The event, which was delayed by a day after 30 inches of snow fell in the area, was selected “because we wanted to focus on teaching and learning,” Principal Donna Page tells School Library Journal.

Kid lit authors/illustrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School pose for a quick photo after a day spent interacting with the kids. Back Row: Alan Katz, Bruce Degen, Tad Hills, Katie Davis, Vincent Kirsch, Bob Shea, Meghan McCarthy. Front Row: Susan Hood, Mike Rex, Tracy Dockray, Marc Tyler Nobleman, Daniel Kirk.

Fairfield-based Susan Hood and Newtown resident Bruce Degan, creator of The Magic School Bus (Scholastic) series, filled in for author/illustrators who had conflicts with the rescheduling.

Planning for the event took shape immediately following the tragedy, when Marc Tyler Nobleman reached out to Isabel Almeida at the United Way of Western Connecticut and offered to organize the group visit as part of the process of returning to normalcy. Nobleman is author of more than 70 books, including Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman (Charlesbridge, 2012).

Normalcy was evident when Tad Hills, Bob Shea, Katie Davis, and Mike Rex visited kindergarteners who welcomed the visitors with smiling faces and the enthusiasm of any 5 year old. “You are a good drawer,” exclaimed one kindergartner, as Bob Shea created various animals from jellybean-shaped figures. “I have a book of yours at home,” said another, when Tad Hills shared the trick of drawing his famous duck from his Duck and Goose (Schwartz & Wade) books.

The only reminders of the December tragedy noticeable by visitors are the many snowflakes sent to the school from around the country, and hand prints on the wall of the lecture center from places like Winchell Elementary School in Kalamazoo, MI, and the Queen Anne’s County HS in Sudlersville, MD.

The class visits were followed by two assemblies to grades 1-3 where the group presented an author/illustrator variety show complete with a guitar and song solo from Daniel Kirk, the creator of the Library Mouse (Abrams) series. Silly poems and songs followed from Alan Katz, author of Take Me Out of the Bathtub (S&S, 2001). Vincent Kirsch brought a toy theater to retell the story of his book The Chandeliers (FSG, 2012).  And Tracy Dockray did a hip-hop reading of Fran Manuskin’s The Tushy Book (Feiwel, 2008), which Dockray illustrated.

Non-fiction then took center stage when Meghan McCarthy demonstrated how she uses You Tube to help with her research on topics such as bubble gum, aliens, and astronauts.

“Anytime we can have authors and illustrators in front of kids is a good thing,” says Yvonne Cech, the school librarian who helped coordinate the day.  “So many of our students are writing and drawing their own stories and it’s inspiring to have these people here.”

The group also visited the other elementary schools in the district and met with teachers.

Jane Yolen, Mo Willems, Mark Teague, and Ellen Hopkins gather at the SCBWI event in NYC.

The ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City was glittering with the stars of the world of children’s literature this weekend as they gathered for the 14^th Annual Society of Children Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Conference.

The two-day event brings together writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers, and others involved with producing literature for young people for a series of workshops on the art and business of children’s books.

SCBWI also works with librarians via the Amber Brown Grant. The grant is given in memory of  Paula Danzinger, author of the Amber Brown books, who died in 2004 at the age of 59. It provides funds for an author to visit schools and school libraries. Each year, two schools receive an all-expense-paid visit by a well-respected children’s author or illustrator.

Additionally, one runner up school is selected to receive books valued at $250.00.  The deadline to apply for the next cycle of this award is April 1, 2013.

View a slideshow of the SCBWI event below! (Click on “Show Info” to read the captions.)

Acclaimed storyteller, folklorist and author Diane Wolkstein died on January 31 following emergency heart surgery while traveling in Taiwan. She was 70.

Both Wolkstein’s storytelling and printed works delved into the culture and mythology of many countries, and she often traveled to a country and spent time there when conducting her research. She was in Taiwan last month working on her most recent project, the epic Chinese story of the Monkey King.

Wolkstein wrote more than 20 books, including The Magic Orange Tree and Other Haitian Folktales (Random House, 1978), Oom Razoon (HarperCollins, 1991), and The Red Lion (Crowell, 1977), all of which were named ALA Notable Books.

Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth (HarperCollins, 1983), which she co-authored with Samuel Noah Kramer, is considered a classic retelling of the great Sumerian epic.

However, though praised as an author, it was Wolkstein’s talent as a storyteller that won her international fame, and many credit her for reviving interest in the art of storytelling fairly early in her career. “The meaning of life is in stories,” she once said. “It is the way I understand life and it is the way I often connect to people.”

In 1967, she was named the New York City Storyteller in recognition of the storytelling events she staged in the parks around the city. In 1972, she began the first graduate storytelling program in the country at Bank Street College.  She was also instrumental in establishing a summer Saturday morning tradition where stories are told at the base of the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central Park.  Well versed in the Danish storyteller, she authored an article for School Library Journal, “The Finest Quality Dirt,” in 2005 in honor of Andersen’s 200th birthday. During the 2012 season, she performed at the park four times.

A founding member of both America’s National Storytelling Conference and the Storytelling Center of New York City, she was recognized in 2007 when New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg named June 22 of that year “Diane Wolkstein Day” in honor of her 40 years of storytelling for the people of NYC.

Wolkstein also taught mythology at New York University for 18 years, hosted the Stories from Many Lands program on NYC public radio for 13 years, and taught the art of storytelling through her many classes, workshops, and conferences.

“She has been a storytelling idol to me and was an inspiration to become one myself as a children’s librarian,” Gretchen Casseroti, assistant director for public services at Darien Library, CT, tells SLJ. “Her gift of bringing the world’s stories to children will be missed.”

Wolkstein was born on November 11, 1942, in New Jersey. She received degrees from Smith College and Bank Street College. She is survived by her daughter, Rachel Zucker, three grandsons, and her mother Ruth, a librarian. A memorial celebrating her life will be planned for later this year.

Ormerod began her kid-lit career more than 30 years ago after the birth of her first child; previously she taught art and design. Her first book, Sunshine (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1981), a wordless story that follows a little girl through her daily routine, won the 1982 the Mother Goose Award, given to the “the most exciting newcomer to British children’s book illustration.” It was also named the Australian Picture Book of the Year and an ALA Notable Book, and inspired a companion book, Moonlight (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1982). Both books were reissued in 2009 by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

“My books have largely been a celebration and savoring of the positive experience of parenthood,” Ormerod once said about her work. She believed her task in the medium was to be a “visual storyteller”—to observe life and to place life’s images into her books.

In Ballet Sisters: The Duckling and the Swan (Cartwheel, 2007), she used dancing as a pretext to explore the ups and downs of a sisterly relationship. “The words and pictures work well together, and depict, with subtlety and humor, the emotional life of an ordinary family,” School Library Journal said in its review of the book.

She also served as artist for other picture book authors, such as Robie Harris, for which she illustrated I Am Not Going to School Today (Simon & Schuster, 2003) and Goodbye Mousie (Simon & Schuster, 2001).

“The world of children has lost one of the greats,” Harris tells SLJ. “I always did and still feel privileged that Jan illustrated my picture books. How ironic that the first was Goodbye Mousie, a story for young children about death? Her caring, loving, honest, and yet gentle art conveyed the range and the depth of feelings—from disbelief, to sadness, sorrow, to anger and finally some acceptance—that young children have about the loss of a beloved person or pet.”

Harris adds, “Jan thought hard about the stories I wrote and talked with me about almost every idea she had so that our work together would hopefully strike a responsive chord in young children. The result was art that made the stories have meaning, emotion, and depth for young children far beyond words. Thank you for all that and more, Jan.”

