In recognition of the Caldecott Medal’s 75th anniversary, librarians at School Library Journal‘s Leadership Summit shared their favorite winners and discuss beloved picture books that were overlooked for this honor but still stand the test of time.

This year’s theme is LEAP: Leadership, Education, Achievement, Progress. Preconferences begin on April 12, and conference programs run through April 15. Exhibits are also available on April 13 and 14. Online registration is open until March 22.

(John) Newbery Medal
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
HarperCollins Children’s Books
Fuse #8: Review of the Day

Honors:
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick
Curriculum Connections: An Apprentice to Dickens: An Interview with Laura Amy Schlitz

Tall Tale: Laura Amy Schlitz (2008 profile)

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Curriculum Connections: Steve Sheinkin Writes a Thriller: An Interview with Steve Sheinkin

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
Dial/Penguin Young Readers
Heavy Medal: Three Times Lucky

(Randolph) Caldecott Medal
This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
Candlewick Press
This Is Not My Sequel: Just Wait Till You See This New Book from Jon Klassen: Under Cover Interview

Honors:
Creepy Carrots! illus. by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
Simon & Schuster
Fuse #8: Review of the Day: Creepy Carrots!

Extra Yarn illus. by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
SLJ Review of the Day

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook
Fuse #8: Review of the Day: Green

One Cool Friend illus. by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
Dial/Penguin Young Readers
Book Verdict Review

Sleep Like a Tiger, illus. by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review of the Day

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award
Up, Tall and High by Ethan Long
G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Honors:
Let’s Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems
Hyperion/Disney
Highlighted in Curriculum Connections: Fun and Fresh: Books for Emergent Readers

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created and illus. by James Dean
HarperCollins
Book Verdict Review

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover written and illus. by Cece Bell
Candlewick
Fuse #8: Review of the Day

(Laura Ingalls) Wilder Award
Katherine Paterson
Katherine Paterson Named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature in 2010

Katherine the Great: There couldn’t be a better choice for our new kids’ book ambassador than Katherine Paterson

Andrew Carnegie Medal
Anna, Emma and the Condors
Produced by Katja Torneman
Book Verdict Review

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Curriculum Connections: Steve Sheinkin Writes a Thriller: An Interview with Steve Sheinkin

Honors:
Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by Robert Byrd
Dial/Penguin Young Readers
Book Verdict Review

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip M. Hoose
Farrar
A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy: Review

Jonathan Hunt’s assessment on Heavy Medal

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Scholastic
Someday My Printz Will Come: Titanic: Voices from the Disaster (Is Not a Disaster)

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve
Dial/Penguin Young Readers
Book Verdict Review

Honors:
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return by Zeina Abirached, tr. by Edward Gauvin
Graphic Universe/Lerner
SLJ Pick of the Day

Son of a Gun, written and tr. by Anne de Graaf
Eerdmans
Book Verdict Review

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
Andrea Davis Pinkney
Celebration Time: Black History Month by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Teacher Appreciation Week: Andrea Davis Pinkney’s Letter to Mr. Dwyer

Pura Belpré Awards
Author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Simon & Schuster
SLJ Review

Honor:
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
Scholastic
Book Verdict Review

Illustrator: Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert
Illus. by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt
Clarion

Michael L. Printz Award
In Darkness by Nick Lake
Bloomsbury
Pick of the Day

Honors:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Simon & Schuster
SLJ Review

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Hyperion/Disney
A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy: Review

Dodger by Terry Pratchett
HarperCollins Children’s Books
Someday My Printz Will Come: Review

The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna
Red Deer Press

Odyssey Award
The Fault in Our Stars, written by John Green, narrated by Kate Rudd
Produced by Brilliance Audio
SLJ Review

Honors:
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian, produced by Listening Library, written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by
Nathaniel Parker

Ghost Knight, produced by Listening Library, written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill

Monstrous Beauty, produced by Macmillian Audio, written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Flash Point/Roaring Brook
Curriculum Connections: Steve Sheinkin Writes a Thriller: An Interview with Steve Sheinkin

