By the 1770s, Newbery's groundbreaking books were in circulation in the colonies in both imported and pirated editions.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Minders of Make-Believe'

So far, she has parlayed her blog's popularity into four book deals and a recent appointment to the Newbery Prize Committee, dispensers of the Pulitzers of kidlit.

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Her first book, "Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth" was also a Newbery honor book in 1968, making her the only author to be a winner and runner-up in the same year.

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Gaiman, whose honors include the Newbery Medal for children's writing, the Hugo for science-fiction and fantasy and a Carnegie Medal in literature, has written fantasy epics "Neverwhere" and "American Gods" and the groundbreaking graphic-novel series "The Sandman, " among other works.

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By recommending that children be introduced to reading by means of some "easy pleasant book, " Locke pointed the way for the creation by England's John Newbery two generations later of a new type of illustrated children's book in which, unrepentantly, amusement shared pride of place with instruction as the publisher's stated goal.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Minders of Make-Believe'