Introduction

I was a voracious reader in middle school. This was thanks in large part to Battle of the Books, a program put on by the school's librarian. Teams of three were given the first semester to read a list of about 60 books, and the second semester had weekly one-on-one matchups, each team being quizzed, battles occurring throughout the school during lunch period.

Despite the normal plan of having each teammate read 20 books, I ended up covering virtually the entire list myself each year. As such, I've read much of the children's literature canon, including somewhere around 35 of the 88 Newberys.

But that was a decade ago.

Now, I'm on unemployment, applying to graduate schools and looking for jobs in a jobless economy. This offers a lot of free time. So, in a fit of nostalgia, I'm starting the Newberys from the beginning. Let's see how far I can get.