Book editor-turned-author Lisa Graff’s sixth middle school novel, A Tangle of Knots (Philomel, 2012), which debuts next month, incorporates an unusual feature: a range of carefully selected cake recipes that help illuminate the various traits of its key characters. School Library Journal spoke with Graff about this unique idea, the baking skills she honed for months while writing the book, and what’s next on her to-do list.

Can you tell us about your new book, A Tangle of Knots, and how it came about?
A Tangle of Knots takes place in a slightly magical version of our world, where most everyone has a special talent—something he or she is uniquely gifted at, often to a supernatural degree. The main character, eleven-year-old Cady, has a talent for cake baking: she can bake the absolute perfect cake for any person she meets. When Cady moves into an upstairs bedroom of the town’s Lost Luggage Emporium, she encounters several different characters with a wide array of talents, and discovers that her fate is intricately linked to each of theirs.

This was a book that came about by degrees. Several years ago I saw a feature on a television show about the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama— which buys lost luggage from airports and bus depots and resells it to the public—and something sparked. I knew I wanted to set a story in a similar venue, because I loved the idea of an entire warehouse full of unclaimed belongings—so many hopes and dreams lost and resold. There was something really compelling about that to me. But the story itself was a long time coming. I kept having an image of a young girl opening up a powder blue suitcase, searching for something, but I simply couldn’t figure out what. When I finally landed on the notion that perhaps it was the suitcase that was searching for the girl, well, then I knew I was getting somewhere. The story became a fantasy, and things flowed very quickly from there.

The book has a wide cast of characters, many of whom have special talents.  What would you claim as your special talent?
I am unnaturally skilled at packing suitcases. Honestly. I could fit an elephant in a duffle bag if called upon.

Adoption plays a role in this book, when you were writing this book did you think about your readers who may be adopted?
I did and didn’t. With all of my books, I always try to strike a balance between events that will excite and surprise a reader, and emotional discoveries that will feel truthful. Since A Tangle of Knots takes place in a fantastical world, Cady’s adoption story is pretty far out of the realm of what I am imagine most adopted children today experience (she begins the book as the sole child in a “Home for Lost Girls”). That said, Cady does grapple with anxieties of where she’s come from, and where she belongs in the world, which I think are issues that most of us, adopted or not, can relate to.

Your character Cady has a talent for cake baking and the book contains a number of actual cake recipes.  Why include recipes?
I’ve always loved books that included recipes, or sprinkled asides that take you out of the action of the story for just a moment. Each Little Bird That Sings (Sandpiper, 2006) by Deborah Wiles springs to mind as a particularly lovely example. In my book, Cady is constantly thinking about the other characters in terms of what cakes they are, so I thought it might be nice for the readers to get a chance to see that, too. Each recipe in the book represents one of the nine key players in the story, whose personalities—spicy, zesty, sweet—are perfectly encapsulated in a cake.

All of the recipes in A Tangle of Knots are ones that you adapted especially for the book. Which is your favorite?
I tried out and adapted about 30 recipes over the course of six months, to land on the nine final recipes that appear in the book. All of the cakes are delicious, of course, but my favorite is probably the garlic cake. I’m particularly proud of that one because it was entirely my own creation—I knew I wanted to include a recipe for a cake that sounded disgusting, but actually tasted quite delicious. So I tinkered with some old recipes I found, and came up with this garlic cake. It’s savory instead of sweet, and amazingly tasty. It’s made with garlic and Parmesan and a dash of pepper, and it tastes incredible with stewed tomatoes or a good chili.

A video on your website shows you baking one of the cakes in a tiny New York City kitchen. Did you actually bake all the cakes there? Did you have any help?
That video was actually filmed in my friend’s Brooklyn kitchen, which is about twice the size of mine, if you can believe it. I did bake most of the cakes in my own tiny kitchen, and I was constantly inviting friends to help me. There were a couple months where I was averaging two cakes a week, so mostly I needed volunteers to help me eat it all! Embarking on an epic cake-baking experiment is a good way to make friends, I’ll say that much.

The book definitely has a magical air but is set in Poughkeepsie, NY, my hometown. How did that come about? Did any places or buildings from Poughkeepsie inspire you?
I’m originally from a small mountain town in Southern California, and when I moved to New York City for graduate school I didn’t know a living soul. So when Thanksgiving rolled around that first year I was invited to spend the holiday with my stepmother’s extended family, who I’d only met twice before that. They live just outside of Poughkeepsie, and for a small-town girl who’d recently been thrust into the big city, that first trip up on the train was quite literally a breath of fresh air. There were trees, and water, and deer! I guess the place really did feel a little magical, being both so near the city and so similar to the home I’d come from. When I began writing this book and was looking for a semi-fantastical location in which to set it, I remembered pulling into the train station on that first Thanksgiving, and I knew Poughkeepsie would be a perfect fit for the story. 

What are your favorite fantasy books?
Growing up I always enjoyed fantasy books that kept one foot in the real world. Roald Dahl’s Matilda (Penguin, 1988) was a huge favorite when I was a kid. Since then I’ve expanded my fantasy vocabulary a bit, but I still tend to shy away from the really “high fantasy.” These days I find that beautiful writing draws me in more than anything else. I love, love, love The Lost Conspiracy (HarperCollins, 2009) by Frances Hardinge, and also Fly by Night (HarperCollins, 2005) and its sequel. I could gobble up anything that woman writes. I’m also quickly becoming a big Kristin Cashore fan. Bitterblue is next on my list.

Who is Ilsa Neal? 
Isla Neal is my not-so-secret alter-ego, who—along with co-author Martin Leicht—writes The Ever-Expanding Universe series, a humorous sci-fi girl-power romp for teens. The first novel in the series, Mothership (S&S, 2012), came out this past summer. The series is very different from the middle-grade books I typically work on, both in tone and content, and I’ve had a blast doing it.

What are you currently working on?
Right now Martin and I are hard at work on the third and final book in the EEU series (the second book, A Stranger Thing, is finished and comes out this November). And I’m just dipping my toes into the waters of a new middle-grade novel, tentatively entitled Dummy, about a ten-year-old Manhattanite struggling with a particularly difficult year at school.

McDermott’s career spanned a 49-year period and included such acclaimed and diverse folktales as Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti (Holt, 1972), a Caldecott Honor book and an animated film; Arrow to the Sun (Viking, 1974) the Caldecott Medal winner and also an animated film; and Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest, (Harcourt, 1993), a Caldecott Honor book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award winner. The film version of Anansi won the Blue Ribbon at the American Film Festival when it debuted, and Wilson Library Bulletin called it one of “the two most popular children’s films” produced that year.

From the beginning of his career, those who worked with McDermott recognized his talent.

“He was a totally independent voice at the time, and his technique and training in film taught him a tightness of scale, bravura use of color, and use of symbolism which was utterly unlike other illustrators of the period,” George Nicholson, McDermott’s editor on Arrow to the Sun, tells SLJ.

And after a long career filled with high-caliber works from start to finish, “There is still no one who equals him in my view,” Nicholson says.

Nicholson was head of children’s publishing at what was then Holt, Rinehart & Winston when he first discovered McDermott at a film festival in 1970, at which he was screening Anansi and another film, The Magic Tree, a folktale of the Congo. Nicholson immediately envisioned the possibilities of transforming both works into beautiful picture books.

