Running head CALDECOTT AND NEWBERY AWARD BOOK SUMMARIES 1 Caldecott and Newbery Award Book Summaries Name Children s Literature RDG 350 CALDECOTT AND NEWBERY AWARD BOOK SUMMARIES 2 Caldecott and Newbery Award Book Summaries In the world of Children s Literaturetwo of the most distinguished and coveted awards are The Newbery Award and The Caldecott Medal The Newbery Award named after eighteenth century bookseller John Newbery was the first children s book award in the world It is the most well known and most discussed children s book award in the United States American Library Association 2012 Awarded annually by the American Library Association The Newbery Award is presented to the most distinguished American children s book published the previous year In addition to the winner there are also several books named as Newberry Honor books The Caldecott Medal named in honor of nineteenth century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott is awarded annually by the Association for Library Services a division of the American Library Association American Library Association 2012 This award is presented to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children This paper will discuss one Newbery Honor book and one Caldecott Medal book as well as an evaluation of each book by the writer Ramona Quimby Age 8 Ramona Quimby Age 8 was written by Beverly Cleary in 1981 and received a Newbery Honor the following year It tells the story of Ramona Quimby a third grade student and how she handles her everyday trials and tribulations Money is tight in the Quimby home as Ramona s dad has decided to go back to school and is only able to work part time Ramona is forced to stay at a friend s house after school where she is made to play with and entertain a four year old child On top of that her parents have been having serious conversations after Ramona and her sister go to bed and Ramona misses the laughter that used ring loud in her house School is another story and Ramona has to learn to handle being teased and how to deal CALDECOTT AND NEWBERY AWARD BOOK SUMMARIES 3 with all of the emotions and feelings that go along with being a third grader Most eight and nine year old children can relate to Ramona Quimby This book deserved the Newberry Honor because of its portrayal of a typical family dealing with everyday issues such as financial problems busy work schedules and children going to school and experiencing new conflicts and emotions Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Sylvester and the Magic Pebble was written by William Steig in 1969 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1970 This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of how Sylvester the Donkey found a shiny pebble while on a walk one day He soon discovers that this pebble has magical powers after a rainstorm began While holding the pebble Sylvester wishes the rain would stop and it does Excited about his magic pebble Sylvester starts to run home however he comes face to face with a big scary lion Scared and unsure what to do Sylvester wishes he were a rock The next thing he knows he is a rock and has no way of holding the pebble in his hand to wish himself back to normal The rest of the story focuses on Sylvester s parents search for him and the sadness and loneliness both Sylvester and his parents feel At the end of the story Sylvester is found by his parents and the story has a happy ending Sylvester and the Magic Pebble is a picture book with excellent colorful illustrations thus deserving of the Caldecott Medal The story itself is lacking in depth and any real emotion however the Caldecott Medal focuses on illustration and not the actual story Conclusion Children s literature is published every day with high hopes from writers and illustrators that their work is worthy of an award such as the Newbery Award or the Caldecott Medal Authors such as Beverly Cleary and William Steig have had their hopes realized These authors CALDECOTT AND NEWBERY AWARD BOOK SUMMARIES 4 have created stories and pictures that allow their readers to appreciate the finished product empathize with the characters and escape from everyday life by getting lost in a book When a book can accomplish all of that it is worthy of an award CALDECOTT AND NEWBERY AWARD BOOK SUMMARIES 5 References American Library Association 2012 How the Newbery Medal Came to Be Retrieved from http www ala org alsc awardsgrants bookmedia newberymedal newberymedal American Library Association 2012 The Caldecott Medal Retrieved from http www ala org alsc awardsgrants bookmedia caldecottmedal caldecottmedal Cleary B 1981 Ramona Quimby Age 8 New York New York Harper Collins Steig W 1969 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble New York New York Simon and Schuster