Newbery, John

Newbery, John, 1713–67, English publisher and bookseller. He established juvenile literature as an important branch of the publishing business. Included among his publications is Little Goody Two Shoes (1766). Although he published his books anonymously, it is assumed that he planned and wrote a number of them himself. In 1921 the Newbery medal was established by Frederic Melcher to be awarded by the American Library Association to the most distinguished children's book of the year written by an American.

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Newbery, John

(born 1713, Waltham St. Lawrence, Berkshire, Eng.—died Dec. 22, 1767, London) English publisher. In 1744 he set up a bookshop and publishing house in London, and it became one of the first to publish children's books, including A Little Pretty Pocket-Book and Little Goody Two-Shoes. In 1781 his firm published the first collection of nursery rhymes associated with Mother Goose. He is commemorated by the Newbery Medal, awarded annually since 1922 by the American Library Association for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature in the U.S. It is presented along with the Caldecott Medal (see Randolph Caldecott), awarded for the best children's picture book.