“I was bowled over by the several films I saw there which were unlike anything I had even seen,” says Nicholson, who is currently a senior agent at Sterling Lord Literistic. “I was so taken with both Anansi and The Magic Tree that after serious discussions with Gerald about how these films might become books I bought them both.”  They soon realized, however, that—though the American picture book was deeply cinematic in its structure—McDermott had to reconceive the art altogether to capture the pacing and dynamism of the film, he says.

When Nicholson moved to Viking, he worked with McDermott on Arrow to the Sun, which scored a picture book’s most prestigious honor. Notably, winning the Caldecott Medal for the book was something McDermott felt was an honor for both book and film, says Nicholson.

“Gerald was a marvelous storyteller,” Regina Hayes, former publisher of Viking Children’s Books, tells SLJ. “He had a deep knowledge of folklore and myth, and he also had the ability to adapt his artistic style to suit each story, from Native American legend to Irish tall tales.”

McDermott also added many more picture book titles to his expansive global “Trickster Tales” series: Papagayo: The Mischief Maker (Windmill/Wanderer, 1980; reissued by Harcourt, 1992 ), a Brazilian folktale; Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster Tale from West Africa (Harcourt, 1992); Coyote: A Trickster Tale from the American Southwest (Harcourt, 1994); Jabuti the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon (Harcourt, 2001); Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawaii (Harcourt, 2009); and Monkey: A Trickster Tale from India (Harcourt, 2011).

“Gerald McDermott’s trickster tales always worked magic with my 2nd graders. The engaging, accessible text and bright art pulled reader-listeners in,” remembers Mollie Welsh Kruger, former 2^nd grade teacher and current graduate faculty of Bank Street College of Education. “One year, my class created their own stage production of Zomo the Rabbit that left the lower school in stitches.”

Considered in his lifetime an expert in mythology and folktales, McDermott was a disciple of the famed mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell, one friend recalls.

Says Arnold Adoff, children’s poet and husband of the late Virginia Hamilton, award-winning children’s author, “When Virginia and I first entered the world of children’s books, Gerald was one of the first people we met. [He] was…unguarded and open…expansive and excited…as he talked about his ground-breaking visual efforts…he and Virginia talked Joseph Campbell long and deep into the night.”

McDermott was the first Fellow of the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and a leader of the “Mythological  Toolbox” workshop at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. “Dream weaver, tale spinner, portrayer of visions, interpreter of the human spirit,” the institute says of McDermott on its website. “Through his bold, graphic renderings of timeless tales from around the world, Gerald communicated his deep understanding of the transformative power of myth.”

Another friend, children’s author and editor Lee Bennett Hopkins, remembers McDermott as “infectious, witty, dashing” and “brilliant about the art of bookmaking.” They first met in 1973 when Hopkins worked for Scholastic, and the fledgling artist McDermott was looking for freelance work. “I was lucky to have Gerald as a friend in my life for over forty years,” Hopkins tells SLJ.

Hopkins, among several others who knew and worked with McDermott, has already posted an online tribute to him, though many remembrances are sure to come from those whose lives McDermott touched in the worlds of publishing, filmmaking, and education.

Fans are confident his storytelling legacy will live on, they say. Adds Kruger, “What McDermott did with words and illustrations will continue bringing stories to life in classrooms.”

Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall has hosted thousands of legendary performers since it opened in 1891, from the New York Philharmonic to jazz greats Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to modern notables Isaac Stern and Renée Fleming. Joining their ranks this week? John Green—the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005), An Abundance of Katherines (Dutton, 2006), and Paper Towns (Dutton, 2008)—and his brother Hank Green, who took to the stage on Tuesday to entertain over 2,800 fans. “An Evening of Awesome,” featuring numerous special guests, was also lived-streamed to sites around the country through a special partnership with Tumblr.

Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

The much-anticipated and hyped event was part of a 17-city tour celebrating the first anniversary of Green’s most recent bestselling YA fiction book, The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012); the tour has sold over 11,300 tickets.

For the uninitiated, the Green brothers are also known for their popular YouTube video blog series Vlogbrothers, which has close to a million subscribers. Passionate fans of the series, who call themselves “nerdfighters,” are so numerous and so well organized that they have created their own online social networking group to, as they declare,  “increase awesome and decrease suck.”

“It brought to life the Nerdfighter community,” says Elazar Nudell, 30, of the site. Nudell traveled all the way from Springfield, MA, to attend the sold-out event along with Max Schnaper, 21, and Sasha Zacharia, 21.

However, most of the live audience at Carnegie Hall was comprised of teenage girls.

“John Green understands teen girls,” 17-year-old Samantha from Merrick, NY, tells School Library Journal. She feels that Green’s books helped her during a troubling time in her life. “He made me realize that how I felt was OK.”

Her schoolmate, 16-year-old Johanna, claims that the author encouraged her to be a thoughtful person. While waiting for the show to begin, Johanna read to Sam from a book by her other favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut.

The evening was part rock concert, part author and literary reading, and part talk show.

Shouts of  “We love you!” rang out through the hall as the tuxedo-clad duo took the stage. John entertained the audience with a monologue about his life and work. He told them, “My life is like a very long Emily Dickinson poem.”

Hank sang songs of his own composition on such topics as Helen Hunt, Harry Potter, and Quarks. Grammy-winning musician and former member of The Moldy Peaches, Kimya Dawson, and the folk rock band The Mountain Goats also performed during the evening.

Later, Ashley Clements and Daniel Vincent Gordh, actors in the The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Web series developed by Hank Green, appeared to do a dramatic reading from The Fault in Our Star. The night’s special guests also were on hand to perform a Readers Theater scene from Paper Towns.

The surprise guest of the evening was Neil Gaiman. The award-winning author of The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins, 2008), participated in the Q&A portion of the evening, asking John Green such questions and queries as “Where do people go when they die?” (“Narnia,” interjected Hank) and “Describe yourself in three words,” to which John finally agreed on Handsome, Awesome, and Tall—after some prompting from Hank, Neil, and the audience.  Also during the Q&A, Hank Green admitted to having a crush on his high school English teacher.

During the event, Carnegie Hall became a trending topic on Twitter; already by noon on Wednesday there were more than 35,000 additional views of the event and 18,000 comments. Additional meetups around this event are scheduled for upcoming days; a schedule can be found here.

“This Year” singalong. Photo credit: Andrea Fischman.

For additional photos of this event from School Library Journal, check out our Tumblr feed!

Jean Craighead George

Many wonderful authors, illustrators, and others in the world of children’s books passed away last year. Their works have enriched our lives and collections and brought joy to countless children.

School Library Journal regrets any omissions. Please add to our list in the comments section.

January 30 – Bill Wallace, 64, author of more than 30 books, including A Dog Called Kitty (Holiday House, 1980).

February 2 – Joyce Barkhouse, 98, Canadian author of the Pit Pony (Gage, 1989) and other works of historical fiction.

February 3 – John Christopher, 89, British science-fiction author, whose real name was Samuel Youd.  He’s best known for his “Tripods” trilogy (Macmillan).

February 24 – Jan Berenstain, 88, cocreator, with her husband, Stan, of some of the world’s most-beloved kids’ book characters, the Berenstain Bears.

May 4 – Maurice Sendak, 83, one of the most recognizable names in children’s literature.

May 15 – Jean Craighead George, 92, Newbery-winning author and naturalist.

May 25 – Peter D. Sieruta, 53, creator of the popular blog Collecting Children’s Books.

May 26 – Ellen Levine, 73, activist and author of the Caldecott Honor book, Henry’s Freedom Box (Scholastic, 2007).

May 26 – Leo Dillon, 79, the first African American to win the Caldecott Medal.

July 11 – Donald J. Sobol, 87, creator of the popular “Encyclopedia Brown” (T. Nelson) mystery series.

