Newbery Medal is an annual award given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American children’s literature published in the preceding year. The award was established and endowed in 1921 by Frederic G. Melcher, chairman of the board of R. R. Bowker Co., publishers of the Library Journal and Publishers’ Weekly. He named the award for John Newbery, an English publisher and bookseller. The first Newbery Medal was awarded in 1922. Melcher also founded the Caldecott Medal. This award is presented annually to the illustrator of the outstanding children’s picture book of the preceding year. The first Caldecott Medal was awarded in 1938.
Rene Chambellan designed the Newbery Medal. It is awarded by the Association for Library Service to Children, a part of the American Library Association.
See also Caldecott Medal; Literature for children; Melcher, Frederic Gershom; Newbery, John.
