Onion John
by Joseph Krumgold
Middle grade · ages 8–12 · grades 3–7 · 750L · 1984
Why we'd hand it over
A 1960s Newbery winner that holds up: the tension between Andy's loyalty to an eccentric immigrant friend and his parents' well-meaning assimilationism is genuinely unresolved, teaching kids that growing up sometimes means choosing your own values.