Finalists:
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal
Feiwel & Friends
Curriculum Connections: Karen Blumenthal Connects the Dots: Interview

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose
Farrar
Heavy Medal: Black Hole and Moonbird

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Scholastic
Someday My Printz Will Come

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson
Peachtree Publishers
Practically Paradise: Nonfiction Monday

William C. Morris Award
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Random House
Someday My Printz Will Come: Seraphina

Finalists:
Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books
A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy

Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
Knopf/Random House

After the Snow by S. D. Crockett
Feiwel and Friends
SLJ Review

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Someday My Printz Will Come

Margaret A. Edwards Award:
Tamora Pierce for her “Song of the Lioness” series

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Author: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illus. by Brian Pinkney
Hyperion/Disney
Books to Celebrate the Everyday Heroes of the Civil Rights Movement

Honors:
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by E. B. Lewis
Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Young Readers
Interview with Jacqueline Woodson

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner
Heavy Medal

Illustrator: I, Too, Am America
illus. by Bryan Collier, written by Langston Hughes
Simon & Schuster

Honors:
H. O. R. S. E., illus. & written by Christopher Myers (listed in this interview highlighting the hottest books of Fall 2012)
Egmont USA
Included in Interview: JLG’s Susan Marson Talks About the Hottest Upcoming Books for Fall 2012

Ellen’s Broom, illus. by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons
Putnam/Penguin Young Readers
Included in Black History Month 2012

I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., illus. by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King, Jr. Schwartz & Wade/Random House (listed in this compilation of books for celebrating MLK Day
Included in Great Books for Celebrating Martin Luther King Day

Virginia Hamilton: Demetria Tucker
Practitioner Award for Lifetime achievement

Stonewall Book Award
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Simon & Schuster
SLJ Review

Honors:
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Graphix/Scholastic Inc.
Good Comics for Kids

Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
Candlewick
Interview with Lesléa Newman

Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie, by S. J. Adams
Flux

The audience erupted in cheers Monday morning after “Animorphs” (Scholastic) author Katherine Applegate was named the winner of the Newbery Medal for her heartfelt and unforgettable story The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins), and Jon Klassen was awarded the Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick) at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards for 2012, which were announced during ALA‘s annual Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, WA. Another Klassen project, Mac Barnett’s picture book Extra Yarn (HarperCollins), was named a Caldecott Honor book.

Katherine Applegate

The Newbery for The One and Only Ivan, Applegate’s uniquely creative, fictional take on the true story of a silverback gorilla who once lived in glass enclosure in a shopping mall, surprised many attendees who had not shortlisted it for the win. Nevertheless, the book had many enthusiastic fans among the crowd in Seattle, who agreed that it was—and would continue to be—a hugely popular choice with kids.

California resident Applegate was visiting relatives in Virginia when she was surprised by the call from the Newbery committee this morning, only an hour and a half before the YMAs presentation began, she tells SLJ. ”I was stunned, totally delighted but speechless,” she says. “The speechlessness went on for a while, then I screamed, and my family marched in at that, and there were a lot of screams! Then we watched the webcast and it was great. It was fun to watch with no anxiety, because they had called me already.”

Applegate credits her win in part to a large community of online fans, especially on Twitter, who have been championing the book and who have conducted huge amounts of outreach to middle readers, including John Schumacher and The Nerdy Book Club. “I have gotten so much support from different communities,” she says. “They have helped tremendously in how visible the book was to readers.”

Adds Applegate, “It’s just surreal! I know what a lottery it is because there were so many good books this year. It’s a huge honor but it could have been any one of them.”

Jon Klassen

And although This Is Not My Hat was a Caldecott favorite going into the awards, “I was actually very, very surprised,” Klassen tells SLJ. “I had done a pretty good job of convincing myself not to think about it, so it came out of the blue. It’s such a big thing to think that you were going to get mentioned at all, (the dual win) didn’t register. I’m still getting used to the idea that people are looking at these books, much less giving them the distinction.”

The crowd was also ecstatic to learn that the Margaret A. Edwards Award, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, will be presented to Tamora Pierce for her significant and lasting contributions to YA literature via her “Song of the Lioness” series. The award is sponsored by SLJ.

