1930's Newbery Winners

This is a continuation of the work I've started on the Newbery books part of their reading challenges. You can find the 1920's list here. 


by Elizabeth Enright

 3.66 stars — 1,746 GoodRead reviewers

Garnet Linden's family is in desperate trouble.  There hasn't been rain in too long and the crops are dead, the livestock thin, and her family's bills are piled sky-high.

Everything changes though when she finds a silver thimble in the dry creek.  Her family's fortune change dramatically, and Garnet comes to believe there is magic at work, and she promises never to forget 'her thimble summer'.

Word Count: 34,242
Page Count:  144
Accelerated Reading level: 5.7 / points: 5.0
AR quiz: 88
Lexile: 810L
--sample pages available


1938
bookcover of THE WHITE STAG by Kate Seredy THE WHITE STAG
by Kate Seredy

 3.51 stars — 888 GoodRead reviewers

The book begins with the fall of the Biblical Tower of Babel. Nimrod stands, wondering about the fate of his two sons, Hunor and Magyar.  Months before they rode away after a mysterious white stag....

This story retells the legend of the Huns and Magyars and their migration west.

Word Count: 14,415
Page Count:  96
Accelerated Reading level: 6.6 / points: 2.0
AR quiz: 96
Lexile: 1020L
--sample pages available


1937
bookcover of ROLLER SKATES by Ruth SawyerROLLER SKATES
by Ruth Sawyer

 3.59 stars — 1,173 GoodRead reviewers

Like Caddie Woodlawn (below) this book is also based on the author's own experience.  In this book Lucinda Wyman is sent to a school in New York City in the 1890's where she experiences unprecedented freedom while her parents are off to Italy.

She skates around New York and makes friends with a wide range of people, only to eventually get sent home in disgrace.   Once home her Uncle introduces her Shakespeare.  This education prepares her for the death of two friends.  

A well received coming of age story.

Word Count: 46,235
Page Count:  186
Accelerated Reading level: 6.3 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 76
Lexile: 810L
--sample pages available


1936
bookcover of CADDIE WOODLAWN by Carol Ryrie BrinCADDIE WOODLAWN
by Carol Ryrie Brin

 3.96 stars — 20,082 GoodRead reviewers

Caddie Woodlawn is a tomboy.  She prefers hunting and plowing over sewing and baking; and she competes with her brother every to her mother's dismay.  

Wonderfully, her father encourages her, which gives Caddie the strength to stand up to bullies and protect her Indian friends.  

There's a sequel: Magical Melons (1939).
Based on the author's own experience.

Word Count: 51,659
Page Count:  288
Accelerated Reading level: 6.0 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 14
Lexile: 890L
--sample pages available


1935
bookcover of DOBRY by Monica Shannon
DOBRY
by Monica Shannon
Atanas Katchamakoff (Illustrator)

 3.08 stars — 224 GoodRead reviewers

Dobry is a Bulgarian peasant who works with his mother and father on their farm.  All are content until the day when Dobry discovers that not only does he love art, he's exceptionally skilled at it.

Dobry's mother becomes increasing agitated about the future because she always assumed Dobry would take over his father's work.  But a supportive Grandfather lends his voice to the argument so that all ends well.

Word Count: 36,060
Page Count:  176
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 74668


1934
bookcover of INVINCIBLE LOUISA: THE STORY OF THE AUTHOR OF LITTLE WOMEN by Cornelia MeigsINVINCIBLE LOUISA: THE STORY OF THE AUTHOR OF LITTLE WOMEN by Cornelia Meigs

 3.66 stars — 1,523 GoodRead reviewers

A biography of Louisa May Alcott.

Word Count: 55,156
Page Count:  256
Accelerated Reading level: 8.0 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 17820
Lexile: 1150L
--sample pages available


1933
bookcover of YOUNG FU OF THE UPPER YANGTZE by Elizabeth LewisYOUNG FU OF THE UPPER YANGTZE
by Elizabeth Lewis

 3.63 stars — 1,024 GoodRead reviewers

This book follows a young boy and his mother from farm to city life in bustling 1920s Chungking.

Word Count: 59,742
Page Count:  320
Accelerated Reading level: 6.4 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 100
Lexile: 890L



1932
bookcover of WATERLESS MOUNTAIN by Laura Adams ArmerWATERLESS MOUNTAINby Laura Adams Armer

 3.20 stars — 266 GoodRead reviewers

The story of Younger Brother, a Navajo boy whose spiritual odyssey and coming of age journey leads him to be a medicine man.  This book provides a insight into the beliefs, traditions, and lifestyle of the Navajo people.

Word Count: 49,884
Page Count:  222
Accelerated Reading level: 5.6 / points: 8.0
AR quiz: 74540


1931
bookcover of THE CAT WHO WENT TO HEAVEN by Elizabeth CoatsworthTHE CAT WHO WENT TO HEAVEN 
by Elizabeth Coatsworth

 3.64 stars — 1,326 GoodRead reviewers

Set in ancient Japan, a struggling artist is angered when his housekeeper brings home a tiny white cat he can barely afford to feed. But when the village's head priest commissions a painting of the Buddha for a healthy sum, the artist softens toward the animal he believes has brought him luck. 

According to legend, the proud and haughty cat was denied the Buddha's blessing for refusing to accept his teachings and pay him homage. So when the artist, moved by compassion for his pet, includes the cat in his painting, the priest rejects the work and decrees that it must be destroyed. It seems the artist's life is ruined as well -- until he is rewarded for his act of love by a Buddhist miracle.

Word Count: 11,140
Page Count:  96
Accelerated Reading level: 5.9 / points: 2.0
AR quiz: 17
Lexile: 1000L
--sample pages available



1930
bookcover of HITTY, HER FIRST HUNDRED YEARS by Rachel FieldHITTY, HER FIRST HUNDRED YEARS 
by Rachel Field

 3.80 stars — 2,266 GoodRead reviewers

Hitty, or Mehitable as she was really named, is a doll that was made for Phoebe Preble, a little girl from Maine in the early 1800s. Young Phoebe was very proud of her beautiful doll and took her everywhere, even on a long sailing trip in a whaler. This Hitty's memoir,  with Phoebe and others who loved her.  

Word Count: 63,431
Page Count:  256
Accelerated Reading level: 7.1 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 38
Lexile: 1180L
--sample pages available

compiled by Pam