The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

2009 Winner:

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK 
by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens is a normal boy, except that he has been raised by ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard.

2009 Honor Books:

THE UNDERNEATH
by Kathi Appelt
An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born underneath the house, endure separation, danger and many other tribulations in their quest to be reunited and free.

THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM
by Margarita Engle
Engle’s hauntingly beautiful free verse prose breathes life into this finely crafted story that illuminates Cuba’s fight for independence from Spain in the 1800s. Told from the perspective of four distinct voices, Engle intricately weaves a harrowing, heart-wrenching story of enslavement, survival, determination and heroism.

SAVVY
by Ingrid Law
Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"—a magical power unique to each member of her family—just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

AFTER TUPAC & D FOSTER
by Jacqueline Woodson
In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live.

For more information, please visit the Newbery Medal Web site.