Other big winners of the day were Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Roaring Brook Press) by Steve Sheinkin, which scored the YALSA nonfiction award, the Sibert Informational Book Medal, and a Newbery Honor; and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Simon & Schuster) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, which also was selected three times: for the Stonewall Award, the Belpré Author Award, and a Printz Honor.

Although Sheinkin knew Bomb was a strong contender for the YALSA nonfiction award, he was “really surprised by the other awards—happily so,” he tells SLJ.

In fact, after the YALSA committee informed him of his win for the nonfiction award on Saturday night, he turned off his phone before the Sibert committee was able to reach him. ”They tried to call me many times last night,” he says, “but then they left a message. But that was cool, too.” (Now he has the message saved, he says.)

Sheinkin hopes his cross-category wins might signal a trend of growing popularity for exciting young adult nonfiction overall among kids.

“It’s really cool to break out of just the nonfiction category,” he says. “That’s my biggest thing—I’m a big proponent of history for kids, of nonfiction, but also trying to win over people who just want to read a good book. To prove to young readers that this kind of book can be fun also is a really big thing. A lot of kids know it (some kids are into history) but some kids are scared of it.”

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Meanwhile, Sáenz, after hearing of his three wins across categories “had a frantic and beautiful morning, was in class all afternoon and then quietly celebrated by taking a walk in the desert,” he tells SLJ, adding that the Stonewall award was a “complete surprise” and the Printz honor left him “stunned.”

He notes, “the Belpré people called me the night before and I was absolutely thrilled. They were all on speakerphone and I could hear them screaming. They were very sweet and I didn’t know what to say. I don’t know that we as authors should expect awards; they are gifts to us. I get really choked up. I’m just grateful for the gifts. I would hope my mother raised a gracious man, who knows how to say thank you.”

He also notes that the book’s cross-category recognition is a testament to how well it was marketed by Simon & Schuster as well as the word of mouth of reviewers and librarians who recommended it. “They felt that everybody should read this book, they put it into everybody’s hands,” he says. “It takes a village to take the book out into the world. We had a great village.”

The prolific author—who writes poetry, children’s books, and adult novels in addition to YA literature—somehow found the time to write Aristotle and Dante while teaching bilingual creative writing and acting as MFA department chair at the University of Texas at El Paso. He is already deep into his next project, another dramatic YA novel. “I’m always writing,” he says.

* * *

Here is the list of winners of the ALA’s Youth Media Awards:

(John) Newbery Medal
The One and Only Ivan. Katherine Applegate. HarperCollins.

Honors:
Splendors and Glooms. Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick.

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Steve Sheinkin. Flash Point/Roaring Brook.

Three Times Lucky. Sheila Turnage. Dial/Penguin Young Readers.

(Randolph) Caldecott Medal
This Is Not My Hat. Jon Klassen. Candlewick Press.

Honors:
Creepy Carrots! Aaron Reynolds. Illus. by Peter Brown.
Simon & Schuster.

Extra Yarn. Mac Barnett. Illus. by Jon Klassen.
HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray.

Green. Laura Vaccaro Seeger. Neal Porter Books/Roaring Brook.

One Cool Friend. Toni Buzzeo. Illus. by David Small. Dial/Penguin Young Readers.

Sleep Like a Tiger. Mary Logue. Illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award
Up, Tall and High. Ethan Long. G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Honors:
Let’s Go for a Drive! Mo Willems. Hyperion/Disney.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons. Eric Litwin. Illus. by James Dean. HarperCollins.

Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover. Cece Bell. Candlewick.

(Laura Ingalls) Wilder Award
Katherine Paterson

Andrew Carnegie Medal
Anna, Emma and the Condors. Produced by Katja Torneman.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Steve Sheinkin. Flash Point/Roaring Brook

Honors:
Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. Robert Byrd. Dial/Penguin Young Readers.

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95. Phillip M. Hoose. Farrar.

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
My Family for the War. Anne C. Voorhoeve. Dial/Penguin Young Readers.

