This year, on the first day of school, I discovered that my principal had decided that the best use of the library was to house large study halls every period of the day, nominally “supervised” by disinterested faculty members. Last year, I lost part of the library as an in-school suspension space for several months; next year, I’m losing the library computer lab one period every day.

When the school formed a committee to design research at each grade level, my colleague (now former colleague) and I were not invited—though the first meeting took place in the library. When we finally complained enough, we became members of the committee, but were pointedly ignored as we spoke in favor of teaching a scaffolded research process rather than concentrating on product rubrics. Still, I inundate my principal with quality articles about the value of school libraries and ask for proof of “best practices” when decisions like those described above come along. But since there’s no one at the administrative level supporting the library program, the two of us at the high school level are lone voices and considered argumentative.

ALA and AASL leaders, movers, and shakers—take the message to annual conferences for administrators. Make them hear. Some will still make their decisions based on whatever voodoo data they claim to be using, but they can’t say they didn’t know otherwise.

Catherine M. Andronik
Teacher Librarian
Brien McMahon High School
Norwalk, CT

Bravo on Rebecca T. Miller’s editorial (“It’s Time to Step Up,” June 2013, p. 11). I have never understood why the American Library Association hasn’t done more to help keep full-time certified librarians in school libraries. I hope your prediction of tapping Barbara Stripling as a leader for this charge comes true. SLJ is exciting under your editorship. Thank you!

Diane K. Zentz
Library Media Specialist
Warren Central High School
Indianapolis, IN

I am writing in response to SLJ’s article, “ALA Promises Expanded School Library Advocacy in 2013-14,” Extra Helping, June 18, 2013). A group of concerned citizens has been working on revitalizing the school libraries in our community in Michigan, and this past year we were able to partner with our district library to bring a certified librarian back to the middle school. We have watched the students respond with enthusiasm. Teachers bring students to the library during class. We also open the library during lunch, and we had to cap how many students could come in because the response was overwhelming. Our librarian is very popular with students, staff, and parents, and he has become an invaluable team member at our school.

Our Title I school is a now a priority school in Michigan, so a thriving library is of utmost importance. Students need to be guided in their research efforts and they need to be exposed to a variety of resources, but even more importantly, they need a place with a large collection of titles where they can read for pleasure. We are on our way to providing these things for our students. Now, with ALA’s advocacy we can find more support.

Heather Albee-Scott
Parent Volunteer
Parkside Media Center Project
Jackson, MI

 Vocabulary development

Paige Jaeger (“On Common Core: Vulcanizing Vocabulary,” June 2013, p. 18) acknowledges the contribution of reading to vocabulary growth, but suggests that we need more; we need to require “challenging (and engaging) nonfiction,” “integrate academic vocabulary into our classes,” and add word games. We don’t need more. School librarians know how to help students develop a large vocabulary: provide a collection of engaging, understandable books, and help readers find the right books for them.

Studies show that when interesting and comprehensible books are available, young people read them, and that self-selected reading results in profound development of literacy, including vocabulary. Dedicated pleasure readers acquire thousands of words each year through reading, far more than they could from direct instruction programs or word games.

It is sometimes argued that voluntary reading may not include “the right stuff.” We know, however, that dedicated pleasure readers typically choose different kinds of reading and more complex reading as they mature (L. LaBrant, 1958, “An Evaluation of Free Reading.” Hunnicutt and Iverson Eds., Research in the Three R’s. Harper & Bros.). Students involved in reading eventually choose what experts have decided were “good books” (R. Schoonover, 1938, “The Case for Voluminous Reading.” English Journal 27, 114-118).

Also, even though different types of books are written in different styles, there is substantial overlap; anyone who reads deeply in any area will acquire a great deal of the academic style, enough to make a considerable amount of academic reading comprehensible. Students who have read extensively from series such as “Fear Street,” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” and “The Hunger Games” will have a much easier time with a New York Times editorial than those who have not done so. Self-selected reading is the bridge between conversational and academic language.

Jaeger notes that “Within the CCSS framework, everyone is in the vocabulary business.” Librarians were in the vocabulary business long before the Common Core [Common Core State Standards], and have been the most important part of it. Young people get a lot of their reading material from libraries, and for those living in poverty the library is often their only source of books.

Stephen Krashen Professor Emeritus
Rossier School of Education University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

Photo courtesy Choose Chicago/© César Russ Photography.

By Leah L. White

Unique eateries, bars, and sights to see

There are two things I love very much in this world: Food and Chicago. Here are some of my favorite places to eat around the city, at varying price levels, locations, and ambiances. Also included are a few recommended bookstores, bars, landmarks, and concert venues. When you aren’t stuffing your librarian brain with knowledge at McCormick Place, see what this amazing city has to offer.

Price key: Approximate cost per person for a meal, not including drinks.
$=under $10; $$=$11-30; $$$=$31-60

Food

Wow Bao With several downtown locations, this fast-food Asian bun shop is a tasty option for lunch or a quick dinner. A combo meal comes with two bao buns, a salad, and a drink for under seven dollars. Most locations close early, but the Water Tower plaza restaurant stays open later. Vegetarian friendly. Try the whole wheat edamame bao and homemade ginger ale. $

Protein Bar This low-priced, healthy option has multiple downtown locations. Wraps, salads, and smoothies dominate the menu. A great option for vegans and vegetarians. $

The Doughnut Vault There’s almost always a line for these gourmet doughnuts. Line up and cross your fingers they don’t run out. Weekdays, they open in the morning and stay open as long as they have doughnuts. Follow on Twitter (@doughnutvault) for line length and availability. $

Café Iberico Always busy, this huge, family-style space is a good option for groups. Generous portions, and the tasty sangria comes in pitchers. Plenty of vegetarian choices. $

Hot Dogs and Italian Beef An official Chicago-style hot dog is an all-beef frank with lettuce, tomato, onion, a pickle spear, peppers, mustard, and emerald-green relish with celery salt on a poppy-seed bun. Our famous Italian Beef sandwiches consist of sliced roast beef on a French bread roll, covered in beef stock and topped with peppers. The sandwich should be a dripping mess. For both, try Portillo’s. $

The Gage With an impeccable beer list and excellent upscale bar food, this gastropub is located in the heart of the Loop, across from Millenium Park. Highlights: The Gage’s famous Scotch Egg and Guinness-battered fish and chips. Lunch is served every day, and brunch on weekends, with vegetarian options always on offer. Vegans may want to avoid. Reservations suggested on weekends. $$

The Purple Pig The motto here is cheese, wine, and swine. Once you’ve waited for your table (no reservations), you choose from a variety of meats, smears, paninis, cheeses, and more. Local favorite: pigs’ tails—that’s right, pigs’ tails. Not for vegetarians, vegans, or people in a hurry. $$

Fox & Obel Technically, this is a boutique grocery, but in the back, you’ll find two amazing dining spots: The cafe, a great option for breakfast or lunch, and the more upscale Bistro, which takes reservations. Both delicious menus appeal to vegetarians and omnivores alike. Try the tuna melt or the grilled cheese. $$

Park Grill Slightly touristy, but the location makes it worthwhile. Perched in Millennium Park, all seating here is outdoors. Take in city views while sipping Three Floyds beer or noshing a burger. Park Grill can get busy, but there’s usually room at the bar or a seat after a short wait. $$

Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria

Pizza Let me tell you about Chicago pizza. It’s huge, cheese-filled, sauce- topped goodness. I recommend Lou Malnati’s, though Gino’s East and Giordano’s get more attention. The pizza takes 30 minutes. $$

The Publican  When The Publican hit the scene in the late aughts, it changed Chicago’s food scene. Now there are little Publican-ish places throughout the city, trying their best to serve gourmet pork rinds and charcuterie. Skip those and head to the Fulton Market area to check out the OG in smoked meats. Chic and laid back, with stripped-down, Mission-style decor and community-style seating. Make reservations or head over early and plan to sit at the bar. $$$

Girl & the Goat Chicago is the lucky home of Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard. The menu is separated into three sections—vegetables, fish, and meats—and there’s something for most eaters. Servers ask about food restrictions. Reserve now and consider setting up a Rezhound (www.rezhound.com) to get a table. $$$

Frontera Grill It’s easy to love Rick Bayless’s upscale Mexican cuisine, and his Frontera Grill won the 2007 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. Try the ceviche trio and the Topolo Margarita. Vegetarian friendly. Reservations required. $$$

Perennial Virant  Paul Virant can pickle that—It’s his specialty. He even wrote the book on the process, The Preservation Kitchen. With a focus on seasonal Midwestern foods and preservation, this menu is diverse, delicious, and pescatarian-friendly. The menu also evolves frequently and is on the small side, making each dish a real winner. Another highlight: gracious service and a welcoming atmosphere. $$$

The Aviary Since you won’t get into Grant Achatz’s restaurants Next or Alinea, come here. There are food “bites” on the menu, but it’s really all about the cocktail. To reserve, send an email and follow instructions. The Aviary “randomly selects” reservations. Drinks, $15-$30, live up to the hype. $$$

Bars

Clark Street Ale House A little dive with a great beer menu and an outdoor beer garden. No kitchen, but patrons can order pizza or bring food in. Look for the big neon sign: “STOP & DRINK.” $

Buddy Guy’s Legends  A great place for Chicago blues, Buddy Guy’s Legends, in the South Loop, is casual, fun, and loud, with a nightly band. An alternative to the overrated House of Blues. $$

Blue Frog This unassuming dive bar has some of the best karaoke in the city. Most nights are karaoke night, with board games and great drink specials also happening. Of the two locations, the one on LaSalle is the place to be. The sign is tricky to locate, so look for the white building in a parking lot at the corner of LaSalle and Huron. $

Rooftop bars

Plymouth is easy to get into, with decent bar food. The view of the Harold Washington Library Center of the Chicago Public Library will make any librarian drool. $$

The Signature Room  This bar sits atop the very famous—and very tall—Hancock Building. Touristy? Yes. Worth it for the view? Absolutely. Skip dinner and order a cocktail while enjoying Chicago’s famous skyline from the 95th floor. Those who fear heights should take a pass. $$$

Worth the Cab Fare/Train Ride

Ask any local what makes Chicago so great and you will hear, “the neighborhoods!” Here are a few excursion options.

Longman & Eagle  Located in Logan Square, this inn provides both shelter and a wide variety of whiskeys. Winner of a Michelin star rating two years in a row and counting, it’s also one of the hippest and most delicious places to eat in the Chicago area. For omnivores, but there’s always one vegetarian item. $$

Hot Doug’s  Situated in the Avondale neighborhood, this tiny hot dog shop is one of Chicagoans’ favorite places to wait in line. Why? Duck fat fries, along with homemade sausages and franks with tasty toppings. Cash only. $

Hopleaf Bar This Belgian beer bar in Andersonville is considered one of America’s best by Food & Wine magazine. The beer menu is epic and the food delicious. No reservations. Consider heading to the “new bar” area in lieu of waiting for a table.$$

Pequod’s Three words: caramelized cheese crust. Add that to a Chicago-style pizza and you have a match made in heaven. In the heart of Lincoln Park, Pequod’s isn’t too far from the downtown hotels. Get there via public transit by taking the Brown line to the Armitage stop, or else take a quick cab ride. $$

Bridgeport This little south-side neighborhood is on its way up with cool coffee shops, galleries, and bars. It’s worth the cab fare to check out the hip bar Maria’s Packaged Goods ($$) and the neighboring Pleasant House Bakery ($$), which specializes in savory pies. Grab a kale and mushroom pie then head into Maria’s for some of the best beers on tap in the city and a great outdoor seating area.

Entertainment

Check out some of my favorite spots to hang out, catch a show, or buy a book.

The Chicago Cultural Center This free—yes, free—institution is one of my favorites. It generally has great art shows on view and is home to the largest stained-glass Tiffany domes in the world. A visit to this downtown establishment is fun way to spend some free time, even if your time is limited.

Harold Washington Library  The main branch of the Chicago Public Library is stunning. Make sure to ride the elevator up to the Winter Garden Room to take in one of the best views of the Chicago skyline.

Buckingham Fountain Yes, it is the one at the beginning of the Married with Children credits. Though a bit touristy, it’s worth seeing. The location is excellent, and a nearby crosswalk over Lake Shore Drive lets you view the lake and explore the Museum Campus, where the aquarium, planetarium, and Field Museum are located.

Photo courtesy of Unabridged Bookstore.

Bookstores Chicago has a few wonderful independent bookstores. For new books, check out Unabridged Bookstore in the East Lakeview neighborhood. This bookstore is in a fun location, has a great staff, a wonderful array of children’s books, discount books, and a strong LGBTQ section.

Concerts Get your hands on a copy of the Chicago Reader for a breakdown of what’s on. A favorite is the Metro, north of Wrigley Field. Just the right size, and even when the show is sold out, you can hear and see what’s happening onstage.

Also worth checking out is the smaller but delightful Schubas Tavern. If you are headed there, go early and eat first. Their food is impressive for a venue.

Millennium Park The crown jewel of downtown Chicago. Take your mandatory Cloud Gate picture and play in the Crown Fountain. If you’re lucky, there’ll be a concert and you can listen while wandering the Lurie Garden.

It would be easy for me to say Chicago has it all. But doesn’t it? Conferences can be intense. Take time to enjoy the city, too.

See also: Choices, Choices…For the Tech-Minded, ISTE May Be More Useful Than ALA

Leah L. White (@leahlibrarian) is reader services librarian at
Northbrook Public Library.

Illustration by John Corbitt.

This month, librarians across the country are building their lists of can’t-miss panels, lunches, unconferences (participant-driven meetings), and exhibits as they gear up for the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Chicago from June 27 to July 2.

Other librarians are questioning how much ALA annual really serves their professional development needs. In a time of contracting budgets, layoffs, and demands for tech expertise in the library, is ALA still the must-attend event for all? Or is the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in San Antonio from June 23 to 26 a better choice?

For the ALA faithful, the panoply of offerings—not to mention the essential social component—makes ALA annual a necessity. “There’s definitely a lot of friends who connect at ALA,” says Gretchen Caserotti, director of the Meridian (ID) Library District, chair of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Children and Technology Committee, and a PLA (Public Library Association) and LITA (Library and Information Technology Association) member.

What else are ALA attendees looking forward to? For Caserotti, it’s the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder Banquet along with tech programs like “Apps, Apps, and More Apps,” “Top Technology Trends & LITA Awards Presentation,” and the LITA President’s Program speech by Cory Doctorow.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) executive director Beth Yoke expects to be holed up in meetings for much of the conference, but she’s eager to see the 25 featured winners of the Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults awards, with programs ranging from one involving iPads and incarcerated youth to another called “Teen Fashion Apprentice.” What’s on Wendy Stephens’s ALA list? Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, who’s delivering a keynote. The unconferences. And, “it’s a huge thrill to go to the Printz reception and the awards banquet,” says Stephens, a librarian at Cullman (AL) High School, ALA councilor-at-large, and the YALSA blog member manager.

Starr LaTronica, ALSC vice president and president-elect and youth services/outreach manager at the Four County Library System in Vestal, NY, will try not to miss “Think with Your Eyes!” a panel focusing on visual literacy. “In this heavily visual world, so much relies on being able to interpret visual cues,” says LaTronica, who praises the “serendipity” of the ALA conference experience, where the vast and varied offerings can lead to unexpected inspirations.

ISTE appeal

Serendipity, schmoozing, and star power aside, how critical is ALA to librarians’ needs? Not very, some librarians say. “Although I’ve gotten some great ideas at ALA, they’re still struggling to step up their game technology-wise,” says Gwyneth Jones, otherwise known as the “Daring Librarian” and a teacher librarian and technology specialist at the Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, MD.

Particularly among tech-savvy school librarians like Jones, ISTE is now more of a draw. It’s not just that ISTE’s ed-tech focus provides more bang for their conference buck. School librarians—while often active in AASL activities within ALA—don’t always feel they’re taken seriously at ALA annual and prefer the vibe among ISTE’s mix of educators.

“I sometimes have problems with the way school librarians are treated at ALA,” says Jones. “When I went to ALA early on, I felt like people were thinking, ‘oh, you’re a school librarian, how cute!’”

By contrast, “when I went to ISTE, I felt embraced by everyone,” she says. “They didn’t care what kind of librarian I was.” Jones, now the PK–12 schools representative for ISTE and an ISTE board member, says it’s “a great way to represent my people.”

At ISTE, Jones found “inspiration to start my school library blog.” And, she points out, “there’s not just one blogger’s cafe but four” at ISTE, as well as an entire category of sessions on BYOD.

“I always make the choice to go to ISTE,” says Tiffany Whitehead, a teacher librarian at Central Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA, who blogs as the “Mighty Little Librarian.” “As a school librarian, I’m an educator first. The chance to network with other educators, classroom teachers, administrators, tech coordinators, and others is the most important thing I can do for myself.”

At ISTE, Whitehead will be hosting a tech playground where teachers and school librarians will informally present and share tips on tools and resources. Whitehead’s principal first suggested she attend ISTE, she says. “I would love to go to ALA for the atmosphere and the emphasis on books, but I feel that for my teachers and my students, ISTE is the best choice for me. I really am the technology person on campus.”

Whitehead is also president-elect of SIGMS, an ISTE special interest group (SIG) for media specialists. The many special interest groups within ISTE “play a large and meaningful role in what’s being put forward” during the conferences, according to ISTE CEO Brian Lewis. This year’s conference, for instance, offers more than a dozen sessions about educational video conferencing. The opening keynote speaker is gamification expert Jane McGonigal. “We’re trying to connect folks with what they say they want,” says Lewis.

Stephens, who is attending both conferences and presenting at ALA, points out that “there is a more eclectic crowd of people at ISTE” than at ALA. For instance, as a friend of hers said: “There are men there.”

Gender statistics aside, Stephens—whose school district has never paid for her to attend a library conference but did sponsor an ISTE trip—says, “more people at ISTE work in the educational enterprise. Maybe you feel a little more kinship with those people than a state librarian from another part of the country or an academic library director.”

However, she adds, ISTE inspirations can sometimes be frustrating. “You may go and see this wonderful app and find that it’s blocked” back at your school.

On the other hand, in Stephens’s view, ALA is sometimes out of touch with the daily challenges of school librarians. While useful to people “in rarified situations, there’s not much trickle-down to people who are in a more typical situation.” That would be librarians “trying to tread water and keep programs running on a basic level,” and those working on “nuts and bolts advocacy to keep your job.” However, Stephens believes, “You can bring back more tangibles from ALA—advanced reader’s copies; posters; pictures of you with the Caldecott and Newbery winners. That can be very good for morale.”

AASL and ISTE

AASL president Susan Ballard acknowledges that some school librarians “don’t feel the love” at ALA and points out that ALA has taken steps to remedy this. “ALA is getting better and better at recognizing that we don’t exist in silos and we’re all interconnected,” she says.

How? Ballard refers to an ALA special presidential task force devoted to the current state of school libraries, as well as a focus on the Common Core curriculum. “I know when I go to AASL it’s not just your father’s Oldsmobile,” she says. “It’s as edgy as anything out there.”

AASL still holds appeal for Jones. “If I had to choose one, it would be AASL over ALA,” she says. And Whitehead will be presenting at AASL’s national conference in November.

In Ballard’s view, if librarians think that ISTE is more valuable to librarians than ALA, “we have a perception problem. People hear the word ‘librarian’ and they have a dated concept.” She adds, “I had a colleague in another state who said to his school librarian, ‘I have to think of another name for you, because when I say “school librarian,” I’m not getting any [financial] support.’ He understood what she did, but he couldn’t call her a librarian.”

However, YALSA’s Yoke points to ALA’s focus on “dynamic collaborations between school and public libraries,” the Common Core, and sessions on maintaining teen collections and new media, as huge selling points.

“A lot of the time we get this anecdotal information from school library members that the Association is more public focused,” Yoke says. However, she notes, a survey among 13,000 current, former, and potential ALA members showed evidence to the contrary. “There’s a perception that school librarians have different wishes and needs, but the survey did not bear that out,” says Yoke.

According to Lewis, “The library media specialist’s role is changing in terms of its interconnectivity across the school system.” He adds, “folks in school districts are looking for help, no matter where they are in the process of technology. They’re looking for clarity and support in how to effectively do what it is they’re expected to do.”

Among upcoming ISTE sessions, Lewis singles out “The Empowered Executive Team,” led by Steve Clemons of the San Diego Office of Education. The gist here is that better understanding and communication about what institutions are spending their tech-slated money on will ensure buy-in, communication, and shared decision making.

Caserotti, a technophile who’s gotten involved with ALA committees, says that ALA’s “support structure has been really empowering to me.” Broadly speaking, though, she worries that librarians are not keeping up with technology, despite high-visibility techies like Jones and Whitehead. Technology in the library is “like a car,” she says. “Some people will lift up the hood and take the initiative to learn how the car works.” But most people “take the car to the shop.” At ALA, she wonders, “how many people are stuffing their bags with posters,” and how many are saying, “yeah, I’m comfortable with tablets in the library?”

“Part of the beauty in ISTE is the connectivity to others,” says Lewis, who became CEO of ISTE last summer. “ALA’s conference is great and ISTE is great,” he adds. “Everybody who puts on an event like this works so hard to make sure that through whatever measures, we’re delivering terrific content.”

A

As I travel to the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Chicago later this month, I will inevitably carry the baggage of an unresolved disconnect. Those of us inside Libraryland know what our K–12 peers deliver, yet that value is clearly not understood by administrators, who are cutting school librarian positions nationwide. I can’t help but think that a key resource is being squandered out of sheer ignorance.

We have a perception problem. ALA’s current president, Maureen Sullivan, agrees. “I am concerned that school administrators may not fully understand the critical role school libraries and their librarians play in fostering academic achievement and student success in a technology-driven world,” she wrote recently on Huffington Post.

I think she’s right. Moreover, ALA has an obligation to help set the record straight and demonstrate to school leaders the value of the talented people and programs right under their noses. But this challenge calls for more than a task force. It requires a shift in strategy.

Don’t get me wrong. It was encouraging to see Sullivan’s “State of America’s School Libraries” (April 15). The post conveyed urgency and important background about school librarians’ role and their contribution to student learning. But, she buried the lead. The massive body of research that articulates how librarians directly affect student success was allotted only a short paragraph. I think administrators will care if they see what they are actually giving up.

So, what to do? Engage in radical advocacy. The last time ALA leadership really confronted a pressing perception problem—the refusal of publishers to offer ebooks for lending in public libraries—they broke the mold and made inroads with industry leaders through a persistent series of high-level meetings to raise awareness about the role libraries play in building a reading public and marketing publishers’ products—books.

Somewhere along the way, ALA realized the necessity to reframe the conversation about libraries in light of ebooks. It needed to proactively engage the powers that be in the commercial sector to correct the misperception that a library sale is a lost sale. I’m sure some of those meetings were hard to arrange, and even felt risky. I sat in on one in New York that was undeniably confrontational. Facing differences of opinion and knowledge gaps can be like that.

I urge ALA leadership to step out of the comfort zone as it did on ebooks and advocate with education leaders they don’t normally talk to—district leaders, principals, superintendents, and departments of education—to correct the misperception that school librarians are expendable. Tap incoming president Barbara Stripling’s deep passion and knowledge to tip the scales. She managed one of the most complex school library systems in the United States, New York City’s, during a time of tremendous change, and she is past president of AASL. Stripling is uniquely positioned to tell this story in a compelling way.

Cuts to school libraries can’t just be one of ALA’s problems, and it’s not a challenge for the youth divisions to shoulder alone. These cuts impact all libraries and leave our kids in the lurch. If you care about the future of libraries, you have to care about the future of school libraries. Just as the association tackled ebooks head on, now is the time for ALA to drive a new advocacy strategy for school librarians.

  Rebecca T. Miller
Editor-in-Chief
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

The Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), released their 2013 audio picks at the ALA Midwinter meeting in Seattle, WA, in January.

The items on ALSC’s Notable Children’s Recordings list are intended for listeners 14 years of age and younger. YALSA’s Amazing Audiobooks list features recordings covering a wide range of interests for young adults.

ALSC Notable Recordings

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. By Eoin Colfer. Read by Nathaniel Parker. 6 CDs. 7:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-99121-8. $37. Gr 5-9

Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring. By Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Read by Sarah Jessica Parker. CD. 46 min. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-7731-7. $29.97. Gr 2-6

Can You Canoe? A Mississippi River Adventure Album. Performed by the Okee Dokee Brothers. CD. 38 min. with DVD. RedEye Dist. 2012. $14.99. K-Gr 5

The Cheshire Cheese Cat: A Dickens Tale. By Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wight. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 4 CDs. 4:14 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01028-0. $30. Gr 4-7

A Dog’s Way Home. By Bobbie Pyron. Read by Emily Eiden and Chuck Carrington. 6 CDs. 6:57 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01388-5. $39. Gr 4-7

Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. By Mo Willems. Read by Mo and Cher Willems. CD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-37498-9: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44813-0: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The False Prince: The Ascendance Trilogy, Book 1. By Jennifer Nielsen. Read by Charlie McWade. 7 CDs. 8:14 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-39166-5. $34.99. Gr 5-8

The Fire Chronicle. By John Stephens. Read by Jim Dale. 10 CDs. 12:22 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-87982-0. $37. Gr 4-8

Ghost Knight. By Cornelia Funke. Read by Elliot Hill. 4 CDs. 4:53 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-58336-9. $30. Gr 4-6

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site. By Sherri Duskey Rinker. Read by Dion Graham. CD. 8 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-50222-1. $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-50223-8: $29.95. PreS-K

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe’s Very First Case. By Alexander McCall Smith. Read by Adjoa Andoh. CD. 55 min. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01142-3. $15. Gr 2-4

Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion. By Mo Willems. Read by Mo and Cher Willems. CD. 10 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44758-4: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44810-9: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The Library Dragon. By Agra Deedy. Read by author. CD. 21 min. Peachtree. 2012. ISBN 978-1-5614-5640-6. $6.95. K-Gr 3

Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie. Performed by Elizabeth Mitchell. CD. 29 min. with booklet. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. 2012. $11.98. PreS-Gr 3

Merry Christmas, Splat. By Rob Scotton. Read by John Keating. CD. 6 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-52330-1. $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-52329-5: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

The Mighty Miss Malone. By Christopher Paul Curtis. Read by Bahni Turpin. 7 CDs. 7:55 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-96824-1. $44. Gr 4-7

The Mighty Sky. Performed by Beth Nielsen Chapman. CD. 31 min. with lyrics. NewSound Kids. 2012. $14.98. K-Gr 4

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery. By Steve Sheinkin. Read by Mark Bramhall. 6 CDs. 7 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01498-1. $45. Gr 7 Up

One Year in Coal Harbor, By Polly Horvath. Read by Kathleen McInerney. 5 CDs. 5:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01414-1. $30. Gr 4-7

Ozomatli Presents OzoKidz. Performed by Ozomatli. CD. 37 min. Hornblow Group/Megaforce Records. 2012. $11.98. PreS-Gr 3

The Red Hen. By Rebecca and Ed Emberley. Read by Walter Mayes. CD. 7 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44760-7: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44812-3: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

Same Sun Here. By Silas House and Neela Vaswani. Read by authors. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-2231-7. $49.97. Gr 5-8

A Sick Day for Amos McGee. By Philip Stead. Read by David de Vries. CD. 8 min. Weston Woods. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-44756-0: $12.95; CD with hardcover book, ISBN 978-0-545-44809-3: $29.95. PreS-Gr 2

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World. By Sy Montgomery. Read by Meredith Mitchell. 3 CDs. 2:48 hrs. AudioGo. 2012. ISBN 978-1-935430-82-7. $39.95. Gr 5-8

Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. By Deborah Hopkinson. Read by full cast. 4 CDs. 4:55 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01505-6. $30. Gr 6 Up

Wonder. By R. J. Palacio. Read by Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, and Diana Steele. 7 CDs. 8:12 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-4420-3. $64.97. Gr 4-7

Words in the Dust. By Trent Reedy. Read by Ariana Delawari. 7 CDs. 8:27 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2012. ISBN 978-0-545-47282-1. $29.99. Gr 5-8

Notable Children’s Recordings Committee: Lynda  Salem-Poling, Brewitt Neighborhood Library, Long Beach (CA) Public Library; Winnie  Awarski, Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library; Eliza T. Dresang, University of Washington Information School, Seattle; Donna M. Funcke, King County Library System, Issaquah, WA; Sharon  Haupt, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo, CA; Sharon L. Ledford, Harrison Elementary School, Lexington, KY; Linda L.  Martin, Sugar Hill Elementary School, Gainesville, GA; Sharon  McKellar, Oakland (CA) Public Library; Danielle A. Shapiro, Brooklyn (NY) Public Library, Highlawn Branch.

YALSA Amazing Audiobooks

(Starred items represent the ‘top ten’ picks in the category)

Nonfiction

Warriors Don’t Cry. By Melba Pattillo Beals. Read by Lisa Renee Pitts. 10 CDs. 13 hrs. Tantor Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4526-0494-7. $39.99. Gr 8 Up

Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem. By Rosalyn Schaner. Read by Jessica Almasy. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 2:15 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-4313-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-4314-7. $25.75. Gr 5-7

Fiction

Almost Perfect. By Brian Katcher. Read by Kirby Heyborne. 9 CDs. 10:40 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 978-0-307-94229-6. $44. Gr 8 Up

Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian. By Eoin Colfer. Read by Nathaniel Parker. 6 CDs. 7:30 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-99121-8. $37. Gr 5-8

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick. By Joe Schreiber. Read by Steven Boyer. 4 cassettes or 4 CDs. 5 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4498-6129-2, CD: ISBN 978-1-4498-6133-9. $51.75. Gr 8 Up

The Catastrophic History of You and Me. By Jess Rothenberg. Read by Suzy Jackson. 8 cassettes or 8 CDs. 8:45 hrs. Recorded Books. 2012. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4640-3352-0, CD: ISBN 978-1-4640-3351-3. $87.75. Gr 9 Up

Code Name Verity. By Elizabeth Wein. Read by Morven Christie, and Lucy Gaskell. 9 CDs. 10 hrs. Prod. by Bolinda Audio. Dist. by Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-7428-5764-0. $93.95. Gr 9 Up

Crusher. By Niall Leonard.Read by Daniel Weyman. 6 CDs. 6:42 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-3853-6841-4. $45. Gr 7 Up

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip. By Jordan Sonnenblick. Read by Luke Daniels. 5 CDs. 5:08 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61106-147-5. $49.97. Gr 6-9

Dancing Carl. By Gary Paulsen. Read by Nick Podehl. 2 CDs. 2:21 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-4070-1. $39.97. Gr 5-7

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever. By Jeff Kinney. Read by Ramon De Ocampo. 2 cassettes or 2 CDs. 2:15 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4640-2145-9. $25.75. Gr 3-6

The Diviners. By Libba Bray. Read by January LaVoy. 15 CDs. 18 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. cassette: 978-1-4640-2146-6, CD: ISBN 978-0-449-80875-7. $60. Gr 10 Up

Enchanted. By Alethea Kontis. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 7 CDs. 7:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0292-1. $69.97. Gr 7-9

The Fault in Our Stars. By John Green. Read by Kate Rudd. 6 CDs. 7:19 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-6987-9. $59.97. Gr 9 Up

The Fire Chronicle. By John Stephens. Read by Jim Dale. 10 CDs. 12:22 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-87982-0. $37. Gr 4-7

The Freak Observer. By Blythe Woolston. Read by Jessica Almasy. 5 CDs. 5:36 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-1639-2. $54.97. Gr 8 Up

Graffiti Moon. By Cath Crowley. Read by Ben MacLaine, Hamish R. Johnson, and Chelsea Bruland. 5 CDs. 6:05 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-307-96819-7. $34. Gr 8 Up

I Hunt Killers. By Barry Lyga. Read by Charlie Thurston. 8 CDs. 9:30 hrs. AudioGo. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61113-187-1. $74.99. Gr 9 Up

Inheritance. By Christopher Paolini. Read by Gerard Doyle. 24 CDs. 31 hrs. Listening Library. 2011. ISBN 970393-7250-0. $60. Gr 7 Up

The Isle of Blood: The Monstrumologist, Book 3. By Rick Yancey. Read by Steven Boyer. 12 cassettes or 12 CDs. 14:30 hrs. Recorded Books. 2011. cassette: ISBN 978-1-4407-3653-7, CD: ISBN 978-1-4407-3657-5. $108.75. Gr 9 Up

A Monster Calls. By Patrick Ness. Read by Jason Isaacs. 5 CDs. 4 hrs. with bonus CD. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-2249-2. $54.97. Gr 7 Up

Monstrous Beauty. By Elizabeth Fama. Read by Katherine Kellgren. 7 CDs. 8 hrs. Macmillan Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4272-2217-6. $29.99. Gr 9 Up

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard. By Leslea Newman. Read by Emily Beresford, Luke Daniels, Tom Parks, Nick Podehl, Kate Rudd, and Christina Traister. 2 CDs. 1:20 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0636-3. $54.97. Gr 8 Up

Personal Effects. By E. M. Kokie. Read by Nick Podehl. 8 CDs. 9:08 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4692-0637-0. $54.97. Gr 9 Up

See You at Harry’s. By Jo Knowles. Read by Kate Rudd. 5 CDs. 5:49 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-8958-7. $49.97. Gr 5-7

Son. By Lois Lowry. Read by Bernadette Dunne. 7 CDs. 8:11 hrs. Listening Library. 2012. ISBN 978-0-449-01448-6. $47. Gr 6 Up

Three Times Lucky. By Sheila Turnage. Read by Michal Friedman. 7 CDs. 8 hrs. Penguin Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61176-136-8. $29.95. Gr 5-7

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic. By Allan Wolf. Read by Michael Page, Phil Gigante, Christopher Lane, Laural Merlington, and Angela Dawe. 9 CDs. 10:16 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-2937-8. $59.97. Gr 9 Up

Wonder. By R.J. Palacio. Read by Diana Steele, Nick Podehl, and Kate Rudd. 7 CDs. 8:12 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4558-4420-3. $64.97. Gr 4-7

Words in the Dust. By Trent Reedy. Read by Ariana Delawari. 7 CDs. 8:28 hrs. Scholastic Audiobooks. 2011. ISBN 978-0-5454-7282-1. $29.99. Gr 5-8

Amazing Audiobooks Committee: Gretchen Kolderup (chair), New York Public Library; Catherine Andronik, Brien McMahon High School, Norwalk, CT; Mary Burkey, Olentangy Liberty Middle School, Powell, OH; Randee Bybee, Upland (CA) Public Library; Jennifer Campbell, Notre Dame de Sion High School, North Kansas City, MO; Lynn Carpenter, Birmingham (AL) Public Library; Donna Cook, Central High School, Pollok, TX; Pamela Spencer Holley, Eastern Shore Public Library, Accomac, VA; Karilyn Steward, Calabasas (CA) Library; Colleen Seisser (admin. asst.), Mount Prospect (IL) Public Library.

American Indian Lit Awards: The American Indian Library Association, an affiliate of the American Library Association, has announced the winners of the 2013 American Indian Youth Literature Award in three categories—picture book, middle school, and young adult. The books selected “present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts.” The top Picture Book award went to The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood (Holiday House, 2011) written by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and illustrated by Ellen Beier. The Honor awards in that category were nabbed by Saltypie: A Choctaw Journey from Darkness into Light (Cinco Puntos, 2010) written by Tim Tingle and illustrated by Karen Clarkson, Kohala Kuamo’o: Nae’ole’s Race to Save a King (2010) written by Kekauleleana’ole Kawai’ae’a and illustrated by Aaron Kawai’ae’a, Mohala Mai ‘O Hau = How Hau Became Hau’ula (2011, both Kamehameha Schools Pr.) by Robert Lono ‘Ikuwa with pictures by Matthew Kawika Ortiz, and I See Me (Theytus Books, 2009) by Margaret Manuel.

In the Middle Grade category, the award went to Free Throw (1999) and Triple Threat (1999, both Lorimer), by Jacqueline Guest, while Jordin Tootoo: The Highs and Lows in the Journey of the First Inuit to Play in the NHL (Lorimer, 2011) by Melanie Florence, and Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-Gikinoo’amaageng (Wiigwaas Pr., 2010) by Anton Treuer et al. received Honors. Adam Fortunate Eagle’s Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School (Univ. of Oklahoma Pr., 2010) won in the Young Adult category, with Native Defenders of the Environment (7th Generation, 2011) by Victor Schilling (and others in the series) taking the Honor award.

Established in 2006 and given in even years, the award was created to honor the best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. Be sure to check out the evaluation criteria and previous winners of the award.

2013 Gryphon Awards: Jason Chin’s Island: A Story of the Galapagos (Roaring Brook, 2012) has received the 2013 Gryphon Award, sponsored by the Center for Children’s Books at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The book presents the story of the evolution of an island and its plant and animal life over six million years. The $1,000 award, given annually, recognizes “an English-language work of fiction or nonfiction for which the primary audience is children in kindergarten through grade 4. The title chosen best exemplifies those qualities that successfully bridge the gap in difficulty between books for reading aloud to children and books for practical readers.” Two Honor books were also announced: Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Dog Named Baltic (Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Bks., 2012), written and illustrated by Monica Carnesi, and Kate DeCamillo and Alison McGhee’s Bink and Gollie: Two for One (Candlewick, 2012), illustrated by Tony Fucile.

Children’s Book Committee Awards: The Bank Street College of Education announced the winners of the 2013 Children’s Book Committee Awards. Wonder by R. J. Palacio (Knopf, 2012) was received the Josette Frank Award. Palacio’s memorable story about ten-year-old Auggie, a boy with facial abnormalities, who attends public school for the first time, shows how the experience changes him as well as all of those he encounters. The Award, given annually since 1943 (originally called the Children’s Book Award) honors an outstanding fiction title “in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally.”

The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for a nonfiction title was given to Doreen Rappaport’s Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust (Candlewick, 2012), a chronicle of 21 courageous acts of defiance. National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 2000 Poems with Photographs that Squeak, Soar, and Roar! by J. Patrick Lewis, “an exuberant celebration of the animal kingdom and a beautiful introduction to this genre of literature,” won the Claudia Lewis Award. Established in 1998, the award is given for the best poetry book of the year.

The Children’s Book Committee is a nonprofit affiliate of Bank Street College of Education. The Committee was founded 75 years ago to “guide librarians, educators and parents to the best books for children published each year.”

Scholarships

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) is offering two scholarships to students pursuing a master’s or advanced degree in children’s librarianship. The ALSC Bound to Stay Bound Books Scholarship, funded by Bound-to-Stay Bound Books, is an award of $7,000 that will be given to four candidates. The ALSC Frederic G.Melcher Scholarship, funded by contributions from librarians and others in the book world as a tribute to Melcher, consists of two $6,000 awards. Applicants must demonstrate academic excellence and leadership, be enrolled at an ALA accredited library school (U.S. or Canada) that offers a full range of courses in children’s materials and library services to children, must not have earned more than 12 semester hours towards an MLS/MLIS, and must take a position in the field of library service to children for at least one year after graduation. The deadline for applying for these two scholarships is March 1. Be sure to check out requirements and complete an application. The recipients will be announced at the ALA Annual conference in June.

Rare Books

First editions: The J.Willard Marriott Library’s Rare Book Division, Special Collections at the University of Utah has received first editions of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1872) from an anonymous donor. The books are valued at $30,000. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson first made up the story of Alice’s adventures for Alice Liddell and her sisters and gave her the manuscript in 1864. His friend and novelist, Henry Kingsley, encouraged the author to publish the book. He expanded the manuscript from 18,000 words to 35,000 words and published it under the Lewis Carroll pseudonym. Four thousand copies were printed.

Drawing from Mei Li.

Of course, this year is even more special. As the Caldecott Medal turns 75, the party is even bigger, and it will keep going until the awards celebration at ALA annual in Chicago in late June. It’s wonderful, and, because of the enduring value of the Caldecott award, it’s not just recreational. This award matters, bringing a broad readership to the winning books and keeping them in print for years to come. It’s also not just recreational because evaluations like these are at the heart of what librarians do every day as they choose materials for their collections.

Of course, this award is not without controversy—what award is? Among the issues is that the Caldecott is decided by committee, leading some to think the best books get left aside in the search for the ones everyone will agree on, and some of the choices don’t hold up over time. But the highly controlled judging process itself is key, and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) continues to protect the integrity of the librarian judges and the privacy of the proceedings. (For the rules, see the Caldecott Medal Manual.) Getting to a decision requires artful mastery.

There will always be books that didn’t win the Caldecott that many argue should have. That is part of the fun. SLJ contributing editor Rocco Staino is collecting librarians’ picks of what’s gotten missed over the years in a series of video interviews we’ll post on SLJ.com in the months to come. There are also deeper reflections on the early award winners in a series of articles from
The Horn Book, rich discussion coming from bloggers, and much more in the pipeline.

I look forward to more conversation on where picture books fit into the lives of our kids. SLJ’s Trevelyn Jones, for one, hopes they’ll be better used to help kids appreciate and talk about art, even long past what’s considered to be the standard picture-book audience ages and on into the seventh and eighth grades. As a parent, I keep tapping the Caldecott winners and honor books as I read to my children, reaching for works that will enrich their language and their sense of what the world looks like and those that will spark their imaginations or transport them. I am delighted, for instance, by the pull of 1988 winner Owl Moon (illustrated by John Schoenherr, text by Jane Yolen) in the heat of the summer.

I had a special encounter with one Caldecott winner, Thomas Handforth’s Mei Li, when I visited Lisa Von Drasek, formerly at Bank Street, now the curator of the University of Minnesota’s Children’s Literature Research Collections in Minneapolis. Von Drasek showed me just a few of the choice pieces of art in the collection, including draft drawings of Caldecott-free Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and one from Mei Li (pictured). Mei Li, the winner of the second Caldecott Medal in 1939, was in the process of being digitized so it can be accessed more often for research.

It’s delightful that librarians made Mei Li a winner and now a librarian is preserving the art for the future. That’s the kind of difference librarians can make.

Rebecca T. Miller
Editor-in-Chief
rmiller@mediasourceinc.com

This year’s theme was “You’re Reading WHAT?!?!” Students age 19 or under were asked to create a short video about a time when an adult tried to censor something they were reading, or about a book-banning incident in the news that involved young people. There are 12 videos among the semifinalists, and voting is easy. The video with the most “likes” will be declared the People’s Choice winner. The deadline for casting votes is February 15 at 5 p.m. EST. The People’s Choice Award-winner will receive a Certificate of Free Expression Excellence from the NCAC.

While the public is choosing their favorite, a stellar panel of judges will be hard at work choosing the grand prize, second place, and third place winners. This year’s judges include Kirby Dick, a documentary director and Academy Award-nominee (The Invisible War), National Book Award-winner and frequently challenged author Sherman Alexie (The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown, 2007)), Cecily von Ziegesar (author of the oft-banned “Gossip Girls” series (Little, Brown)), Onion AV Club National Associate Editor and pop culture maven Tasha Robinson, Kristen Fitzpatrick of Women Make Movies, and 2011 YFEP Film Contest winners Jake Gogats and Caitlin Wolper. Winners will receive $1,000, $500. and $250 respectively and a trip to New York City to attend the Youth Voices Uncensored event. All winners will be announced by the end of February, so check NCAC.org for updates. Get voting now!

Books for GLBTQ Youth

A Rainbow: Forty-nine books from 31 publishers have been selected by the Rainbow Project for their 2013 Rainbow Book List, a project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) and the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) of the American Library Association. To make the final selection, the committee evaluated over 150 books for youth, from birth to age 18, published between July 2011 and December 2012. The titles run the gamut from science fiction to fiction to graphic novels, among other genres. The committee notes that there is a dearth of nonfiction titles for any age being published, “including memoirs and history so vital to tying a culture together.” The complete list can be accessed at the GLBTRT website.

The following are the top ten titles: Starting from Here by Lisa Jenn Bigelow (Amazon, 2012), Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (Flux, 2012), The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth (HarperCollins, 2012), Ask the Passengers by A. S. King (Little, Brown, 2012), Adaptation by Malinda Lo (Little, Brown, 2012), The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (Ecco, 2012), The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves edited by Sarah Moon (Scholastic, 2012), Chulito: A Novel by Charles Rice-Gonzalez (Magnus Bks., 2011), Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saénz (S & S, 2012), and Drama by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic, 2012).

Publishing News: New Imprints

Algonquin Young Readers is a new imprint being created by Algonquin Books for readers ages 7 to 17. The books will run the gamut from short illustrated novels for beginning readers to topical young adult novels. The first list will launch in Fall 2013 with five novels. There will be three title for middle grades—The Time Fetch by Amy Herick, Three Ring Rascals, Book 1: The Show Must Go On by Kate and M. Sarah Klise, and Anton Cecil: Cats at Sea by Lisa and Valerie Martin. If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan and Hollis Seamon’s Somebody Up There Hates You are the two young adult titles. The imprint plans to grow to the point where it will publish 15 titles each year and include some nonfiction books with their primarily fiction list, according to Elise Howard, editor and publisher of Algonquin Books for Young Readers.

Amazon Children’s Publishing is launching two new imprints—Two Lions and Skyscape—in Spring 2013. Picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade fiction will be published under the Two Lions banner, with Margery Cuyler as editorial manager, while Skyscape will focus on young adult titles under the leadership of Tim Ditlow.  According to Amazon, Two Lions—one representing the past and the other the future—“is committed to forming strong, creative relationships with authors and illustrators to bring originality of design and literary quality to readers.” Skyscape plans to bring “a wide range of stories with unique voices, compelling narratives, and intriguing perspectives to readers.” Two Lions’s inaugural titles Ininclude Gandhi: A March to the Sea by Alice B. McGinty, Poco Loco by J. R. Kraus, and Slugger by Susan Pearson. The titles for teens are Me & My Invisible Guy by Sarah Jeffrey, Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan, and You Know What You Have to Do by Bonnie Shimko, among others.

Ebook Lending

A new model: Ingram Content Group has added a new content access model to its MyiLibrary e-content platform. The Access Model, designed to help libraries make their ebook lending more flexible, lets libraries “purchase a set of access credits for an ebook and lend it simultaneously to multiple patrons for a set cost and lending period.” This multi-user platform assures library patrons that they will have access to popular titles. “Patron usage of ebooks continues to climb,” noted Dan Sheehan, vice president and general manager, Ingram Content Group Library Services, “and the addition of our new multi-user concurrent Access Model gives libraries the flexibility to meet the content requirements of their patrons and manage budgets effectively.”

The MyiLibrary platform currently offers nearly 40,000 titles from leading publishers and can be accessed 24/7. Random House has just announced that it will be adding more than 36,000 frontlist and backlist titles to MyiLibrary from all Random House Inc. imprints and their publisher-distribution clients, including National Geographic, Smithsonian Books, and Wizards of the Coast, and others.

Listed below are the SLJ reviews for the top prizes:

Newbery Medal
APPLEGATE, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan. illus. by Patricia Castelao. 305p. CIP. HarperCollins/Harper. Jan. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-199225-4; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210198-3. LC 2011010034.
Gr 3-7—This tender tale of friendship and hope is narrated by a silverback gorilla living at The Big Top Mall, a shabby, circus-themed roadside attraction. For years, Ivan was passively content. He had his art, unlimited bananas, and his friends: Stella (an elephant), Bob (a stray dog), and Julia (a human child). Ivan’s eyes are finally opened to his deplorable surroundings when he loses a friend due to neglect. The last straw is when he witnesses the attraction’s owner abusing Ruby, a newly acquired baby elephant. Thus, Ivan is inspired to take action. With some help from his human friends, his dream of a better life for all the Big Top’s animals just might come true. The character of Ivan, as explained in an author’s note, is inspired by a real gorilla that lived through similar conditions before being adopted by Zoo Atlanta. Applegate makes a powerful statement about the treatment of animals—especially those living in captivity—and reminds readers that all creatures deserve a safe place to call home. Castelao’s delightful illustrations enhance this lovely story, and the characters will capture readers’ hearts and never let go. A must-have.—Alissa J. LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

Caldecott Medal
KLASSEN, Jon. This Is Not My Hat. illus. by author. 40p. Candlewick. Oct. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5599-0.
PreS-Gr 1–With this new creation, Klassen repeats the theme from I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick, 2011), but with a twist. The narrator here is the thief–a small, self-confident fish who has pilfered a little blue bowler from a big sleeping fish. He wastes no time or words in confessing his crime as he swims across the page announcing, “This hat is not mine. I just stole it.” He continues his narrative with no regrets, but with a bit of rationalizing (“It was too small for him anyway.”) as he swims to his hiding place, unaware that the big fish is in quiet pursuit. Readers, of course, are in on this little secret. When the two disappear into a spread filled with seaweed, the narration goes silent, and youngsters can easily surmise what happens as the big fish reemerges with the tiny blue bowler atop his head. Simplicity is key in both text and illustrations. The black underwater provides the perfect background for the mostly gray-toned fish and seaweed while the monochromatic palette strips the artwork down to essential, yet exquisite design. Movement is indicated with a trail of small white bubbles. This not-to-be-missed title will delight children again and again.–Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Cincinnati, OH

Theodore Geisel Medal
LONG, Ethan. Up, Tall and High! illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Putnam. Feb. 2012. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25611-0. LC 2011003291.
PreS-K—Long borrows from the Mo Willems school of minimalist humor in this early reader about a flock of funny birds trying to outdo one another. The three stories utilize repetition of very few words (“I am tall.” “You are not tall.” “I may not be tall. But I am not small”), but the accompanying illustrations greatly enrich the spare text with bright colors and charming cartoons, making this a fun first venture into reading alone. The book has one shortcoming: the pages are flimsy and do not lie flat, so the flaps catch when opened or closed, so longevity is definitely a concern. Otherwise, the silly birds and their games of one-upmanship are definitely giggle-worthy.—Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

Carnegie Medal
Anna, Emma and the Condors. DVD. 20 min. Green Planet Films. 2012. ISBN unavail. $49.
Gr 5 Up–Viewers will be captivated by this charming and gorgeously photographed look at the life of an environmental biologist and his family as they work to save the California Condor. Chris Parrish is the director of the Condor Project for the Peregrine Fund at Vermilion Cliffs National Park in Arizona, and his wife, Ellen, is a teacher for Roots and Shoots, an organization founded by Jane Goodall. They home school their two daughters, Anna and Emma, allowing the girls to work with them in their species conservation efforts. There is no story or plot to the film, and not a lot of scientific details either. Rather, the film showcases the stunning landscapes of the Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona, and offers many breathtaking images of condors—in flight, at rest, eating, and mating. The family is shown tracking the birds, taking blood samples, feeding them (not for the faint of heart, condors are scavengers and these eat dead calves), and in an emotional moment, releasing a young condor back into the wild. There are many images of the family hiking, camping and riding horses, while in voice-overs they discuss living with respect for the environment. Parrish is also shown singing several songs with his guitar. This short sketch might make a nice supplemental film for an environmental studies class.–Geri Diorio, Ridgefield Library, CT

Sibert Medal, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, Newbery Honor
SHEINKIN, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-487-5; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-861-3.
Gr 5 Up–“Harry Gold was right: This is a big story.” So begins this depiction of the “creation–and theft–of the deadliest weapon ever invented.” As he did in The Notorious Benedict Arnold (Roaring Brook, 2010), Sheinkin has again brought his superior talent for storytelling to bear in what is truly a gripping account of discovery, espionage, and revolutionary changes in both physics and the modern world. This fascinating tale, packed with a wide cast of characters, focuses mainly on three individuals: spy for the Soviets Harry Gold, leader of the Manhattan Project J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Knut Haukelid, who sabotaged German bomb efforts while working for the Norwegian resistance. Sheinkin skillfully combines lucid, conversational snapshots of the science behind the atomic bomb with a fast-paced narrative of the remarkable people who made it possible and attempted to steal it. Handsomely designed and loaded with archival photos and primary-source documents, the accessible volume lays out how the bomb was envisioned and brought to fruition. While the historical information and hard facts presented here will likely be new to the intended audience, they in no way overwhelm readers or detract from the thoroughly researched, well-documented account. It reads like an international spy thriller, and that’s the beauty of it.–Brian Odom, Pelham Public Library, AL

Batchelder Medal
VOORHOEVE, Anne C. My Family for the War. tr. from German by Tammi Reichel. Dial. p. 124.
Gr 7 Up—In 1938 Berlin, 10-year-old Ziska and her best friend run from classmates-turned-bullies who torment them for being Jewish, even though Ziska’s family converted in the last century and she knows nothing of the Jewish religion or culture. When her father is beaten during a brutal midnight raid on their apartment and imprisoned, Ziska earns a position on the kindertransport to England, where she begins a new life as Frances, foster daughter to an Orthodox London “family for the war.” In an engaging, honest voice, she relates her fears, triumphs, and revelations as she learns English and the rituals of Judaism, adapts to a new life, and copes with guilt about her growing love for her new family. She tries in vain to acquire permits for her parents to join her while they keep up a soon spotty, strained correspondence that brings increasingly heartbreaking news of those left behind. By war’s end, Frances, now 17, has experienced evacuation to the English countryside and another foster home, air raids, bomb shelters, and first love with page-turning immediacy despite the sense that the story is told by a much older, reflective Frances looking back. Events and facts are expertly woven into the girl’s emotional growth, and changing relationships—especially those with her complex, fading mother and differently complex foster mother—provide a rich exploration of identity and self. Like Frances, the mostly Jewish cast of secondary characters is varied, multidimensional, and sometimes unlikable. With a compelling main character and taut and insightful story line, this novel is sure to find no shortage of readers, and it adds a valuable perspective to collections of World War II fiction.—Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA

Pura Belpré Author Award, Stonewall Medal, Printz Honor
SÁENZ, Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. 358p. CIP. S & S. Feb. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0892-0; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-0894-4. LC 2010033649.
Gr 9 Up-In the summer of 1987 in El Paso, TX, two 15-year-old loners meet when Dante offers to teach Ari to swim, and they have a laugh over their unusual names. Though polar opposites in most aspects other than age and Mexican heritage, the teens form an instant bond and become inseparable. This poetic novel takes Ari, brooding and quiet, and with a brother in prison, and Dante, open and intellectual, through a year and a half of change, discovering secrets, and crossing borders from which there is no return. Two incidents, one in which Ari saves Dante’s life and his family’s temporary move to Chicago, help Dante understand that he is gay and in love with his friend. Yet, Ari can’t cross that line, and not until Dante is hospitalized in a gay-bashing incident does he begin to realize the true depth of the love he has for him. With the help of his formerly distant, Vietnam-damaged father, Ari is finally able to shed his shame—the shame of his anger, of his incarcerated brother, of being different—and transition from boy to man. While this novel is a bit too literary at times for some readers, its authentic teen and Latino dialogue should make it a popular choice.—Betty S. Evans, Missouri State University, Springfield

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award
SCHMIDT, Gary D. Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert. illus. by David Diaz. 32p. CIP. Clarion. 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-547-61218-8. LC 2011025721.
Gr 2–4—Picture-book biographies of Catholic saints are usually limited to those best known, like Patrick, Francis, Joan of Arc, and Blessed Mother Teresa. Martín de Porres was the first black saint of the Americas, and he has a story as inspiring and evocative of Christian virtue as any other. Born the illegitimate son of a former slave and a Spanish conquistador in 1579 in Lima, Peru, he lived with his mother and sister in abject poverty until he was claimed by his father and eventually apprenticed to a surgeon and found to have healing powers that matched his great piety. He was accepted to be a servant at a Dominican monastery, with the explicit understanding that he, a mulatto, would never become a priest. He showed compassion for all people and animals and was said to have miraculous gifts. But it is his extreme humility that resonates with most biographers, including Schmidt, who tells the story of St. Martín’s life in simple and eloquent language, emphasizing his humble servitude and great empathy. Diaz’s multimedia illustrations are lush and beautiful, reinforcing the narrative and frequently using iconic images and stylized shapes that evoke stained glass. Some drawings of Martín, however, are inconsistent. His age occasionally seems to shift out of sequence, and the changing shape of his nose and eyes in particular results in some visual dissonance for young readers. Nonetheless, this is an artful and reverent portrait of a little-known figure.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick’s Catholic School, Charlotte, NC

Odyssey Medal
The Fault in Our Stars (unabr.). 6 CDs. 7:19 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4558-6987-9. $59.97.
Gr 9 Up–John Green’s compelling, engaging novel (Dutton, 2012) is about life, and love, and death. Hazel was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the age of 13. Three years later, she is still alive. However, her life is turned upside down when she meets Augustus Waters at a support group for teens with cancer. They embark on a relationship that has the potential to become an emotional grenade. Gus uses his “last wish” granted to sick children by the Genie Foundation to take Hazel to Amsterdam in order to meet Peter Van Houten, the author of her favorite book about a girl who has cancer. She believes there is more to the story and wants the author to give her additional information. Van Houten’s response is disappointing, but in the end Hazel allows herself to love Gus. Kate Rudd narrates in a relaxed style, perfectly voicing all of Green’s well-developed characters. This novel doesn’t pull any punches, and listeners’ emotions will run the gamut from laughing out loud to sobbing with joy or grief. A strong choice for young adult collections.–Elizabeth L. Kenyon, Merrillville High School, IN

Printz Medal

LAKE, Nick. In Darkness. 352p. Bloomsbury. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-743-7; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-820-5. LC 2011022350.
Gr 9 Up–Trapped in the rubble of Haiti’s massive 2010 earthquake, teenage Shorty desperately waits for rescue. While in darkness, events of his traumatic, violent life replay in his head. He is haunted by his father’s brutal murder, his twin sister’s disappearance, and the armed gang activity that has been his means of survival in Site Soléy (Cite Soleil), a very real and dangerous slum. As he faces death and struggles to understand the external forces that have shaped him, Shorty gradually feels the uplifting spiritual presence of revered slave liberator Toussaint L’Ouverture and draws strength and hope from the man’s extraordinary life, determination, and idealism. The pervasive Haitian voodoo belief in spirit transfer empowers Shorty and connects him with Touissant across time. In alternating chapters of “Now” and “Then,” Shorty’s and Toussaint’s stories unfold. The relentless oppression, poverty, violence, and instability of the country is vividly conveyed through Shorty’s stark, graphic narrative. Toussaint’s story provides historical background for the socioeconomic and political conflicts that continue today. As the author notes, he portrays the essential spirit and history of Touissant with some omissions and simplifications. For example, Touissant learned to read as a boy, and not late in life, but this factual inaccuracy does not diminish the account of his charisma and significance. The entangled actions of gangs and government, the complicated relationship between Haitians and foreign-aid organizations, and the rich mix of Creole and French patois provide insight and authenticity. A striking cast of characters, compelling tension as Shorty confronts his own death, and the reality and immediacy of Haiti’s precarious existence will captivate secondary readers.–Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Author Award:
PINKNEY , Andrea Davis. Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America. illus. by Brian Pinkney. 244p. bibliog. chron. further reading. index. CIP. Disney/Jump at the Sun. 2012. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4231-4257-7. LC 2011051348.
Gr 5–8—This book is similar in scope to the author’s Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters (Harcourt, 2000). The subjects here include Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, A. Philip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama, all introduced in the author’s characteristically lively prose (“Black students kept on keeping on with dog-eared textbooks and dog-tired feet”; Malcolm Little’s hair was transformed from “pretty-boy cotton-kink to slick-daddy bone-straight”). The distinct experiences that shaped each man are ably delineated-the childhood events, the hardships faced, the richly deserved victories won-and the results are, without exception, compelling. The large font size is perfect for the middle-grade audience, but too many blocks of unbroken text may turn away less-confident readers. Thankfully, Brian Pinkney’s magnificent portraits and spot art throughout each profile help to amplify each man’s story. A must-have for all libraries serving young people. Sam Bloom, Blue Ash Library, Cincinnati, OH

Illustrator Award:
HUGHES, Langston. I, Too, Am America . illus. by Bryan Collier. CIP. S & S. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2008-3. LC 2011002879.
K-Gr 5—Hughes’s poem of burgeoning pride in one’s African American identity, written at the height of the Harlem Renaissance in 1925, is interpreted anew in this striking picture book.Collier has visualized the message of the sparely written poem, barely 60 words in length, through the lens of a Pullman porter. “I, too, sing America” proclaims the opening spread that depicts a passenger rail car whizzing by; then, “I am the darker brother” shows an African American young man in the porter’s uniform gazing squarely at readers through a faint, translucent overlay of the American flag, a recurring motif. As the porter cleans up the club car and examines the detritus—newspapers, magazines, blues, and jazz albums left by the train’s well-heeled passengers—he impulsively flings it all from the caboose, scattering this knowledge to those who will willingly learn from it. Wafting through time and space, these items fall into the hands of a young female field worker in the long-ago South as well as residents in a contemporary northern urban landscape. The poem’s powerful conclusion—”I, too, am America”—depicts a young boy on the subway with his mother, peering out the window through a readily visible flag toward his unknown but hopeful future. Collier’s signature mixed-media collages create bold, textured images that give tangible expression to the poet’s potent words. A memorable and multilayered volume for all libraries.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT

William C. Morris Award
HARTMAN, Rachel. Seraphina. Random. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86656-2; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96656-9; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89658-3. LC 2011003015.
Gr 7 Up–For nearly 40 years, the treaty between the humans of Goredd and the dragons of dragonkind has held strong. Humans must not enter dragonkind territory and dragons, upon entering human lands, must take their human shape, or saarantrai. In Goredd, Seraphina’s human father, a high offical, needs her to stay anonymous. The dark secret that she must hide is that her mother was a dragon. Because of her musical talents, Seraphina becomes Goredd’s music assistant, helping prepare for the anniversary celebration. Layers of clothing disguise the scales on her arms and stomach, but unlike dragons, her blood runs red, not silver. Also, to keep from having fainting spells in which she relives her deceased mother’s experiences, Seraphina must clear her head each night. She calls the figures in her vision grotesques, and each night, she must ensure all is calm in her mind-garden. When the decapitated body of Prince Rufus is found just days before the anniversary festivities, many humans are quick to accuse a dragon of breaking the pact. Seraphina’s grotesques begin acting strangely, and the whole court is investigating the murder. When the celebrations are in full swing, all hell breaks loose as the rogue dragon that killed the prince enters Goredd in his dragon form and attempts to take control. Seraphina must risk revealing her true identity (and that of her fellow hybrids) in an attempt to save the kingdom. Hartman creates a rich story layered with intriguing characters and descriptive settings. Seraphina is a complex and fully developed protagonist. Although long, this unique novel (left open for a sequel) will surely appeal to fans of Christopher Paolini’s “Eragon” books (Knopf) and wherever readers enjoy fantasies. Lauren Newman

Schneider Family Book Award
For Middle Grade Readers:
LEAN, Sarah. A Dog Called Homeless. 198p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212220-9; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-212222-3. LC 2011044628.
Gr 4–7—Cally Fisher hasn’t spoken for 31 days. As she explains in the prologue, “Talking doesn’t always make things happen, however much you want it to.” She knows that talking won’t bring her mother back to life or keep her dad from selling their home in exchange for a small apartment so what’s the point in saying anything. But when her mother appears one day wearing a bright red raincoat and the only other soul that sees her is a big scraggly dog, the girl knows she must find a way to convince her father that the dog is the only thing connecting them to her mother. But her father’s growing depression continues to separate the family and Cally struggles to keep her mother from becoming a distant memory. When she meets Sam, who lives downstairs, the friendship that forms between the blind boy and silent girl manages to reunite a family, and each character benefits from the bond. Truly a lesson in the power of love and loss, this story shows that learning how to listen is more important than what’s being said. This is a thought-provoking story that will speak to readers of all ages.—Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH

For Younger Readers:
ALEXANDER, Claire. Back to Front and Upside Down. illus. by author. 26p. Eerdmans. Sept. 2012. Tr $16. ISBN 978-0-8028-5414-8.
PreS-Gr 1–Stan, a small anthropomorphic puppy, faces a big problem–his class is making birthday cards for the principal, but he just can’t get the hang of writing. He is despondent until a friend suggests that he approach their teacher for help. Gathering up some courage, Stan approaches Miss Catnip and discovers that he’s not the only one having trouble. After “lots and lots and lots of practice,” Stan’s writing improves and he not only creates a great card, but learns that he should always ask for help when he is struggling. Alexander’s mostly full-page illustrations of Stan and his animal friends are bright and cheerful. Though cartoonish, they expressively depict the change in Stan’s emotions–from isolation and sadness to accomplishment and happiness. The story is a tad didactic, but it teaches a good lesson. Students should have no trouble sympathizing with Stan’s learning difficulties and cheer for his success.–Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

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.

“This project highlights that the library is not just about access to information, but the place in the community where teenagers can become savvy consumers of news and information in all its formats,” says Library Director Ramiro S. Salazar.

Over the summer, participating teens in San Antonio will work with librarians, journalists, and news ethicists to learn and to create materials that will be shared online. The initiative is funded by the Open Society Foundations and administered by the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom.

Training for the kids will be led by the News Literacy Project Inc. The library has also partnered with Nowcast SA to serve as the initiative’s local new media/journalism component.

Recruitment of interested teens will begin in the spring.

“The San Antonio Public Library is excited to bring this national program to San Antonio,” Salazar says. ‘[It’s] a tremendous privilege and we look forward to being a part of this. I thank the ALA for this honor and I congratulate the Teen Services department for creating a submission worthy of this distinction.”

Spanish-language titles by Latin American publishers.
Photo by Sujei Lugo

Librarians who serve children in predominantly Latino communities were shocked this past December to read a New York Times article claiming that there is a dearth of Latino characters in books written for young readers—a notion that is at odds with their own experiences. In fact, they tell School Library Journal, there is actually a wealth of resources currently available to these kids, and librarians have the power (and the responsibility) to make those meaningful connections.

“When I first started as a librarian 27 years ago, there was very little out there,” admits Tim Wadham, director of the City of Puyallup Public Library, WA, and its Spanish-language collection as well as author of SLJ’s bi-monthly Libro por libro column of K–12 books and programming centering on the Latino experience. “There were some books available from Spain, but nothing that spoke directly to the kids that I was working with. There weren’t that many Latinos writing at that time.”

However, there has finally been a sea change for this population of readers, Wadham argues. “Now, there’s an explosion of very talented authors, writing in English, Spanish, and bilingually,” he tells SLJ.

Lucia Gonzalez, Pura Belpré Honoree for her bilingual The Bossy Gallito (Scholastic, 1994), agrees. “Quality children’s books have been published for decades, especially since the ‘90s boom,” she says.

Raising the Profile
The problem, Gonzalez notes, is a lack of visibility. These award-winning titles “unfortunately…just don’t get into the mainstream market. Instead of being displayed with the ‘regular’ books, they’re set apart,” she says. “Until we make our books an integral part of children’s literature, they are not going to be noticed. We have to make them visible.”

Pura Belpré Honor book by Lucia Gonzalez

Gonzalez, who is also current chair of ALA affiliate REFORMA’s Children’s Roundtable, says she is disappointed in this continued misrepresentation of Hispanic-focused kid lit in mainstream media, a situation that REFORMA is still working to resolve. Since 1971, the group has sought to bring attention to books written by or about Latinos and, in 1996, created the annual Pura Belpré Award, co-sponsored with ALSC, to single out Latino(a) writers and illustrators who affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in outstanding works for youth.

Oralia Garza de Cortes, co-founder of the Award and past president of REFORMA, recalls that one of the principal motivations for establishing the Pura Belpré was because of the lack of literature for her children and patrons that she experienced as a librarian in the late 1980s.

“Ironically, fast forward 30 years…we have the award and better books, but no one knows about them,” she tells SLJ. “That’s why we created the Celebracion event at ALA Annual, where the winning titles are presented—in order to acculturate, or conscientizar other librarians.”

And as the United States population continues to grow more diverse—with Latinos being the most represented minority at 16%, according to the 2010 census—librarians continue to be instrumental in meeting the needs of the communities they serve. Many develop and create their collections according to their changing neighborhoods.

“How wise are librarians that they want to see all groups represented in their collections? They go the extra mile and work with the small presses,” REFORMA past president Loida Garcia-Febo tells SLJ.

Each Community’s Needs
Librarians serving predominantly Latino communities know how important it is for kids to have access to books about their culture, written and/or illustrated by those that share similar ethnic backgrounds.

“Latino authors serve as roles models to Latino aspiring authors,” notes Sujei Lugo, a former media specialist at an elementary school at the University of Puerto Rico who is currently pursuing her PhD in Library Science at Simmons College. While serving her young students, she purchased many supplemental titles in Spanish and English, plus bilingual editions, from Latin American publishers. For many kids, these books offer an alternative history not usually taught in schools, or often relegated to specific holidays or Heritage months, she says.

“Kids have to see themselves as part of the American story,” says Andrew Jackson, director of the Langston Hughes branch of Queens Library.

Yet Jackson also believes it’s even more important for children who have never seen a person of color to have access to these kinds of books. “All children have to expand their worldview, especially those kids who’ve only ever seen negative and/or inaccurate portrayals of Latinos or African Americans on television or in the media,” he explains. “[These books] can tear down stereotypes.”

Adds Lugo, “These books speak about diversity, acceptance—important messages for all kids.”

Wadham is also concerned that books with Latino themes or characters be made more accessible to all kids, and not unfairly pigeon-holed or ghettoized. “I don’t think…a reader should be limited to reading books in [one’s] own culture,” he says. “Kids should be able to read everything; it doesn’t matter where that kid is from or what culture they belong to. It’s good literature, regardless of cultural content.”

Elizabeth Burns, NJ youth services librarian and SLJ blogger, agrees. “We as industry leaders should point to and promote these titles…Our role is to connect the right book to the right reader,” she says. “If a child is looking for a family-themed book, why can’t we offer Julia Alvarez’s How Tia Lola Comes to (Stay) Visit (Knopf, 2001)? These titles are for everyone.”

And, notes REFORMA president Denice Adkins, “Most of our children’s books are about universal themes of childhood—love, fear, growing up. These are topics all children can relate to.”

Expanding the Market
Beyond raising visibility for these wonderful books, many are working to expand the market even further for these diverse voices—and librarians are leading the charge, even at the publishing level.

Garcia-Febo, for example, actively encourages presses large and small to produce stories about Hispanics that portray “the true Latino experience,” in every skin color, economic status, and tradition. “And, from personal experience,” she tells SLJ, “I can say that publishers actually listen.”

She also urges Latino professionals who are already in the publishing industry to continue to promote and foster Latino talent, and cites Marcela Landres as a great mentor to burgeoning authors.

Despite the large selection now available to today’s kids, there has actually been a slight decline in the number of children’s books being published for Latinos recently, according to the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Children’s Book center—a distressing report, says Adkins.

That means children’s book publishers should be actively looking to cultivate even more Latino authors and illustrators to create new works, Gonzales tells SLJ.

Notably, librarians wield great influence when dialoging with publishers due to their immense buying power, blogger Burns tells SLJ. “When we talk to publishers at conferences or via social media, it should be a two-way street,” she says. “We have to let them know that these books are popular with our students. ‘If you publish them, we will buy.’”

And within ALA, librarians of any background should strive to become active in the many ethnic library associations, such as Asian Pacific American, American Indian, and the Black Caucus, Garcia-Febo says. “This is a complex issue and we must continue to bring it to the table, not only among ourselves, but also everyone in our community: nonprofit organizations, celebrities, and government agencies,” she says, adding that the more people involved in the cause, the more successful it could be.

Broadening Horizons
For those librarians who want to learn more about how to better serve the Latino community, there are many additional resources available.

Jaime Naidoo, past chair of the Pura Belpré award and organizer of the biennial National Latino Children’s Literature Conference, encourages all library science graduate students to take classes that focus on working with underserved communities and multi-cultural groups. He also urges experienced librarians to continue their professional development in much-needed areas of the study—like this one. The conference, he notes, is a great place to start.

Meanwhile, Lugo praises several Latin American publishers that already produce books about Hispanic children in everyday situations, instead of the cultural emphasis that is prevalent in many books and series currently in print. Venezuela’s Ediciones Ekaré offers bilingual and Spanish-language editions; Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico publishes primarily Puerto Rican authors; and Spain’s Editorial Hotel Papel offers the Libros para crecer en igualdad series, which includes titles that encourage children ages 3–8 to break away from stereotypes and racism.

Librarians’ mission to create lifelong readers and learners has not changed, and reluctant readers, Latino or not, often need a connection to the story to be drawn in. Naidoo describes an unforgettable story-time event with award-winning Latina author/illustrator Yuyi Morales. “A mom came up to me after a Día program in a public library,” he says. “Her daughter never pays attention during story hour, but was transfixed because the author looked just like her. She had her light bulb moment.”

These kinds of eye-opening experiences illustrate the deep and ongoing need for books with Latino characters, a need that has has been articulated for decades by youth librarians, affirms Wadham.

Fortunately, “it has finally become part of a national conversation, which is a good thing, because these are good books,” he says. “We’ll soon see the day that a novel by a Latino will win the Newbery Medal.”

HARTMAN, Rachel. Seraphina. Random, 2012. ISBN 9780375966569. JLG Level: FH: Fantasy/Science Fiction. High (Grades 9-12).

Newcomer Rachel Hartman brings an exciting dragon adventure to the list of possible contenders. Already a winner on numerous best lists, Seraphina is a fantasy novel about a half-dragon heroine who lives in a land where a treaty was made with the dragons 40 years ago. When the prince is found beheaded, villagers are quick to blame the powerful creatures. Seraphina must risk revealing her own identity in order to save the kingdom from those who wish the peaceable agreement to end. Romance, political thriller, mystery, and coming-of-age genres combine in this high fantasy.

Leaving the ending open for a sequel, readers of all kinds will devour this new addition to the star-studded year.

KELLY, Jacqueline. Return to the Willows. illus. by Clint G. Young. Holt. 2012. ISBN 9780805094138. JLG Level: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3-5).

Over a hundred years after its original publication, Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows (Methuen, 1908) gets a sequel. Written in an amazingly-similar style, Kelly brings back some of our favorite characters in one hilarious adventure after the other. Supplemented by footnotes to translate the English language into American, readers will cheer when Toad is saved once again, and worry as his friends encounter trouble after trouble. New characters enter the Willows (Toad’s nephew) and a once-enemy (Sammy the weasel). The whole story leads to a rousing and satisfying conclusion. Young’s gorgeous illustrations complement the tale.

Kelly begins with an admonishment to read the original before you start. Check your shelves to be sure you have it for your students who will certainly want to read it after they read Kelly’s homage―if not before.

LIN, Grace. Starry River of the Sky. Little, Brown. 2012. ISBN 9780316125956. JLG Level: A+ : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3-5).

A companion to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown, 2009), Starry River of the Sky begins with a runaway boy who finds work in a village inn. Rendi is harboring secret troubles, but he seems to be the only one who notices that the moon is missing from the village’s sky. He begins to piece things together―missing moon, and also missing sons. When a mysterious guest visits, Rendi joins in her nightly storytelling, and he finds a way to make peace and restore the things that are lost.

Beautiful illustrations, stories-within-stories, and a flowing narrative make Starry River a standout. Though fans of the first work may jump at the chance to read Lin’s latest, newcomers will want to read this one too. Perfect for reading aloud.

MACLACHLAN, Patricia. Kindred Souls. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Bks. 2012. ISBN 9780060522988. JLG Level: A : Intermediate Readers (Grades 3-5).

Long known for her heart-wrenching stories, MacLachlan doesn’t disappoint with her newest prairie story. Eighty-eight-year-old Billy has a special bond with his ten-year-old grandson, Jake. Every day they walk the farm where Billy grew up. “Kindred souls, we are,” he says. One day a stray dog makes himself at home with Billy―just about the time that he gets sick. Before he goes to the hospital, Jake promises to rebuild his grandfather’s sod house. The whole family joins in the project, binding them together and granting Billy’s request.

Though the sad ending is inevitable, the magic of the dog’s appearance and the joy found in rebuilding the sod house keep the story from being too painful for young readers. MacLachlan gives the reader hope.

For ideas about how to use these books and links to supportive sites, check out the Junior Library Guild blog, Shelf Life.

Junior Library Guild is a collection development service that helps school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books. Season after season, year after year, Junior Library Guild book selections go on to win awards, collect starred or favorable reviews, and earn industry honors. Visit us at www.JuniorLibraryGuild.com.

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.

Author interviews: “Writers Speak to Kids” is a free series of 17 videos from NBC Learn that features interviews with popular and award-winning children’s books creators. The authors, responding to questions posed by NBC News correspondent Jenna Bush Hager, talk about their writing process and experiences. The series launched on September 17, with interviews of Peter Brown, Doreen Cronin, Jeff Kinney, Daniel Kirk, and Mo Willems. Gordon Korman, Ridley Pearson, Laura Vaccaro Seeger, Philip Stead, Rebecca Stead, Clare Vanderpool, and Jacqueline Woodson are among the other authors that will be interviewed during the fall. The program is intended to inspire students and help them learn about creative writing techniques.

Mora Award Winner

Día celebration: The Lynden Public Library of the Whatcom County Library System in Washington has won the 2012 Estela and Raúl Mora Award for exemplary efforts promoting El día de los niños, El día de los libros (Children’s Day, Book Day). More than 250 people attended the festivities, and each child was given a book. The event featured craft activities led by bilingual teen volunteers, and had several storytimes that ended with a game of lotería (Mexican bingo) with books given as prizes. There was also a disc jockey, a piñata, and other games. The Lynden Public Library will receive $1,000 and a special plaque. “What resonated with the committee was the grassroots involvement of Lynden’s Día,” said Beatriz Pascual Wallace, Mora Award chair. “There was a strong sense of community connection with this event, of everyone coming together to plan, celebrate, and share.”

For the first time, three honor awards were given: the District of Columbia Public Library, King County (WA) Library System, and Sacramento (CA) Public Library each received $300. The award, presented annually in partnership with REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish speaking, was established in 2000 by author/poet Pat Mora and her siblings to honor their parents. The award will be presented during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Midwinter meeting in January 2013 in Seattle.

Common Core

Free writing rubrics: Turnitin, in partnership with the English Professional Learning Council, has made writing rubrics developed to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) available free to educators. The rubrics for argumentative, narrative, and informative essay assignments for 9th and 10th graders and 11th and 12th graders help instructors explain to students what is expected of them, assess student work, and track their progress. You can also watch a free video on the Common Core writing rubrics.

Early Learning

Digital content: Capstone’s myOn reader has expanded its collection of early childhood reading content with the inclusion of hundreds of enhanced digital titles from eight additional publishers: Bellwether, August House, Little Folk, August House Story Cove, Orca, Rourke, Speakaboos, and Sylvan Dell.

Launched in 2011, myOn reader is a personalized literacy program that offers access to an integrated library of digital books with reading supports, customized to a student’s interest and reading abilities. Teachers can monitor, track, and measure student reading growth. To date, myOn reader offers more than 2,500 books. These titles include reading supports such as an embedded dictionary, highlighting, and audio. “Reading proficiency is the foundational aspect of learning, so building students’ literacy skills early is critical to putting them on the path to success throughout school and beyond,” said Todd Brekhus, president of Capstone Digital. “The expanded collection of early childhood content available on myON reader combines a student’s love of technology with their innate curiosity and interest in learning.”

A Booklist for Teens

Best books: Sixteen school and public libraries have been selected by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), as official book groups for their Teens’ Top Ten, a booklist created by and for teens. Groups of young adults from these libraries nominate titles published during the 2013-2014 calendar year to create the Teens’ Top Ten nominations. Then, it’s up to teens across the country to vote for their three favorites. When the ballots are tallied, the Top Ten list is created. And that’s not the only job for these teen book groups. They also evaluate books for more than 30 publishers. New groups are chosen every two years.

The libraries that have been selected are: BHS Book Club, Barrington (IL) High School; Book Hook, Cecil County Public Library, Elkton, MD; Bookhype, Perry Branch Library/Perry High School, Gilbert, AZ; Bookmarked, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Jefferson, LA; CCHS YA Galley Group, Concord-Carlisle (MA) Regional High School; Greene Teens Review Board, Springfield-Greene (MO) County Library; HCRHS Bookworms, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, NJ; Interesting Reader Society, Poudre River Public Library District, Fort Collins, CO; McReaders, Oakridge Middle School, Clover, SC; Mount Carmel Academy Book Club, Mount Carmel Academy, New Orleans, LA; PPL Teen Book Club, Prescott (AZ) Public Library; Read, Read, and Read Some More, Milton (VT) Middle School and High School; The TABbler, La Vista (NE) Public Library; Teen Book Posse, TAB, and Q Club, Kitsap Regional Library, WA; Teens Know Best, Metropolitan State University and St. Paul (MN) Public Library; Young Adult Advisory Councils, Johnson County Library, Shawnee Mission, KS.

Granted

Literacy skills: Want to help teens in grades 10–12 learn news literacy skills like distinguishing between fact, and opinion and between propaganda and news? Public libraries and library consortia can apply for more than $50,000 in grant money from the News Know-how initiative. Funded by the Open Society Foundations and administered by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF), students get training and support from librarians, journalists, and news ethicists.

Participating libraries select 12–15 diverse students from the 10–12 grades from their community. The students must attend about 25 hours of training during the summer 2013 and complete a team project that requires about 25 hours of outside work. All students who complete the project receive a stipend. Make sure to apply by December 8.

Book donations: Three Coretta Scott King Book Donation Grants are available for underfunded libraries, schools, and non-traditional organizations that provide educational services to children. Recipients of the grants will receive more than 100 titles submitted for consideration for the 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Awards as well as all the winning books. You have until January 31 to apply for the grant (make sure you click on Book Donation Grant after you log on). Winners will be notified in February.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are presented each year by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee of the American Library Association’s Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) “to encourage the artistic expression of the African-American experience via literature and the graphic arts.”

App Challenge for Students

STEM app challenge: The Verizon Innovative App Challenge was created by the Verizon Foundation to ignite students’ interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Hosted by the Verizon Foundation and administered by the Technology Student Association (TSA), groups of 5–10 students in middle and high school and their faculty advisers are given the opportunity to develop an original mobile app concept that incorporates STEM and addresses a need or problem in their school or community. Between October 15 and January 18, each team entering the contest must submit an essay of up to 1,000 words that describes the team and the process it went through to develop the concept, how it will address the problem, what STEM skills were used in the process, and its functionality and potential impact. Each team must also submit a three-minute video or other visual presentation describing the app concept and how it will function. Teams may create a video, use presentation software such as PowerPoint or Keynote, or utilize online tools like Animoto, Prezi, or SlideRocket. Be sure to check out the rules and guidelines.

During the week of February 21, a winning middle school and a high school team will be chosen from each state. From this group, five middle school and five high school teams will be selected as challenge winners on March 18. Each challenge winner’s school will receive a $10,000 grant to build the app and to enhance STEM education. Members from the team will receive a Samsung Galaxy wireless tablet.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Prolific author honored: Popular author Russell Freedman has won the Educational Book and Media Association’s (EBMA) 2012 Jeremiah Ludington Award. Named after the Association’s founder, the annual lifetime achievement award is given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the “education book business.” Russell has written more than 50 biographies and other nonfiction books, and won the 1988 Newbery Medal for Lincoln: A Photobiography (Clarion, 1987). At EBMA’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, in January 2013, Freedman will receive a framed certificate and $2,500 will be given to the charity of his choice—the San Francisco Public Library. “The EBMA board and membership are thrilled to present this year’s Ludington Award to Russell Freedman,” said Gene Bahlman, EBMA president and vice president of Follett Library Resources, Inc. “His contributions to children’s nonfiction literature spanning over 50 years is unmatched and truly impressive.” Previous recipients of the award include Steven Kellogg, Jon Scieszka, Kevin Henkes, Judy Blume, and Richard Peck, among others.

Teens’ Top Ten

Best books: Divergent (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books), Veronica Roth’s debut novel set in a dystopian Chicago world, has been selected by teens as their favorite book in the annual Teens’ Top Ten vote sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). To come up with the top ten books, national teen book discussion groups created a list of 24 of their favorite books published between January 2011 and March 2012. Then, teens across the country voted for their top three favorites online between August 15 and September 15 to create the 2012 Teens’ Top Ten. You can check out a video announcement of the list.

The other winners are: The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton, 2012) by John Green, Legend (Putnam) by Marie Lu, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Bks., 2011) by Ransom Riggs, What Happened to Goodbye (Viking, 2011) by Sarah Dessen, Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Penguin/Razorbill, 2011), Cinder (Feiwel and Friends, 2012) by Marissa Meyer, The Scorpio Races (Scholastic, 2011) by Maggie Stiefvater, Where She Went (Dutton, 2011) by Gayle Forman, and Abandon (Scholastic/Point, 2011) by Meg Cabot. The winners will be featured on YALSA’s literature blog, The Hub: Your Connection to Teen Reads.

Awarded

Children’s book illustrations: If you’re in New York City between October 24 and December 22, you’ll have the opportunity to see The Original Art 2012, an annual exhibit celebrating children’s book illustration at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. Founded in 1980 by illustrator and art director Dilys Evans, the exhibit showcases the original art from the year’s best children’s books that have been selected by a jury of illustrators, art directors, and illustrators. This year, 139 books were chosen from more than 550 entries submitted.

Awards in a number of categories will be presented at an opening reception on October 25 at the Society of Illustrators. Gold and silver medals are going to three books representing a variety of mediums and techniques. Laetitia Devernay won the Gold Medal for The Conductor (Chronicle, 2011). The Silver Medal winners are Jon Klassen for This Is Not My Hat (Candlewick, 2012) and Steve Jenkins for The Beetle Book (Houghton Harcourt, 2012). In addition, the Founders Award, given to the most promising new talent in children’s book illustration, is going to The Brothers Hilts for The Insomniacs (Putnam). The Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished accomplishments in the art of children’s book illustration was awarded to Tomie de Paola and the late Richard Scarry.

Best Practices

Cutting-edge recognition: Is your school or public library using cutting-edge technology? The American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for InformationTechnology Policy (OITP) and the Library & Information Technology Association (LITA) are accepting nominations from libraries that have successfully implemented technological advancements. Submissions for best practices must involve the use of technology, must be a novel idea or implementation of a service, and must document the project so that it can be replicated. Nominations may be made for work in numerous areas, including application development, circulation, collections, community services, integration of Common Core Standards, open source, patron services, professional development, readers’ advisory, references services, web services, and many more. The applications must be submitted no later than November 6, 2012, and a joint committee of members from the Subcommittee on America’s Libraries for the 21^st Century and the Library & Information Technology Association will review the nominations. Winners will be announced at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in January 2013.

“We want to showcase libraries that are serving their communities with novel and innovative methods and provide the library community with some successful models for delivering quality library service in new ways,” said Patty Saidenberg, chair of the Cutting-edge Technology in Library Services selection committee.

Digital Reference Update

Database update: A “Focus on History through Video” feature has been added to Infobase Learning’s African-American History Online. On the homepage, each time the site reloads, a new video will be shown. A gallery of all the videos in the database can be accessed by clicking on the link just below that video screen. To help students who are searching for video clips from a specific time period in African-American history, the video gallery can be filtered by era. “Booker T. Washington Is Enshrined in Hall of Fame,” “Joe Louis and Bill Conn Sign for the Title Bout,” and “Torpedo Boats” are among the new videos.  This footage from the time adds context and depth to students’ understanding of events in African-American history. The database also includes primary sources, images, time lines, biographies, maps, charts, subject entries, and more.

Laverne Mann, branch manager at the Piscataway Public Library, piqued some interest during her panel presentation on Foolproof Graphic Novel Collection Development when she announced an upcoming beta test for a new digital comic product ComicsPlus; Library Edition, by iversemedia. ComicsPlus will offer ebook versions of graphic novels and comics to libraries via subscription.

Two other NJ-based librarians, Emily Weisenstein of Boonton Holmes Public Library and Joseph Gasparro of Montville Public Library, discussed the use of superheroes in promoting library programming. Weisenstein warned the audience that the use of trademarked characters, which includes most superheroes, is not permitted for the promotion of library programs. So teens in her library created their own. They include Dr. Holmes, a superhero librarian, who will debut at the end of October. But NYCC attendees were treated to a preview as Weisenstein transformed herself into Holmes for a mini in-character performance.

Bearing tattoos and spiked hair, high school English teacher Justin DeVoe from Newark, NJ, discussed video games in a panel on Games and Learning. He emphasized that by using games he’s fostered an “interactive” classroom. Meanwhile, Malcolm Bauer, a research scientist at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) addressed ETS’s efforts to develop game-based student assessments. With its Assessment Game Challenge, ETS is soliciting input from the public.

The annual NYCC, second in size to the Comic Con International conference in San Diego draws more than 100,000 attendees to the four-day event. They included Betty H. Lee, library associate for young adults at Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Libraries. Lee said she enjoyed the exhibits from familiar names in publishing, such as Abrams, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette Books in addition to smaller publishers such as Kill Shakespeare whose books have appeared on the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens list.

Planning to catch this year’s American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in Anaheim, CA? If you’re anything like us, you’ll want to make every second count. That’s why we’ve asked seven savvy librarians to give us the skinny on the top five sessions they plan to attend during the June 21–26 event. As you’ll see, they came up with an eclectic mix that’s bound to make nearby Disneyland’s power couple, Mickey and Minnie, a mere distraction.

But ALA isn’t the only meeting that has a lot to offer. Librarians can also take advantage of the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) conference, which takes place June 24–27 in San Diego, just a hop, skip, and a tank of gas away. According to ISTE’s organizers, the forward-thinking gathering will feature “nearly 20,000 enthusiastic ed-tech professionals and corporate representatives from around the globe.” Sound tempting? Then you’ll want to read why librarian Tiffany Whitehead (“ISTE or Bust”) is skipping ALA in favor of ISTE.

