Many books are written, published, and sold all over the world. However, only some of them can receive as much fame or recognition. One famous award that books can receive is the Newbery Honor Award. The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". Only some actually receive the award, though. Some just get the honor, which means that they finaled but didn’t get the award in the end. The Cricket in Times Square written by George Seldon is a great example of this. The Cricket in Times Square received the honor, not the medal/award. Because of Winn-Dixie, written by Kate DiCamillo, also received the honor award.
Even though both of these amazing books received the honor, there are still differences and similarities to be discussed. One similarity between the two Newbery Honor books is that in both books, the main character had to move to a new place. For example, in Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal had to move to Naomi, a new place in Florida because of her father’s job. In Cricket in Times Square, even though he didn’t do so on purpose, Chester still had to move to NY, a new place. A second similarity is that they are both lonely because they moved to a new place. They don’t have anyone to relate to, and only have themselves to comfort and navigate around the new place they just moved to. However, the last similarity is that in the excerpt, they also make friends with someone else.
Even though both stories have similarities, of course, they have differences. For instance, in the Cricket in Times Square, the story is told from the perspective of an animal, but in Because of Winn-Dixie, it’s told from the perspective of a human. The genres, characters, setting, and endings are also different from each other. Because of Winn-Dixie is realistic fiction, while Cricket in Times Square is fantasy. The characters also have a major difference: Because of Winn-Dixie's characters are mainly human, while Cricket in Times Square’s characters are all animals. Because of Winn-Dixie’s setting is Naomi, Florida, while The Cricket in Times Square’s setting is in NY. Lastly, the endings also have differences. In the endings of the excerpt from Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal seems very happy and content with her new friends, while in the ending of the Cricket in Times Square, Chester is still lonely and homesick.
Friendship and loneliness play a crucial role in both of these Newbery Honor stories. The two books share the theme of loneliness because the main characters are both lonely at first. They have both moved to a new place, and have no one to guide them or give them any pointers, and forget about befriending them. The two stories also share the theme of friendship. In Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal bonds closely over a story with Miss Franny, and of course,she brings Winn-Dixie into the friendship triangle. In The Cricket in Times Square, Chester befriends Tucker and Harry when he tells them about his journey from Connecticut to NY. The two stories share these main themes.
The Newbery Honor and the Newbery Medal are both high awards a book can receive. The two books mentioned above both received the Newbery Honor, a symbol that it is a book worthy to be read and nominated for numerous awards. These two books share many similarities as well as differences, and can both share the same themes throughout the excerpt. Even though these books did not receive the Newbery Medal, it is still a great feat for the author to write a book good enough to receive the Newbery Honor. Because of Winn-Dixie and the Cricket in Times Square both share many similarities, differences, themes, and awards with each other.
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