Honors:
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return. Zeina Abirached.
Tr. by Edward Gauvin. Graphic Universe/Lerner.

Son of a Gun. Anne de Graaf. Eerdmans.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
Andrea Davis Pinkney

Pura Belpré Awards
Author: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Simon & Schuster.

Honor: The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano. Sonia Manzano. Scholastic.

Illustrator: Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert. Gary D. Schmidt. Illus. by David Diaz. Clarion.

Michael L. Printz Award
In Darkness. Nick Lake. Bloomsbury. 

Honors:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Simon & Schuster.

Code Name Verity. Elizabeth Wein. Hyperion/Disney.

Dodger. Terry Pratchett. HarperCollins Children’s Books

The White Bicycle. Beverley Brenna. Red Deer Press.

Odyssey Award
The Fault in Our Stars. John Green. Narrated by Kate Rudd. Brilliance Audio.

Honors:
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. Eoin Colfer. Narrated by Nathaniel Parker. Listening Library.

Ghost Knight. Cornelia Funke. Narrated by Elliot Hill. Listening Library.

Monstrous Beauty. Elizabeth Fama. Narrated by Katherine Kellgren. Macmillian Audio.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Steve Sheinkin
Flash Point/Roaring Brook

Finalists:
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different. Karen Blumenthal. Feiwel & Friends.

Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95. Phillip Hoose. Farrar

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic.

We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March. Cynthia Levinson. Peachtree Publishers.

William C. Morris Award
Seraphina. Rachel Hartman. Random House.

Finalists:
Wonder Show. Hannah Barnaby. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books.

Love and Other Perishable Items. Laura Buzo. Knopf/Random House.

After the Snow. S. D. Crockett. Feiwel and Friends.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post. emily m. danforth. Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Margaret A. Edwards Award
Tamora Pierce for her “Song of the Lioness” series

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Author: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. Andrea Davis Pinkney. Illus. by Brian Pinkney. Hyperion/Disney.

Honors: Each Kindness. Jacqueline Woodson. Illus. by E. B. Lewis.
Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Young Readers.

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller 
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner.

Illustrator: I, Too, Am America. Langston Hughes. Illus. by Bryan Collier. Simon & Schuster.

Honors: H. O. R. S. E.. Christopher Myers. Egmont USA.

Ellen’s Broom. Kelly Starling Lyons. Illus. by Daniel Minter. Putnam/Penguin Young Readers.

I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. Ilus. by Kadir Nelson. Schwartz & Wade/Random House.

Virginia Hamilton: Demetria Tucker
Practitioner Award for Lifetime achievement

Stonewall Book Award
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Simon & Schuster.

Honors:
Drama. Raina Telgemeier. Graphix/Scholastic Inc.

Gone, Gone, Gone. Hannah Moskowitz. Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster.

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. Lesléa Newman. Candlewick.

Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie. S. J. Adams. Flux.

Schneider Family Book Award
Teen: Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am. Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis. Simon & Schuster.

Middle Grade: A Dog Called Homeless. Sarah Lean. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Book.

Children: Back to Front and Upside Down! Claire Alexander. Eerdmans.

Haven’t registered for ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) yet? There’s still time—visit the conference home page for details and more information on the 400-plus sessions that will be offered.

Take a look at the video and get inspired to do the same in your high school library.

(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.”