July 12 –Else Homelund Minarik, 91, creator of the “Little Bear” (Harper) series.

July 23 – Margaret Mahy, 76, New Zealand author of more than 100 books.

Josepha Sherman

July 31 – Mollie Hunter, 90, Scottish author of children’s and young adult books.

August 2 – Jean Merrill, 89, author of The Pushcart War (Scott, 1964), one of the 20th century’s best social satires for children.

August 9 – Jose Aruego, 80, illustrator of Leo the Late Bloomer (Windmill, 1971).

August 14 – Remy Charlip, 83, dancer, actor, and an award-winning author and illustrator of more than 30 children’s books.

Irving Adler

August 22 -  Nina Bawden, 87, author of the World War II novel Carrie’s War (Gollancz, 1973).

August 23 – Josepha Sherman, 65, sci-fi and fantasy author.

September 22 – Irving Adler, 99, social activist and prolific author of math and science books for children.

November 23 – Sandra McLeod Humphrey, 76, award-winning author of children’s books on character development.

Julie Hatsell Wales, Sue Kowalski, and Rae Anne Locke.

Three school librarians who create a spirit of community in their libraries were among 10 recipients of the 2012 I Love My Librarian awards.

Susan Kowalski of the East Syracuse (NY) Minoa School District, Rae Anne Locke of Westport (CT) Public Schools, and Julie Hatsell Wales of Brevard County (FL) Schools joined their public and academic colleagues and 200 supporters in an award ceremony on Tuesday evening, December 18, at the New York Times Center in Manhattan.

The award, an initiative of the American Library Association sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Times, drew 1,500 nominations from around the country. A committee of librarians selected the winners.

Kowalski’s nominations cited her “cunning ideas,” including an “iStaff Mobile Innovation Studio,” a mobile station at her library with an iPad, projector, and computers. Students versed in this technology assist their peers using the equipment for school projects at the Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse, where Kowalsky is school librarian.

“When you believe in something you inevitably put your heart and soul into it,” Kowalski told SLJ. “I’m a passionate believer in the power of libraries and continue to do just that.”

Locke’s innovations included creating digital book trailers with her students and creating a monthly digital school newsletter in collaboration with a technology teacher at Westport’s Saugatuck Elementary School, where she’s a library media specialist, according to her nomination.

Locke’s “Secret Garden Library,” which she created in 2002, nurtures each student individually, read the nomination. She was recognized more broadly for her collaborations with teachers and students that collectively create a culture honoring literacy and the dignity of each learner.

Davia Phillips, a second grade teacher at Saugatuck, called Locke “a collaborator who goes the extra mile.” Melissa Augeri, a parent and volunteer at the school, praised Locke for her ability to get kids reading, saying, “she knows what they like.”

Wales was called “the glue that holds this school together” by a social studies teacher at the McNair Magnet School in Rockledge, FL, who supported her nomination. School librarian Wales was singled out for helping students and fellow educators keep their information literacy skills up to date and directing them to reliable databases. Wales also wrote grants ranging from $500 to $1.9 million that “brought vital resources to the school,” the nomination said.

While accepting her award, Wales lamented the reduction of the number of school librarians across the nation. “It is like ripping the heart from the school body,” she said.

Among the other winners was 40-year veteran public librarian Mary Ellen Pellington, director of the Octavia Fellin Public Library in Gallup, NM.  She told the audience, “You can count potholes but you cannot measure the impact of one story hour on the lives of children.”

Rachel Hyland, whose wit and energy brought changes to the Tunxis Community College Library in Farmington, CT, attributed her “librarian genetic makeup” to her grandmother, who worked for 50 years in a high school library in Hartford, CT.

“We make a difference. Some of it is big and some of it is small,” said Greta E. Marlatt, librarian at the Knox Library at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, where she works with first responders. Audience members who were first responders received a standing ovation.

Creating a sense of community among the homebound population was one of the achievements of Madlyn S. Schneider of the Queens Library in Queens Village, NY. Schneider maintains contact with isolated patrons through Skype and conference calls.

Also honored were Beatriz Adriana Guevara of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC, along with academic librarians Dorothy J. Davison of the Horrmann Library at Wagner College (NYC) and Roberto Carlos Delgadillo of the Peter J. Shields Library at the University of California, Davis.

Robert Massie, author of Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman (Random House, 2011) and winner of the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, praised the work of librarians in a speech. Massie, former president of The Authors Guild, also asked that librarians fight to maintain copyright, saying, “without copyright, there won’t be authors.”

Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, said, “Sandys come and go, but libraries always stand.”

Each honoree received a $5,000 cash award, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to attend the awards reception in New York City. Nominees must be librarians with a master’s degree from an ALA-accredited MLIS program or a master’s specializing in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

This week, authors Rita Williams-Garcia, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and Mac Barnett share their stories of the season with SLJ. Last week, we heard from Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, along with author Liz Levy.

Rita Williams-Garcia

Rita Williams-Garcia and family

It was winter 1990, and my husband was preparing to go off to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm [as a platoon sergeant for an engineering brigade, responsible for 52 soldiers who did battle damage assessments]. I asked my mother what she had sent my father when he was in Vietnam. She said, “Candy, cookies and nothing but good news.”

Our daughters, Michelle, 6, and Stephanie, 2, signed a card for their dad while I put together a tin box of cookies and candies, along with a photo of the family with a promise that we’d all be together SOON?. The night before we went to Floyd Bennett Field for his deployment, I stuffed the tin in Peter’s duffle bag along with a note: “Do not open until Christmas.”

We said our goodbyes and waved while trucks loaded with soldiers drove off. Then I bought a houseful of toys for my children, including a jungle gym with a slide which sat in our living room.

On Christmas morning I videotaped Michelle reading the Nativity story and mailed that to Peter along with a video of a New York Giants football game. Of everything, he remembers the tin box with cookies and candy on Christmas.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

“I just don’t like Christmastime,” my grandmother Shirley would say as she leaned back in her chair at the kitchen table, taking a drag from her cigarette and a sip from her coffee. “I just think about all the people who don’t have nothin’, ya know. The parents who can’t buy presents for their kids. The people who you see on the news whose houses burn down on Christmas night. Then I think about all the women who get beaten by their husbands.” She would shake her head, but not before taking another puff of her unfiltered Camel, allowing the smoke to cover any hint of the pine needles in the adjacent living room.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Holly jolly.

Our halls weren’t exactly decked with the cheery sentiments of Christmas carols. We had a tinsel-draped tree filled with ornaments left over from the 1950s and ’60s. A few holiday items were placed atop side tables—an animatronic Santa and a porcelain Christmas tree that played “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

“Time to take down the toys,” my grandfather Joe would mutter as he retrieved the few boxes of Christmas decorations kept in the garage. Joe’s job was to get the ornaments and set up the tree. The rest was up to my grandmother and me. Later, it was just my responsibility to trim the tree. As I hit adolescence, neither Joe nor Shirley saw any point in decorating when we’d only be taking everything down in a few weeks. Despite their aversion to covering the house in holiday décor, I would eagerly hand-draw Santas, candy canes, wreaths, and even mistletoe and place them throughout the front hallway.

Their dreary dispositions aside, they made sure I woke up every Christmas morning to an embarrassment of riches. A Smurf Big Wheel, collections of Transformers, ThunderCats, and G.I. Joes, a Nintendo, and, of course, always art supplies. There was nothing that made them happier than to see me happy. It’s what they dedicated their twilight years to. Aside from the many presents they lavished upon me, they gave me the greatest gift of all—a stable home, with two parental figures who loved me unconditionally.

