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As a young boy growing up in Provo in the 1970s, Tim Wadham fell in love with reading, thanks to savvy librarians who pointed him to Newbery Medal-winning books.
"I knew these were supposed to be the best books and they were a big deal," he says now.
Beginning in fourth grade, the young reader took it upon himself to place long-distance calls to public librarians in big cities where the American Library Association held its annual conference. Then he would ride his bike to the downtown Provo library to announce the newest award winner to local librarians.
As a junior-high library aide at age 13, Wadham was challenged by librarian Jane Vance to read all of the annual winners, dating back to the first award given in 1922. He compiled his list of "Newbery Academy Awards," and Vance arranged for him to make a presentation to a children's-literature group meeting at Brigham Young University.
Wadham's passion for children's literature defines his career as a public librarian and college instructor, and in a full-circle moment, in 1998 he was elected to serve on the ALA's Newbery Committee.
To recognize readers of all ages who are similarly passionate for children's literature, The Salt Lake Tribune is holding a Newbery party on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to recognize this year's winner, Kelly Barnhill's "The Girl Who Drank the Moon," and previous favorites. (See box for ticketing and event details.)
Even as literary awards proliferate, Utah's children's-lit experts say there's a good reason the Newberys continue to serve "as a kind of beacon light for good children's literature," says Hawthorne Elementary teacher Marilyn Taft. "These books can really touch kids a lot."
When talking about Newbery awards, passionate children's-literature specialists are happy to rhapsodize about an award winner they fell in love with as a young reader.
For Wadham, the first book he had read before it earned the award was Susan Cooper's "The Grey King," part of her five-book "Dark Is Rising" fantasy series. "To this day, my family remembers me running around the house and screaming 'far freaking out,' " he says of the 1976 award winner. For him and his friends, Cooper's series was like our Harry Potter, he says, recalling the pleasure of meeting Cooper as a youth when she read at Utah State University.
(Of course, to young readers who are disappointed to learn that the phenomenally popular Potter books haven't won Newbery medals, that's simply because author J.K. Rowling is British.)
Taft calls herself the kind of young reader who would check out entire bookshelves of books from the library at a time. She was in elementary school when Scott O'Dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphins" won the Newbery in 1961. When she was sent out of her classroom on errands by her teacher, she chose to stand outside another classroom where the teacher was reading aloud from the book.
In her classroom for the past 14 years, Taft has assigned her fourth- and fifth-grade students to select and read 10 of the award winners or honor selections during the year. In addition, she has selected Newbery winners for classes to read together. "The very first time I ever gave this assignment, I had a student who just immediately grabbed onto the whole idea," she says, adding that he went on to assign himself to read all of Newberys. "He would walk out of the classroom on Friday afternoon and he would have five or seven books in his arms."
Taft praises books such as Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars" (1990 winner) or Esther Forbes' "Johnny Tremain" (1944) for helping students learn more about World War II or the American Revolution.
Just about everyone loves William Pène du Bois' "The Twenty-One Balloons" (1948), she says, or E.L. Konigsburg's "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" (1968). Or this classic story: Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" (1963), earning new attention thanks to a film adaptation planned for next year, with a cast including Chris Pine, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling.
In teaching future teachers, the Newbery awards offer a starting point for talking about a lot of issues in the field, says Lauren Aimonette Liang, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Utah.
The Newberys, awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the ALA, are selected on this ambitious but vague criterion: "To the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."
Liang was on the selection committee for the 2017 Caldecott Medal, also awarded by the ALA, offered to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children."
By reading Newbery books as class assignments, young readers can learn critical thinking skills by considering why a book might win the award in a particular year, as well as considering trends among award winners over several years.
In recent years, several of the Newbery and honor books have been novels-in-verse, drawing upon the rhymes of a hip-hop culture. Other trends include more graphic novels and memoirs, Liang says.
"The Newbery changes the way you're viewed as an author, and publishing companies get a lot of benefit," she says. "In many ways, it's honoring a wonderfully crafted book, but it's also a big business."
Taft considers the variety of Newbery winners what makes reading from the list so valuable. "Every child can learn to love reading if you put the right book in his or her hand, every child," she says. "Reading is really the key to all academic success in the future."
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Celebrate children's lit
In partnership with The King's English Bookshop, join The Tribune to celebrate Newbery Award winners with Utah author Ally Condie, Provo Library director Gene Nelson and University of Utah professor Lauren Liang. The panelists will pitch their favorites and answer questions, and the party will be capped with a cake depicting new and past winners.
When • Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m.
Where • 15th and 15th Gallery, 1519 S. 1500 East, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $10 at the door or sltrib.com/newberynight Reader favorites
We asked Tribune readers to tell us which Newbery books they love. Pick your favorite at bit.ly/FavoriteNewbery .
Patricia Mead, Taylorsville
1995 Medal: "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
"It is a beautiful and sensitive account of a young girl coming to terms with the death of her mother, and learning the importance of acceptance and love of people who are different."
Riley Payne, Orem
1999 Medal: "Holes" by Louis Sachar
"Holes was one of the most formative books I read growing up. Even 15 years down the road, I can still vividly recall the unit we had on it in the fourth grade. It was a book that was easy for me and my classmates to connect with because it was so fun and engaging. It was unlike any other book I read in school up until that point, and one of the most rewarding experiences I had reading in school throughout my entire education. It's still one of my favorite books to this day, and fostered my love for reading."
Jennifer Moreton, Salt Lake City
1959 Medal: "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
"As a young girl I related to the main character, a girl who lived among people who were different from her and saw her as an outsider. The main character kept her head high and embraced who she was. She knew she was different and she was not afraid."
Kathy Park, Salt Lake City
1978 Medal: "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
"It's a story where the girl is the focus of a boy's admiration not for her appearance but for her athleticism, her imagination, herself. I really strongly identify with her, imagining worlds for herself and her friend. It also never fails to make me cry."
Jessica Andrews, Salt Lake City
1978 Medal: "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson
"Bridge to Terabithia dealt with friendship, imagination, socio-economic status and loss, with beautiful imagination and compassion."
Eden Wagner, Eagle Mountain
1969 Medal • "The High King" by Lloyd Alexander
"This book was the start of my love of high fantasy. I've read the entire series multiple times and it never gets old. That's what I look for in adding a book to my favorites list."
Chantryce Diehl, Murray
1990 Medal: "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
"This is my favorite because it not only started my fascination with the Holocaust and what happened during World War II — it also started my love for historical fiction. It was read to me during one on my elementary school classes and then I would constantly check it out from the library. It's a story that has stayed with me my whole life."
Christine Johnson, Perry
1985 Medal: "The Hero and the Crown" by Robin McKinley
"Aerin, the main character of The Hero and the Crown, is one of the strongest female heroines I have ever read — she fights dragons, for crying out loud! — and yet she is just a normal girl, with normal failings and insecurities. She is completely relatable, and at the same time she is someone to aspire to become. She faces unimaginable obstacles and overcomes incredible odds, and I want to be her when I grow up!"