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Month: February 2016

  • Encouraging Kids to Write

    Suggestions for nurturing young authors include: Create a quiet and comfortable work space Encourage blogging Hold friendly competitions Resist the urge to edit Read more For more great writing tips, …

  • Kate DiCamillo on Her Inner Child

    Looking back on her ambassadorship. DiCamillo is more certain than ever of the power of stories. It made me feel so much more connected…stories matter to kids. They do read. …

  • YALSA’s 2016 Great Books Giveaway Provides More Than $40,000 in Materials to Libraries in Washington, California and Florida

    CHICAGO, IL — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), named Franklin Pierce School District in Tacoma, Washington; Ontario (California) High School; …

  • Holding a Mock Caldecott

    Michigan-based librarian Holly Storck-Post shares tips for putting together a Mock Caldecott program in your school library. Suggestions include creating a display with nominated titles for in-library reading; sharing an overview of …

  • How to Unlock A Reading Brain: Intervention Program Taps New Neuroscience Research to Help Struggling Readers

    BOSTON, MA – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced the launch of READ 180 Universal, the next generation intervention program that utilizes leading scientific research in brain and cognitive functioning to …

  • Using Books & Stories to Strengthen Families: A Multicultural Perspective

    The discussion — “Using Books & Stories to Strengthen Families: A Multicultural Perspective” — was moderated by Deborah Taylor, coordinator for school and student services of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and featured acclaimed …

  • Into the Trenches

    By Julie Bliven,Editor, Charlesbridge

    As an editor, I wish I had more opportunities to see first-hand how young readers interact with the books I’ve worked on. I gauge reader responses from sales figures, reviews, and blog posts. I also solicit blunt commentary from my niece and nephew. But that’s about all I’ve got.

    In the aftermath of the controversy surrounding A Fine Dessert and A Birthday Cake for George Washington, I wondered a lot about how kids might respond to these particular books. And I wondered how the adult reader would discuss these books with kids. What would I say? This got me thinking about the books I’ve edited: How might I discuss issues like race, class, gender, sexuality, and disability in these books? And why do these conversations matter?

    I felt compelled to head into the trenches. Armed with apprehension, I joined the kindergarten classroom of a friend and teacher in the greater Boston area. These were my goals:

    1. Read one multicultural picture book that I’ve edited.
    2. Read one multicultural picture book recommended by the teacher.
    3. Discuss the books, encouraging diverse viewpoints. (This particular class of twenty-one has six students whose first language is not English, and four students of color.)
    4. Check my own biases by asking and answering questions literally and objectively. (For instance, avoid discussing elements in the text—like a soup kitchen or Arabic—using words like “good,” “different,” or “other.”)

    Here’s what happened when we read the books:

    I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brien

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    This was the book I edited. It’s the story of three immigrant children from Guatemala, Korea, and Somalia. They are new to the United States and initially struggle to read and speak English, make friends, and fit in.

    First I asked the kids what they thought the book would be about. One girl called out, “They’re from Ireland!” She explained that people who come to America can be from there.

    Later I asked questions like “Have you ever been new? What does it feel like?” Responses ranged from “Weird!” to “Awesome—you meet new people!” to “Bad, because you don’t know what to say.”

    When we came to this page, a boy yelled out, “I can’t believe he’s sleeping in school!” I didn’t know if this was about the shape of the Asian character’s eyes. I wasn’t sure I knew the “right” way to respond. So I asked more questions. The student interpreted the thought cloud as a dream sequence. Mystery solved! I also talked about the illustrator’s choice of perspective: If we stood over someone who was looking down at his paper, it might appear to us—from above—that his eyelids were closed. And suddenly they were telling me ways they like to draw things.

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    When I discarded my own assumptions and asked more questions, the story and conversation led to illuminating places for all. And isn’t this why these conversations matter?

    Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson 

    This was the teacher’s recommendation. It’s the story of CJ and his nana’s bus ride after church. They eventually end up at a local soup kitchen, serving others.

    I had to explain that a soup kitchen is a place where food is offered to the hungry, for free. “For FREE!?” an astonished voice asked. Another kid pointed at an illustration and declared, “But that man’s not poor. He has sunglasses. Why is he there?”

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    I asked if we can look at others and tell whether or not they are poor.

