Update: 52 of you have spoken, and the winner is....a tie between The Hero and the Crown, and A Wrinkle in Time, with ten votes each! Truly both are classics. Feel free to keep voting, if you haven't already done so!
The past two winners of the Newbery Award have both been science fiction/fantasy, and I found myself wondering just how many winners are from this, my favorite, genre. (The 1950s seems like a bad time to be a sff writer for children).
So I looked, and having looked, wondered which one I liked best, and wondered what "liking best meant" --is it "if I could only save one and the rest would be lost forever to posterity" or is it "which am I most likely to re-read." I decided to go with the later, more personally meaningful, definition--the book I love best.
And then, just for the heck of it, I made a poll, to see which sff Newbery winner is the most popular, according to that definition. Here it is:
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WOW, tough poll!
ReplyDeleteVERY tough poll.
Yes, very tough. There are a few I'd vote for!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Charlotte. It's very hard to narrow it down to one. Those are some great books, and stretching over quite a long period of time.
ReplyDeleteI voted! For Hero and the Crown (currently tied for the lead with Wrinkle in Time). I had to do it quickly without a lot of thinking, though (and it corresponds to your second definition). Looking forward to seeing the results! And wait, did you tell us which your favorite is?
ReplyDeleteI had to do it very quickly too, and went with The High King--the only one that made me cry.
ReplyDeleteI liked/loved many of these books when I first read them...(except Lloyd Alexander. Nothing anyone says is ever going to convince me to like his books. Sorry) but the only one I reread constantly is Doctor Dolittle. I'm probably goingn to be the only vote on him...
ReplyDeleteI cannot possibly answer this poll! How could I ever choose just one of these?
ReplyDeleteSuch a hard choice.
ReplyDeleteIt was so hard to choose! I really liked so many of the books in that list. When I was a kid, I made a point to read all of the Newbery books that I could.
ReplyDeleteI just love Despereaux, so I had to vote for him! If I'd let myself think too much, I would've spent forever on this. I have The Hero and the Crown at home but haven't read it yet. Now I'm excited to get to it sooner!
ReplyDeleteI felt like a traitor voting for anyone other than Neil Gaiman, but I'd have to go with Holes. I think it's just so nicely-put-together.
ReplyDeleteHorribly hard to choose, because six of them are either childhood loves or books that knocked me sideways as an adult.
ReplyDeleteThat was sooo hard to choose, except for The Cat Who Went to Heaven ... not sure why or how that book won a Newbury. It is a ok book but not in same league as the rest of the books on your list!
ReplyDeletePragmatic Mom
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