By Nell Coburn

“I want to know your top 10 best practices for storytime,” a colleague said to me a few months before I retired. “You’ve been in youth services four decades and you’ve long been a storytime trainer at Multnomah County Library (MCL). I bet you have some best practices I’ve never even thought of.”

This was an irresistible challenge, because it’s storytime that’s kept me in youth services for 40 years and storytime that I’ll miss most in retirement. Storytime is the premium service for children in public libraries across the country. For many youth librarians, it’s the most treasured part of our job. I’m sure my colleagues are aware of many storytime best practices, but I can suggest a few that might not be on everyone’s list.

I’ll start with something I’m passionate about: My longstanding belief that storytime is for children and adults. When I trained as a youth librarian in the 1970s in Prince George’s County, MD, storytime was a kids-only affair. As in most public libraries, parents and caregivers waited for their children outside the program room. A few of us encouraged them to join, but many librarians felt intimidated by the adult presence.

Back in those days, storytime was for three to five year olds. When we started offering programs for two year olds—and eventually, babies—we needed adults to accompany their children. It soon became obvious that everyone was benefiting from storytime. Now, most libraries make it clear that storytime is very much for children and their adults. I’ve underlined some key phrases from the MCL website’s description of storytime: “Parents learn how to foster early literacy skills to prepare their children for learning to read. Librarians answer questions about books and library services, and teach parents how to interest their children in books.”

How does that transfer into best practice? The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Public Library Association (PLA) offer some effective techniques in their early literacy initiative, Every Child Ready to Read @your library, accessible online (everychildreadytoread.org). Since that venture began over a decade ago, MCL librarians have made it standard practice to make direct comments to adults during storytime.

Here’s an example: After sharing a book like Raffi and Nadine Bernard Westcott’s Down by the Bay (Crown) or Westcott’s The Lady with the Alligator Purse (Little, Brown, both 1988), a librarian might say: “Singing and rhyming help children learn that words are made up of different sound combinations. In songs, each syllable has a different note, so it’s easy to hear distinct sounds. Children who can do this are better able to sound out words when they are learning to read.”

Adults appreciate knowing that storytime materials and techniques are supported by research and boost early literacy skills. For many, this gives storytime more legitimacy and educational value.

Even more important than sharing such information with grown-ups is the ability to ensure active adult participation in storytime. The best storytimes are those during which adults are fully engaged—shaking out their wiggles, clapping, singing, dancing, and encouraging kids as they interact with the books.

This can be facilitated in multiple ways. I like to hang large-print copies of regularly used songs and rhymes on the wall, or have a collection stapled together in a take-home handout. It’s easier for grown-ups when the words are right in front of them. It helps storytime presenters, too: We don’t have to memorize all those songs! And a handout encourages parents and caregivers to share the songs and rhymes with their children later, further strengthening their early literacy skills.

Adult involvement has all sorts of positive outcomes beyond the educational ones. When grown-ups are engaged, we have fewer “adult behavior” challenges, such as chatting or cell phone use. This leads me to another best practice: Establish clear expectations for both adult and child storytime behavior. Effective instructions are positively worded and presented in simple, direct language. The focus should be on what storytime participants should do, rather than what they should not do.

Consider posting your expectations, briefly mentioning them at the beginning, or handing them out before a series of storytimes. For example, a clear, friendly statement may help adults realize that cell phone use during storytime is not appropriate. Here’s one to try: “Adults: Please help me make this storytime a good experience for all by turning off your phone, or putting it on vibrate. If you must accept a call during storytime, please step outside the room to do so.”

Help young parents understand that it’s best to take their child out of the room if he or she is disruptive, and that they are welcome back when the child is ready. According to MCL staff, this instruction is especially appreciated by immigrant parents with no storytime experience who may not know how they and their children should behave.

Likewise, a brief, straightforward statement can inform adults that we don’t expect their two year old to behave like a five year old: “Welcome! This is a storytime designed for two year olds, so please know that it will look different from some other storytimes you may have attended. Two year olds need to move, so we plan lots of movement activities and we don’t mind when they get up and roam around the room during the stories, as long as they don’t hurt themselves or disturb others.”

Adults who are actively involved and understand the educational value of storytime may be less likely to be chronically late. Of course, nothing is predictable where young children are involved, and there will be occasions when traffic, a child meltdown, or some minor home crisis will result in latecomers. The best practice here, I believe, is to welcome all attendees warmly and make them feel comfortable. Recently I observed a Spanish-language storytime during which families trickled in from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Everyone seemed fine with that, and the newcomers slipped into the group seamlessly. Spanish-speaking staff say that a relaxed regard for time is culturally appropriate, another factor to consider in our approach to latecomers.

I’ve always felt that one of storytime’s main purposes is to introduce children and grown-ups to the riches of the library’s collections. Adults often need a nudge in the direction of poetry and the fine information books available to children. To encourage them in these areas, I believe we should make it a point to feature poetry and nonfiction books in storytime.

Here are some suggestions. Byron Barton’s Building a House (Greenwillow, 1981) and Joy Cowley and Nic Bishop’s Red-Eyed Tree Frog (Scholastic, 1999) are fascinating and well-paced for storytime reading. A poetry book I’ve used again and again is Jack Prelutsky and Marc Brown’s Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (Knopf, 1986), a gem containing a great selection of poems to match with picture books. The collection includes an assortment of poems about mud, puppies, and other ordinary things that delight small children and connect storytime to their immediate world. Try pairing Lillian Schulz’s “Fuzzy Wuzzy, Creepy Crawly” caterpillar rhyme with Eric Carle’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Philomel, 1969). The short poem nicely reinforces Carle’s simple science lesson.

If I have one pet peeve, it’s people who come for storytime and leave immediately after. In MCL storytime training, we encourage staff to invite participants to explore the collection and “find something wonderful to take home!” We also urge storytime presenters to accompany families to the shelves and offer assistance. Staff should not be expected to return to a public service desk right after their program. They can make themselves most useful by roaming the shelves with the participants they’ve just put under the storytime spell.

Often, adults like to linger and socialize after storytime. If you find that they aren’t also visiting the collection, set up a small selection of enticing materials in the program area. Encourage everyone to browse. You may even wind up doing quick booktalks about materials you’re encouraging families to check out. Include some cool materials for adults—a new cookbook, seasonal craft books, gardening books, magazines, or DVDs.

How do we stay fresh when we do storytimes week after week, year after year? We need to look for opportunities to continue our education in storytime techniques. Even after 40 years, I love learning new rhymes and songs from colleagues. I love seeing how someone else approaches a title and discovering which new titles work well for them. The best way to grow our storytime skills is through observation, an important part of new staff training at MCL. Veteran staff benefit from observation as well: We should all get out of our own libraries and observe our colleagues elsewhere several times a year. Managers can support this practice by incorporating it into yearly staff performance appraisals.

MCL youth librarians also enhance their skills through a practice called “storytime highlights.” During several monthly youth services meetings, a few librarians share a favorite song, rhyme, puppet story, or activity. They also meet periodically for “circle of practice” sessions before the meeting. Each session focuses on supporting skills in a specific area, such as toddler time, family storytime, or songs and rhymes for babies.

I’ll close with one of my strongest beliefs about storytime. Perhaps it’s more of a “best concept” than a best practice, but it affects everything else we do. This is something I learned from the wise Marjie Crammer, who for decades headed the children’s department at the New Carrollton (MD) Library. Marjie would tell her staff: “Storytime is not about you; it’s about the children.”

Over the years, I’ve adjusted that a bit: “Storytime is not a performance; it’s an interactive experience between you and the people in front of you on any particular day.” Staff attending MCL storytime training say this is what they remember most. It takes the pressure off and keeps the focus on the children. Come to think of it, let’s move that to best practice number one. I don’t doubt it will hold for another 40 years.

Nell Colburn served as a children’s librarian for over 40 years at Multnomah County Library in Portland, OR, and at public libraries in Maryland, Virginia, New York, and Washington. She is the 2013 recipient of the Oregon Library Association’s Eveyln Sibley Lampman Award for significant contributions in library service to the children of Oregon. She also cowrote SLJ’s “First Steps” column with Renea Arnold from 2004-2012.

By Lisa G. Kropp

Do you know STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)?  From hosting “parties” with traditional building blocks to using science kits with young children, ideas for STEAM programming in libraries were discussed at a recent panel at the ALA (American Library Association) annual conference.

The panel, “What’s Hot in STEAM Education: How Using ECRR2 Supports Literacy, Common Core, and School Success,” also honed in on using hands-on activities to build skills outlined in the updated Every Child Ready to Read initiative.

At the packed, standing-room-only event, moderator Christy Estrovitz, early literacy coordinator of the San Francisco Public Library, hosted panelists including Dr. Judy Cheatham, vice president of literacy services at the organization Reading is Fundamental (RIF), along with Eva Mitnick, coordinator of children’s services at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) and Susan Anderson-Newham, early learning supervising librarian at the Pierce County (WA) Library System, and a 2013 Library Journal  Mover and Shaker.

Judy Cheatham of Reading is Fundamental: Resources for teaching STEAM and ECRR

What does STEAM programming mean to public libraries and early literacy services? According to Cheatham, STEAM has the potential to help position public libraries at the forefront of language and literacy development, particularly when working with parents, young children, and teachers.

Founded in 1966, RIF is the oldest, and largest, children and family literacy non-profit in the US. Its mission is to motivate young children to read by working with them, their parents, and  community members to make reading a part of everyday life.

Cheatham noted that the RIF site offers a multitude of resources to use when planning library STEAM programs. RIF’s 2012-2013 Multicultural Book Collection focuses on books that enhance STEAM education, and related four-page resource guides feature a wealth of information and suggested activities for parents, librarians, educators, and community coordinators.

The resource guides suggest simple ways to add STEAM activities to literature-based projects. “Teachers don’t have to be Albert Einstein’s offspring to do STEAM activities,” Cheatham noted, challenging the audience to infuse more STEAM into their programming.

Why focus on STEAM education at such an early age? Cheatham explained that in order for U.S. students to compete in a global economy and job market, we needs to improve their math and science skills. Middle School is the wrong time—too late—to introduce complex science and math terms and vocabulary, she said. Research shows that young children’s brains are like sponges, she noted: eager to absorb information on a wide variety of topics.

Cheatham cited statistics showing that 75 percent of students who are poor readers in third  grade remain so in high school. After third grade, cognitive demands increase yearly, as does the pressure to master  the new Common Core State Standards. If we don’t start introducing scientific vocabulary to kids at a younger age, she argued, we are going to lose the war on literacy and set students up for failure down the line.

Children’s librarians can serve their communities by creating STEAM programs for parents with young children, and by offering educators access to STEAM-rich materials and activities, Cheatham noted.

RIF recommends using Z is for Moose with STEAM activities.

She also stressed the need to target learners earlier through workshops incorporating ECRR best practices: talking, singing, writing, reading, and playing. One book that RIF recommends for STEAM activities is Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinksy (HarperCollins, 2012). RIF’s suggested related activities for the book listed included all five STEAM subjects.

Books that encourage STEAM allow librarians to teach complex vocabulary to parents, teachers, and young children in a fun way, Cheatham reiterated. Ending her inspiring talk, she reminded the audience that vocabulary needs to be heard, used, and practiced.

STEAM at the Los Angeles Public Library: Partnering with the California Science Center

During Mitnick’s presentation, she described a new STEAM program hosted by LAPL in partnership with the California Science Center. LAPL has 72 branches and a central library, all of which follow ECRR practices. Their recent collaboration with the California Science Center introduces preschool children to science concepts using the ECRR principles.

“Preschoolers are natural scientists” because they question everything, Mitnick noted. The goal of the  project was to create a program promoting STEM activities across the curriculum and referring to the California Preschool Curriculum framework. Also, she said, parents were provided with resources to support their child’s STEM experiences.

In January, four LAPL branches began working with preschoolers and their parents, using science kits created by California Science Center. Librarians received training during workshops at the Science Center, whose staff created six kits around the following topics:

• Rocks and Minerals
• Insects
• Habitats
• Seeds to Plants
• Balls, Ramps, and Rollercoasters
• Build It!

Each kit contained plenty of manipulatives and tech devices including iPads, digital scales,  microscopes, and a mini projector.

Mitnick created a Preschool Science Program Form for library staff to fill out  when utilizing the kits. This way, they could keep track of materials and equipment used, including books. The form features a description of the program and its learning activities along with examples of ECRR activities and skills. Finally, Mitnick asked staff to include anecdotal information and comments on the program by children and parents, feedback to keep in mind while the pilot prepares to expand to three more LAPL branches in the fall.

Mitnick said that reading the RIF-recommended STEAM books prompted LAPL librarians create additional booklists. The preschool science series involved a lot of dialogue among parents, librarians, and preschoolers: “What is an inclined plane? Can you find one at the library?” Librarians introduced science topics in other fun ways, like singing songs related to the kit’s theme. Library staff used the downloadable site Freegal Music to search key science words in children’s songs.

The young learners “wrote” their hypotheses by drawing their thoughts and ideas out on large pieces of paper. There was also lots of playing with the kits’ manipulative devices. Preschoolers created art using scientific principles, such as gravity painting. “The paint always goes down!” Mitnick deadpanned.

Librarians and parents used vocabulary terms such as observe, predict, and check, knowing that the kids, modeling adult behavior, would start using them too. Wrapping up, Mitnick said that LAPL hopes to expand their science programming with another grant next year for elementary age kids.

Block Play at the Pierce County Library System

Anderson-Newham started her talk by exclaiming, “Block parties are completely addictive!” She was referring to once-a-month events in which reps from the local Head Start center came to co-lead play sessions, using traditional maple blocks, with trained librarians.

Like Cheatham, Anderson-Newham emphasized that STEM activities should start in early childhood settings, when children are at their most inquisitive. During the block parties, librarians announce two simple rules: participants cannot throw blocks or knock down anyone’s structure.

She went onto explain the seven stages of block play:

• Carrying blocks
• Stacking–both horizontal and vertical
• Bridging
• Enclosures
• Patterns and Symmetry
• Early Representational
• Later Representational

Anderson-Newham noted that once each stage is mastered, youngsters move backward and forward through them during play. The different block units feature labels—arches, columns, squares, rectangles, triangles, cylinders, and circles, as well as the basic, half, and double unit blocks—to teach children this vocabulary.

Each block party starts with a brief story time with picture books such as Christy Hale’s Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (Lee & Low, 2012) or Shape Capers by Cathryn Falwell (HarperCollins, 2007). There are also pictures of famous structures from around the world to inspire the kids.

After some time, librarians add more elements to the block play–transportation vehicles, farm and zoo animals, scarves, and clothespins. “Library meeting rooms are perfect for blocks,” noted  Anderson–Newham, because they are large spaces easily emptied of furniture, offering ample room for big structures.

Participating Head Start teachers said that the sessions enriched block play back in the classroom as well. Students began looking around the room wondering, “‘What else can we use with our blocks?’” said Anderson-Newham.

Some Head Start sites invited parents along, many of whom were not previously library users. Spanish-speaking staff gave library tours. Many parents applied for library cards and are now coming to the library on their own, Anderson-Newham said.

Every participating child receives a free set of 100 wooden blocks to take home, along with information sheets explaining what children learn while playing with blocks. Participating libraries have added blocks into their existing Lego building programs for older students.

Anderson-Newham ended her talk by quoting Frank Lloyd Wright, whose mother once gave him a set of wooden blocks for his birthday. “‘The feeling of those simple maple blocks is in my fingers to this day,’” he said.

The event was sponsored by PLA (the Public Library Association) and ALSC (the Association for Library Service to Children) ECRR Oversight Committee.

The Caldecott Medal was awarded to 32-year-old Jon Klassen for This is Not My Hat (Candlewick). In accepting the award, Klassen fondly referred to his book—about a sneaky fish and the stolen hat he adores—as his “little guy,” and said he was happy that its subtle humor and message had resonated with readers. Klassen is also a Caldecott Honoree this year for Mac Burnett’s Extra Yarn (HarperCollins); he is only the second illustrator with this achievement in the award’s history.

Katherine Applegate, winner of the John Newbery Medal for The One and Only Ivan (HarperCollins), spoke about her long road to the Medal after a varied writing career, commenting that she was not ‘a late-blooming” success. The 56-year-old winner read from a Harlequin Romance novel that she once wrote. “A woman’s body is like a piano,” she said. “You are definitely a Steinway, baby.”

Unlike her early work, Applegate’s Newbery-winning turn is a poignant YA story of a long-captive gorilla. In her remarks, Applegate recalled her youth and specifically the time that she was introduced to Doctor Doolittle and Charlotte’s Web, books in which, like the Ivan of her book, the principal protagonists were talking animals. “You have to write the book that has to be written,” she quoted Madeleine L’Engle. “And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

Applegate went on to praise the optimism of children and to thank the members of the Nerdy Book Club, whose online enthusiasm brought recognition to Ivan.

In accepting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, Katherine Paterson thanked “all the librarians and teachers,” noting, “many children would never know my books if it was for you.” The award is given to an author whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature. The 80-year-old Paterson is a two-time Newbery and National Book Award winner, and has served as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The Wilder award comes forty years after the publication of her first book, The Sign of the Chrysanthemum. In closing, Paterson praised the audience and the event, which she said was for “celebrating all of you who nourish the lives of the young.”

Librarian Suzanne Walker donned pins representing the 75 Caldecott Medalists.

The evening’s entertainment was not only found on the stage. The audience was filled with many librarians dressed in their Caldecott-themed fashions and accessories, such as Starr LaTronica, youth services/outreach manager at the Four County Library System (NY) and president-elect of ALSC, who sported earrings and shoes adorned with Caldecott Medals. Elizabeth Bird of the New York Public Library, picture book author and SLJ blogger, wore an outfit that featured all of this year’s Caldecott books. And all 75 Caldecott winners were present on the dress of Suzanne Walker from the Indiana State Library in the form of individual pins that she created for each winning book.

Katrina Taylor and Charlene Mckenzie, librarians from St. Paul, MN, are annual attendees of the dinner; both enjoy the event for different reasons, they told School Library Journal. While McKenzie appreciates getting to see the authors and illustrators who “create the magic of the book,” Taylor says, “it is so inspiring to have a celebration of children’s literature.”

During the reception, attendees previewed the museum’s special exhibit on the history of the Caldecott Medal, “Play, Pretend, and Dream: Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, 2010–2013,” and had books signed by featured Caldecott artists. The exhibition includes original illustrations from 16 books that have won the medal or an honor award in the past four years, including Jon Klassen’s This Is Not My Hat, Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Jon Klassen), Peter Brown’s Creepy Carrots!, and Chris Raschka’s A Ball for Daisy. (Visitors to Chicago can view the works through December 1, 2013.)

On Friday, Selznick, 2008 Caldecott Medalist for The Invention of Hugo Cabret and 2002 Honoree for The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, opened the preconference by hilariously donning the sparkly shirt he wore when he accepted his own Caldecott and acknowledging Zelinsky, three-time Caldecott Honoree and 1998 Medalist for Rapunzel, in the crowd.

Selznick, who designed the logo for the Caldecott anniversary celebration, spoke about the importance of the medal and shared a little of its history and trivia, from its conception in 1921 by bookseller Frederic G. Melcher and on into the modern era. (For example, 1964 winner Maurice Sendak loved Randolph Caldecott’s Baby Bunting, especially its closing illustration, Selznick noted.)

Selznick also acknowledged that there are authors and illustrators that have never been recognized by Caldecott. In closing, Selznick went on to share more memories of his friend and mentor Sendak and the ways Sendak inspired his own work, and called Where the Wild Things Are one of the most important Caldecott winners. He closed with a reading of that iconic and beloved work.

Attendees learned about the process of creating an award-winning picture book in a series of panels: “Matching Words and Pictures,” which featured Erin and Phillip Stead and Neal Porter; “Choosing a Medium and a Style,” featuring Chris Raschka and Lee Wade; and “Preparing Art for Production,” featuring Jerry Pinkney and Patti Ann Harris. Attendees were shown early sketches of completed works (such as Raschka’s little books, in which he creates mock-ups of the earliest drafts of his picture books), and learned more about the revision and design processes.

At lunch, Leonard Marcus moderated a panel on Caldecott honorees featuring Melissa Sweet, Pamela Zagarensky, Peter Brown, and Kadir Nelson. The author/illustrators debated the future of picture books and talked about the various ways that technology might change the field in the future. Attendees also had a chance to discuss in small groups a list of books that each had been pre-assigned in advance, one Caldecott-winning book from each decade.

In the afternoon, Art Institute staff helped facilitate the breakout sessions for further discussion. The topics were varied: “Art and Stories,” ” The Caldecott Medal and Social Issues,” “Caldecott Medal Artists at the Art Institute: A Closer Look,” “Caldecott Books for Older Readers,” “How Did They Do That?,” “Look to Learn; Learn to Look,” “Multi-Layered Meanings,” “Randolph Caldecott and Caldecott Medal History,” “Serving on the Caldecott Committee,” “Style and Media,” “Watching Dry Paint!,” and “Weston Woods and the Caldecott Winners.”

The day wrapped with Zelinsky’s engaging and funny presentation, in which he challenged librarians to look toward the future of the field, especially in light of technology’s many distractions. What could “interactive” picture books look like? Might we see a day when famous picture books, even Where the Wild Things Are, will be adapted for each reader? (Maybe not. After all, “Paul, the king of all wild things…” doesn’t quite have the same resonance as “King Max.”)

Additional reporting by Rocco Staino, contributing editor.

The American Library Association (ALA) annual conference is upon us, and I’m vexed with both Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). As I tool around the country helping folks engage with nonfiction and the Common Core, I keep seeing evidence of deeply-seated and unexamined prejudice against nonfiction in those two divisions.

I followed with real interest the discussion of the Caldecott Award at 75 on the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) listserv. The first posts were about identity: the overwhelming number of winners that were both male and Caucasian. I asked about nonfiction in terms of genre and format. How many nonfiction winners have there been? And, how frequently has photography (often used in nonfiction books) been honored?

Though there were moving and passionate posts about Tanya Hoban and Nic Bishop, (I’d add Susan Kuklin and Charles Smith, to begin), no committee has seen fit to honor them. Indeed the only exceptions I’ve heard mentioned emphasize my point: Jacqueline Briggs Martin’s medal winner Snowflake Bently (Houghton Mifflin, 1998), illustrated by  Mary Azarian, is about a photographer, without his photographs, while Patrick McDonnell’s honor book Me…Jane (Little, Brown, 2011) has, drumroll, a single photo. Why, one might ask.

The answer rests in a rule that gets to the heart of the issue I am raising: Caldecott criteria require original artwork that has not been previously published. That means that a picture book that incorporates archival photography or images from a research institute can’t win. At a stroke, the medal eliminates from consideration any book that uses, say, NASA images. The award can go to a deceased artist, but I was told by an expert that the medal was initially designed to support living artists, thus the focus on new work.

The problem is that Caldecott criteria state that the award is presented in honor of “the most distinguished American picture book for children,” and defines distinguished as: “Marked by eminence and distinction; noted for significant achievement. Marked by excellence in quality. Marked by conspicuous excellence or eminence. Individually distinct.”

If the Caldecott is an award to encourage living artists, then (contra what I argued in The Horn Book years ago) we should have awards designed to encourage every brand of living artist. Affirmative action is affirmative action–let’s identify deserving sets of artists and make sure they get their due. But, if the Caldecott honors the most distinguished picture book, it cannot exclude a title that requires the primary use of archival images. When I read through the list of medalists, I see marvelous books and a line-up of wonderful artists deserving of their honors. But the members of that all-star team, no matter how luminary, are solely masters of ink and brush, paint, and pixel.

The Caldecott does not honor the most distinguished picture book; it honors the most distinguished rendered picture book. That is a crucial distinction because it signifies that great artistry can’t be found in the selection, layout, design, and display of images that have survived from the past. Indeed, one person who posted on the CCBC listserv intimated that she, and she assumed most others, believe photography is not an art form in the same manner as drawing, painting, or collage.

Another person pointed to the Robert F. Sibert medal as meeting the need for a nonfiction award. But that is not fair given that the Caldecott criteria state that the award selects and honors distinction. The Caldecott is the ne plus ultra, the cynosure, of awards–it cannot both assert its primacy, and–implicitly–disqualify whole categories of books. Moreover, Caldecott is an ALSC award–a division that stretches up to 8th grade, as once again the award rules stress. Surely those older readers of picture books–and we all know they are legion–often prefer photographs over drawings they see as childish. And yet this ALSC award inherently excludes those older books from consideration.

That brings me to YALSA. I’ve been furious ever since that ALA division decided to remove nonfiction from its Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA) list. BBYA is now best fiction. While YALSA has made efforts to improve its nonfiction prize, it has never recognized a key flaw in its plan: the BBYA meetings were a public forum where future librarians, authors, and editors, and could listen and learn, and its nomination list was often used by teens as a reading/discussion list. There is no longer an up-to-date list of young adult nonfiction titles for reading groups to consider, or a public venue where stakeholders can discuss teen nonfiction. It’s ironic that this has happened just when librarians, authors, and editors are asking for guidance in how to select and craft quality nonfiction.

So there we have it. Sure, individual books are honored, as Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb (Macmillan, 2012) was this year. But nonfiction remains marginal–so marginal that neither ALSC nor YALSA seems to notice their abiding bias. The question is, why?

American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
The new President-Elect of AASL is Terri Kirk, Librarian, Reidland High School, Paducah, KY.  Also new to the board are Division Councilor Valerie Edwards, Member-at-Large Jody K. Howard, and Director-Elect Region 6 Carlyn J. Gray.

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)
The new Vice President and President-Elect of ALSC is Ellen M. Riordan, Chief of Planning, Programs and Partnerships, Enoch Pratt Free Library. Also newly appointed are Fiscal Officer Diane Bailey Foote, New-to-ALSC Board of Director Gretchen Caserotti, and Board of Director Megan Schliesman.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
The new President-Elect of YALSA is Chris Shoemaker, Young Adult Programming Specialist, New York Public Library. Also elected are new board members Maureen Hartman and Krista McKenzie.

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.

Granted

Día grants: The February 1 deadline to apply for twelve $5,000 mini-grants to help libraries incorporate Día into their programs is fast approaching. The mini-grants, part of the Association for Library Service to Children’s (ALSC) Everyone Reads @ your library grant, are funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and are intended to help libraries start a Día Family Book Club Program. These awards will be given ‘to libraries that demonstrate a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities.” In addition, ALSC will be able to use funds from these grants to create a Día Family Book Club Toolkit that libraries can easily access. Be sure to check out requirements and complete the application soon.

