NEW YORK — Meg Medina’s “Merci Suarez Changes Gears” has won the prestigious John Newbery Medal for “outstanding contribution to children’s literature.” Sophie Blackall’s “Hello Lighthouse” received the Randolph Caldecott Medal for best picture story.
The awards were announced Monday by the American Library Association.
Claire Hartfield’s “A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919” won the Coretta Scott King author award for African-American literature. Ekua Holmes was given the King illustrator award for illustration. Elizabeth Acevedo’s “The Poet X” won the Michael L. Printz Award for best young adult novel and the Pura Belpre author award for Latino literature.
Neil Gaiman received an honorary “Lecture Award” and M.T. Anderson won the Margaret A. Edwards award for lifetime achievement. The late Walter Dean Myers won a legacy award.
The Associated Press
