore, I need to read another nine Newbery Award Winners this year. Yikes!

This is now my TBR of Newbery winners for the rest of the year. While they aren’t particularly long or challenging reads in most cases, I know that to achieve this will require quite a bit of focus and effort on my part. Here’s hoping I can squeeze in the majority of this list before the end of the year!

If you are interested in following my progress, check out the Great Newbery Quest.

All titles below are links to the book’s Goodreads page.


 

Top 10 Backlist Newbery Winners to Read in 2018

 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I couldn’t be more excited to be reading When You Reach Me this month with Jane @ Greenish Bookshelf! We’re both working on the Great Newbery Quest, and to help each other along we’re buddy reading this together. I’ve heard extremely mixed reviews for this book so I know Jane and I will have a great conversation! Keep an eye out for this upcoming review.

 

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

I adore historical fiction and haven’t read enough of it lately! Park’s A Single Shard is set in 12th century Korea and explores the making of delicate celadon pottery. It is also one of the few digital audiobooks for Newbery Winners my library has, meaning I can read this book while I walk the dog! Perfect.

 

The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willen van Loon

Speaking of history, The Story of Mankind is not only one of the rare nonfiction winners, but the first winner of the Newbery Award! I desperately want to read and enjoy the original Newbery winner. However, at 704 pages, it’s a bit intimidating… I can do it!

 

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Lathan

Historical fiction based on an incredible man, Latham’s Carry On, Mr. Bowditch fictionalizes the life of Nathaniel Bowditch – the American mathematician who is credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation. I love reading fictionalized history. This one promises to be a wonderful story of achieving your dreams – no matter the barriers before you.

 

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

I am hesitant to pick up the 1953 Newbery Award winner. Why? Secret of the Andes beat out the classic Charlotte’s Web that year! Will this book hold up over time? Is it even close to the magic of Charlotte’s Web one of my all-time favorite text? I plan on finding out.

 

Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes

This one is a bit of a cheat. I originally read this in elementary school and recall falling completely in love with the characters and 1775 Massachusetts. But can I remember much of it? Nope. Not at all. Time for a re-read if I’m going to count it towards my having read all Newbery Winners! I hope Johnny Tremain is just as amazing to me as an adult.

 

Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji

One of the lowest rated Newbery Award winners on Goodreads, I can’t help but be curious about Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon. This semi-autobiographical work explains how Gay-Neck’s master sent his prized pigeon to serve in World War I. This year marks the centennial of World War I. I hope to read this book to honor Remembrance Day on 11th and the millions who died. 

 

Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field

I adore multi-generational stories. This, I hope, will be no exception. Hitty: Her First Hundred Years follows a doll named Hitty who was made for a girl in the 1800’s, through the generations as she gets passed from one daughter to the next. Plus! Illustrations! I want more books with illustrations.

 

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

Thimble Summer sounds like the sort of magical summer middle grade novel I’ve always loved. Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in a dried-up riverbed, and from that moment onward her Summer completely turns around. What was bad is suddenly good! This heart-lifting novel is one I will keep waiting for a cold winter day when I need a pick me up. 

 

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

I started with a book I’m actively reading, and I’ll end with one too. Julie of the Wolves is a bit like female-Hatchet-set-in-Alaskan-Tundra. Or, at least, I think it is. I had a soft spot for survival books when I was a child. As I read this for an upcoming book club (thank you, Emma for helping me on this quest!!!), I look forward to reliving those positive memories of survivalist books. 

 

This was super fun to put together if a bit intimidating. There are a LOT of books for me to still read this year to make my goals. That said, it’s important for me to remember that these are merely goals. If I don’t read nine Newbery winners in the next 8 weeks that’s okay. I have plenty of time over the next three years to try and catch up. I can do this! I can do this! I CAN DO THIS!!!!


What do you think?

  • Did you participate in Top Ten Tuesday? Share your links below!
  • Which books from this list have you read? What are your favorites?
  • Do you enjoy reading books from any specific award list? Which one? Why?

20 Comments

  • PerfectlyTolerable November 6, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    I loved Julie of the Wolves when I read it as a kid!!! <3 I hope you love it!

    • Jackie B November 6, 2018 at 2:57 pm

      Thank you! I am looking forward to reading it this month. It sounds like a ton of fun. Do you recall what you enjoyed most about Julie of the Wolves when you were younger?

      • PerfectlyTolerable November 6, 2018 at 3:25 pm

        No unfortunately I don’t, I don’t actually remember much about the book other than it was one of my favorite books and I read it at about the same time as The Dog with Golden Eyes because I was going through a wolf phase where I was reading whatever fiction I could find with wolves. (Those are the only two that the titles stuck with me tho!)

        • Jackie B November 9, 2018 at 10:35 am

          Oooh, I’ve never heard of The Dog with the Golden Eyes. It sounds fascinating. I’ll have to check it out.

          During your wolf phase, did you read Call of the Wild or Balto? Both of these books are technically about dogs, but dogs who connect with the wolf within themselves. I really love those books.

