Match the Newbery Plot: Part 1 Quiz

Answer: The Hero and the Crown

Robin McKinley's 1984 novel is set in the same world as "The Blue Sword", a Newbery Honor book. Aerin is a princess devoid of magic in a magical family. Her land is overrun with small dragons, so she tries for years to make a fireproof paste to protect herself from their flames.

When she finally succeeds, she becomes a dragon slayer, but faces a huge challenge when she encounters a large, great dragon. And that's just the first half of the book!

Answer: The Giver

Jonas lives in a community with no violence and where everyone is assigned the perfect job for them. He is chosen to be the next Receiver of Memory, the only person who has knowledge of things like wars, starvation, and pain, and seems to receive the memories through a magical transfer.

He also learns the things his community does to remain idyllic, and has to make tough choices about his future. Lois Lowry won her second Medal for her 1993 book.

Answer: A Wrinkle in Time

"A Wrinkle in Time" is the first book of Madeleine L'Engle's "Time Quintet". Published in 1962 after being rejected multiple times, the book is about the journey that Meg makes after three strange women, Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which, come to her house on a dark and stormy night. Meg, her brother, and a friend set out to find Meg's father, who went missing while studying something called a tesseract.

Answer: The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Citizens of a town leave a baby as a sacrifice for a witch so she won't destroy them. They don't realize she's not evil, and she feeds each baby starlight before taking it to a neighboring village to live. One year, the baby girl accidentally drinks moonlight, which gives her too much magic to control. Meanwhile, a boy in the town tries to stop the practice of sacrifice. Kelly Barnhill did not expect many to like her 2016 book, much less for it to win the Medal.

Answer: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

This book is told from the point-of-view of Tommy, a boy who's friends with a doctor who can talk to animals. The two go on a series of adventures along with the doctor's pets. In one, Dolittle gets a hermit acquitted of murder by interviewing the hermit's dog.

In another, he stops bullfighting in Spain by betting bullfighters that he can outwit the bulls. Tommy also learns to talk to animals. This is the second in Hugh Lofting's series and was published in 1922.

Answer: When You Reach Me

Miranda loves "A Wrinkle in Time", which like "When You Reach Me" features time travel. She keeps getting mysterious notes and wonders who sent them; meanwhile, her mother appears on the show "The $20,000 Pyramid" and her friend Sal starts ignoring her. Rebecca Steadman wrote this 2009 book.

Answer: The Graveyard Book

"The Graveyard Book" takes its title from Kipling's "The Jungle Book". Nobody Owens is a boy who lives in a graveyard after his family is murdered. The story is largely episodic, with each chapter concerned with one event in his life. The running plotline linking the stories is about the man Jack, who killed his family.

Neil Gaiman won for his 2008 book. The Newbery Medal is awarded for contributions to American literature, so the author has to be an American citizen or resident to win it. Gaiman, an English citizen, was an American resident at the time the book was published, and so qualified for the prize.

Answer: The High King

"The High King" (1968) is the fifth and last in Lloyd Alexander's series "The Prydain Chronicles", which is based on Welsh mythology. The second book, "The Black Cauldron", is a Newbery Honor book. This last book wraps up all the plotlines and sees the characters, including Taran, Eilonwy, and even the comical Gurgi, come to the ends of their journeys and make some tough decisions.

Answer: The Tale of Despereaux

Despereaux is a tiny mouse with big ears. He's sent to the dungeon after talking with Princess Pea (human contact is forbidden), but ends up becoming a hero in this story that also involves soup, a rat named Roscuro, and half-deaf servant girl Mig (who wants to become a princess). Kate DiCamillo won her first Newbery Medal for this 2003 novel.

Answer: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

Richard O'Brien wrote this 1971 book. Mrs. Frisby is a widow mouse who must move her family before the farmer's plow rips up the field where they live. The trouble is, her son Timothy is too sick to get out of bed and breathe the cold air. She must seek help from the mysterious rats in the rosebush, who have become intelligent through genetic experiments.

A sequel, "Rasco and the Rats of NIMH", was written by the author's daughter, Jane Leslie Conly. The rats have built a community in Thorn Valley, where Timothy comes to visit.