Words Are Delicious: Food Writing in the Classroom

I bet this was the only NCTE session in which each attendee was given an Oreo! Presenter April Brannon, from Cal State Fullerton, started off the session with a discussion of poems about food, featuring Pablo Neruda’s Ode to Tomatoes and Donald Hall’s Eating the Pig, and how these poems can be used to boost students’ reading and writing skills.  Both student-teacher and individual student work was showcased, including Eating the Chicken Nuggets, inspired by Hall’s aforementioned poem. With an Oreo in hand, each member of the audience was asked to contribute a simile, metaphor, alliterative phrase, personification, image, or hyperbole which Brannon then used to create an ode to the iconic cookie.  Brannon was followed by Elle Yarborough from Northern Essex (MA) Community College, who focused on developing literacy skills by investigating food. Attendees were asked to watch “The Soup Nazi” episodes from Seinfeld and read Molly O’Neill’s essay “The Soup Man of 55th Street” (from the New York Cookbook [Workman, 1992]), comparing the various ways in which Al Yeganeh, the real-life owner of the famous soup restaurant, was characterized on the popular sit-com. Yarborough also talked about how she uses road-food writers Jane and Michael Stern’s wonderful piece “The Lobster Roll Honor Roll” (from the August 1994 issue of Gourmet magazine) as an example of investigative food writing. The Sterns combine history, culture, and social norms in the retelling of their quest to find Maine’s best lobster roll. You might want to ask your students to select a local culinary favorite, research its origins and variations across the region, and even gather recipes to produce their own food writing. All of these activities can easily be converted to library programming for teens and tweens.

Inspiring Readers with the Newest Young Adult Literature Winners

How many booktalks can be squeezed into about an hour? A lot, as proved by presenters Jennifer Walsh (Forsyth Middle School, Ann Arbor, MI), Daria Plumb (Riverside Academy, Dundee, MI), and Jennifer Buehler (St Louis University, MO). This group, chaired by Teri Lesesne (Sam Houston University, TX), created a grid to keep track of the number of awards that 2011 titles have received during the past year, then they organized the titles according to the number of award lists they have each appeared on. It was no surprise to hear which two titles appeared on the most lists: Ruta Sepetys’s Between Shades and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races each appeared on six awards lists. The presenters were able to race through 20 titles, halfway through the three award lists, before the closing bell rang. Their incredibly useful and informative list of awards and titles can be found on a handout on NCTE’s 2012 website.

Learning Lessons from YA War Literature

Session chair, author, and Brigham Young University English professor Chris Crowe gave an excellent overview of the types of YA literature that can be used in the classroom to help readers connect with those who have lived through a war. Jen Bryant, an award-winning novelist, poet, and biographer, spoke about war’s effects on society and the people “left behind,” and explained how she writes about those experiences. For example, in her verse novel, The Trial (Knopf, 2004), the growing fear and distrust among Americans of Germany as World War II approached became a major factor in the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann,  who was accused of the murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. In Bryant’s novel The Fortune of Carmen Navarro (Knopf, 2010), a high school dropout and a cadet from Valley Forge Military Academy and a long-standing military family stumble into a romance, as the war in Iraq plays out in background, which puts an additional strain on their relationship.

Author Dean Hughes embeds his readers directly into the battlefield in his war novels. In Hughes’s Soldier Boys (Antheneum, 2001), two young men—a German and an American—come to understand each other’s motives for fighting in World War II as they see their friends and colleagues die around them. Ricky Ward thinks that going to war will solve his problems with his violent father and dismissive girlfriend, but readers of Search and Destroy (Antheneum, 2005) discover that the Vietnam War is scarier and more complicated than anything Ricky has left at home. Visit the NCTE 2012 session site for an excellent bibliography of YA war literature and more from the authors.

Igniting the 21st-Century Spark with Big Ideas and Technology

If you’ve been thinking about using technology and books to connect with classroom teachers and teens, look no further. This NCTE session featured three dynamic presenters who have incorporated technology into their literature lessons to enhance writing and comprehension skills. Catherine Reeves, a University of Wyoming grad student, shared Hyperstudio presentations that she created to teach Sylvia Plath’s confessional poetry. Reeves’s student not only had to master the technology, they nad to research images from the 1950s to use in their own presentations. And that’s not all: they also had to write their own confessional poems and create a Hyperstudio presentation to support it. At Montana’s Arlee High School, kids in English teacher Anna Baldwin’s multicultural literature class created a YouTube video entitled “Perma Red: From Our Vision,” which includes students’ photographs, along with selected music, and text excerpts from Debra Magpie Earling’s Perma Red. Baldwin also created a teacher’s guide for the video project as part of her entry for the PBS Teacher Innovator awards, which recognize innovative preK-12 classroom educators, media specialists, technology coordinators and homeschool educators who use digital media to enhance student learning. . The final presenter, Tiffany Rehbein, an English teacher from East High School in Cheyenne, WY, described the process she uses to help students create book trailers, which are shown on the school’s TV station. The kids’ videos not only showcase students’ works—they also encourage their classmates to read. Rehbein’s book-trailer resource guide and checklist can be found on the NCTE session hand-out site. This session was chaired by Beverly Ann Chin, Director of the English Teaching Program at the University of Montana at Missoula.

A view of the “NYC skyline” in Las Vegas, NV, the site of 2012 NCTE Convention

Amid the sparkle of bling and sounds of cha-ching, visitors to Las Vegas, NV, last week caught sight of thousands of educators from around the country wending their way through Metro Golden Mayer Grand complex toward its conference center for the 102nd annual National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) convention November 15-18.

While some (including author Sherman Alexie) confessed to playing “spot the English teacher,” and others admitted to (briefly) straying from the well-marked paths to try their hand with Lady Luck, most attendees stayed on track to reach the 700-plus sessions, Tech-on-the-Go tips and demonstrations, a floor show hosting 160 exhibitors, and hourly author signings.

Robust programming addressed a wide range of topics including the Common Core, technology, reading and writing, diversity, and notable books.

Among the many highlights was a packed presentation led by Orbis Pictus Award winner Melissa Sweet, and honorees Candace Fleming, Monica Brown, and Julie Paschkis. Attendees flocked to hear authors Libba Bray, Rita Williams-Garcia, James Deem, and Sharon Flake, and shared meals while they listened to speakers Jonathan Kozol, Scott Westerfeld, Blue Balliett,  David Shannon, and Jon Scieszka, among others. Sam Houston State University’s Teri Lesesne chaired a conversation on “Inspiring Readers with the Newest Young Adult Literature Winners.”

The Common Core State Standards was central to several panels, including one led by educators Lucy Calkins, Mary Ehrenworth, and Chris Lehman, co-authors of  Pathways to the Common Core (Heinemann, 2012) and faculty at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. These and other speakers addressed issues from teaching the skills that align with the standards and integrating them into the classroom, to identifying classic and contemporary literature that will support students as they identify universal themes.

Sessions on apps, Twitter in the classroom, and e-reading, and “Reports from Cyberspace” also drew interest. In one interactive program, facilitators demonstrated how to incorporate technology in each stage of the writing process, while in another, presenters discussed shifting lessons to podcasts and video, among other approaches to the “Flipped Classroom.”

Closing the conference were full-day workshops addressing writing instruction, arts, literacy, civic engagement, “Books That Make a Difference: Kids Taking Action for Social Justice,” and NCTE’s Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) two-day gathering.

This year, the ALAN workshop focused on “Reaching Them All” and delivered with panels and break-out sessions discussing humor, LGBTQ literature, children of the world, war, graphic novels, sci-fi, and romance.

Throughout, authors provided insight into their work. Considering his novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (S & S, 2012), Benjamin Alire Sáenz commented that having come to terms with his sexuality at age 54, “I think these characters have been living inside me for years.”

Poet Lesléa Newman spoke about October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard (Candlewick, 2012), a novel in verse about the 1998 murder of that University of Wyoming student. Donna Cooner, author of Skinny (Scholastic, 2012), discussed her own gastric-bypass surgery. Gabrielle Zevin (All These Things I’ve Done, FSG, 2011) suggested “it’s almost irresponsible not to have a message. I want my characters to be strong, but ‘strong’ has lots of meanings.”

Eric Walters (When Elephants Fight, with Adrian Bradbury, Orca, 2008), Deborah Ellis (My Name is Parvana, Groundwood Books, 2012), and Patricia McCormick (Never Fall Down, HarperCollins, 2012) commented on their imperative to provide contemporary readers with an understanding of life in other countries, particularly the lives of children in war-torn regions.

Conference materials, handouts, and more information about the event can be found on the NCTE Convention website.

Jenny Bent, Susan Katz, Joy Peskin, Marisa Russell, Hannah Moskowitz, Betsy Bird. Photo by Galo Delgado.

What are the ingredients that make up a YA bestseller? A panel of seasoned publishing professionals addressed this question and many more at the Women’s National Book Association NYC chapter’s event “The Making of a Young Adult Bestseller-From Acquisition to Reader,” November 14. It was moderated by New York Public Library’s youth materials specialist and Fuse #8 blogger Betsy Bird, at Manhattan’s Wix Lounge, a free work and event space for creative professionals.

Over the course of two hours a group of industry hopefuls—aspiring writers, editors, and agents—heard insider tips, advice, anecdotes, and encouragement from representatives involved in each of the major stages of children’s publishing. Speakers included Jenny Bent, founder and literary agent at the Bent Agency; Susan Katz, president and publisher at HarperCollins Children’s; Hannah Moskowitz, author of several books for teen and middle-grade audiences; Joy Peskin, editorial director at Farrar Straus Giroux for Young Readers; and Marisa Russell, publicity manager at Penguin Young Readers.

The panelists agreed that while there is no magic formula for acquiring and finding “the next big thing,” chart-topping hits usually have a few key elements in common.

When taking on clients and new manuscripts, Bent looks for the perfect balance of great writing and a phenomenal idea. She said she asks herself “Does it leap off the page? Will it resonate with young adult readers?”

Photo by Galo Delgado.

Peskin added that a clue to a title’s possible future success is whether at an editor’s first read, the manuscript has a magnetic pull, much like meeting an exciting new person. That initial gut reaction is what will create an advocate in an editor, who will then push for acquisition and publisher support in the months that follow.

Using the example of Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” series from HarperCollins, Katz credited spunky editors for bringing fast attention to books that deserve a closer look. Once they’ve received and read a stellar manuscript, these individuals then push for a preemptive bid—a preliminary deal, including author advance and contract terms—so high that it would allow a publisher to sign up the book before any auction with competing imprints. “Unfortunately, there are a lot more misses than home runs,” she says, as a high advance doesn’t always equal a grand slam.

Moskowitz, who recently experienced a small auction for one of her titles, assured the audience that an editor’s enthusiasm and connection to the work is just as important as contractual stipulations. “I knew which publisher I wanted to work with on Zombie Tag (Roaring Brook, 2011), because the house sent me the offer in a zombie-themed coffin,” she recalled.

In this competitive market, an author’s ability to self-promote and speak about their book is a publicist’s dream. In addition to a major hook and raising awareness on a new title via radio, print, bloggers, and social media, building buzz through author appearances can really impact a novel’s staying power.

“We were amazed at how YA author, Rae Carson, a former beauty pageant contestant, totally compelled her audience at the New York Comic Con,” Russell said. But if writers are not up to speaking in public, there are different ways they can build a relationship with their readers. “Find your own means of connecting,” whether it’s through Facebook, Twitter, or blogging,” Bent recommended.

For her part, Moskowtiz explained, “I don’t use social media to expand my audience, but to cement it.”

Social media is especially important for authors who self-publish. For those writers, success requires a lot of time dedicated to promotion and marketing. “Trying to sell your self-published novel is a full-time job in itself,” said Bent, who represents both traditionally and self-published writers.

Citing the “Pete the Cat” picture book series (HarperCollins), which was sold by the creators to thousands of fans before being picked up by the publisher, Russell added that popular self-published authors often bring along a built-in fan base to build on.

When publishers feel like they have a potential blockbuster in their hands, they spend considerable time branding the book, brainstorming covers, title, and taglines, and soliciting advance praise in order to provoke excitement.

Peskin struggled with fine tuning the title for YA novelist Leila Sales’s next book, This Song Will Save Your Life (Farrar, 2014), changing it several times before she and Sales were completely satisfied that it accurately reflected the work’s caliber. Bent praised Abrams for getting the packaging just right for A.G. Howard’s Splintered (Abrams, 2013), a creepy retelling of Alice in Wonderland.

In the end, panelists agreed, there’s really no telling whether a book will meet its high expectations, even it if has all the right elements: riveting writing, perfect trappings, and savvy and connected author. The experts encouraged participants to keep working on their craft, and to persevere.

“Write the story that only you can write,” Peskin advised.

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.

Literature Lover’s Lament: Learning to Love Nonfiction: Connecting Real-World Texts to the Common Core Standards

Even though it meant racing directly from the airport to the MGM Grand Conference Center, this session was not to be missed. Featuring the powerhouse trio of UCLA’s Carol Yago, UC-Irvine’s Carol Olson, and Carleton College’s Deborah Applebaum, the audience was treated to a terrific overview of what the Common Core standards really mean to English teachers and their classroom materials. While there was discussion of the use of cognitive toolkits and the Reading Framework for the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which librarians certainly need to be aware of, much of the talk focused on encouraging educators to go beyond the tried-and-true literature they currently use, and to try out some of the excellent nonfiction resources that are now available. For instance, if you’re teaching the classic Grapes of Wrath, why not add some outstanding nonfiction titles to your lessons, such as The Worst Hard Time (Mariner, 2006), The Dust Bowl Through the Lens (Walker, 2009), and the free verse Out of the Dust (Scholastic, 1999)? And if you’re looking for articles to spice up a literature unit, check out Lapham’s Quarterly, a magazine of history and ideas that’s overseen by Harper’s editor emeritus, Lewis Lapham. The theme of embracing nonfiction was certainly evident throughout the conference, and publishers in the exhibit hall evidently have heard the call as well.

English Teachers Igniting Literacy for Incarcerated Students: Inspiring Writing in the Inside to Connect to the Outside

This very compelling session, chaired by the University of San Francisco’s Peter Williamson, featured speakers Sean Neil and Constance Walker, who both teach at Woodside Learning Center, Juvenile Hall, in San Francisco, and Carleton’s Applebaum. Since we know that literacy can help end recidivism (which currently hovers at 86 percent for juveniles), reading and writing can be some of the most powerful tools that you can give incarcerated kids. Neil and Walker described the programs they’ve offered to their teens, with the full support of the Juvenile Hall Library, which is run by the San Francisco Public Library. A project that involved writing letters to ancestors on reflective mylar was mounted at the Alcatraz Prison Museum, and a blog created by students, Songs of the Caged Birds: Caged Bodies, Free Minds, provides an ongoing outlet for their writings. Key readings in class, offered so that teens can understand the prison system better, are The Real Costs of Prison (PM Press, 2008), Are Prisons Obsolete? (Open Media, 2003), and The Politics of Injustice (Sage, 2003).

Applebaum works with adults at the Minnesota Correctional Facility, a high security prison in Stillwater, MN. As a teaching volunteer, she has been able to introduce and nurture creative writing skills in her students, many of whom are serving life sentences. Using liberatory pedagogy, which is a pedagogy of liberation centered around the principles for social change and transformation through education based on consciousness raising and engagement with oppressive forces, Applebaum has seen her students’ intelligence and creativity surface in many ways. From the Inside Out: Letters to Young Men and Other Writing (Creative Space, 2009) is one result of the classes. This anthology features letters, short stories, and poems from incarcerated authors from her facility.

Watch for two articles to appear in the March 2013 issue of English Journal on writing and the incarcerated—“Traveling in the Dark: The Promise and Pedagogy of Writing in Prison” (Applebaum), and “Songs of the Caged Birds: Literacy and Learning with Incarcerated Youth” (Williamson, Mercurio, Walker).

Fae-Tal Attraction: The Timeless International Appeal of Faerie Folk in Young Adult Literature

Young adult fantasies about faerie folk are more popular than ever, and as this panel proved, no two faeries are exactly alike! Authors Janni Lee Simner, Aprilynne Pike, Janette Rallison, and R. J. Anderson captivated the audience with their discussion of the origin of their faerie mythos, the rabid fans that attend FaerieCon (“Do not go dressed up as Tinkerbell!” warned Pike), and the ongoing interest in faerie titles for teen readers. All of the panelists cited An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures (Pantheon, 1978) as the go-to reference for all things faerie. A sampling of contemporary faerie novels can be found in the NCTE 2012 program listings.