Thank you for the kind words on Buster. After everything was said and done, I became very sad and just loafed around the house. I didn’t walk on three days, in fact, but I did walk yesterday and Friday. We heard from the vet that he has a bacterial infection. Good news! No mass! Bad news: he was already on antibiotics earlier this month, so we’re not sure if he’s responding to antibiotics at this point. It makes starting immunosuppresant doses of steroids a bit tricky. His appetite is good so long as we don’t give him kibble, and he’s content. We’ll see what the vet says today about the antibiotic/steroid conundrum.
I kept myself occupied by diving headfirst into library projects I’ve been putting off for “lack of time.” [re: procrastination] I searched for an obscene amount of time for a poster that lists all the Newbery Gold Medal books, but in the end had to make my own. Full disclosure: the idea isn’t mine. I read about Mr. Shu’s Newbery Challenge about a month ago and thought it sounded like something I could do that would benefit both me and the kids at school.
The poster is not glamorous, but it serves my purpose: it gives credence to our library catalog and (hopefully) inspires the kids to read outside their comfort zone. We have a surprising number of Newbery Medal winners in the library. I haven’t completely torn apart the shelves, but I’d say we have at least half of them. Behold, one of the benefits of having an old catalog! Haha.
Basically, I know what I’m reading for the next 15 years. I’m sure I’ve read some of these before as a child, but I sure can’t remember them. The kids were shocked at the list. First, they wanted to know why. The answer has two parts. One, it’s my job to know what’s in the library and it’s my job to find them a great book to read. I can’t really do that if I don’t know the books. Two, the Newbery recognizes books that have changed the face of children’s literature. Seems like those are books I should read. “Like, how are you going to read all those books, Mrs. Kendall?” One page at a time, young padawan. One page at a time.
I’ve been showing it to parents and teachers, trying to drum up interest in a Newbery Gold Medal book club. Believe it or not, no one thought I was crazy!
Just in case you want your own poster, I made one to download. I took off the Newbery image for legal reasons and replaced it with vintage clip art. I also changed the title to make it more generic because if you do hang your poster, no one is going to care how many Newbery Gold Medal books Mrs. Kendall can read.
I have never done a download before, so doing one today might totally blow up in my face. It’s roughly 36×52 and I had it printed on blueprint paper for $9 at FedEx. It’s tack sharp and clear on my end, but when I pretend download it, it’s a little blurry. Hopefully, with the magic of the internet, it looks good on your end.
Jules, this list has always been my go- to in years past when searching for books for gifts. Now, I refer to it when finding books for my 7 year old. There are some real gems here!
Sending good wishes and a hug to you and Buster. This isn’t easy, but continuing to give him good quality of life and love right to the end is what it means to be devoted to your pet. Hang in there!
So many of my favorite books are on that list! May I recommend a few? Some I haven’t read since 4th grade, but I still remember how much of an impact that made on me when I read them!
– Jacob Have I Loved
– Bridge to Terebithia
– Island of the Blue Dolphins
– The Giver
– Holes
– The Westing Game
What a great idea! I better get started on the list as well . . .
As for Buster, every time I see a picture of his sweet face my heart aches–and I’ve never met the fellow! Needless to say, I’m sending many prayers, much love, and hugs all around . . .
I’m in the same boat–reading kid lit and YA like crazy so I can be better at my job. It’s a great “problem” to have, isn’t it? :-)
I was surprised not only by how many of those I have read, but how many are some of the most seminal books of my childhood (and beyond as some of them were actually read much later in life, but are still some of the most memorial books I have ever read). I am very excited to start making my way through the rest!
Maniac Magee is a wonderful read aloud. My 5th grade son recently read Holes and The Westing Game, the latter of which I remember reading when I was in elementary school. Some of my other favorites:
The Giver
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
The 21 Balloons
Bridge to Terabithia
Enjoy!
Sorry about your sweet Buster. When our dog was sick and nothing seemed to help, we went for antibiotic shot instead of pills and it worked! Hope this helps.
Thank you for the list. I have a stubborn 11 yo and finding books for him is always rough. We just read When You Reach Me for his mystery genre assignment. What an interesting book! He’s like me, once we read that, we had to find out what else the author had written. I may tack this up near his desk…for me AND for him!
Thanks for sharing the list! I was a voracious reader as a kid and read many Newberry medal winners. So many are still my all-time favs…Mrs Frisby & the Rats of NIMH, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the Madeline L’Engle books. I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, but I think I just found my new inspiration to start up again!
