We have written here before about one of our after school art teachers, Jerry Craft, who is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, whose book, “New Kid,” was the winner of the 2020 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature. It is the first graphic novel in the Newbery’s nearly 100 year history to receive the award.  Craft is only the fifth African-American author to land the coveted prize.

In today’s news, we learned that Universal Pictures is teaming with LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment to adapt Craft’s book “New Kid” into a movie.

The graphic novel was highly coveted by several other buyers but SpringHill — specifically SpringHill co-founder Maverick Carter — was so touched by the story that they aggressively went after it, eventually landing rights. The project is now a high priority for SpringHill with hopes of attaching a writer to adapt the material shortly.