"The blue cat is like a knight on a quest. His quest is to find a hearth to fit the song the river taught him and to teach the owner of the hearth to sing that song"--Jacket.

"A brief introduction of John Newbery and his publishing record plus a history of the award and a description of how the winners are chosen" precedes a chronological arrangement of the awards from 1922 to 1996, with information on the author, plot summary, themes and subjects, incidents for booktalking, related titles, etc.

Vol. 2 includes extra number, "Experimental schools in England," Jan. 1926.