Newbery Medal

first proposed the idea for the Newbery Award.|left The Newbery Medal was established on June 22, 1921, at the annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA). Proposed by Publishers Weekly editor Frederic G. Melcher, the proposal was well received by the children's librarians present and then approved by the ALA Executive Board. According to The Newbery and Caldecott Awards Melcher and the ALA Board agreed to establish the award for several reasons that related to children's librarians. They wanted to encourage quality, creative children's books and to demonstrate to the public that children's books deserve recognition and praise. As Barbara Elleman explained in The Newbery and Caldecott Awards, the original Newbery was based on votes by a selected jury of Children's Librarian Section officers. Books were first nominated by any librarian, then the jury voted for one favorite. Hendrik van Loon's non-fiction history book The Story of Mankind won with 163 votes out of 212. In 1924 the process was changed, and instead of using popular vote it was decided that a special award committee would be formed to select the winner. The award committee was made up of the Children's Librarian Section executive board, their book evaluation committee and three members at large. In 1929 it was changed again to the four officers, the chairs of the standing committees and the ex-president. Nominations were still taken from members at large. In 1937 the American Library Association added the Caldecott Award, for "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States". That year an award committee selected the Medal and Honor books for both awards. In 1978 the rules were changed and two committees were formed of fifteen people each, one for each award. A new committee is formed every year, with "eight elected, six appointed, and one appointed Chair". The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. ==Selection process==

Committee members are chosen to represent a wide variety of libraries, teachers and book reviewers. They read the books on their own time, then meet twice a year for closed discussions. Any book that qualifies is eligible; it does not have to have been nominated. The Newbery is given to the "author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year." This proposal was met with both support and criticism by former committee members and recognized authors. ==Criticism==

In October 2008, Anita Silvey, a children's literary expert, published an article in the School Library Journal criticizing the committee for choosing books that are too difficult for children. Lucy Calkins, of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University's Teachers College, agreed with Silvey: "I can't help but believe that thousands, even millions, more children would grow up reading if the Newbery committee aimed to spotlight books that are deep and beautiful and irresistible to kids". Then-ALSC President Pat Scales responded, "the criterion has never been popularity. It is about literary quality. How many adults have read all the Pulitzer Prize-winning books and... liked every one?" John Beach, associate professor of literacy education at St. John's University in New York, compared the books that adults choose for children with the books that children choose for themselves and found that in the 30 years before 2008 there was only a five percent overlap between the Children's Choice Awards (International Reading Association) and the Notable Children's Books list (American Library Association). He has also stated that "the Newbery has probably done far more to turn kids off to reading than any other book award in children's publishing." == Recipients ==

won the first Newbery Medal in 1922 for his book The Story of Mankind. was the first Indian American to win the Newbery Medal. wrote five books each named a Newbery Honor between 1938 and 1944. (right) won the Newbery Medal in 1943 for Adam of the Road, which was illustrated by Robert Lawson, who won the Newbery Medal himself in 1945. , who won two Newbery Honors and one Newbery Medal, wrote series that were connected by themes rather than characters. won a Newbery Honor for ''Charlotte's Web'' for which he also recorded an unabridged audiobook. won both a Newbery Medal and Honor. won two Newbery Honors for her Ramona series and the Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw.|alt=Cleary at her desk writing, joined in the photo by her cat. won the Newbery Medal in 1989, two years after his father Sid Fleischman won it. won two Newbery Medals four years apart. is one of many authors to have been awarded both the Newbery Medal and Newbery Honor. followed her 1995 Newbery Honor with a 1996 Newbery Medal. has been both a winner and Honor recipient. won in 1999 for Holes. is one of six authors to have been a Newbery winner multiple times. has been a Newbery Honor recipient four times. won a Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal for the first two books he published, The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 and Bud, Not Buddy. == Multiple award winners ==

Listed below are all authors who have won at least two Newbery Medals or who have two or more Medals and/or Honors.     Won a Newbery Medal and Honor first book, Our Only May Amelia, was sparked by her great aunt's diaries and won a Newbery Honor. ==See also==