It was just before Christmas of 1980 when I came to live with my grandparents full time. I had just turned three years old, and Joe and Shirley had already been taking care of me for the majority of my life. It had become clear that their daughter was never going to be stable enough to care for me, and the decision was made that I would live with them permanently.

I remember seeing the light of the Christmas tree through my tears as Shirley sat me down to explain that I would be living with them now and that I wouldn’t see my mother for some time. I remember her asking me what I liked to eat, so she could make sure I had my favorite meals. I told her that I liked meatball sandwiches. To distract me, she told me to pick out one present from under the tree and open it. Without missing a beat, I hopped off her lap and chose a box. I unwrapped it furiously. A tan Tonka pickup truck. I loved that truck and played with it endlessly.

Now I have a family of my own. And I, like my grandfather, grumble about getting the “toys” out of storage. But this is because my wife, Gina, has twenty-four red-and-green plastic bins filled to the brim with holiday cheer. It would have given Joe a heart attack. My two daughters will smile ear-to-ear on Christmas morning with the magic and wonder of the season. I will set out a porcelain Christmas tree that will chime out a tune and warn us all that we “better watch out.” And I will think of my grandparents, who gave me so very much at Christmastime.

Mac Barnett

When I was four I wanted a cuckoo clock for Christmas.

We lived in a small town and my mom didn’t have much money. My mother didn’t know where to buy a cuckoo clock, and if she did find one, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a bicycle?” she would ask.

Mac Barnett

“How about Skeletor’s Castle? That would be a good gift,” she said.

“Or what about a nice regular clock, with a neat design on it?”

“No. I want a cuckoo clock.”

I didn’t know why she was so concerned. The cuckoo clock was Santa’s problem, not hers.

A week before Christmas, we went to see Santa at the mall. Standing in line, my mom asked, “Have you thought about what you’re going to ask him to get you for Christmas?”

What was wrong with this woman? I wanted a cuckoo clock.

Finally it was my turn. I climbed on Santa’s lap and gave him a drawing I’d made for him. It said, “I LOVE YOU SANTA.” (Always a good idea to flatter someone before you ask him for a hard-to-find gift.) We went through the usual small talk and then Santa asked, “Well, little boy, what do you want for Christmas?”

“Santa,” I said, “The thing I want most in the whole world is a cuckoo clock.”

Behind my back, my mom stood right in Santa’s eyeline, grimacing and slicing at her neck with her hand. Santa met her gaze, nodded, and looked down at me.

“Well…” said Santa. “That should be no problem. My elves are very good at making cuckoo clocks.”

I was overcome with joy as a man in reindeer antlers hustled me off Santa’s lap.

My mom was in a foul mood the rest of the day.

Of course, at the time I didn’t know the whole story. And I still don’t know why Santa did my mom dirty. All I know is that on Christmas day, I got a cuckoo clock.

Earlier ‘Holiday Memories’: 2006 ,2007,  2007, 2008, 2008, 2009, 2010,  2011.

Artist and children’s book illustrator Nonny Hogrogian won her first Caldecott Medal in 1966 for Always Room for One More (Holt, 1965), the story of a generous Scotsman who welcomes guests into his little home. She then won her second in 1972 for One Fine Day (Macmillan, 1971), the humorous retelling of an Armenian folk tale about a red fox who steals milk from an old farm woman.

Born in the Bronx to an Armenian family, Hogrogian earned a Caldecott Honor in 1977 for The Contest (Greenwillow, 1976), also based on a tale from Armenia.

Hogrogian talked with SLJ about the medals, her work, and cold New Hampshire winters.

What do you remember about winning each medal?

When I won the medal for Always Room for One More in 1966, I was working at home as an illustrator four days a week and as the art director for Scribner’s children’s book department for the other three days.

Friends from Scribner’s began to call me in the afternoon asking me if I had any news about the award. I said “No,” and continued with my work.

Much later, I received the call from the Caldecott committee chairwoman, Winifred Crossley, and was excited beyond belief. I called back my co-workers at Scribner’s, who had been waiting for me to hear the news. They told me to hurry on down to the office, where they were waiting to have a celebration. It was great.

In 1972, I was newly married to the poet and writer David Kherdian, winner of the 1980 Newbery Honor for The Road from Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl (Greenwillow, 1979). We had just bought a home in New Hampshire and we were broke. The winters there were very cold, and we weren’t sure that we had enough money to pay for oil through the winter.

We were both rather impractical. After looking over many picture books published that year, I told David that I thought I deserved the medal for One Fine Day, a folk tale I had retold and illustrated. He didn’t take me seriously.

At around midnight, we went upstairs to bed when the phone rang and the news came that I had in fact won the Caldecott Award for One Fine Day. We were jumping up and down and dancing on the bed, we were so happy. The next morning I called my editor, Susan Hirschman, to ask whether we might get an advance on the sales, and, of course, she said “Yes.”

What do you remember about the ceremonies?

I was very nervous at the Holt awards party preceding the 1966 event, so nervous that I lost my voice. The sales manager at Holt took one look at me and said, “You need a drink.” He presented me with one and later another. It helped a lot, and by the time I gave my speech, I looked out at the audience and realized that they were friends, and I was totally relaxed.

What impact did winning the Caldecott have on your career?

The Caldecott Award changed my life. It meant that I would not have to work in an office again. I would be able to work at books I loved in my own home without worrying too much about paying the rent. In addition, I would be able to pick and choose my own material and even tell my own stories, so that I could be totally involved with the material.

Where do you keep your medals?

David and I have moved many times, and for safekeeping, my early work is stored at the University of Southern Mississippi, and my later work and my medals are at the University of Connecticut.

Any other special memories from those times?

We have enjoyed our life and our work, with many thanks to Caldecott.

Author Liz Levy celebrates Chanukah with her family in Buffalo, NY, around 1950. Pictured in the center, Liz. Next to her is her cousin and fellow children’s book writer, Robie Harris, her brothers, Larry and Peter, and other family friends.

Liz Levy 

Liz Levy. Photo by Marshall Marcovitz

Growing up in Buffalo, New York, during the 1950s in a very tight-knit Jewish community, Chanukah was a big deal. Not because it’s such an important holiday, but because in the 1950s, Jewish families like ours— second-generation immigrants—wanted their children to feel that we really belonged in America. They didn’t want us to feel left out at Christmas time. Yet they wanted us to keep the Jewish traditions.

So note the tinsel hung across the fireplace with care, and I must have cut out the letters and glued on the blue and white tinsel. At our Chanukahs in the 1950s, my cousin Robie and I and our families all got dressed up in our finest. We didn’t get Christmas presents; we got CHANUKAH presents, a holiday not particularly connected with gifts until the 20th century.

In the picture above, I am obviously happy with my present, which says “First and Only Record of its Kind.” I wish I still had it. My nieces Erica and Dana have given me a magnet: “I may be old, but I got to see all the cool bands.” I did saw Elvis live in 1957 in Buffalo when he was still skinny. And yes, I screamed my head off.

Back to Chanukah. The festival of lights, it is still one of my favorite holidays. Those same nieces have given me a wonderful “feminist” menorah, and they now have children of their own. I still light the candles and make potato pancakes (okay, with help from my goyish friends who are better cooks than I am). My cousins and my family and I are still close. We all left Buffalo decades ago, yet I am as close to them now in the 21st century as if we never left our hometown. And that is a miracle worthy of Chanukah.

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Photo by David Rodgers.

Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

Our latest poetry anthology, Julie Andrews’ Treasury for All Seasons: Poems and Songs to Celebrate the Year (Little, Brown, 2012), highlights several family memories and traditions relating to the holiday season. One favorite that has been passed down through three generations is our tradition of the “Tree Gift.”

Though most of our gift-giving takes place on Christmas morning, we always save one small present for each member of the family, which gets hidden on the tree until Christmas night. At the very end of the day, long after all the other gifts have been opened, meals have been enjoyed, visits have been paid, walks have been taken, we enjoy a last cup of tea, cider, or spiced wine by the fire, and, as one, we each open that last tiny offering. We find it helps to balance the day—forestalling the inevitable letdown after the excitement of the morning and giving us one more thing to look forward to at the end of all the merry-making.

(l. to r.) Leonard S. Marcus, Rocco Staino, Robin Adelson, Lena Roy, Charlotte Jones Voiklis (Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter), Simon Boughton, and Hope Larsen

From her desk in the cathedral library, L’Engle greeted visitors, worked on her books, and participated in church activities.

On November 29, L’Engle’s birthday, the author’s spirit filled the cathedral once more during a ceremony in which the building was named a “Literary Landmark” in her honor.

More than 100 friends, family and fans gather at the main altar of the cathedral, the world’s largest Anglican church, while those supporting the dedication, and the new literary landmark plaque mounted on the cathedral wall, spoke about its significance.

“St. John the Divine is one of New York’s architectural wonders and spiritual crossroads,” said Leonard S. Marcus, author of the newly published Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle in Many Voices (FSG, 2012). “Now, everyone who visits there will know what a special role it played in the writing life of one of America’s greatest authors for children and adults.”

The church played a vital role in the author’s life, according to L’Engle’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis. “The cathedral nurtured her by giving her a writing home,” she said.  At the same time, “the cathedral also expanded her horizons by bringing her into a larger conversation about spirituality.”

The very reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski, dean of the cathedral, recalled that L’Engle once said, “if she could not write she would die.” He added, “We need that voice today—a voice of truth that had an abiding reverence for life’s mysteries.”

Simon Boughton, senior vice president and publishing director of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, recalled how, as a naive young editor at Simon & Schuster, he approached L’Engle about writing a book. That led to a relationship that included the author picking up a lunch check when Boughton’s credit card was declined, and Boughton using her choice seats at the opera.

Visitors felt L’Engle’s presence during the evensong, when a recording of her reading a passage from the Ephesians was played.

Robin Adelson, executive director of the Children’s Book Council, an event sponsor, noted that the  program “connects the real world with the book world.”

Beth Nawalinski, director of marketing and communications at United for Libraries, the division of the American Library Association that administers the Literary Landmark program, explained the process that recognizes locations throughout the country for their connection to significant literary events.

The Empire State Center for the Book, which inducted L’Engle into the New York State Writers Hall of Fame in 2011,  put forward the nomination for the literary landmark.

The cathedral joins 122 literary landmarks across the country, including the Algonquin Roundtable, the Plaza Hotel, and the Little Red Lighthouse in New York City.

On November 27, the Madeleine L’Engle website launched a Facebook page called Tesser Well where, it states, fans can “learn, share and connect.”

Photo by Claudio Marinesco

Best-selling author Harlan Coben is the only mystery writer to have won the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Anthony Award. Last year, Coben dove into the world of YA with Shelter, the first novel in his “Mickey Bolitar” series (Putnam).

SLJ spoke with the Newark, New Jersey-born author about his new teen protagonist and his Jersey roots.

With 50 million books in print worldwide, you are definitely considered prolific. So why enter the YA market with Mickey Bolitar?

Several reasons. First, I’d seen a lot of popular young adult books dealing with vampires or wizards or dystopia, but I hadn’t seen any do what I do–stay-up-all-night thrillers based in the real world.

Second, I have four children, ages 11 to 18, and I wanted to write something that would appeal to them.

Third, I had a great idea for a story in which the hero was in high school. That’s the biggest difference between my adult novels and my young adult novels–the age of the protagonist. It would be a mistake to simplify or talk down to this audience. They’re simply too smart.

Tell us about Mickey and the second book in the series, Seconds Away, released in September.

High-school sophomore Mickey’s life is a mess. His father died before his eyes, his mother is in rehab, and he is forced to live with an uncle he doesn’t much like. When one of Mickey’s closest friends is shot, Mickey and the rest of his team need to solve the case–because the next victim may be one of them.

Mickey also learns more about the scary old lady who lives down the street and about the death of his father–if indeed his father is dead at all.

Myron Bolitar, the main character in your books for adults, happens to be Mickey’s uncle. How would you describe their relationship?

Tense, at best. Mickey blames Uncle Myron for what happened to his parents.  Plus, while adults may think Myron’s sentimentality is nice, his nephew finds it cloying. But in the end, these two need each other, so the interaction between them gets pretty interesting.

Many teens read your adult books.  Have you found that many adults read your novels written for teens?

Yes! I think that’s the best–when the parents and the teens can share and love the same book. It leads to some great family moments.

Have your own children given you any assistance in creating the teenage characters in this series?

A ton. The incident where Mickey first meets his buddy Spoon is word-for-word what happened to my son Ben on his first day of school. Here’s a good writing and parenting tip: Drive the carpool. It is amazing what you will overhear.

I see that you are active on social media, especially Twitter (@HarlanCoben). Do you consider tweeting a form of creative writing?  What was your most creative tweet?

Oh, I don’t know. I have a love-hate relationship with all social media.

You are from New Jersey. Tell us about your friendship with other “Jersey Boys,” such as Governor Christie and others?

I grew up with Chris. We played on the same Little League team, coached by Chris’s dad, when we were 11. During our senior year of high school, he was president of the senior class and I was president of the student council. You’d have been able to guess which one of us would end up as governor and which one would make up stories for living.

You attended Amherst College during the same period as other notable writers, graduating in 1984. Was there anyone at the school whom you consider a mentor?

Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code (Doubleday, 2003) fame was my fraternity brother. We still see each other often. He is really a terrific, funny, engaging guy. I lived on the same floor freshman year as David Foster Wallace, whom I miss in many ways, and Mark Costello, who wrote The Big If (Norton, 2002). Christopher Bohjalian (Midwives, Harmony Bks., 1997) was two years ahead of us. The Screenwriter Suzannah Grant was in my class, as was Bill Amend, author of the Foxtrot comics.

These are all great people, and I’m proud to be a part of this group.

The couple’s single-family home in Minnetonka, MN, was in flames at 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to news sources, including the Minneapolis/St. Paul TV network KARE 11. No official cause of the blaze has been released.

Humphrey was the author of nine books, all of which focused on “young people thinking and talking about important social and moral issues,” according to her website.

She was an avid user of Twitter (@sandra305) with close to 2,300 followers and over 18,000 tweets. Her most recent book, They Stood Alone!: 25 Men and Women Who Made a Difference (Prometheus, 2011), was published last November. The book profiles 25 individuals, including Nicolaus Copernicus and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who Humphrey hoped would inspire children to believe in themselves.

Her book Dare To Dream!: 25 Extraordinary Lives (Prometheus, 2005) featured biographical sketches of 20th-century individuals from Albert Einstein to Sammy Sosa. A School Library Journal review said of the book, “Although the group is eclectic, the individuals all have one thing in common: they became successful in the face of adversity and therefore are great candidates to become heroes for today’s youth.”

Humphrey explained on her website that she wrote Dare To Dream! after observing that many students she met during school visits had given up on their dreams and had no defined aspirations. “They were willing to settle for ‘just getting by’ and weren’t particularly interested in discovering their passions,” she wrote.

