M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton

Newbery and Caldecott Medal Books: 1966-1975. 'A Decade of Newbery Books in Perspective'.

^ The Horn Book Magazine, October 1974, cited in 'What did we think of.?'.

HIGGINS, THE GREAT by Virginia Hamilton'.

The book has been translated into many languages, including Japanese and German, and was made into a movie in 1986. Higgins, the Great also made history by becoming the first book for which an African American author was granted the Newbery Medal (101). Higgins, The Great is too large and still too close to be seen whole the perspective of time is needed to discern its shape and its standing but I should not be surprised if it emerged as being the nearest thing to a masterpiece to appear on the children's lists in its decade.' Īccording to scholar Jonda C. All of the themes are handled contrapuntally to create a memorable picture of a young boy's growing awareness of himself and of his surroundings.' In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1966 to 1975, children's author John Rowe Townsend wrote, 'As of this writing, M.C. must make between tradition and change.Īt the time of the book's publication, Kirkus Reviews said: 'Hamilton is at her best here the soaring but firmly anchored imagery, the slant and music of everyday speech, the rich and engaging characters and warm, tough, wary family relationships, the pervasive awareness of both threat and support connected with the mountain - all mesh beautifully in theme and structure to create a sense of organic belonging.' According to The Horn Book Magazine, 'All of the characters have vitality and credibility as well as a unique quality that makes them unforgettable. The book highlights the strange, almost surreal customs of the hill people, including their traditions of song and superstition.

It is set in the Appalachian Mountains on Sarah's Mountain, a fictional mountain in Kentucky, near the Ohio River, that is being encroached upon by a mining company. Higgins is a bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel) that covers three eventful days in the life of teenager Mayo Cornelius Higgins. It also won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature Īnd the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award it was the first of only two books to do so (the other being Holes by Louis Sachar). Higgins, the Great, first published in 1974, is a realistic novel by Virginia Hamilton that won the 1975 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature.

M.C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton