February 17, 2013

Promoting Regional Book Awards: Give Teens a Chance

91912bsbooks

It all started with “Pete the Cat.” Well, actually it started with the fact that author Eric Litwin was coming for our library’s summer reading program and my boss wanted to promote his visit. We have a fabulous teen volunteer, Rose, who does great artwork. I asked her if she could make a big Pete the Cat, and she pulled it together in one day! I couldn’t believe it. When given the opportunity (and materials), Rose can do anything artistic! So, naturally, I went to her when we received our promotional kit for the Colorado Blue Spruce Award, an honor that recognizes the most popular books among middle and high school students in our state.

SLJ’s Printz Blog Has Returned

Frog Prince sitting on pile of books

Once upon a time, a new blog discussing possible contenders for the annual Michael L. Printz Award for exemplary teen titles was born on SLJ.com. Now in its second year, Someday My Printz Will Come is back and ready to take on the challenge of speculating which literary gem will wear this year’s crown.

McKissack and Dooley Honored with 2012 PEN Awards

Book Cover: Never Forgotten

Yesterday, young adult author Sarah Dooley and Newbery Honor-winning Patricia C. McKissack were named recipients of the 2012 Pen Literary Awards.

News Bites: A New Award for Authors of Color

Tu Books logo in blue

The New Visions Award has been announced by Tu Books, the fantasy, science fiction, and mystery imprint of Lee & Low Books. It will be given for “a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel by a writer of color.” The winner will get $1000 and a publication contract; an honor award winner will get $500. Children of color should be able to identify with and relate to the novel. Authors submitting a novel must include a synopsis of the story and the first three chapters (don’t send the entire manuscript) by October 30.

Beatles Fan? This Giveaway’s for You! | Seen and Heard

81512Walrus cover

n August 1965, the Beatles iconic “Help!” album was released. Forty-seven years later, today’s teens still know every Beatles’ song by heart. Novelist Ed Briant captures modern Beatles’ love and lore in his new book, I Am (Not) The Walrus, about a Beatles-cover band whose teenage bassist thinks his Fender guitar may have once belonged to George Harrison. Five lucky SLJTeen readers can win a copy of I Am (Not) The Walrus along with five commemorative guitar picks to pass along to their favorite teen patrons.

The Countdown to Seven Is On

81512boxset

The Countdown to Seven Is On! Seven (the series) is coming October 10, 2012. Seven grandsons. Seven journeys. Seven authors. One amazing series. SLJTeen exclusive—get the whole series before anyone else! We have seven complete sets to give away. Do you want one?

Sign Up to Get Betsy Bird’s Best of the Best in PDF

betsy-bird-best-of

Let’s put our hands together for SLJ blogger Betsy Bird who spent the last six weeks sorting through 200 titles to bring you the Top 100 Picture Books and Chapter Books of all time.

Dying to know who topped the lists? Maurice Sendak’s classic Where the Wild Things Are made best picture book, while E. B. White’s Charlotte’s Web ranked the best chapter book.

We know you and your students will find the lists so useful that we’re creating two colorful PDFs for you to print and share with teachers, parents, and of course, kids. Coming soon!

Sign up to have the Top 100 Picture Books List emailed to you.

News Bites: Enter to Win 100 Graphic Novels and More

eisner-award

And the Winner Is…

Register to win: The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation, in conjunction with the American Library Association, has launched the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Prize for Libraries. Eisner was an acclaimed American comics writer, artist, and entrepreneur. The prize will be awarded annually to three libraries at the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual conference beginning with this year’s event in Anaheim, California (June 21-26). If you’re going to be at the ALA conference, visit the Reading with [...]

News Bites: Kids Can Win Dinner at the White House

lets-move

And the Winner Is…..

Healthy eating: Kid chefs ages 8 to 12 can submit a delicious but nutritious recipe for a lunch to win a trip to Washington, DC, where they can attend a Kids’ State Dinner at the White House in August. Let’s Move, Michelle Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity, is teaming up with Epicurious, the Department of Education, and the USDA to find healthy and tasty lunch recipes. To enter, children should check out the MyPlate nutritional guidelines [...]

2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winners Unveiled

boston-globe-horn-book-award-winners

The tale of a little girl who loves to knit, a story about a Harlem book seller, and a book about the life and work of artist Chuck Close are winners of the 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.

Interview: School Librarian, Robin Levin, Wins Arch Coal Teacher Achievement Award

robin-levin

Robin Levin is in the news again. This time it’s for being the first school librarian to win the Arch Coal Foundation Teacher Achievement Award, which this year recognized 10 teachers in Wyoming for their leadership and contribution to K-12 education.

Staying Power: The Magic of Susan Cooper

Cover_SLJ1206TOC

I’m on my way to visit Susan Cooper on an unseasonably warm day in mid-February. As my car cruises along, about 45 minutes south of Boston, low tide reveals miles of untouched marshland. I drive across a short causeway, creep down an unpaved lane, and suddenly I’m staring at the exquisite home that Cooper built a couple of years ago. My first thought is that I’ve stumbled upon the Grey House, the setting of Cooper’s first children’s book, Over Sea, Under Stone. With its soaring cathedral ceilings and wraparound windows that frame the wetlands, the space is filled with warmth and light even on a winter’s day. It seems like the perfect place for the 77-year-old writer to conjure up some more of her magic.

SLJ Talks to Mark Ray, School Librarian and Slayer of Information Ignorance

It’s not often that a school librarian shakes hands with the president, talks policy with government officials, and hobnobs with our nation’s top lawmakers—but that’s what Mark Ray, a 20-year veteran of Washington’s Vancouver School District, did as 2011 State Teacher of the Year.

Children’s Author and Activist Ellen Levine Dies at 73

Ellen Levine, an activist and award-winning children’s book author whose Henry’s Freedom Box (Scholastic, 2007) was named a Caldecott Honor, died May 26 after a 19-month battle with lung cancer. She was 73.

Leo Dillon, the First African American Caldecott Winner, Dies at 79

Leo Dillon, the first African American to win the Caldecott Medal, died May 26 in Brooklyn, NY, following “complications of a sudden illness requiring lung surgery,” says Bonnie Verburg, his longtime editor at Scholastic’s Blue Sky Press. He was 79.

WV Fifth Grader Donates $10,000 Prize to School Library

Usually graduates receive gifts—but 11-year-old Darius Atefat-Peckham decided to give one instead. He donated the $10,000 he won this spring in the Letters About Literature national writing contest to his elementary school library.

News Bites: Award-Winning Books About South Asia for the Classroom

The recipients of the first annual South Asia Book Award have been announced; Shmoop has launched a free DMV Guide.

Fiona Robinson Honored at Irma S. Black Award Ceremony

Fiona Robinson, author/illustrator of What Animals Really Like (Abrams, 2011), this year’s winner of the Irma S. Black & James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, praised the prize for giving kids the opportunity to voice their “frank” opinions about their favorite books.

Video Winners ‘Own the Night’!

Take a break and pop over to the Collaborative Library Summer Program’s (CSLP) website to check out this year’s teen video challenge winners. Featuring winners from 23 states, including Florida, Idaho, and California, the clips include their share of zombies and other creatures of the night, but you’ll also find some rapping and other fun wordplay. Each winner received $275, plus $150 for their library.

Now in its second year, the video contest encourages teens to promote summer reading and [...]

Newbery Winner Jean Craighead George Dies at 92

Newbery-winning author and naturalist Jean Craighead George, who inspired many children to pursue careers in the natural sciences, died May 15 at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY from complications related to a stroke. She was 92.