Month: May 2014
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Kate DiCamillo & Chris Van Dusen Create a ‘Mercy Watson’ Spin-Off Series
“Leroy is the first to get his own story. Next up is Francine Poulet, the dedicated and valiant Animal Control Officer. And after that, the long-suffering Baby Lincoln gets her …
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DiversifYA Hosts Their First Diversity Q&A on Twitter
This week’s Q&A topic was titled the “QUILTBAG (Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender/Transsexual, Bisexual, Allied/Asexual, Gay/Genderqueer) Edition.” The Q&A lasted the whole morning and brought up interesting points about many …
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Trudy Ludwig Lets Out Her Inner Child to Celebrate Children’s Book Week
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Join them by becoming a Children’s Book Week …
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Looking for a way to get your kids excited about reading this summer?
Kids love that they can earn points and badges for reading, rating, and reviewing books. Research shows that friends are the #1 source of new book recommendations for kids today, …
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Tracing the White World of Children’s Books Through Time
“As of July 11, we had received 1,509 trade books published in 2013. I found that 1,183 (78.3 percent) were about human beings. And just 124 of those (10.5 percent) …
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The #UnlockTheOne Hashtag Sweeps Social Media
More than 311,000 young adult readers participated. In less than 48 hours, the #UnlockTheOne hashtag was trending in the U.S., Brazil, and the Philippines. The fans were able to enjoy …
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A Book Brought ‘Say Anything’ Actress Ione Skye and Her Older Brother Together. What Has Kid Lit Done for You?
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Join them by becoming a Children’s …
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Jack Black Stars In Goosebumps Directed By Rob Letterman Also Starring Dylan Minnette And Odeya Rush
CONYERS, Ga. — Principal photography has commenced on Goosebumps, starring Jack Black. Rob Letterman directs the film from a screenplay by Darren Lemke and Mike White and a story by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski and Darren Lemke, based on the Goosebumps book series published …
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Quick, Kid Lit Fanatics: How Many of the Titles in Jonathan Auxier’s 1-Minute Video Have you Read?
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Join them by becoming a Children’s …
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Toronto Public Library Patron Files Complaint Against ‘Hop On Pop’
“The Toronto Library system did not submit to the complainant’s belly aching. The book remains in circulation in part because the children in the book are, in fact, told not …
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It’s Tiara Time! Join Princess Alethea Kontis and Celebrate Children’s Book Week May 12-18!
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Join them by becoming a Children’s …
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CBC Diversity: The Stories We Tell
Whenever I hear about some new study reaffirming that literature creates empathy I can’t help but roll my eyes.
I know way too many well-read jerks to believe that.
But maybe it isn’t so much about how well-read they are, but what they are reading? The stories we tell and the stories we hear are important. They shape us.
Institutional racism and prejudice exist in our world, and publishing is no safe haven from it. Even well-meaning people don’t realize their own internalized racism until they have been called out on it (and sometimes not even then). This post on Teen Librarian Toolbox speaks to the insidiousness of internalized racism, and that is just one example.
Diversity in Children’s Literature is a powerful topic, and if there is any doubt as to why it’s an important conversation to continue to have, just check out the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks on Twitter.
What I love about the We Need Diverse Books campaign is that it’s mobilizing people at all levels. It’s writers and readers forming a community, and voicing their beliefs and values. It’s creating a groundswell of interest. It’s motivating people to support the wonderful books and authors that are already out there by buying those books—which, let’s be honest, is the truest path to industry change.
I don’t believe in any form of censorship, and even the books that get it wrong can teach us something…as long as we’ve got plenty of other representations that get it right. That is something we need to work on. If we continue to focus on creating and supporting children’s literature that reflects the world’s beautiful, dynamic, colorful, plural, complexity, maybe the next generations will have fewer well-read jerks.
Change will not happen overnight. I’d like to believe we’re all in this for the long haul. Mistakes will be made. Let’s agree to call them out when we see them. And to listen to each other with an open mind and an open heart.
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Thirteen U.S. Students Are Honored by Scholastic for Outstanding Academic Success
READ 180® and System 44® All-Star Award winners recognized for overcoming the odds and improving their reading skills. NEW YORK, NY – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and …
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Re-Potterfy Harry Potter: A Challenge
“…I think the best thing for this challenge is for artists to re-interpret any scene from any Harry Potter book in the style of a children’s author. Perhaps you’ll have Tomi Ungerer’s …
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Did You Read Aloud to Your Stuffed Animals as a Kid? ‘Fallen’ Author Lauren Kate Did!
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from: …
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Simon & Schuster Announces Publication of New Series by Mike Lupica
NEW YORK, NY – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will publish New York Times bestselling author Mike Lupica’s new middle-grade series called HOME TEAM. Each HOME TEAM novel will tell the story …
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The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Celebrates the Life and Art of Simms Taback
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Amherst, MA (April 28, 2014)— The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to announce an exhibition of work by acclaimed children’s book author and …
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Scholastic Launches New Subscription-Based Digital Reading Programs for Schools
New York, NY – Scholastic today announced the launch of Storia® School Edition, a subscription-based ebook solution for Pre-K through Grade 6, for group and individual classroom reading, and Core Clicks™, a web-based …
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‘The Finisher’ Author David Baldacci Travels the World Through Books. He’s a Children’s Book Week Champ!
Follow our YouTube playlist for fun videos from children’s book creators celebrating children’s books and the joy of reading — now through Book Week! Stay tuned for wonderful videos from …
