Amina Luqman-Dawson’s “Freewater’ wins John Newbery Medal

NEW YORK (AP) — A middle-grade novel about a secret community of formerly enslaved people has won the John Newbery Medal for the year’s best children’s book. The award went to Amina Luqman-Dawson’s “Freewater.” The Randolph Caldecott Medal for outstanding illustrations went to Doug Salati’s “Hot Dog.” It’s about the summertime wanderings of an urban pet. Luqman-Dawson also won the Coretta Scott King prize for best children’s story by a Black author. The King prize for illustration was awarded to Frank Morrison for “Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual.” The awards were announced Monday by the American Library Association.