When my oldest son was little, we loved the Indian in the Cupboard books. Lynn Reid Banks rules! But we also loved Gary Paulson (Hatchet) and Judy Blume.
I really like Dr. Seuss but none of my kids have ever been into him. A little children's book that always makes me cry is Love You Forever.
As a girl, I loved the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
At our local library, they had an entire section of Newberry Award books, so I'd just check them out, knowing they would be good. I liked The Wheel on the School.
A couple of other books, not award winning but I really like them for girls, are Understood Betsy and Miss Hickory. And I loved the Swiss Family Robinson! Ah, yes, the good old days, before I had kids, when I could just sit and read.
StAnn
