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

2012 Winner:

DEAD END IN NORVELT
by Jack Gantos
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

2012 Honor Books:

INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN
by Thanhha Lai
Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.

BREAKING STALIN'S NOSE
by Eugene Yelchin
In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs.

For more information, please visit the Newbery Medal website.