I’ve read the books in bold.
2012 Dead End in Norvelt – Jack Gantos
2011 Moon Over Manifest – Clare Vanderpool (4/5)
2010 When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead (4/5)
2009 The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman (4/5)
2008 Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village – Laura Amy Schiltz (5/5)
2007 The Higher Power of Lucky – Susan Patron (3.5/5)
2006 Criss Cross – Lynne Rae Perkins (5/5)
2005 Kira-Kira – Cynthia Kadohata (3.5/5)
2004 The Tale of Despereaux – Kate DiCamillo (4.5/5)
2003 Crispin: The Cross of Lead – Avi (3/5)
2002 A Single Shard – Linda Sue Park (3/5)
2001 A Year Down Yonder – Richard Peck (4/5)
2000 Bud, Not Buddy – Christopher Paul Curtis (3/5)

1999 Holes – Louis Sachar (5/5)
1998 Out of the Dust – Karen Hesse (4/5)
1997 The View from Saturday – E.L. Konigsburg (5/5)
1996 The Midwife’s Apprentice – Karen Cushman (4/5)
1995 Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech (4/5)
1994 The Giver – Lois Lowry (5/5)
1993 Missing May – Cynthia Rylant (4/5)
1992 Shiloh – Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (4/5)
1991 Maniac Magee – Jerry Spinelli (4.5/5)
1990 Number the Stars – Lois Lowry (5/5)

1989 Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices – Paul Fleischman
1988 Lincoln: A Photobiography – Russell Freedman
1987 The Whipping Boy – Sid Fleischman
1986 Sarah, Plain and Tall – Patricia MacLachlan
1985 The Hero and the Crown Robin McKinley
1984 Dear Mr. Henshaw – Beverly Cleary
1983 Dicey’s Song – Cynthia Voigt
1982 A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers – Nancy Willard
1981 Jacob Have I Loved – Katherine Paterson
1980 A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832 – Joan W. Blos (3/5)

1979 The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin
1978 Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Paterson
1977 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D. Taylor
1976 The Grey King – Susan Cooper
1975 M. C. Higgins, the Great – Virginia Hamilton
1974 The Slave Dancer – Paula Fox
1973 Julie of the Wolves – Jean Craighead George
1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – Robert C. O’Brien
1971 Summer of the Swans – Betsy Byars
1970 Sounder – William H. Armstrong

1969 The High King – Lloyd Alexander
1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – E. L. Konigsburg
1967 Up a Road Slowly – Irene Hunt
1966 I, Juan de Pareja – Elizabeth Borton de Trevi�o
1965 Shadow of a Bull – Maia Wojciechowska
1964 It’s Like This, Cat – Emily Neville
1963 A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
1962 The Bronze Bow – Elizabeth George Speare
1961 Island of the Blue Dolphins – Scott O’Dell
1960 Onion John – Joseph Krumgold

1959 The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Elizabeth George Speare
1958 Rifles for Watie – Harold Keith
1957 Miracles on Maple Hill – Virginia Sorensen
1956 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham
1955 The Wheel on the School – Meindert DeJong
1954 ...And Now Miguel – Joseph Krumgold
1953 Secret of the Andes – Ann Nolan Clark
1952 Ginger Pye – Eleanor Estes
1951 Amos Fortune, Free Man – Elizabeth Yates
1950 The Door in the Wall – Marguerite de Angeli

1949 King of the Wind – Marguerite Henry
1948 The Twenty-One Balloons – William P�ne du Bois
1947 Miss Hickory – Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
1946 Strawberry Girl – Lois Lenski
1945 Rabbit Hill – Robert Lawson
1944 Johnny Tremain – Esther Forbes
1943 Adam of the Road – Elizabeth Janet Gray
1942 The Matchlock Gun – Walter Edmonds
1941 Call It Courage – Armstrong Sperry
1940 Daniel Boone – James Daugherty

1939 Thimble Summer – Elizabeth Enright
1938 The White Stag – Kate Seredy
1937 Roller Skates – Ruth Sawyer
1936 Caddie Woodlawn – Carol Ryrie Brink
1935 Dobry – Monica Shannon
1934 Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women – Cornelia Meigs
1933 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze – Elizabeth Lewis
1932 Waterless Mountain – Laura Adams Armer
1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven – Elizabeth Coatsworth
1930 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years – Rachel Field

1929 The Trumpeter of Krakow – Eric P. Kelly
1928 Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon – Dhan Gopal Mukerji
1927 Smoky, the Cowhorse – Will James
1926 Shen of the Sea – Arthur Bowie Chrisman
1925 Tales from Silver Lands – Charles Finger
1924 The Dark Frigate – Charles Hawes
1923 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle – Hugh Lofting
1922 The Story of Mankind – Hendrik Willem van Loon 5 years ago

I’m making a change in plans here in two ways.

1. I’m starting this over for one and I’m only checking off the books that I’ve read since I started this challenge. The reason for this is that there are many books that I’m confusing with others (mostly newbery honor books) and there are some in which I can’t remember if I read it, it was read to me or I just watched the movie. Also, I want to re-read and re-experience these books.

