The purpose of this study was to conduct a critical content analysis of the African American characters found in Newbery Medal award winning books recognized between the years of 1991 and 2011. The John Newbery Medal is a highly regarded award in the United States for children's literature and esteemed worldwide. Children's and adolescents' books receive this coveted award for the quality of their writing. Though these books are recognized for their quality writing, there is no guideline in the award criteria that evaluated the race and identity of the characters. Hence, there are two overarching research questions that guided this study. The first question asked: To what extent are the African American characters in each award winning book represented? Foci in answering this question were the frequency of African American characters and the development of their ethnic identities. The second question asked: How are the African American characters' intergroup attitudes and interactions represented? Foci in answering this question examined the frequency of intergroup interactions and the characters' attitudes within the context of each book. The theoretical framework that undergirded this study is critical literacy, which encourages adults and youth to examine issues of diversity and social justice through their reading. Eighteen books met the criteria for the study, which provided 98 African American characters for investigation through content analysis. The qualitative methodology used frequency counts, anecdotal notes and questionnaires to analyze the characters. Findings revealed two key themes: the characterization of ethnic identity as a reflection of society and African American characters as models of agency. Further themes became evident in this study as well: the evolution of cultural authenticity, strong African American female characters, importance of the African American family and the acknowledgement of African American involvement in history. These findings are significant because they provided evidence of the potential of these Newbery award winning books to be the catalyst for critical classroom conversations on identity and agency. Findings also provided increasingly strong examples of ethnic role models within these notable titles.

"On a quest to read all of the existing Newbery award-winning books (est. 1921), a reading specialist examines the history of the books and the award itself. Considered the “most distinguished contribution to children’s literature,” the John Newbery gold medal, awarded by the American Library Association, is a high-water mark for upper elementary-aged children across the United States. The author’s two decades of teaching experience provide the analytical perspective and memoir-style investigation. Interviews with a book buyer for the Scholastic publisher, children’s librarians, former Newbery committee members, and a visit to the famed Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature, frame the author’s adventure as he reads all the winners."--Provided by the author.

The problems under study were the following: 1. To determine the distribution of social and ethnic groups among the characters in books that have been awarded the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, and to analyze the treatment of certain groups. 2. To compare the ethnic distribution of characters in fifteen early Newbery Award books with the ethnic distribution of characters in fifteen recent Newbery Award books. 3. To interpret the findings of this study in the light of the objectives of the elementary school library.

Newbery books represent quality literature that is likely to be used for bibliotherapy, yet these books have not been systematically evaluated for their portrayal of characters with disabilities. Thirty Newbery Award and Honor books from 1975–2008 were identified that contained 40 characters with disabilities. These books were evaluated using a rating scale that combines literary standards and standards relating to individuals with disabilities. The types of disabilities and personal characteristics such as gender, age, and race were documented and the personal portrayal of characters with disabilities and exemplary practices in these books were evaluated. This information was compared to the current school special education population. The most commonly found disabilities were orthopedic impairment, emotional disturbance, and mental retardation. The majority of characters were portrayed realistically and positively and the personal portrayal and depiction of exemplary practices and social interactions with others has improved over time. When comparing school age characters to students receiving special education services today, though, some discrepancies arise. While the most commonly portrayed disabilities for school-age characters in Newbery books were mental retardation, orthopedic impairment, autism, and multiple disabilities, the most common disabilities of students receiving special education services are specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, mental retardation, and other health impairment. Also, White school-age characters with disabilities were overrepresented while Black characters and Hispanic characters were underrepresented and other ethnicities were not represented at all. This study is relevant to parents, teachers, librarians, and school psychologists who are interested in selecting appropriate books to encourage understanding and acceptance of students with disabilities.

