Meg Medina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meg Medina
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Medina in 2023
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| Born |
Margaret Rose Medina
June 11, 1963 |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | Newbery Medalist 2019 |
| Spouse(s) | Javier Menéndez |
| Children | 3 |
Meg Medina is a famous American author. Her books are for kids and teens. She writes about Latino culture and the lives of young people. She was the National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature for 2023 and 2024.
Meg Medina won the John Newbery Medal in 2019. This was for her book Merci Suárez Changes Gears. She also won the Pura Belpré Award for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your ... in 2014. Her book Mango, Abuela and Me was a Pura Belpré Award Honor Book in 2016.
Contents
Growing Up and School
Meg Medina was born in Alexandria, Virginia. She is the younger of two daughters. Her parents, Lidia Regla Metauten and Juan Norberto Medina, came from Cuba. They moved to the United States in the early 1960s.
Her parents separated before she was born. Her mother moved with her children to Queens, New York. Other family members from Cuba joined them there later. Meg Medina often uses her childhood experiences in her books. She writes about moving to a new country and family changes. She also writes about being separated from loved ones and facing money problems.
Meg Medina went to P.S. 22 and Junior High School 189 in Flushing, Queens. In high school, she briefly reconnected with her father. She attended Seekonk High School in Massachusetts.
She started college at Hunter College in New York City. Later, she transferred to Queens College to finish her degree. She married her childhood friend, Javier Menendez, in 1983. She graduated the next year. She studied Communication Arts and English Writing.
Becoming an Author
Meg Medina first worked as an assistant editor at Simon & Schuster. Then, she taught for ten years. She taught in the New York City Public Schools. After moving to Florida in 1988, she taught in the School District of Palm Beach County.
She also started writing as a freelance journalist. She wrote for iCE Magazine, the Sun Sentinel, and South Florida Parenting magazine. In 1998, her family moved to Richmond, Virginia. There, she began writing fiction books for young readers.
First Books and Awards
Medina's first book for middle schoolers was Milagros: Girl from Away. It was published in 2008. She then started working with Candlewick Press. Her picture book Tia Isa Wants a Car came out in 2011. This book was based on her aunt buying a family car. It won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award.
Her picture book Mango, Abuela, and Me is about a Spanish-speaking grandmother. It also features her English-speaking granddaughter. This book received a Pura Belpré Award honor in 2016.
Medina won the Newbery Medal in 2019 for Merci Suárez Changes Gears. This book is about 12-year-old Merci Suárez. Merci deals with her Cuban-American family. They face the challenge of her beloved grandfather, Lolo, being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Advocacy and Leadership
Meg Medina believes in having more diverse books for children. She has supported new authors. She also works on programs to help the Latino community with reading. She was a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. She served on their Advisory Committee. She also taught at Hamline University for children's writing.
She served as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. This role was for 2023-2024.
Awards and Special Recognition
Meg Medina has won many awards for her books:
- Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for Tia Isa Wants a Car (2012)
- Charlotte Zolotow Commended Title for Tia Isa Wants a Car (2012)
- International Latino Book Award for Burn Baby Burn (2014)
- Pura Belpré Award Author Honor Book for Mango, Abuela and Me (2016)
- National Book Award longlist for Burn Baby Burn (2016)
- Newbery Medal for Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2019)
- Charlotte Huck Honor Book for Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2019)
- Appointed National Ambassador for Children's Literature (2023-2024)
Published Works
Here are some of Meg Medina's books:
- Tia Isa Wants a Car (2011)
- Tia Isa quiere un carro (2012)
- The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind (2012)
- Mango, Abuela and Me (2015)
- Mango, Abuela Y Yo (2015)
- Burn Baby Burn (2016)
- Yaqui Delgado quiere darte una paliza (2016)
- Merci Suárez Changes Gears (2018)
- Merci Suárez se pone las pilas (2020)
- Evelyn del Rey is Moving Away (2020)
- Evelyn del Rey se muda (2020)
- She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor (2021)
- Merci Suárez Can't Dance (2021)
- Merci Suárez Plays It Cool (2022)
- Merci Suárez No Sabe Bailar (2022)
- She Persisted: Pura Belpré (2023) with Marilisa Jiménez García
- No More Señora Mimí (2024)
- No más Señora Mimí (2024)
- Merci Suárez se hace sa lista (2025)
Stories in Collections
Meg Medina has also written stories for these book collections:
- Been There, Done That, edited by Mike Winchell (2016)
- Flying Lessons & Other Stories, edited by Ellen Oh (2017)
- The Radical Element, edited by Jessica Spotswood (2018)
- The Talk: Conversations about Race, Love & Truth, edited by Cheryl and Wade Hudson (2020)
- Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed, edited by Saraciea Fennell (2021)
- A Little Bit Super, edited by Leah Henderson and Gary Schmidt (2024)
