September 18, 2013

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Pictures of the Week: McDaniel College Awards Maryland Teachers Librarianship Scholarships; the Opening Night of Girls Write Now’s Reading Series

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McDaniel College awards librarianship scholarships to twelve teachers working in underserved areas of Maryland; a presentation from the opening night of Girls Write Now’s reading series.

Sesame Street’s “Maria” Opens Girls Write Now’s Reading Series

Sonia Manzano with teen fan

Girls Write Now, a nonprofit organization that mentors budding female writers, opened its CHAPTERS Reading series with Sesame Street’s ‘Maria’ and YA author Sonia Manzano as the first guest speaker. The ongoing 4-part event will showcase the works of teen girls from all over NYC, and will feature female authors like Gayle Forman, Adele Griffin, and Marcia Ann Gillespie.

Teen Authors Take Over Big Apple

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Nearly fifty authors gathered last week for the fifth annual NYC Teen Author Festival. The brainchild of author and Scholastic editor David Levithan, the festival includes author appearances and discussion panels at libraries, schools, and bookstores all around the city.

Pictures of the Week: Bankstreet Students Debate Diversity; Elizabeth Eulberg at TEDxTeen 2013

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Students at the Bankstreet School discuss diversity and book covers with editors from Knopf; author Elizabeth Eulberg reunites with a fan at TEDXTeen.

Fresh Paint: Doors Wide Open

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Opening Day of Loudon County Library’s newest facility, Gum Spring Library, has come and gone. More than 6,500 people checked out 14,000 materials in just under five and a half hours, and we issued over 1,100 library cards. And those are just the tangible statistics! Teens finally found a place in their community to call their own! Caretakers can now stop driving 25 minutes to the nearest storytime! An entire region of northern Virginia learned what it feels like to have free resources available to them in their own backyard. The looks of amazement and happiness that I saw on Opening Day filled me with amazement and happiness. The Gum Spring Library has arrived, and we’re open for business!

Pictures of the Week: Jon Klassen at Little, Brown’s Spring and Summer Picture Book Celebration

Jon Klassen with his Little, Brown editor, Susan Rich, and Little, Brown’s Art Director, Patti Ann Harris at Little, Brown’s spring and summer picture book celebration on March 13 in New York City.

Picture book author Jon Klassen, Little, Brown editor Susan Rich, and Little, Brown Art Director Patti Ann Harris at the Little, Brown picture book celebration.

YALSA to Host Virtual Town Halls

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As a part of YALSA’s year-long National Forum on Libraries & Teens project, the association is sponsoring three virtual town halls via its Adobe Connect space. The first session, scheduled for March 19 at 2:00 PM ET, will focus on partnerships. As facilitator Linda Braun explains, library staff are encouraged to invite stakeholders from their communities to join the conversation. YALSO also be using Twitter (#yalsaforum) and Facebook to encourage participation.

James Patterson, Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade to Partner for Literacy Webcast

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Bestselling author James Patterson and Miami Heat champion Dwyane Wade will be teaming up for a free national webcast for kids next month that aims to highlight the importance of reading for success in life. It will air on April 25, 2013 at 1:00 PM ET.

Pictures of the Week: The Bank Street Children’s Committee Awards; Librarians at the Broadway Musical ‘Matilda’

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R.J. Palacio and Marilyn Singer at the Bank Street Children’s Book Committee Awards; librarians attending the Broadway musical Matilda.

Librarians Celebrate World Read Aloud Day

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From Belarus to Brooklyn, the world’s students, teachers, and librarians marked the fourth annual World Read Aloud Day on Wednesday with a diversity of celebrations and special events. The special day was created by Pam Allyn and Lit World, a nonprofit organization she founded that encourages a global celebration of the invaluable practice of reading aloud.

Kid Lit Authors Discuss Diversity at NYPL

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How should librarians, publishers, and authors approach diversity in children’s books? Authors Sofia Quintero and Zetta Elliott and editor Connie Hsu joined a recent panel at the NYPL, moderated by Betsy Bird, to discuss these issues and more.

Ptacek, Voice of Dora, Reads Across America

Fatima Ptaceck for Read Across America. Photo by Luke Fontana.

A lucky kindergarten class in midtown Manhattan’s PS/IS 111 received a real treat on March 2, otherwise known as Read Across America Day, when Fátima Ptacek, voice of Dora the Explorer, served as a storytime special guest.

Pictures of the Week: The Announcement of the New York Writers Hall of Fame 2013 Inductees

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Rocco Staino and Robert L. Forbes announce the eight writers who will be inducted into the New York Writers Hall of Fame.

Pictures of the Week: The Latest Toys and Technology on Display at Toy Fair

Clair Frederick and Betsy Foster of Merrymakers show off Little Critter paraphernalia at Toy Fair.

At the 110th Toy Fair this year, companies from all around the world showed off the best new toys and technology at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Pictures of the Week: Kid Lit Authors, Illustrators at Sandy Hook; Book^2 Camp Conference

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Children’s literature author and illustrators visit Sandy Hook Elementary School; attendees gather in New York City for Book^2 Camp.

What’s Your Favorite Caldecott?

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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.

Take the Leap with the National School Boards Association, April 12–15

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Want to strengthen your relationship with the local school board? Or maybe you just need to start one with them? Then the place to go is San Diego, CA, for the 73rd annual conference of the National School Boards Association. Along with educational workshops covering everything from evaluating the superintendent to safety and security, attendees will be treated to keynote addresses from actress Geena Davis, science advocate Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at New York University.

Pictures of the Week: ALA Midwinter 2013: “Origami Yoda” Author Tom Angleberger, Authors Sarah Skilton and Cat Winters

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At ALA Midwinter, author Tom Angleberger dresses as a character from his “Origami Yoda” series; authors Sarah Skilton and Cat Winters pose at the Abrams booth.

ALA Midwinter 2013: In Pictures

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Scenes from this year’s Midwinter meeting, from the Youth Media Awards to the National Forum on Libraries & Teens.

ALA Midwinter: SLJ Resources on the Youth Media Award Winners

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With the Youth Media Awards having been announced Monday January 28, buzz around the Caldecott-winning This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick), the Newbery-winning The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins), and the Printz-winning In Darkness (Bloomsbury), is higher than ever. School Library Journal has compiled a list of relevant blog posts, reviews, interviews, and articles related to the winners and honor books.