The Best of NPR Books for February 6, 2015

This week: Caldecott and Newbery winners, Harper Lee, Haruki Murakami, Amiri Baraka and more.

This week, the Caldecott and Newbery Medal winners are announced, there's controversy over the possibility of a new novel from Harper Lee, and Haruki Murakami goes into the advice business. Plus, seeing the world via city bus, and a retrospective of the fiery poetry of Amiri Baraka. BOOK NEWS & FEATURES 'Adventures Of Beekle' Wins Caldecott; Newbery Goes To 'The Crossover' The American Library Association awarded its top medals to Dan Santat's tale of an imaginary friend on a mission and Kwame Alexander's story of basketball-playing twins. Read this story BOOK NEWS & FEATURES Harper Lee's Friend Says Author Is Hard Of Hearing, Sound Of Mind News of a second novel has raised concerns that the To Kill a Mockingbird author is being taken advantage of in her old age. But friend Wayne Flynt says Lee, 88, can "understand what's going on." Read this story AUTHOR INTERVIEWS On Board A City Bus, A Little Boy Finds The Route To Gratitude In Last Stop on Market Street, a little boy goes on a journey with his grandmother. Along the way he meets many interesting passengers and learns to recognize the blessings right in front of him. Read this story BOOKS Beloved Japanese Author Answers Questions At 'Mr. Murakami's Place' Haruki Murakami is a best-selling author and perennial Nobel Prize contender, but rarely gives interviews. For a limited time, a website is giving fans a chance to engage with the reclusive writer. Read this story POETRY Amiri Baraka Didn't Worry About His Politics Overpowering His Poetry "The real hallmark of an effective political artist is that the politics is accepted with the art," said Baraka. A new career-spanning anthology collects his work from 1961 to 2013. He died in 2014. Read this story