HJ934: Commending Meg Medina.


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 934
Commending Meg Medina.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 23, 2019

 

WHEREAS, Richmond-based author Meg Medina received the 2019 John Newbery Medal for her children’s book, Merci Suárez Changes Gears; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina’s award-winning book tells the story of an 11-year-old girl balancing the expectations of her peers at an elite private school with those of her large, lively Latino family; and

WHEREAS, as a Cuban-American, Meg Medina uses her own life experiences to craft relatable young adult, middle-grade, and picture books; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina’s childhood love of bicycling was a major influence for Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and she drew upon memories of her own Cuban-American grandmothers when creating the main character’s vibrant family; and

WHEREAS, in Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Meg Medina strives to create positive characterizations of Latino families while portraying the immigrant experience in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina has received many other awards and accolades, including the 2014 Pura Belpré Award and the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats Medal, for her other works, all of which focus on what it means to be a girl, or a girl in a Latino family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Meg Medina on winning the John Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2019; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Meg Medina as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for her contributions to American literature and her work to inspire young women throughout the Commonwealth and the United States.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 934

Offered February 12, 2019
Commending Meg Medina.
Patron-- VanValkenburg

WHEREAS, Richmond-based author Meg Medina received the 2019 John Newbery Medal for her children’s book, Merci Suárez Changes Gears; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina’s award-winning book tells the story of an 11-year-old girl balancing the expectations of her peers at an elite private school with those of her large, lively Latino family; and

WHEREAS, as a Cuban-American, Meg Medina uses her own life experiences to craft relatable young adult, middle-grade, and picture books; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina’s childhood love of bicycling was a major influence for Merci Suárez Changes Gears, and she drew upon memories of her own Cuban-American grandmothers when creating the main character’s vibrant family; and

WHEREAS, in Merci Suárez Changes Gears, Meg Medina strives to create positive characterizations of Latino families while portraying the immigrant experience in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Meg Medina has received many other awards and accolades, including the 2014 Pura Belpré Award and the 2012 Ezra Jack Keats Medal, for her other works, all of which focus on what it means to be a girl, or a girl in a Latino family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Meg Medina on winning the John Newbery Medal for children’s literature in 2019; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Meg Medina as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for her contributions to American literature and her work to inspire young women throughout the Commonwealth and the United States.