No time to read? Try a Newbery winner!

The Newbery Medal is awarded to "the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." Each year a committee from the American Library Association selects one Medal winner and several "runners-up" or Honor books.

This winter I've been reading all of the Newbery winners, from the 2005 selection all the way back to the first medal winner in 1922. (The 2006 medal has now been awarded; I'm on my local library's waiting list).

So far I've read 24 of the 84 winning books, and I'm enjoying myself immensely. It's such a treat to read an entire novel in one sitting, and these books are so well written that every single one of them reads like a "real" novel, like a grown-up book in between kid's book covers.

Since many of us are short on time to read for pleasure, I heartily recommend adding any and all of the wonderful Newbery books to your bedside pile!

To get you started, try my five (so far) favorites:

• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (2000)
• The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (1997)
• The Giver by Lois Lowry (1994)
• Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1991)
• The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (1985)

Check out of all of the Newbery Medal and Honor books. Your local library should have most, if not all of them -- happy reading!