Commonly practiced in school settings, bibliotherapy promotes healing and problem solving. In schools, bibliotherapy should be utilized to educate and empower students and to enhance the classroom experience. In order to achieve this purpose, teachers need a variety of books to specifically target students' unique needs. Award-winning books, such as those receiving the prestigious Newbery Medal, are important resources for teachers. This study examined the portrayal of characters with disabilities in 249 Newbery Medal and Honor books published between 1922 and 1974. From this sample, 20 books featured a combined total of 21 characters with a disability, as defined by the 13 disability categories (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA). The majority of characters were portrayed with orthopedic impairment (43%; n = 9). Other disabilities represented in this sample of books included visual impairment (19%; n = 4); emotional disturbance (14%; n = 3); mental retardation (9%; n = 2); speech or language impairment (5%; n = 1); multiple disabilities (5%; n = 1); and other health impairment (5%; n = 1). Overall, according to the language and customs of the time period that reflected the settings of the books, characters with disabilities were sensitively portrayed. However, when judged by today's standards, these portrayals were considered insensitive.

Newbery books are a reliable representation of quality children's literature. They have not previously been formally evaluated by the family structures represented in the books. This content analysis considered 87 contemporary realistic fiction Newbery winner and Honor books since the 1930s that portray families in English-speaking, western settings. The family structures portrayed in these books were compared with the family structure categories of the decade in which each book is set. Percentage comparisons revealed that the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s do not represent the actual family structures of their time period. After the Age of New Realism began in the mid 60s, the family structures in the books more closely matched the family structures of their decade, but several discrepancies remained.

紐伯瑞獎為創設於1922年的美國兒童文學獎，每年頒發給最傑出的美國兒童圖書的文字作者。創設至今，培育出無數傑出作家及優秀作品。不唯為全美兒童文學獎項的權威，也是全世界相關領域的師法對象。本研究採取書目計量法，探索1922年到2015年美國紐伯瑞獎作者背景、作品體裁與題材分佈，並透過台灣NBINet及中國CALIS蒐集中譯本書目，以瞭解作品中譯本出版狀況。研究結果歸納如下，一、作者背景：(1)作者有279名，美國與紐約州出生者最多，女性是男性的2倍，平均壽命78.3歲；(2)集中在30到59歲首度獲獎；(3) 1次得獎者最多，Meindert DeJong及Laura Ingalls Wilder創下最高得獎次數5次。二、作品體裁與題材：(1)體裁最多的是小說、傳記、短篇；(2)題材最多的是歷史、現實、冒險。三、作品中譯本：(1)54%的作品有中譯本，最早的中譯本是1925年上海商務印書館《人類的故事》，由沈性仁譯自《The Story of Mankind》；(2)最多中譯出版社及譯者翻譯出版的是《The Story of Mankind》，中譯書名種類最多的是《The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle》；(3)作品的中譯出版社、中譯譯者、中譯書名三種數量高度相關；(4)中譯本與英文本平均出版時間間隔，繁體是17.95年、簡體是27.83年；(5)繁體中譯出版社有72家，主要出版社是智茂、東方。簡體中譯出版社有108家，主要出版社是新蕾、中國少年兒童、河北教育；(6)譯者有438組，主要譯者是趙永芬、鄒嘉容、趙映雪；(7)中譯出版社最青睞小說體裁，不青睞知識文藝及傳說體裁；(8)中譯出版社最青睞動物及現實題材，較不青睞神祇題材。 / The Newbery Award was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Based on bibliometrics, this study explores the genres, subjects and author’s backgrounds of Newbery winners and honor books from 1922 to 2015. The study also collects bibliographic records retrieved mainly from NBINet and CALIS databases for the purpose of investigating overall publishing status of their Chinese translations. The results are summarized as follows. First,with regards to the authors’ backgrounds, it is observed that: (1)Among the 279 authors, those born in USA comprise the largest number. New York is the most common birthplace for these USA born authors. Moreover, female authors account for twice the number of male authors. Furthermore, the average life expectancy for the authors is 78.3 years; (2)The majority of these authors received the award between 30 and 59 years of age; (3)Most of the authors were awarded only once. Meindert DeJong and Laura Ingalls Wilder, having been awarded 5 times, hold the record for the most Newberys won. Second, with regards to the distribution of the genres and themes of these works, it is observed that: (1)In terms of genre, the majority of the works fall under fiction and nonfiction novels, biography and short story; (2)The subject of these works mostly center around history, realism and adventure. Third, regarding the publishing status of these works’ Chinese translations, it is observed that: (1)Chinese translations are available for 54 percent of the works. The first Chinese translation was “Ren Lei De Gu Shi” published by Shanghai Commercial Press in 1925, which was translated from "The Story of Mankind" by Shen Xing-Ren; (2)The works with the largest number of Chinese publishing houses, Chinese translators and Chinese titles are "The Story of Mankind", “The Story of Mankind" and "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" respectively; (3)The numbers of Chinese publishing houses, translators and Chinese titles of a book are highly correlated; (4)In terms of the average time interval between the publication of English original works and Chinese translations, it took an average of 17.95 years for a Traditional Chinese translation to be published, while a Simplified Chinese translation usually took 27.83 years; (5)The number of Traditional Chinese publishers is 72, with the major publishers being Wisdom World Publishing and Eastern Publishing Co.. The number of Simplified Chinese publishers is 108; major publishers include New Buds Publishing House, China Children Publishing House and Hebei Education Press; (6)There are 437 group of translators, among which ZhaoYong-Fen, Zou Jia-Rong and Zhao Ying-Xue are the main translators; (7)From the standpoint of genre, Chinese publishing houses prefer to publish translations for fiction and nonfiction novels, while nonfiction depiction of facts and works based on folk legends are less favored; from the perspective of subjects, Chinese publishing houses favor realism and works with animal-related, whereas works based on mythologies receive least attention from publishers.

