Children/Young Adult Book Awards: 1940-1949

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden-red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was swift as the desert winds, Sham's pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara. to the royal courts of France, and finally to the green pastures and stately homes of England. For Sham was the renowned Godolphin Arabian, whose blood flows through the veins of almost very superior thoroughbred. Sham's speed -- like his story -- has become legendary.

The history of America at sea is presented through the travels of Seabird, a carved ivory gull.

Momo has always wanted a Lhasa terrier--a dog like the ones the Tibetan Buddhist priests hold sacred in their temples. When a trader brings Pempa to her parents' teahouse, Momo's dream comes true. Then a band of robbers steals the valuable dog, and to recover him, Momo must make a dangerous journey she may not survive.

When Elmer Elevator hears about the plight of an overworked and underappreciated baby flying dragon, he stows away on a ship and travels to Wild Island to rescue the dragon.

In this account of the history of his people, Arna Bontemps has told the story that, he says, "I would have given my eye teeth to know when I was a high school boy in California—the story that my history books barely mentioned."

Its scope is wide, for he traces the history of the Negro people from "as far back as it goes" down to the present. But the rich and colorful picture of the Negro in Africa is merely the background for what was to follow when boatloads of stolen men were brought to the shores of America to be sold as slaves. "Along the way," he says, "I tried to make clear how American slavery came about and what causes lay behind the present attitudes toward Negroes on the part of some people." The long, hard struggle that ensued is a story filled with courage and heroism. What adventure stories can rival the tales of the slave ships "Le Rodeur" and the "Saint Leon"; the mutiny of the "Amistad" captives; the insurrection of the Haitian slaves; the accounts of the escapes via the Underground Railroad? What success story can match that of the hotel waiter, Henri Cristophe, who became a "king" and built the Citadel in Haiti that is considered the eighth wonder of the world?

Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But through a twist of fate, he lands on Krakatoa, and discovers a world of unimaginable wealth, eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions.

"There was magic in that box of pancake flour. Charles was sure that if he just knew how, he could make French crepes for Mardi Gras, the crepes they always had to celebrate the day before Lent in Paris. But how to make French crepes from a package of ordinary American pancake flour - that was the puzzle. Charles could read French quite well - he was just ten years old - but he couldn't read English, and all the directions on the box were printed in English. "It was a difficult problem that required deep thought, but Charles was equal to it. He not only solved the problem, but he kept the surprise for his mother and little sister Zezette, and made very good friends of two American GI's besides."

Banished to a mountaintop to learn to grow rice, Li Lun proves his courage as he fights the elements and his own loneliness to make his rice seedlings flourish where no one else has for generations.

"The stories of West Africa are about men and animals, about kings, warriors, and hunters. They tell about clever people and stupid people, about good ones and bad ones, about how things and animals got to be how they are. Sometimes they are just tall tales. There are stories about Frog, Rabbit, Turtle, Guinea Fowl, and all the other animals that West Africans know. Some of the stories make you think. Some make you laugh.
Here are some of the stories of the people of the forests, the seacoast, the hills, and the plains.
The people of West Africa give them to you."

Nobody could capture the Phantom. She was the wildest mare on Assateague Island. They said she was like the wind, that the white "map" on her shoulders was her mark of freedom.
Paul and Maureen Beebe had their hearts set on owning her. They were itching to buy and tame her, and worked hard to earn the money that she would cost. But the roundup men had tried to capture her and for two years she had escaped them....
Pony Penning Day holds a surprise for everyone, for Paul not only brings in the Phantom, but her newborn colt as well. Can Paul and Maureen possibly earn enough to buy them both?

Miss Hickory is very worried. Her owner has moved to Boston, and how can Miss Hickory survive a harsh New Hampshire winter all alone? After all, she is just a doll whose body is an apple-wood twig and whose head is a hickory nut, and whose house is made out of corncobs.

Ellen thought it would be an unhappy time when the family had to leave Kansas and move to a Colorado ranch, because her father was ill. But even living in a tent until they made other arrangements, plus the exciting things that began to happen, didn't give her one homesick moment. She didn't have time for that when there were floods, fires, picnics, new friends, learning to ride a bicycle and even growing up!

A giant five-thousand-year-old Sequoia, called Wa-No-Na by the Indians, tells its life story.

The Marvell family unintentionally leaves their Wisconsin farm unattended when they visit their grandmother in Virginia, but a surprising group of close friends comes to the rescue.

