Diversity in YA literature, the exciting world of children's book apps, and the making of picture book biographies were just some of the topics explored yesterday during SLJ's 2011 Day of Dialog at New York's Fordham University, where 200 librarians, publishers, and authors met to discuss issues and trends affecting the book and library world for children and teens.
Katherine Paterson, the national ambassador for young people's literature, kicked off the event by talking about her new middle-grade novel, The Flint Heart (Candlewick, 2011), which she cowrote with her husband, John, and is being made into a live-action film.
The book, illustrated by John Rocco, is a fairy tale full of magic and fantastical creatures and is "freely abridged" from Eden Phillpott's 1910 fantasy.
The panel "Diversity in YA Literature" brought together authors Rita Williams-Garcia, Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, and Paul Griffin, who all write in different genres, from historical fiction and contemporary realism to fantasy and fairy tales, but all include people of color in their books.
"Diversity in YA Literature" panelists left to right: Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Paul Griffin.
Williams-Garcia, whose One Crazy Summer (Amistad, 2010) is a Newbery Honor book winner and a National Book Award finalist, says she never wanted to write about classic role models. "I felt that people would have to be able to accept the characters on the characters' terms and not necessarily if they were admirable," she says.
"The Children's App Landscape" panel explored what makes a good app. The answer? An exceptional story, beautiful art, and one that's developmentally appropriate. But finding an app with those qualities isn't easy. "I was disappointed, annoyed, and cranky," says Lisa Von Drasek, a children's librarian at the Bank Street College of Education, explaining how she often felt when test-driving new picture book apps. "I felt the same way I did when I read a picture book [I didn't like.]"
Daniel Handler
Von Drasek, who moderated the panel, says all that changed when she came across the app of Tad Hill'sHow Rocket Learned to Read (Random, 2010), which is easy to use, interactive, and has two educational word games. "Learning was never so much fun," she says. "This is what I want from an app."
Apps are all about engagement, says Scott Gordon, digital producer at Random House Children's Books. "It's just another tool to get kids engaged and exited about reading," he adds.
Presenter Linda Braun, a consulting coordinator for Librarians & Educators Online and former president of the Young Adult Library Services Association, says she hopes one day librarians will start to curate content for apps collections based on themes and will better connect parents, children, and teens with the right app. "We're at the future now," Braun says. "We can't wait for the future."
Look for SLJ reviews of apps in June with our new blog, Touch and Go.
Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, provided a half hour of comic relief as he talked about his first foray into YA literature with Why We Broke Up (Little, Brown, 2012), art by Maira Kalman, about a relationship that doesn't work out. Handler started off by telling the audience his age (41), race (Caucasian), sex (male), eye color (hazel), height (6 feet), and weight (108 pounds), which set the tone for the rest of his talk.
"Picture Book Biography" panelists left to right: Matt de la Peña, Patrick McDonnell, Meghan McCarthy, and Melissa Sweet.
Authors Matt de la Peña (A Nation's Hope, Dial), Meghan McCarthy (The Incredible Life of Balto, Knopf), Patrick McDonnell (Me... Jane, Little Brown), and Melissa Sweet (Balloons Over Broadway, Houghton) spoke about the inspiration and research that went into each of their books. For de la Peña, a story about boxing legend Joe Louis was a perfect way to bridge the separation between blacks and whites. And for McDonnell, a picture book about the young Jane Goodall, who always wanted "a life living with and helping all animals," shows that dreams can come true.
"Stellar Debut Authors" panelists from left to right: Dave Roman, Thanhha Lai, Julie Kagawa, and Adam Gidwitz.
The session "Stellar Debut Authors" presented Adam Gidwitz (A Tale Dark & Grimm, Dutton), Julie Kagawa (The Iron King, Harlequin Teen) Thanhha Lai (Inside Out & Back Again, HarperCollins), and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy, First Second), all of whom have a diverse grouping of books that grab readers' attention from the first page.
Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of SLJ's 2011 Day of Dialog, which will include videos and a slideshow of photos from the event. The event sponsors were: Amazon Publishing, Baker & Taylor, Brilliance Audio, Candlewick Press, Follett Library Resources, Harlequin Teen, HarperCollins Children's Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Junior Library Guild, Kimani Tru, Little, Brown & Company Books for Young Readers, Lerner Publishing Group, OverDrive, Random House Children's Books, Scholastic, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, and Sterling Children's Books.
This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
HI, great article.
Another example of a nice app that help kids to read is
"Learn Reading" for iPad or iphone
It is an educational app meant for kids between 3 and 8 years.
I think it is quite unique in these kind of apps, because it combines
both a “teaching” mode with flashcards (nearly 100), where kids will
learn the letters and words, and an extensive “play” mode where the kid
can practice his newly acquired knowledge and skills in different games
with increasing levels of difficulties.For all pictures, when the kids taps
on drawing he or she will hear the “spoken” version of the word, so no
adult needed.
It is very intuitive and very fun. in the play-mode, for each right answer
the horse Buba will whinny and receive a carrot, hey, sugar or even a
friend, otherwise he’ll grow...My daughter who just became 6 started to
read and loves the game and even her brother of 8 plays with it.
On top of that, the app has also be launched in other languages :
Spanish, French and a Dutch. Therefore the app will also help to learn
the basics of a new language.
More information : www.learntoreadapp.com .
Thierry
RSS