Humphrey’s book Hot Issues, Cool Choices: Facing Bullies, Peer Pressure, Popularity, and Put-downs (Prometheus, 2007) is included on many anti-bullying booklists, including The Berkshire (MA) District Attorney’s Bully Prevention Lending Library and the Aurora (CO) Public Schools Bully Prevention Resource List.

Hot Issues, Cool Choices features a collection of 26 vignettes depicting various forms of bullying and questions for discussion. The book received a 2008 Mom’s Choice Gold Award, a 2009 Young Voices Foundation Silver Award, and a 2009 Readers Favorite gold medal.

Humphrey received many other honors, including the 2005 Helen Keating Ott Award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Literature from the Church & Synagogue Library Association (CSLA) and the 2012 American Authors Association Golden Quill Award.

Humphrey was also a retired clinical psychologist with over 35 years of experience working with young people, and a consultant for the Heroes & Dreams Foundation, which provides education materials to schools K-8 throughout the United States and Canada, according to her website.

The Humphreys are survived by three adult children.

Jean Craighead George. Photo by Rocco Staino.

Friends, admirers, and a white wolf gathered earlier this month to pay tribute to Newbery-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George, who died on May 15 at the age of 92.

Speakers noted the many sides of this renowned author: fearless individual, animal lover, staunch Democrat, ardent women’s rights advocate, and opponent to war.

Children, librarians, and publishers were very much in evidence during the celebration, held at the Robert E. Bell Middle School in Chappaqua, NY, which George’s children attended, and where George herself often spoke over the years.

“Jean was always eager to meet young readers,” recalled Chappaqua Library director Pam Thornton. No question was too trivial for the author, Thornton said. “She always spent time with each child, whom she treated with respect.”

George’s longtime editors, Katherine Tegen of HarperCollins and Lucia Monfried of Dutton, both recalled adventures with George during many American Library Association conferences. Monfried fondly remembered visiting the New Orleans aquarium during one conference and spoke of George’s concern for the aquarium’s inhabitants following Hurricane Katrina.

A white wolf, visiting from the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY, at the Memorial. Photo by Rocco Staino.

Despite a 42-year age difference between Tegen and George, Tegen considered the author a friend who encouraged her to try new things—such as sneaking away from a conference in Kentucky to go to the races at Churchill Downs.

The authors and illustrators in attendance included Seymour Simon, Tor Seidler, Jean Van Leeuwen, Barbara Dana, and Wendell Minor.

Simon called George “a giant,” comparing her science writing to that of environmentalists Rachel Carson (Silent Spring, Houghton Mifflin, 1962) and Millicent Selsam, author of over 100 science books for children.

Seidler recalled being introduced to George, along with legendary children’s book editor Charlotte Zolotow, by William C. Morris, the children’s literature innovator after whom the Morris Award is named. Following that meeting, Seidler and George became fast friends.

Amy Kellman, retired head of children’s services at the Carnegie Library, traveled from Pittsburgh to speak to the 200 attendees about her friendship with George over the years.

But perhaps the most fitting guest at the event was a white wolf, visiting from the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY. George’s Chappaqua home was a veritable menagerie that attracted neighborhood children, and George herself often visited the Wolf Conservation Center with her frequent collaborator, illustrator Wendell Minor.

Their last book together, The Eagles Are Back (Dial), is due for release in March 2013. Like Julie of the Wolves (Harper, 1972), which earned George her 1973 Newbery Medal, it is about wolves.

The ceremony closed with Barbara Dana singing a song based on one composed by George and her son Craig.

Donations in Jean Craighead George’s memory may be made to the Chappaqua Library, the Wolf Conservation Center, and Teatown Lake Reservation.

Bruce Coville accepting the Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People. Photo by Sara Kelly Johns.

Following in the footsteps of Maurice Sendak, Linda Sue Park, and Madeleine L’Engle, Bruce Coville became the twenty-third recipient of the Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People at the New York Library Association (NYLA) annual conference in Saratoga Springs, NY, earlier this month.

“Receiving this award validates humor,” said Coville. His numerous series for children include “My Teacher Is an Alien,” “Space Brat” (both S & S), and “Nina Tanleven” (Random).

Coville, a resident of Syracuse, NY, has written over 100 books for young people, and he and Elizabeth Levy recently coauthored Amber Brown Is Tickled Pink (Putnam, 2012), a tribute to Amber’s creator, the late Paula Danzinger. Coville is also the founder of Full Cast Audio, a company that creates unabridged recordings of great books for young people.

“Children are worth our best efforts,” he said, underscoring his conviction that society should put more resources toward young people, including through libraries. Teachers and librarians should be paid on the same scale as ballplayers, and vice versa, Coville said.

Given annually by the Youth Services Section of the NYLA, the award acknowledges a  body of work by a living author or illustrator residing in the state.

During the ceremony, Coville read a poem he had written, “Ripples.” Featured in the anthology Dare To Dream…Change the World (Kane/Miller, 2012), the poem explores how a single action can have a ripple effect—an enormous, positive impact.

Giving a child a book is such an action, Coville said, reading a letter from a woman who as a 10 year old had read his book My Teacher Flunked the Planet (S & S, 1992), about a group of children touring the globe with a mission to save the earth. The woman attributed her decision to join the Peace Corps and to work in Kenya to reading Coville’s book.

On the Common Core State Standards, Coville defended the use of fiction in the classroom, explaining that empathy can be taught through story. Children fear the unknown, he said, and through fiction, they can experience and understand those whose situations are dissimilar from their own.

“Bruce Coville is a great choice for this award,” said Joyce R. Laiosa, president of the Youth Services Section of NYLA. “He knows that stories draw young people to reading.”

Newbery medalist Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was honored at the NCAC’s annual Celebration of Free Speech and Its Defenders ceremony.

New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins, Newbery medalist Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and First Amendment activist Chris Finan were all recognized by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) on November 12 for their work defending free speech.

NCAC’s annual Celebration of Free Speech and Its Defenders ceremony in New York City brought together more than 200 authors, publishers, and First Amendment advocates to honor and raise money for the 38-year-old organization, which protects free expression and access to information.

Joan Bertin, NCAC Executive Director, presented awards to the nominees.

Hopkins’s books, including the “Crank” trilogy (S&S), deal with such hard-hitting topic as incest, teen prostitution and drug addiction. Hopkins herself has often been the target of censorship. In 2010, an invitation for her to speak at a Texas teen lit festival was withdrawn after a middle-school librarian voiced concern about her students’ hearing Hopkins’ presentation. The previous year, Hopkins was uninvited to speak at a school in Norman, OK when a parent asked that Hopkins’s novel Glass (S & S, 2007), the story of a girl’s crystal meth addiction, be removed from district middle school libraries—and that no student be allowed to attend Hopkins’s presentation.

In accepting the award, Hopkins expressed her concern that children from conservative regions of the country are not exposed to people who are different from them or disturbing situations like those faced by the characters in her books. “In the red part of this country there are young people who don’t hear the other side,” said Hopkins. She believes that her books give young people a window into the lives of teens grappling with difficult issues.

Author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is no stranger to censorship either. Her “Alice” series (S&S) has attracted ongoing attention from censors due to their themes of teenage relationships, dating and sex. The books have made the American Library Association (ALA) list of most challenged books for several years. Naylor’s 25th “Alice” book, Always Alice (S&S) is due out in 2013.

In accepting the award, Naylor thanked librarians and teachers who fight to keep her books on the shelves. Naylor’s Newbery-winning Shiloh (Atheneum, 1991), about a young boy and an abused dog, was not immune to censorship, either. A principal and librarian in Louisiana had to hire lawyers to keep the book from being banned because of its inclusion of the words “hell” and “damn.”