So many great books on that list but I have to repeat that Jacob Have I Loved needs to be towards the top of your “to read” if you haven’t already. It’s actually on my list of books to reread this year. I’ve read it so much my binding is busted and pages are coming loose, but I can’t seem to purchase a new copy. Something about reading the same one I fell in love with an 11 year old girl�
As for starting a Newberry reading club, I only wish I lived closer. That is something that I would ADORE. The more I think about it, the more a specialty in children’s libraries sounds appealing!! :)
Sorry, what were you saying? I was distracted by the adorable washi tape.
That is a fantastic idea! I was surprised by the number of books on that list that I’ve read. Some of those books I remember very clearly (and they are some of my favorite books), but others are ones that I remember reading, but I don’t remember what they were about. A few of my favorite authors who are on the list: Katherine Patterson, Madeline L’Engle, Robin McKinley, and Susan Cooper (though I recommend that you read the entire Dark is Rising series – Over Sea Under Stone, The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch, The Grey King, and Silver on the Tree – rather than just reading The Grey King in isolation. I think that I’ll join you for this project. :)
This is a great idea – love the list! I’ve either read or we own many of these books, so I’m starting with the owned-not-read group.
Glad the news about Buster was the better option, and that you started walking again without beating yourself up for skipping 3 days. Yay, Jules!
My elementary school librarian, Ms Lyons, taught me about tbe Newberry Awards, and I systematically read every one (that would have been something like 1976, so obviouslly a much shorter list then!). Always good books. I still pick up winners periodically.
You’re going to enjoy this journey, I’m sure!
One of my goals it to own (and obviously read) every Newbery and Caldecott winner. It sounds easy, just two books a year, but I haven’t really kept up on it, and there are a whole lot of old books not easily available anymore (and by easily I mean in the bookstore. I’m sure they’re on ebay, I just haven’t looked). I think it’s a great idea to get the kids involved in that, and some of the really competitive ones can really take off with it!
I know it’s a huge challenge just to read the actual medal winners, but I also strongly recommend Catherine, Called Birdy (which was an honor book 20 years ago). And this blog, if you haven’t discovered it yet: http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/a-nerdy-birdy-invitation-by-kirby-larson/
One of my book venders gives me a poster every year with the covers of the award winners (I get a Newbery and Caldecott medal poster). I want to say it’s Follet but it might even be a poster that comes with a catalog. It’s always fun to browse the different covers :)
I’ve used Newbury, Caldecott, and Sequoyah winner lists for our reading, too. It’s lovely to have such wonderful books floating around the house :)
I’m so grateful for the poster. Thank you! I have often thought about reading the Newberys and this makes it such an easy process to find them.
Love this! Of course I had to stop and check my own count. I’ve read 23 (that I remember) and none of the recent ones! I never realized that Caddie Woodlawn and Witch of Blackbird Pond (one of my all time faves, esp because I was raised Quaker) were written so many years ago! Now I want to go on a YA binge.
I once printed out a copy of the “100 books you must read” or something like that. Pretty sure I never did read all of them.
Thank you, Jules, for this! I have a goal of reading all the Newbury winners starting with the oldest and moving to more recent winners. Daniel Boone is next up for me!
You’re welcome! Good luck! :)
My daughter and I read every Newbery book we could find (the medal winner and the honor books) before her high school graduation in 2005. I remember being ecstatic when I found “The Story of Mankind” at a garage sale. (Unfortunately, an acquaintance borrowed that book and never returned it. ) The books from 1990-2001 are my favorite. I have some catching up to do!
A couple of weeks ago I moseyed on over to the YA section and was happy to find the 3rd and 4th books in The Giver quarter – Messenger and Son. Enjoyed reading them and I think I’ll return to find the gold medal books I’ve missed.
I love this post and the poster you created! A year ago, when I returned home from deployment, my daughter (now 8 years old) and I decided to read through the Newbery Medal winners together. In the last year, I’ve read 11 books to them (my 4-year old son loves to listen too) at night. We’re currently reading the Voyages of Doctor Doolittle. My son wants to visit Krakatoa and ride on the balloon merry-go-round in The Twenty-One Balloons, and my daughter loves Karana and Rontu (much as I did when I was her age). They loved Despereaux and Mrs. Frisby, were upset when Tree-Ear broke the pottery, jumped up and down for Stanley and Zero, and couldn’t stop talking about how there was no love or Christmas in Jonas’ world in the Giver. Books are an amazing gift and librarians are some of the most wonderful people in the world — but I may be biased, since my mom is one!