"The rise of Protestantism in the seventeenth century was responsible for a deep gloom in the scanty literature which was produced for children during that period. Children were given instruction concerning religion and preparedness for death. But then, as now, children appropriated adult books that interested them. It is pleasant to remember that children at this time found enjoyment in three books not intended for them: Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, and Pilgrim's Progress. It was into this scene that John Newbery came--he who was destined to be called The Father of Children's Literature. Publisher and writer of about two hundred children's books, he was the first man to realize that children had no stories of their own and to attempt to remedy that deficiency. Newbery brought to children pleasure and happiness in books that had been almost entirely lacking before his time and his contribution marks a milestone in the development of a special literature for children. In the following chapters an attempt has been made to draw together information concerning the life, character, and works of this unusual man and to evaluate his contribution to children's literature"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1950." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts." / Advisor: Louis Shores, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-35).

Relational bullying, although covert in nature and difficult for adults to notice and identify, is becoming increasingly prevalent among young children and teens. The success of bibliotherapy as preventative and intervention practices for bullying shows that portrayals of relational bullying in quality children’s literature would be effective in reducing and preventing it. However, relational bullying is rarely portrayed in children’s literature. My goal was to find quality children’s realistic fiction literature that portrays relational bullying in Newbery award-winning books, and to bring them to the attention of teachers. After creating a table to determine what types of bullying, if any, were portrayed in the 21 Newbery Medal and Honor realistic fiction children’s literature (1996-2016), the books were read in their totality, and analyzed for any portrayals of relational bullying, including the experience of bullying from the eyes of the bully, victim, and bystander. The bullying portrayed in the literature was described, as well as the characteristics of the bully and victim. Only 10 out of the 21 books read contained portrayals of bullying in the plot. Using this information, future research will include creating a website for teachers, other educational professionals, and parents, to help bring quality children’s literature portrayals of relational bullying to their attention. The hope is that teachers will begin to use the findings of this study as a resource with their students, to prevent or address relational bullying in their classrooms, and to recommend it to school psychologists, counselors, and parents, as needed.