          • PerfectlyTolerable November 9, 2018 at 1:06 pm

            I loved the movie Balto but I didn’t know it was a book! And I have not read Call of the Wild either

            • Jackie B November 11, 2018 at 2:08 pm

              There are quite a few books sharing Balto’s story (oooh, I get goosebumps just thinking about it), but most of them are early reader books. The Call of the Wild is a much more mature text. I am completely in love with Jack London’s writing. I relaly should read more of his works!

  • Grab the Lapels November 7, 2018 at 11:04 am

    I remember reading Julie of the Wolves in 8th grade and having a really hard time with it. I’ve mentioned to you before that I read a ton of Sweet Valley Twins books when I was a kid, and then not much else for a long time. I know that having strong empathy helps me understand the stories that I was assigned, but I still never thought of myself as a great reader when I was a kid. I think the only part that I remember about Julie of the Wolves is her eating some seal fat, which freaked me out. I tend to feel like these Newberry award-winning novels are either about white boys or minority girls. Does that sound weird? It was something that I noticed as a kid too, but I may just be making a generalization based on the books that I’ve seen personally.

    • Jackie B November 9, 2018 at 10:58 am

      I don’t think that sounds weird. I actually think those are the sorts of books which teachers like to pick out. Or at least, which they liked to pick out when we were in elementary school! There weren’t a lot of minority characters when I was reading assigned books in elementary school. But I definitely see what you mean. I feel like it’s changed over the years, however. Perhaps that’s a post in itself– about how the Newbery winners seem to have trends and have changed. Thanks for the idea! XD

      When I was between 12-14 I read almost nothing but Star Wars novels. I just couldn’t get into anything else. I don’t know why. I was REALLY into space adventure. Think of it this way: At least we were reading. It’s better than my little brother who was obsessed with Hercules and watched the Disney film so often the VHS wore out. I didn’t even know that could happen!

      • Grab the Lapels November 9, 2018 at 11:32 am

        Now I feel better. I didn’t know you read Star Wars books for 2 years. I’m so glad we’ve got that sort of thing in common.

        • Jackie B November 11, 2018 at 11:17 am

          It’s a sign of really cool people, I hear. 😉

  • Laila@BigReadingLife November 8, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    You can do it!
    I read When You Reach Me and liked it quite a bit. But that’s the only one on your list I’ve read! that one that’s 700+ pages… yikes!

    • Jackie B November 11, 2018 at 10:42 am

      I know, 700 pages is a LOT. In order to help myself get through it I’ve checked out the audiobook and a physical copy. Perhaps if I spend all of my time reading it, instead of reading two separate books in these mediums, I can make my way through it? XD We shall see. It’s a neat idea for a book and I’m excited to read it too. Which is a good sign. XD

  • Jane @ Greenish Bookshelf November 8, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    Love your list! Makes me excited for all these Newbery winners! Loving our buddy read thus far–I think we picked a great one for it too!

    I didn’t realize such a long nonfiction book has won the Newbery. Sounds daunting but also fascinating!

    I need to step it up on my Newbery reading. So many books and so little time 😉

    • Jackie B November 11, 2018 at 10:50 am

      The Story of Mankind is less daunting now that I have a physical copy of the book. Yes, it’s a huge doorstop. However it does have some illustrations to break things up. It’s broken into small sections; each chapter is no longer than 10 pages in my edition and each also contains at least a single illustration, if not more. This makes the book feel much more achievable. That said, I still don’t want to leave The Story for Mankind to the end! XD

      Right?! So many books, so little time. Have you read many of the books I’ve listed here yet?

      I LOVE When You Reach Me. Email to come shortly. 😉

      • Jane @ Greenish Bookshelf November 12, 2018 at 5:29 pm

        I’m glad to hear that The Story of Mankind seems less daunting when you have the physical book! But good to know I need to get that before the end. Some Newbery winners are so small–that one is surprisingly long!

        I’ve only read Johnny Tremain (years ago for school) and now When You Reach Me (LOVED It!) from your list. Lots of intriguing Newbery books still to read!

        • Jackie B November 16, 2018 at 2:48 pm

          I mean, it doesn’t change the fact that The Story of Mankind is still long! I hope to finish it before the end of the year. Baby steps. I tried the audiobook, but it’s *so different* from the physical book that I stopped. The illustrations are so important a lot had to change for the content to make sense.

          I am super excited for our When You Reach Me posts! That book really connected with both of us, which I love. 🙂 And it means I’ve knocked another Newbery off my list! Yay!

          • Jane @ Greenish Bookshelf November 17, 2018 at 2:28 pm

            I just started Flora and Ulysses and I feel the same way about the illustrations. A quirky book–we’ll see how it goes.

          • Jane @ Greenish Bookshelf November 17, 2018 at 2:29 pm

            And yes I am so glad we picked When You Reach Me for our buddy read. One of my favorite Newberys I’ve read 🙂

  • Annemieke November 9, 2018 at 2:31 am

    You can totally do it in the next 3 years. In the end you have to enjoy the experience. 🙂

    • Jackie B November 9, 2018 at 10:03 am

      You’re so right. I definitely need to be able to enjoy the experience. 3 years feels like so much time, but 20 books a year is quite a bit. If I don’t catch up, I’ll have 25 a year to read! XD Oops.

      Here’s hoping I at least make a dent this year. Thanks for your support!

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