While visiting his uncle in the mountains of France shortly after World War II, Johnny stumbles upon an evil plot being hatched by a fugitive Nazi spy.

Amidst great mystery, Hugh is left in the care of Glastonbury Abbey by his father who must flee England too swiftly to be burdened by a crippled son. Ashamed of his physical weakness, yet possessed of a stout heart, Hugh finds that life at the abbey is surprisingly full in this year 1171, in the turbulent days of King Henry II. Hugh, his friend Dickon and their strange friend, the mad Bleheris, uncover a treasure trove and with it a deeper mystery of the sort that could only occur in Glastonbury where Joseph of Arimithea was said to have lived out his last years. Before all is done, more is resolved than Hugh could ever have hoped.

The land was theirs, but so were its hardships
Strawberries -- big, ripe, and juicy. Ten-year-old Birdie Boyer can hardly wait to start picking them. But her family has just moved to the Florida backwoods, and they haven′t even begun their planting. ";Don′t count your biddies ′fore they′re hatched, gal young un!"; her father tells her.
Making the new farm prosper is not easy. There is heat to suffer through, and droughts, and cold snaps. And, perhaps most worrisome of all for the Boyers, there are rowdy neighbors, just itching to start a feud.

In 1791 a Vermont schoolmaster by the name of Justin Morgan comes home with a two-year-old colt named Little Bub. Taken as payment for an outstanding debt, the little colt doesn't seem like he is worth much, but the kindly teacher asks one of his students, Joel Goss, to train him. Joel knows the horse has great potential, and soon word about Little Bub spreads throughout the entire Northeast for his ability to outwork, outrun, outtrot, and outwalk any horse in the area.
This is the extraordinary tale of a little workhorse, who, after being born in obscurity, becomes one of the greatest breeding stallions of all time. In this true story Newbery Medal-winning author Marguerite Henry and artist Wesley Dennis celebrate the life of the only horse ever to establish a breed all by himself -- the Morgan.

The captivating story of a Japanese-American family in a World War II internment camp who struggle to retain their dignity and identity as Americans.

Set in India, Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear follows the adventures of two boys, David and Gopali, as they roam the country with a dancing bear.

A young person's history of Latin America, covering the Aztec, the Mayan and the Inca civilizations, the Conquistadors, the search for El Dorado, the coming of Christianity, and the struggle for independence of the colonial powers.

In Lawson's classic tale, new folks are coming to live in the Big House. The animals of Rabbit Hill wonder if they will plant a garden and thus be good providers. Illustrations.

Eleanor Estes’s The Hundred Dresses won a Newbery Honor in 1945 and has never been out of print since. At the heart of the story is Wanda Petronski, a Polish girl in a Connecticut school who is ridiculed by her classmates for wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Wanda claims she has one hundred dresses at home, but everyone knows she doesn’t and bullies her mercilessly. The class feels terrible when Wanda is pulled out of the school, but by that time it’s too late for apologies. Maddie, one of Wanda’s classmates, ultimately decides that she is “never going to stand by and say nothing again.” This powerful, timeless story has been reissued in paperback with a new letter from the author’s daughter Helena Estes, and with the Caldecott artist Louis Slobodkin’s original artwork in beautifully restored color.

Janet uses the special pencil she received from her father to turn her life into stories.

Originally published in 1944, Foster earned her reputation by her masterful display of "horizontal history" telling the story of world events in the geo-political sphere, while giving as much importance to advances in science, medicine, music, literature, and exploration. Thus, while Abe Lincoln was a boy romping the woods of Kentucky, Thomas Jefferson was completing his eighth year as president, George III reigned in Great Britain and Napolean was about to meet his Waterloo. Beethoven and Sir Walter Scott were at the height of their creative powers, while Victor Hugo was staging plays at school. By the time Lincoln was old enough to help his father chop wood, other young boys and girls were being prepared for the future parts they would play. Harriet Beecher was reading anything she could get her hands on, Charles Darwin was collecting toads, crabs and shells, and the impoverished boy Dickens was working in a shoe blacking factory in London. When Lincoln opened his shop in Salem, David Livingstone was opening up deepest Africa, and thousands of Americans were opening up the West on the Oregon Trail. The spirit of freedom was moving around the globe as the abolitionist movement gained power in the States and serfdom saw its demise in Russia. Technologically the world was bursting with the invention of the telegraph, the railroad and the steamboat. With her whimsical and informative illustrations and timelines Foster has magnificently captured a remarkable age and a remarkable man.

