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.