You might be amazed to discover that e-mail first appeared in the 1970’s. That’s “write!” Electronic mail made its debut in 1971 — the same year that the cell phone was invented. In 1973, my dad’s favorite movie “The Sting” — starring a dashing Robert Redford and handsome Paul Newman — won the Oscar for Best Picture. A literature leap comes about in 1974, with Stephen King’s “Carrie” becoming a thrilling hit. The movie was released in 1976 and starred Sissy Spacek as the title character.
1971 Medal Winner: “Summer of the Swans” by Betsy Byars
Honor Books
- “Knee Knock Rise” by Natalie Babbitt
- “Enchantress From the Stars” by Sylvia Louise Engdahl
- “Sing Down the Moon” by Scott O’Dell
1972 Medal Winner: “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” by Robert C. O’Brien
Honor Books
- Incident At Hawk’s Hill by Allan W. Eckert
- “The Planet of Junior Brown” by Virginia Hamilton
- “The Tombs of Atuan” by Ursula K. LeGuin
- “Annie and the Old One” by Miska Miles
- “The Headless Cupid” by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
1973 Medal Winner: “Julie of the Wolves” by Jean Craighead George
Honor Books
- “Frog and Toad Together” by Arnold Lobel
- “The Upstairs Room” by Johanna Reiss
- “The Witches of Worm” by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
1974 Medal Winner: “The Slave Dancer” by Paula Fox
Honor Book
- “The Dark Is Rising” by Susan Cooper
1975 Medal Winner: “M. C. Higgins, the Great” by Virginia Hamilton
Honor Books
- “Figgs & Phantoms” by Ellen Raskin
- “My Brother Sam is Dead” by James Lincoln Collier & Christopher Collier
- “The Perilous Gard” by Elizabeth Marie Pope
- “Philip Hall Likes Me, I Reckon Maybe” by Bette Greene
1976 Medal Winner: “The Grey King” by Susan Cooper
Honor Books
- “The Hundred Penny Box” by Sharon Bell Mathis
- “Dragonwings” by Laurence Yep
1977 Medal Winner: “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor
Honor Books
- “Abel’s Island” by William Steig
- “A String in the Harp” by Nancy Bond
1978 Medal Winner: “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson
Honor Books
- “Ramona and Her Father” by Beverly Cleary
- “Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey” by Jamake Highwater
1979 Medal Winner: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Honor Book
- “The Great Gilly Hopkins” by Katherine Paterson
1980 Medal Winner: “A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl’s Journal, 1830-1832” by Joan W. Blos
Honor Book
- “The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl” by David Kherdian
Please also see:
Newbery Medal Winners: 1922-1930
Newbery Medal Winners: 1931-1940
Newbery Medal Winners: 1941-1950
Newbery Medal Winners: 1951-1960
Newbery Medal Winners: 1961-1970