Williams, champion of religious freedom and founder of Providence Plantation, written for children by Jeanette Eaton.

A story filled with danger and excitement, Johnny Tremain tells of the turbulent passionate times in Boston just after the Revolutionary War. Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in a dramatic involvement with James Otis, John Hancock, and John and Samuel Adams in the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington; and finally, a touching resolution of Johnny's personal life.

Fifteen-year-old Laura lives apart from her family for the first time, teaching school in a claim shanty twelve miles from home. She is very homesick, but keeps at it so that she can help pay for her sister Mary's tuition at the college for the blind. During school vacations Laura has fun with her singing lessons, going on sleigh rides, and best of all, helping Almanzo Wilder drive his new buggy. Friendship soon turns to love for Laura and Almanzo in the romantic conclusion of this Little House book.

Greta had always loved the fog—the soft gray mist that rolled in from the sea and drifted over the village. The fog seemed to have a secret to tell her. Then one day when Greta was walking in the woods and the mist was closing in, she saw the dark outline of a stone house against the spruce trees—a house where only an old cellar hole should have been. Then she saw a surrey come by, carrying a lady dressed in plum-colored silk. The woman beckoned for Greta to join her, and soon Greta found herself launched on an adventure that would take her back to a past that existed only through the magic of the fog.

You've never met anyone quite like Rufus Moffat. He gets things done, but he gets them done his way.
When he wants to check out library books, Rufus teaches himself to write...even though he doesn't yet know how to read. When food is scarce, he plants some special "Rufus beans" that actually grow...despite his digging them up every day to check on them. And Rufus has friends that other people don't even know exist! He discovers the only invisible piano player in town, has his own personal flying horse for a day, and tours town with the Cardboard Boy, his dearest friend-and enemy.
Rufus isn't just the youngest Moffat, he's also the cleverest, the funniest, and the most unforgettable.

There were boulders at the top and he picked his way carefully among them. Suddenly he stopped still, gripping a rock and flattening himself against it. Not ten paces from him was a gray wolf, and around her four well-grown cubs were playing--prettily, if anything that spelt such horror could be pretty. His hands felt like ice on the rock.
Wolves, weather, a black lamb, a trusty dog--all are part of Peter's life on a mountain farm. His best friend is Benj, a wise old shepherd, and Benj teaches him to care for the sprightly lamb that becomes his own special pet, his cosset. As Biddy grows into her place as leader of the flock, Peter grows too, learning the skills and joys of the shepherd's life.

Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout thirteenthcentury England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone. He searches the same roads he traveled with his father, meeting various people along the way. But will Adam ever find his father and dog and end his desperate search?

Who is Jane Moffat, anyway? She isn't the youngest in the family, and she isn't the oldest-she is always just Jane. How boring. So Jane decides to become a figure of mystery ... the mysterious "Middle Moffat." But being in the middle is a lot harder than it looks.
In between not rescuing stray dogs, and losing and finding best friends, Jane must secretly look after the oldest inhabitant of Cranbury...so he can live to be one hundred. Between brushing her hair from her eyes and holding up her stockings, she has to help the girls' basketball team win the championship. And it falls to Jane-the only person in town with enough courage-to stand up to the frightful mechanical wizard, Wallie Bangs.
Jane is so busy keeping Cranbury in order that she barely has time to be plain old Jane. Sometimes the middle is the most exciting place of all....

A biography of the midget entertainer who was a favorite attraction of the P.T. Barnum circus.

In 1756, New York State was still a British colony, and the French and the Indians were constant threats to Edward and his family. When his father was called away to watch for a raid from the north, only Edward was left to protect Mama and little Trudy. His father had shown him how to use the huge matchlock gun, an old Spanish gun that was twice as long as he was, but would Edward be able to handle it if trouble actually came?

The little settlement that weathered the long, hard winter of 1880-81 is now a growing town. Laura is growing up, and she goes to her first evening social. Mary is at last able to go to a college for the blind. Best of all, Almanzo Wilder asks permission to walk home from church with Laura. And Laura, now fifteen years old, receives her certificate to teach school.

