Annal:1984 Newbery Medal

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Beverly Cleary

• 1984 Newbery winner
• Score: 10.34

Dear Mr. Henshaw, I wish somebody would stop stealing the good stuff out of my lunchbag. I guess I wish a lot of other things, too. I wish someday Dad and Bandit would pull up in front in the rig…Dad would yell out of the cab, “Come on, Leigh. Hop in and I’ll give you a lift to school.”

Leigh Botts has been author Boyd Henshaw’s number one fan ever since he was in second grade. Now in sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is the new kid at school. He’s lonely, troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious thief steals from his lunchbag. Then Leigh’s teacher assigns a letter-writing project. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh’s life.

The Sign of the Beaver

Elizabeth George Speare

• 1984 Scott O'Dell winner
• 1984 Newbery honor
• Score: 16.34

Until the day his father returns to their cabin in the Maine wilderness, twelve-year-old Matt must try to survive on his own. Although Matt is brave, he's not prepared for an attack by swarming bees, and he's astonished when he's rescued by an Indian chief and his grandson, Attean.

As the  boys come to know each other Attean learns to speak English while Matt becomes a skilled hunter. Though many months have passed, there's no sign of  Matt's family. Then Attean asks Matt to join the  Beaver tribe and move north. Should Matt abandon his hopes of ever seeing his family again and move on to a new life?

A Solitary Blue

Cynthia Voigt

• 1984 Newbery honor
• Score: 6.34

Jeff Greene was only seven when Melody, his mother, left him with his reserved, undemonstrative father, the Professor. So when she reenters his life years later with an invitation to spend the summer with her in Charleston, Jeff is captivated by her free spirit and warmth, and he eagerly looks forward to returning for another visit the following year.

But Jeff’s second summer in Charleston ends with a devastating betrayal, and he returns to his father wounded almost beyond bearing. But out of Jeff’s pain grows a deepening awareness of the unexpected and complicated ways of love and loss and of family and friendship—and the strength to understand his father, his mother, and especially himself.

Sugaring Time

Kathryn Lasky

• 1984 Newbery honor
• Score: 6.34

Text and photographs show how a family taps the sap from maple trees and processes it into maple syrup.

The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree

Bill Brittain

• 1984 Newbery honor
• Score: 6.34

When a strange little man comes to the Coven Tree Church Social promising he can give people exactly what they ask for, three young believers-in-magic each make a wish that comes true in the most unexpected way.