Which book earned Erin Entrada Kelly the 2025 Newbery Medal?
Answer
The First State of Being
The book that earned Erin Entrada Kelly the 2025 Newbery Medal is The First State of Being.
Published by Greenwillow Books, the novel follows a thirteen-year-old boy named Michael as he encounters a mysterious visitor from the future. Its story blends ordinary middle-school concerns with questions about time, identity, friendship, and the consequences of trying to change events.
The 2025 award recognized Kelly’s contribution to American literature for children. It was her second Newbery Medal: she previously won in 2018 for Hello, Universe. That earlier title is a common source of confusion in quizzes, because it is also a Newbery-winning book by the same author, but it is not the 2025 winner.
The other options were winners in earlier years or belong to different Newbery histories. Freewater won the 2023 Medal, The Last Cuentista won in 2022, and Hello, Universe won in 2018. The award year refers to the medal announcement year, while the winning book is generally selected from eligible books published during the preceding year.