SLJ’s editors will be at both shows. At ALA, look for us at booth #2234, where we’ll offer special discounts to Book Verdict, our new online collection development tool that provides access to more than 300,000 reviews of books and media from SLJ, Library Journal, and The Horn Book. You can also find out more about our August 9 virtual event, “SummerTeen: A Celebration of Young Adult Books,” and our October 17 ebook summit, now called “The Digital Shift: Libraries, Ebooks, and Beyond.” And don’t miss our popular Spa Day raffle, where three lucky winners each receive a $150 certificate to help ease their weary conference-going bones.

Wherever you land, we hope the following recommendations deliver some exciting new ideas that you can put into action.—SLJ staff

Carl A. Harvey II

School librarian,
North Elementary School,
Noblesville, IN

AASL President’s Program

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Convention Center (ACC) 213AB

As the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) current president, I’m probably a little biased, but this session tops my list. Lori Takeuchi, director of research at Sesame Workshop’s Joan Ganz Cooney Center, will share the results of a nationwide survey of more than 800 parents of kids ages three through 10, which reveal how parents feel about raising children in a digital age. Takeuchi will answer audience questions and share in-depth case studies on how parents’ attitudes toward technology, as well as their family values and routines, help shape the experiences of today’s kids. This is powerful information to take back and use in your schools.

Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., ACC 213D

Here’s a great opportunity to find out about some excellent online tools to use with students as AASL unveils its 2011 Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning.

AASL 101

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 203B

This program is highly recommended especially for those new to ALA’s conference scene. I remember going to my first ALA annual and leaving unsure about the experience. Luckily, I tried it again and was hooked. A chance to attend an AASL 101 back then would have taught me a lot about ALA and AASL—and I would’ve caught the fever even sooner!

Closing General Session and Inaugural Event, Featuring J. R. Martinez

Tuesday, June 26, 9:30–11 a.m., ACC Ballroom DE

While serving in Iraq, Martinez, the author of the upcoming biography Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit, suffered severe burns when his vehicle struck a landmine. During the next three years, he underwent 33 operations and worked tirelessly to recover. Come listen to his inspiring message of perseverance and resilience. We librarians need to embrace Martinez’s attitude—in order to achieve anything we set our minds to.

AASL Awards Luncheon

Monday, June 25, 12–2 p.m., Hilton Anaheim Huntington

Come grab a bite, listen to keynote speaker Carmen Agra Deedy, and celebrate the amazing accomplishments of school librarians as they’re lavished with the recognition they so richly deserve. In these tough economic times, we need to relish the positive rather than focus on the negative.

Melissa Jacobs Israel

Coordinator of library
services, New York City
Department of Education

Libraries in the Cloud

Friday, June 22, 8:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 201B

As more and more libraries move beyond brick-and-mortar spaces and drift into the cloud, librarians need to understand their new roles. This session will give us a greater perspective on the best emerging practices and the pros and cons of cloud computing, and help us learn about productivity tools that we can implement in our schools.

YALSA Teen Advisory Boards—Keeping Teens Interested

Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209B

School and public libraries are longtime partners when it comes to reaching teens—and we should continue to keep this diverse audience engaged. I’m curious to find out if there are any lessons that school librarians can learn from our public libraries and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), especially when it comes to keeping teens interested in what we have to offer. Perhaps it will lead to a conversation between New York City’s public library system and our school libraries.

AASL When Worlds Collide: An AASL and Common Core Mash Up

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., Hilton Anaheim Laguna A

School librarians nationwide need to start building lessons based on the Common Core Learning Standards. In New York City, we’ve aligned our school library Information Fluency Standards with the Common Core Learning Standards and now offer four-day professional development workshops on unpacking Common Core standards, developing lesson plans, and understanding text complexity. It’s imperative to understand the work that’s being done by AASL and school librarians across the country. The Common Core Learning Standards offer opportunities for all school librarians to step up and lead students through critical thinking, informational text, and text complexity.

Critical Thinking in a Digital Age: The Positive Influence of Web 2.0 Tools

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 205B

Social learning and Web 2.0 are powerful tools for student learning. As educators and librarians, we need to embrace them to help students navigate in a digital age.

ALSC Nonfiction Book Blast: Booktalks and Activities for Your Library

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 304AB

The Common Core Learning Standards’s and NYC’s Citywide Instructional Expectations are built on understanding, analysis, and responses to informational texts, which are nonfiction books and factual articles from vetted sources. Use this opportunity to engage students and teachers with booktalks and activities in your library while using the Common Core Learning Standard’s focus on text complexity and informational text. By drawing more users into the library, you’ll instill lifelong learning and reading skills.

Chantell L. McDowell

Teen services librarian,
Charlotte Mecklenburg
(NC) Library

Books We’ll Still Talk About 45 Years from Now

Friday, June 22, 12:30–4:30 p.m., ACC 204A

As a YALSA member and YA librarian, I’ve always wanted to be a part of its book-selection committee. The aspiring writer in me would also like to know what it takes to create quality young adult literature, especially classics that’ll endure for years to come.

Leaders Wanted/LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair: Cultivating Diversity in LIS Education

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Marriot Marquis South

Once I’ve completed my doctoral program in leadership studies at New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce University, I’m seriously considering pursuing a second doctorate in library science. Sounds like this is a good place to learn more.

Leading Professional Development That Matters… and Works

Friday, June 22, 12:30–4 p.m., ACC 201B

This preconference seminar takes advantage of the growing library field—and will hopefully offer different professional development models that can enhance my career.

Auditorium Speaker: Teens Making a Difference Featuring William Kamkwamba, Talia Leman, and Gaby Rodriguez

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–2:30 p.m., ACC Ballroom DE

As a teen advocate, I enjoy interacting with kids who want to make a difference or who’ve already made one. I’m looking forward to hearing about the wonderful journeys and choices that have inspired these three young people to stand up and take charge.

Auditorium Speaker: Sapphire

Sunday, June 24, 10:30–11:30 a.m. ACC Ballroom DE

Sapphire is the author of the best-selling novel Push, which was made into the Oscar-winning 2009 movie Precious about an illiterate teen who’s raped by her father and rescued by a determined teacher. It would really be a pleasure to hear Sapphire speak. She’s an inspiration, and I’ve always admired her work.

John Peters

Children’s literature
consultant,
New York City

Science in the Stacks

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209A

According to ALA’s program guide, this session is “centered around 36 Discovery Exhibits, which provide experiential science learning that’s integrated with traditional library resources.” Intriguing!

Publish or Bust!: An ePublishing Odyssey

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 207B

In an apparent case of one library providing a new service by catching a cultural wave while it’s on the rise, this session will report on a library-based experiment in the growing area of self-publishing. Though the resulting book was apparently not for children, I imagine the process would be similar no matter the intended audience.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I review a ton of nonfiction every year, and so I’m always on the lookout for new trends and perspectives on the stuff.

When Miss Rumphius Meets Hugo Cabret: Scaffolding Using Picture Books

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 210C

Unfortunately, this program on making reading more active through evaluating picture-book themes and concepts takes place at the same time as the program listed immediately above it, but if I lace on my sneakers, maybe I can slip back and forth between the two presentations. That sort of thing has never happened to me, but hey, there’s always a first time.

I Want a Truck Book! Reorganizing Your Picture Book Collection to Meet the Needs of Young Patrons and Their Caregivers

Sunday, June 24, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 210D

Becuase I’ve spent most of my library career working with mammoth picture-book collections and struggling to find ways to make them accessible—to librarians as well as patrons—this program addresses an enduring interest.

ALSC and YALSA Joint Presidents’ Program: The Digital Lives of Tweens and Young Teens

Monday, June 25, 8–10 a.m., ACC 304AB

As a member of the Great Web Sites for Kids committee and a freelance reviewer of apps and ebooks, I expect this program to be chock-full of relevant and valuable new insights into the digital experiences of young users.

John Schumacher

Teacher-librarian,
Brook Forest Elementary
School, Oak Brook, IL

When Worlds Collide: An AASL and Common Core Mashup

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., Hilton Anaheim Laguna A

Schools around the country are working on implementing the Common Core standards. This session will inspire school librarians to take a leadership role that will help teachers implement the new guidelines.

Think, Create, Share, Grow: Setting the Stage for Collaborative Inquiry

Saturday, June 23, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Anaheim Marriott Orange County Salon 1–2

Michael Stephens was one of my library school professors, and he stressed the importance of “library as place.” Thanks to Michael and my partnership with Iowa’s Van Meter School, I’m drawn to sessions and discussions about library spaces, collaboration, and inquiry-based learning.

When Miss Rumphius Meets Hugo Cabret: Scaffolding Using Picture Books

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 210C

I’m pumped about any session that mentions two of my favorite books. I hope it’ll remind attendees of the importance of using picture books with kids of all ages.

Share the Wealth: Contribute to the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database

Sunday, June 24, 8–10 a.m., ACC 205B

I’ve used the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database, and now it’s time to contribute to this valuable resource. I am excited to learn more about the process of submitting a lesson.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I’m looking forward to this session almost as much as the Newbery/Caldecott banquet. A new framework for evaluating nonfiction intrigues me.

Allison Tran

Teen services librarian,
Mission Viejo (CA)
Library

Not Another Boring Vampire Romance: Going Beyond the Norm in Young Adult Paranormal Literature

Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., ACC 209AB

I’m ready to hear something new about the ever-popular genres of paranormal and fantasy YA literature, and this librarian-moderated panel featuring authors Kendare Blake, Ken Oppel, Jackson Pearce, and Cindy Pon sounds fascinating. According to the panel’s official description, it will “give particular insight in how approaching this best-selling genre from a unique perspective as both a reader and a writer makes it even more relevant and interesting to a more diverse audience of teen readers.”

Being a Social Teen Advocate

Saturday, June 23, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 204C

As an active social media user, I’m always eager to learn new ways to use these technologies to reach my library community. This session, presented by technology expert Linda W. Braun, will discuss how to use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ to attract library teens. I’m looking forward to the brainstorming part of the session when we all exchange ideas.

Best Fiction for Young Adults

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Hilton Anaheim California D

This is always one of the most talked about ALA sessions, and I always use YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list as a selection tool for my library’s collection. I look forward to hearing local teens talk candidly about their experiences with the books nominated for the 2013 BFYA list.

Passive Programming That’s Anything But: Reaching Young Adults Subversively

Sunday, June 24, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 207A

As a budget-conscious librarian who plans a lot of passive programming for teens, I’m always scouting for new ideas. According to this session’s description, “Participants in this program will learn why passive programming is an important aspect of YA service and how to inexpensively implement and maintain these programs.” It’s exactly what I need to spice up my passive programs.

Odyssey Award Presentation and Program

Monday, June 25, 4–5:30 p.m., ACC 213D

Each year the Odyssey Award goes to the producer of the best English-language
audiobook for children and young adults in the United States. I’m absolutely addicted to audiobooks—I love the way a talented narrator can make a good story even more vibrant. I’m looking forward to celebrating the 2012 Odyssey winners, chosen by a committee of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and YALSA members.

Paula Willey

Librarian,
Baltimore (MD) County
Public Library

ALSC and YALSA Joint Presidents’ Program: The Digital Lives of Tweens and Young Teens

Monday, June 25, 8-10 a.m., ACC 304AB

When I talk to kids about their online lives, they ask me, “How come our parents think everyone online is a rapist?” And when I talk to parents, they tell me, “Kids don’t realize how dangerous it is to be online!” I need authoritative information about the way kids use the Internet in order to make good recommendations to them and their caregivers.

The New Nonfiction: What Is It, and Does It Matter?

Sunday, June 24, 1:30–3:30 p.m., ACC 202B

I’ve been reviewing nonfiction for SLJ for four years, and sometimes the life of a reviewer can feel like a lonely one—this upcoming panel sounds like my kind of people! If nonfiction and the criteria for evaluating it are changing, I better brush up on it.

Leaders Wanted/LIS Doctoral Program Options Fair: Cultivating Diversity in LIS Education

Saturday, June 23, 10:30 a.m.–noon, Anaheim Marriott Marquis South

Why not consider getting a Ph.D.? I’ve been a librarian for more than a decade, helping people research what they find interesting… maybe it’s time to turn those skills back on the profession that means so much to me.

Teen Advisory Boards—Keeping Teens Interested

Monday, June 25, 10:30 a.m.–noon, ACC 209B

After reading in a recent issue of SLJ about zombie survival training as a teen program, I realized there are some seriously clever and creative YA services librarians out there. I intend to steal all of their ideas!

Get Them Talking About Books!: Using Protocols to Assist Students with Making Book Choices and Developing a Reading Plan

Monday, June 25, 1:30–3:30 p.m., Hilton Anaheim Palos Verdes B

Kids turn to one another for reliable book recommendations, but booktalking is a learned skill. For example, kids can often be too vague (“Um, I just really liked the book”) or way too specific, reciting whole runs of dialogue without any context. I want to walk away mastering how to teach that to kids.