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 1977

1977 – Newbery Winner

Click for a larger image of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
by Mildred D. Taylor, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Publication Date: Jan 05, 2016
List Price: $19.99
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
ISBN13: 9781101993880
Imprint: Dial Books for Young Readers
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Read a Description of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry


Book Description: 

A stunning repackage of Mildred D. Taylor’s Newbery Award-winning masterpiece with cover art by two-time Caldecott Honor Award winner Kadir Nelson and an introduction by Jacqueline Woodson, just in time for its 40th Anniversary!

Set in Mississippi at the height of the Depression, this is the story of one family’s struggle to maintain their integrity, pride, and independence in the face of racism and social injustice. And it is also Cassie’s story—Cassie Logan, an independent girl who discovers over the course of an important year why having land of their own is so crucial to the Logan family, even as she learns to draw strength from her own sense of dignity and self-respect.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry also won the following awards and honors:

  • Newbery Medal winner
  • A National Book Award Nominee
  • American Book Award Honor Book
  • An ALA Notable Book
  • A NCSS-CBC Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
  • A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book