The period measured by the life of George Washington 1732 to 1799 was one of revolution and change in many parts of the world as Enlightenment thinking took hold in the minds of men. When George was a young man, Benjamin Franklin was the most well-known American, Louis XV was on the throne of France, and George II was king of England. Father Junipero Serra had just arrived in Mexico to work with the Panes Indians. Mozart and Bach were writing their immortal music and Voltaire warred with his pen against Ignorance, Injustice and Superstition. The young nobleman Lafayette watched the feisty American colonies with fascinated interest as they stood up to Mother England when she sought to tax them unfairly. James Cook was sent by the Royal Society of London to Tahiti where their team of astronomers might observe a total eclipse of the sun and thereby accurately measure the distance between the earth and the sun. These are just a few of the wonderful narratives explored by Foster in her Newbery Honor Book of 1940. Prolifically illustrated with intriguing line drawings and detailed timelines, Foster's telling of the life story of George Washington does justice to the man it celebrates.

In this classic frontier adventure, Lois Lenskireconstructs the real life story of Mary Jemison, who was captured in a raid as young girl and raised amongst the Seneca Indians. Meticulously researched and illustrated with many detailed drawings, this novel offers an exceptionally vivid and personal portrait of Native American life and customs.

A work of historical fiction for children, telling the story of the Separatists of Scrooby and the Pilgrim Fathers, through the first-person narrative of young Max Over.

Maftu was afraid of the sea. It had taken his mother when he was a baby, and it seemed to him that the sea gods sought vengeance at having been cheated of Mafatu. So, though he was the son of the Great Chief of Hikueru, a race of Polynesians who worshipped courage, and he was named Stout Heart, he feared and avoided tha sea, till everyone branded him a coward. When he could no longer bear their taunts and jibes, he determined to conquer that fear or be conquered-- so he went off in his canoe, alone except for his little dog and pet albatross. A storm gave him his first challenge. Then days on a desert island found him resourceful beyond his own expectation. This is the story of how his courage grew and how he finally returned home. This is a legend. It happened many years ago, but even today the people of Hikueru sing this story and tell it over their evening fires.

To Janey Larkin, the blue willow plate was the most beautiful thing in her life, a symbol of the home she could only dimly remember. Now that her father was an itinerant worker, Janey didn't have a home she could call her own or any real friends, as her family had to keep moving, following the crops from farm to farm. Someday, Janey promised the willow plate, with its picture of a real house, her family would once again be able to set down roots in a community.

The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as Pa, Ma, Laura, Mary, Carrie, and little Grace bravely face the hard winter of 1880-81 in their little house in the Dakota Territory. Blizzards cover the little town with snow, cutting off all supplies from the outside. Soon there is almost no food left, so young Almanzo Wilder and a friend make a dangerous trip across the prairie to find some wheat. Finally a joyous Christmas is celebrated in a very unusual way in this most exciting of all the Little House books.

A biography of the Norwegian explorer, scientist, and diplomat Fridtjof Nansen.

"Awarded the John Newbery Medal 'for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children' in 1940" James Daugherty has dipped his pen and his brush into our nation's most dynamic character whose life adventures are more exciting than the shadowy legend his name brings to mind. Daniel Boone was a farmer who couldn't stay put. Something was always pulling him westward into new and mysterious lands, and when this pull got so strong that he could no longer ignore it, and his wife and children could not persuade him to stay, he just went, with his toes pointing into the West and his eyes glued to the hills. The rugged sweep which has always distinguished Mr. Daugherty's illustrations and painting distinguishes his epic prose here as well, and makes for perfect portrayal of the vigorous character of Daniel Boone. It is interesting to recall that among the first book illustrations which Mr. Daugherty ever did were his interpretations of this same character for Stewart Edward White's "Daniel Boone".

Life on the Hungarian plains us changing quickly for Jancsi and his cousin Kate. Father has given Jansci permission to be in charge of his own herd and Katehas begun to think of going to dnces. Then, when Hungary must send troops to fight in the great war and Jancsi's father is called to battle, the two cousins must grow up all the sooner.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family continue as they move from their little house on the banks of Plum Creek to the wilderness of the unsettled Dakota Territory. Here Pa works on the new railroad until he finds a homestead claim that is perfect for their new little house. Laura takes her first train ride as she, her sisters, and their mother come out to live with Pa on the shores of Silver Lake. After a lonely winter in the surveyors' house, Pa puts up the first building in what will soon be a brand-new town on the beautiful shores of Silver Lake. The Ingallses' covered-wagon travels are finally over.

"Seventeen-year-old Bill Crawford refused to be licked by the "hard times" of 1837. Putting every cent he owned into a tin trunk full of "Yankee notions", he set out afoot from New Hampshire for the Ohio country."