Who wrote the 2024 Newbery Medal winner The Eyes and the Impossible?

Dave Eggers wrote The Eyes and the Impossible, winner of the 2024 Newbery Medal. The 2023 novel is narrated by Johannes, a free-roaming dog who serves as the “eyes” of a park for three elderly bison.

Eggers is also known for founding McSweeney’s and for books such as A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and What Is the What. The novel’s illustrations are by Shawn Harris, but Harris is not the author and did not win the Newbery Medal for the text.

The Newbery recognizes distinguished American children’s books, and the medal year can differ from a book’s publication year. The Eyes and the Impossible was published in 2023, then honored in January 2024. A common mix-up is confusing its Newbery with the 2024 Caldecott Medal, which went to Harris for another book, or with the year’s Printz winner.