John Newbery Medal Winning and Honored Books

The Newbery Medal or Honor Seal

First awarded in 1922, The John Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. Virginia Hamilton, in 1975, was the first African American writer to win the medal. Learn more about this award at the ALA Website.

Below are the Newbery Winning and Honored books which were written by, or about, people of African descent.


One Book Honored with The Newbery Medal or Honor in 1972

1972 – Newbery Honor

The Planet Of Junior Brown (2006)
by Virginia Hamilton

Publication Date: May 01, 2006
List Price: $8.99
Format: Paperback, 224 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Young Adult
ISBN13: 9781416914105
Imprint: Aladdin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

Read a Description of The Planet Of Junior Brown (2006)


Book Description: 

This is a reprint of the original 1971 edition.

Junior Brown, an overprotected three-hundred pound musical prodigy who’s prone to having fantasies, and Buddy Clark, a loner who lives by his wits because he has no family whatsoever, have been on the hook from their eighth-grade classroom all semester.

Most of the time they have been in the school building — in a secret cellar room behind a false wall, where Mr. Pool, the janitor, has made a model of the solar system. They have been pressing their luck for months…and then they are caught. As society — in the form of a zealous assistant principal — closes in on them, Junior’s fantasies become more desperate, and Buddy draws on all his resources to ensure his friend’s well-being.

  • 1972 1973 Mark Twain Awards - nomination
  • 1971 Horn Book fanfare book
  • 1972 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award - winner
  • 1972 Newbery Medal - honor
  • 1997 A film, adapted from the novel, was released