The Newbery Medal: Honoring the Best in Children’s Literature

The Newbery Medal is the oldest and most prestigious award for children’s literature in the United States. Presented annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, the medal has, since its inception in 1922, served as a beacon for readers, librarians, and publishers—a mark of excellence that signals a book worthy of attention, discussion, and lasting place in the canon.

The medal was established by Frederic G. Melcher, the editor of Publishers Weekly, who proposed the award to the American Library Association in 1921. Melcher recognized that while adult literature had long been celebrated through prizes, children’s books had no equivalent. He named the award in honor of John Newbery, the eighteenth-century English publisher who is often called “the father of children’s literature.” Newbery had been the first to recognize that books written specifically for children could be both profitable and worthy of artistic attention. His 1744 publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, marked the beginning of a new tradition—one that the Newbery Medal was designed to celebrate and perpetuate.

The medal itself was designed by the French-born American sculptor René Paul Chambellan. The obverse depicts John Newbery in a scene of literary creation; the reverse carries the inscription “For the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, and is announced each January at the association’s midwinter meeting.

The first Newbery Medal was awarded in 1922 to Hendrik Willem van Loon for The Story of Mankind, a history book for young readers. In the century since, the medal has honored an extraordinary range of books: from the historical novels of Elizabeth Foreman Lewis and the frontier adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder to the contemporary realism of Katherine Paterson and the genre-defying innovations of Kwame Alexander. The award recognizes excellence in writing, but it also implicitly defines what children’s literature can be—a form capable of grappling with the deepest questions of human experience while remaining accessible to young readers.

The Newbery Medal has shaped the landscape of children’s publishing. A Newbery winner receives immediate recognition, increased sales, and a permanent place in library collections. It is a mark of quality that parents trust, teachers rely upon, and collectors seek. More than a century after its founding, the medal remains the gold standard for children’s literature—a testament to the belief that books for young readers deserve the same careful attention, the same critical judgment, and the same celebration as the finest literature for adults.

Newberry Medal Award Winners