The NCAC ceremony also recognized Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, who also has served as chairman of the NCAC for over a decade, Finan was thanked for his service to the organization and for being a defender of the First Amendment.

Joan Bertin, NCAC Executive Director, presented the awards to each nominee. The award statuettes, titled Digitus Impudicus, portrayed a hand with a raised middle finger.

Attendees also had the opportunity to bid on controversial book covers created by noted illustrators for the event, with proceeds going to NCAC. Drawing the greatest reaction from the audience were particularly risqué designs, entitled Tommy’s Pussy Wagon by Betsy Lewin, Blow Me: A Book About Whistles by Adam Rex, and Holiday Hummers: A Burst of Christmas Cheer by Tomie dePaola.

“I was just getting used to calling myself a novelist,” Alexander told SLJ during the star-studded 63rd NBA ceremony, held at Cipriani’s on Wall Street in New York.

The award caps a whirlwind month for Alexander that began with the October 9 announcement of his selection as an NBA finalist, followed by the birth of his daughter, Iris Octavia, on October 29.

Alexander was joined by fellow finalists Carrie Arcos (Out of Reach, S & S, 2012), Patricia McCormick (Never Fall Down, HarperCollins, 2012), Eliot Schrefer (Endangered, Scholastic, 2012), and Steve Sheinkin (Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, Roaring Brook/Flash Point, 2012).

Hosted by political commentator Faith Saile, the event, which some call the “Oscars of the book world,” was attended by author Stephen King and National Public Radio host Terry Gross, among other luminaries.

Gary D. Schmidt, who himself was a National Book Award finalist last year for his novel OK for Now (Clarion, 2011) presented Alexander with the award. Schmidt was chair of the judging panel that included Susan Cooper (Magic Maker, Candlewick, 2011), Daniel Ehrenhaft (Americapedia, Walker, 2011) Judith Ortiz Cofer (The Poet Upstairs, Piñata Books, 2012) and Marly Youmans (The Curse of the Raven Mocker, Farrar, 2003)

Alexander noted that Goblin Secrets is one of just a few fantasy titles to have won the Young People’s Literature prize, along with The Farthest Shore (Atheneum, 1972) by Ursula K. LeGuin in 1973, The Court of the Stone Children (Dutton, 1973) by Eleanor Cameron in 1974 and Westmark (Dutton, 1981) by Lloyd Alexander in 1982.

“We now have proof that other universes exist,” said Alexander, who received a $10,000 cash prize and a bronze sculpture.

Check out our red carpet photos on Flickr (Hit “Show Info” tab for captions)

The golden bow tie that Paul O. Zelinsky created from gold Caldecott stickers.

To mark the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal, School Library Journal is speaking with past recipients of the prestigious award. Here, illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky, winner of the 1998 Caldecott for Rapunzel (Dutton, 1997) and three-time honor recipient for Hansel and Gretel (Dodd, 1984), Rumpelstiltskin (1986) and Anne Isaac’s Swamp Angel (1994, both Dutton), talks about his working process, the awards ceremony, and “the call.”

Tell us how Rapunzel came to be.

As soon as Rumpelstiltskin was published, people were telling me how much they liked my book Rapunzel. I would say, “Thank you very much, but I think you mean Rumpelstiltskin.” Eventually I decided that if I actually did a Rapunzel, I wouldn’t have to keep correcting people.

I also wanted to follow Hansel and Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin with a third tale from the brothers Grimm. Why Rapunzel? I thought the story was compelling and mysterious, and I was interested in learning to paint hair.

What was it like receiving the phone call telling you that Rapunzel had won?

I had been called to jury duty, and if the judge hadn’t released me, the Committee’s call would have reached my answering machine.

I was curious to know which books would get awards, but confident that one of them wouldn’t be Rapunzel. After all, Hansel and Gretel had been a Caldecott Honor and so had Rumpelstiltskin, and that was clearly enough.

My wife Deborah had hopes for Rapunzel that I didn’t. I was taken completely by surprise. Words can’t describe how little I expected the call from the committee.

When I picked up the phone and a man’s voice asked to speak to Paul Zelinsky, I suspected it was some long-distance phone company trying to get me to switch carriers. It was John Stewig calling from New Orleans with the Caldecott committee, telling me that Rapunzel had won. Then in the background, the committee cheered.

I got very dizzy and confused, but I gathered myself together. When I hung up, I phoned Deborah’s school (she was teaching second grade in our local public school), to give her the news. When she saw a school aide come into her classroom holding a note, she began to cry.

Do you recall any other highlights from the ALA conference that year, aside from the awards ceremony?

My wife lost her wallet in a taxi. We had breakfast with a classmate I hadn’t seen since high school. My daughters were 14 and 10.

The conference and banquet were at the Washington, DC, Hilton Hotel. In a private back room they served very big, strong drinks before the beginning of the dinner. There was a passageway from that room to the stage area of the ballroom, which had been walked by all sorts of presidents and amazing historical figures whose photos lined its walls.

What do you remember about the ceremony? 

Karen Hesse was the Newbery winner, and Russell Freedman received the Wilder Award. There were a lot of speeches. I made sure to use the rest room beforehand, having had one painful ALA experience many years before.

The Caldecott Committee members came wearing silly hats representing either long blond hair or the cap my Rapunzel prince character wore. They were carrying huge plastic scissors to cut the hair.

I came to the dinner in a garment I had bought at a garage sale in college for $5. It was a tuxedo from the 1930s, which fit perfectly. I was wearing a cummerbund I’d made from gold Caldecott stickers. By sticking the medals to each other, front to back, with a little bit of overlap linking one to the next, I made a nicely sturdy-feeling swath of gold. I also made a golden bow tie out of the stickers.

When I was at the podium and delivering my speech, the cummerbund started to come unstuck. My body heat was loosening the glue. I kept surreptitiously pushing the medals back together as I gave the talk.

How did winning the Caldecott impact your career?

I felt like I was already in a pretty privileged situation before the Caldecott, with three honor books. But I think this still made a difference in terms of attention, speaking requests, and so on. I don’t believe it really affected what books I took on, or was asked to do, or how I worked on them. The medal also increased the number of people and organizations coming to me with charitable requests.

Where do you keep your medal?

It came in a beautiful wood box, lined in blue velvet, which I keep on my dresser.

Do you think there is more public awareness of the award today?

I remember one librarian whose great mission was to eliminate these awards. Her principle was that they encourage a personality cult based on winning, which is alien to the actual purpose of children’s—or any—literature.

She had a good point. I visited one school where I was introduced as someone who was famous and had won a prestigious medal, and if the students only work hard enough, they could also be famous and win medals. But the Caldecott leads children to read books, and eliminating it would hardly make the world a better place.

I sourly regret that the Today Show has stopped bringing in the Caldecott and Newbery winners on the air the morning after the awards are announced. But awareness of the Caldecott and Newbery is huge. I don’t know whether any other award, literary or otherwise, does as much to support the sales and lifespan of a book.

Do you have a favorite young illustrator that we should be watching as a future Caldecott contender?

Questions about favorites almost always stump me—see, for example, the Favorite Color page on my website. A lot of amazing illustration is being done these days, and naming young illustrators would make me feel that I was skipping over the large number of not-so-young ones who deserve the Caldecott even more. That said, a couple of names, very unfairly leaving out a talented multitude, might be You Byun or Julian Hector.

Any other special Caldecott memories?

The Caldecott Medal spawned a whirlwind of a year for me, and I loved it.