    One girl had an answer: “Not if we were all naked.” I was floored by her reflection on physical markers of class. The word “naked,” however, sent the kids into fits of giggles. The girl blushed. But her words opened up a deeper discussion.

    I was amazed by how many interpretations of both books were at play. In my editing bubble, how can I imagine all these nuances—not to mention address them? I can’t. But I can keep talking to kids and reading them books. I can keep talking to adults about books, too. In both scenarios, if I remember to ask open questions and listen carefully, I imagine I’ll be better able to gauge what contributes to a book’s capacity for inspiring honest and sometimes complicated conversations.

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    Julie Bliven is an editor at Charlesbridge. She holds an M.A. in Children’s Literature from Simmons College. If you’re a parent, teacher, or librarian looking for new ways to approach storytime, Julie recommends Reading Picture Books With Children: How to Shake Up Storytime and Get Kids Talking about What They See, by Megan Dowd Lambert.

  • Ubisoft® and Scholastic Collaborate on New Young Adult Book Series ‘Last Descendants’ Based on the Assassin’s Creed® Universe

    SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK — February 18, 2016 —Ubisoft and Scholastic today announced a collaboration on a new young adult book series, Last Descendants, based on the hit video game franchise Assassin’s Creed. Written for readers ages 12 and …

  • #DrawingDiversity: ‘Hiawatha and the Peacemaker’ illustrated by David Shannon





    Hiawatha and the Peacemaker by Robbie Robertson, illustrated by David Shannon (Abrams, September 2015). All rights reserved. @abramsbooks

  • 2016 Grateful American Book Prize Competition

    Authors and publishers may submit works of fiction and non-fiction WASHINGTON, DC – The Grateful American Book Prize is accepting submissions for its 2016 award.  The Prize was created last …

  • Disney and ABC Raise Awareness of the Importance of Reading with Nonprofit First Book Though ‘Magic of Storytelling’ Campaign

    GLENDALE, CA — Today, Disney announced that it will donate its 50 millionth book to First Book, a nonprofit that provides new books to educators and organizations serving children from low-income …

  • LitWorld Teams Up with Scholastic to Launch the Biggest World Read Aloud Day Celebration Ever

    On Twitter, in Classrooms, at Scholastic Book Fairs, on Skype, and on Broadway, Educators, Parents and Children Worldwide Join Together to Experience the Joy and Power of Reading NEW YORK, …

  • HarperCollins Launches Margaret Wise Brown Line

    Explore the World of Margaret Wise Brown will launch in March 2016 with The Dead Bird, illustrated by Christian Robinson. The book was originally published in 1938 with illustrations by Remy Charlip. …

  • Want to Know Who Will Win the Election? Ask Our Students

    NEW YORK, NY – Channel One News, a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) company, today announced the launch of OneVote 2016, its celebrated student election that brings a year-long, interactive learning program …

  • Critically Acclaimed and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Melissa de la Cruz Inks Deal to Launch Seventeen Fiction from Harlequin TEEN

    New York, NY — Seventeen, the largest monthly teen media brand, and Harlequin TEEN today announced the acquisition of a new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Melissa de …

  • Ninth Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards Finalists Announced

    KIDS & TEENS TO DETERMINE THE WINNERS BY VOTING AT CCBOOKAWARDS.COM FROM MARCH 8- APRIL 25, 2016 New York, NY — February 16, 2016 – Every Child a Reader (ECAR) and the Children’s Book …

  • National Ambassador Gene Luen Yang on the Many Forms of Diversity

    Yang’s experience as a Chinese American informs his art and storytelling, as well as his commitment to diverse literature. Every Ambassador has a platform, and mine is “Reading Without Walls.” The …

  • Happy Birthday, Jacqueline Woodson!

    Woodson has gone on to write several acclaimed books featuring characters of different races, genders and classes, including her autobiographical novel in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming. She is a committed champion of diverse …

  • Pottermore to Publish eBook of The Stage Play Script Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Parts I & II

    London, England — Pottermore, the global digital publisher of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, announced today that it will publish an original eBook edition of the official script book of the …

  • Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Parts I & II to be Published in Print by Scholastic in the United States & Canada On July 31

    New York, NY – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, announced today that it will publish a script book based on an original new …

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