Judges have showered his more than a dozen books with awards; readers have devoured them. At one point, he had three works on the New York Times best-seller lists. Who does that? Jason Reynolds.

This year's Caldecott medal went to a book about an older sister frustrated when her baby brother "helps." The Newbery went to a middle-grade tale about a time traveler at the turn of the century.

wp:paragraph --> Jason Reynolds knew he had to be a writer because ... was a National Book Awards finalist. His 2016 triumph Ghost also made the cut. He even nabbed a NAACP Image Award for ...