The Newbery award came out this week and the winner was a book called The Girl who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. I had not heard of it before it won (I know, bad librarian!) but I did order it before the award went out so I feel like I am still ahead of the game. 
In honor of the Newbery award, here are some of my favorite past winners:
1. From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1968)
This is one of the books that made me want to become a librarian as a kid. The idea being that if I was a librarian I wouldn’t have to wait in line to get my hands on this book! This, by the way, still holds true as I am the first person at the school who gets to read the most recent winner! The book made me want to run away to an art museum and live off of change that I found in a fountain at night. It is also my favorite adventure book, something I wasn’t into before because most adventure books take place in the great outdoors! Finally an adventure book for the indoor kids!
2. Bridge to Terabithia (1978)
I read this in the sixth grade and had never felt the devastation that I felt after reading about the fate of Leslie. Yikes! My feelings are summed up in this moment from The New Girl:
3. The One and Only Ivan (2013)
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book because I am usually not that into books about animals. But the story of a gorilla raising a baby elephant really pulled on my heartstrings and tear up at several points! The fact that it is based on a true story got me too!
4. The Crossover (2015)
This book is a crowd pleaser! It is a novel in verse about twins who play basketball and have a falling out because of a girl. I mean, that is a very simplistic summary of a book that talks about family, loss, basketball and friendship. This is the book that I give to every reluctant reader that crosses my path and almost everyone loves it.
BOOKSMART 