2. I’m adding to this list the Caldecott books. I realized that many of these books I’ve never read yet alone heard of. This shocks the crap out of me, especially since I have always wanted to be a childrens writer and illustrator.

So, I’ll be making a plan of how many books I want to read for the year and I will also be putting up the list (which is actually a poster for the 2012 year that I was able to download for free!). 5 months ago

I just put 10 more on order. It turns out I already read this year’s winner!

Here’s what I have left to read:
2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
1996: The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
1993: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
1983: Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
1982: A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard
1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
1976: The Grey King by Susan Cooper
1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton
1974: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
1973: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
1971: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong
1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander
1967: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt
1966: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
1965: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska
1964: It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville
1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
1958: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
1957: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen
1955: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
1954: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold
1953: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry
1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois
1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds
1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty
1939: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright
1938: The White Stag by Kate Seredy
1937: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer
1936: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
1935: Dobry by Monica Shannon
1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs
1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis
1932: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer
1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field
1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly
1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James
1926: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
1925: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger
1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes
1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon 16 months ago

2011: Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books)
2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books)
*2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean (HarperCollins)
2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)
2007: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)
2006: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
2005: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)
*2004: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Hyperion Books for Children)
2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park(Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)
2001: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (Dial)
2000: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte)
*1999: Holes by Louis Sachar (Frances Foster)
1998: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic)
1997: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Jean Karl/Atheneum)
1996: The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman (Clarion)
1995: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins)
*1994: The Giver by Lois Lowry(Houghton)
1993: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Jackson/Orchard)
1992: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Atheneum)
1991: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Little, Brown)
1990: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Houghton)
1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (Harper)
1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (Clarion)
*1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow)
*1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (Harper)
1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (Greenwillow)
*1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (Morrow)
1983: Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt (Atheneum)
1982: A Visit to William Blake’s Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard (Harcourt)
1981: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)
1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos (Scribner)
*1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Dutton)
*1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)
*1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Dial)
1976: The Grey King by Susan Cooper (McElderry/Atheneum)
*1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton (Macmillan)
*1974: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (Bradbury)
*1973: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (Harper)
1972: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (Atheneum)
*1971: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (Viking)
*1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong (Harper)
1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Holt)
*1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Atheneum)
1967: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (Follett)
1966: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Farrar)
1965: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (Atheneum)
1964: It’s Like This, Cat by Emily Neville (Harper)
*1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Farrar)
1962: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton)
*1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (Houghton)
1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)
*1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton)
1958: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (Crowell)
*1957: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen (Harcourt)
1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (Houghton)
*1955: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong (Harper)
1954: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)
1953: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (Viking)
1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt)
1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (Dutton)
1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (Doubleday)
1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry (Rand McNally)
1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois (Viking)
1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (Viking)
*1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (Lippincott)
1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (Viking)
*1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (Houghton)
1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Viking)
1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds (Dodd)
*1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Macmillan)
1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty (Viking)
1939: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (Rinehart)
81938: The White Stag by Kate Seredy (Viking)
1937: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (Viking)
*1936: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (Macmillan)
1935: Dobry by Monica Shannon (Viking)
1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (Little, Brown)
1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis (Winston)
1932: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer (Longmans)
1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (Macmillan)
1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (Macmillan)
1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (Macmillan)
1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji (Dutton)
1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (Scribner)
1926: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman (Dutton)
1925: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger (Doubleday)
1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes (Little, Brown)
1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (Stokes)
1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (Liveright) 21 months ago

I’ve realized that some of these titles have become such staples in our American Lititure that I can’t even remember which ones I’ve read, heard, watched the movie too or had part of it read to me (sometimes sub teachers would start a book and it never got finished.). So due to this I’m rereading some of these books and I really don’t mind at all since many of them I loved.

I started reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg to my kids since I’ve had the book for ages and couldn’t get any of them to read it. 3 chapters in and one child decides she’s in love with the book and finishes it off on her own. While she was reading it I grabbed her school library book, The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong, and I feel in love with it! I now remember why I so badly wanted to write children’s books and have become inspired again. My daughter who thought it was boring gave it another try and can’t seem to put it down.

Before she brought home The Wheel on the School, she had brought home Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary which sorry to say I had heard of it and thought I read it but had not. Even more sorry to say that I didn’t really care for it at all. I thought maybe it was due to me having “grown up” so much but I’m wrong because I did like the other 2 books mentioned above and also read Eragon this week too. Plus, my daughter finished it and she too didn’t like it. What a bummer because I grew up on Cleary’s books and love them and haven’t been able to get my kids to read them. I think this just set it in their mind that her books shouldn’t be read.

My daughter also brought home Sounder last week but I didn’t get my hands on it. It did though make me think that maybe I haven’t read that one yet also. I think some of these books are going to be hard to get my hands on but I’m looking forward to finding some new reads and reading some of my old favorites. 2 years ago