Newbery Medal (John Newbery Medal)
1 appearances
-
Edition 77 (1998) Winner
Karen S. Hesse
カレン・ヘッセ
Karen Hesse
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1952-08-29 （Baltimore, Maryland, USA）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Brattleboro, Vermont, USA
Career
- Occupations
- Children's author, Young adult author
- Active Years
- 1991-
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towson State College (Towson University) | — | English | B.A. | — | United States |
| University of Maryland, College Park | — | English | B.A. | — | United States |
Towson State College (Towson University)
English
Degree:
B.A.
Country:
United States
Began publishing poetry while in college.
University of Maryland, College Park
English
Degree:
B.A.
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Newbery Medal | Out of the Dust | — | American Library Association | 受賞 |
| 2002 | MacArthur Fellowship | — | — | MacArthur Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1998 | Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction | Out of the Dust | — | Scott O'Dell Award | 受賞 |
| — | International Reading Association Award | Letters from Rifka | — | International Reading Association | 受賞 |
| — | National Jewish Book Award | Letters from Rifka | — | Jewish Book Council | 受賞 |
| 2012 | Phoenix Award | Letters from Rifka | — | Children's Literature Association | 受賞 |
Newbery Medal
1998
Work:
Out of the Dust
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
2002
Organization:
MacArthur Foundation
Result:
受賞
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
1998
Work:
Out of the Dust
Organization:
Scott O'Dell Award
Result:
受賞
International Reading Association Award
Work:
Letters from Rifka
Organization:
International Reading Association
Result:
受賞
National Jewish Book Award
Work:
Letters from Rifka
Organization:
Jewish Book Council
Result:
受賞
Phoenix Award
2012
Work:
Letters from Rifka
Organization:
Children's Literature Association
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Out of the Dust
1997 Children's historical fiction (verse novel)Set during the Dust Bowl, the novel follows Billie Jo, a young girl who faces hardship and loss. Told in verse, it explores family, survival, and healing.
Coming of ageFamilyEnvironmental disasterForgiveness
Letters from Rifka
1992 Children's historical fiction (epistolary)An epistolary novel following Rifka, a Jewish girl fleeing Russia to America, chronicling her journey, struggles, and hopes.
ImmigrationReligious and cultural discriminationHope
Witness
2001 Young adult historical fiction (poetic/prose)Set in a small Vermont town in the 1920s, multiple perspectives explore the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and community tensions over race and power.
RacismCommunityJustice
The Music of Dolphins
1996 Children's / Young adultA story about a girl raised by dolphins and her encounter with human society, exploring identity and belonging.
IdentityHumanityRelationship with nature
Stowaway
2000 Young adult historical fiction (diary)A diary-format historical novel based on the true story of Nicholas Young, an 11-year-old stowaway on Captain James Cook's ship in 1768.
AdventureMaritime historyComing of age
Brooklyn Bridge
2008 Children's historical picture bookA picture-book-style historical story based on the true family story behind the creation of the teddy bear in Brooklyn in 1903.
FamilyInventionHistory
Bibliography
- Wish on a Unicorn (1991)
- Letters from Rifka (1992)
- Lester's Dog (1993)
- Poppy's Chair (1993)
- Phoenix Rising (1994)
- Sable (1994)
- A Time of Angels (1995)
- Lavender (1995)
- The Music of Dolphins (1996)
- Out of the Dust (1997)
- Just Juice (1998)
- Come on, Rain (1999)
- A Light in the Storm: the Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin (1999)
- Stowaway (2000)
- Witness (2001)
- Aleutian Sparrow (2003)
- The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories of Hanukkah through History (2003)
- The Cats in Krasinski Square (2004)
- The Young Hans Christian Andersen (2005)
- Spuds (2008)
- Brooklyn Bridge (2008)
- "Nell" (short story, 2011)
- Safekeeping (2012)
- My Thumb (2016)
- Night Job (2018)
- Granny and Bean (2022)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Poetic prose (blend of verse and prose)Accessible children's style that tackles serious themes
- Recurring Motifs
- Coming of ageFamily and renewalHistorical settings
Legacy
Karen Hesse is known for combining poetic form with historical settings in children's and YA literature. Her Newbery-winning Out of the Dust established her as a major contemporary writer of historical children's fiction. She was also named a MacArthur Fellow, and her works are widely used in educational contexts.
Academic Societies
- Children's Literature Association
Trivia
- Her first novel was a rejected story about meeting Bigfoot; she later published Wish on a Unicorn in 1991.
- Out of the Dust is written in verse and is often cited as a notable example of poetic narrative in children's literature.