Día is “a nationally recognized initiative that emphasizes the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds. It is a daily commitment to linking children and their families to diverse books, languages and cultures.”

Author Lauren Oliver

You Have to Be in It…

YA writing contest: HarperCollins and Figment are sponsoring a young adult writing contest, and bestselling author Lauren Oliver (“Delirium” series) will be the judge. The contest’s theme is “Write a story in which love is dangerous,” and it’s open to 13 to 21 year olds. To enter, aspiring authors must visit www.figment.com (“a community where you can share your writing, connect with other people who love to read, and discover new stories and authors”) and register for free. They should post an original story of no more than 1,500 words by clicking “Publish Now.”

Entries will be judged based on quality, creativity, and relevance to the theme. All stories must be submitted by March 3, and one grand prize winner will be selected by May 1. The winner will receive airfare for two to New York and two nights in a hotel, a day at HarperCollins, have the piece published on Teen.com: a “teen and tween website and source for celebrity and entertainment news, freebies and giveaways, exclusive video interviews, red carpet style, TV recaps, movie reviews, new music, and funny viral videos,” and be offered a one-year unpaid columnist position with Teen.com.

Tech Award: If you are a media specialist in a primary or secondary school and have teamed up with a teacher to plan and execute a great collaborative project involving technology, you have until February 28 to apply for the SIGMS (Special Interest Group for Media Specialists) Tech Innovation Award. SIGMS is the special interest group for school library media specialists within ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Make sure to check out the rules and the nomination form. Entrants must describe the collaborative technology innovation project, explain how the administration supported the project’s objectives, describe how the project could be expanded or improved in the future, and provide data collected on the impact of the project. Winners will receive complimentary registration and a traveling stipend to ISTE’s annual conference, $1,000 for the school media center, a $300 professional library, and more.

Nature writing contest: Big Universe is sponsoring a Nature Writing Contest for K–8 students in schools that subscribe to the company’s ebook reading, writing, and sharing platform. The focus of the contest is on the Common Core Literacy Writing and Literacy Language Standards. According to Big Universe, its “literacy website provides a ready-made library of cross-disciplinary informational and literary leveled texts from today’s best publishers with tools for self-publishing, sharing, assessment, and account management.” One of the aspects of the platform is an online writing and publishing tool—and that’s what students must use to enter the contest. Kids must create a book of no more than 200 words that includes some aspect of nature using the authoring tool on the company’s WRITE section. Entries are published to the teacher’s account for review and submission. All entries must be submitted by February 28 and will be accepted in three age groups: grades K–2, 3–5, and 6–8. A winner for each bracket will be announced on March 15, and their books will be published on the Big Universe website.

Sweepstakes tech package: The CDW-G and Discovery Education’s 2013 Win a Wireless Lab Sweepstakes is open to employees of accredited public, private, and parochial schools. Between now and May 3, participants can enter once every day to win some great technology for their schools: an Epson projector, a Xerox multifunction printer, or a Sony Notebook computer—or one of two grand prizes consisting of 20 notebooks or tablets, an interactive white board, three wireless access points, a notebook cart, a document camera, student response systems, and a printer from CDW-G as well as a $5,000 digital media grant from Discovery Education. The grand prize winners will be randomly drawn by May 9 from all eligible entries made during the entire term of the contest. Be sure to check out all the rules and go to the Win a Wireless Lab Sweepstakes page and click on the Enter to Win button. Educators can find out more about the sweepstakes by following Win a Wireless Lab on Pinterest, @WinWirelessLab on Twitter, or Facebook.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Great Websites for Kids Committee has announced their picks for Spring 2012. The 11 websites, intended for children from birth to age 14, have been selected based on their outstanding concept and execution.

All About Birds, a website created by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, features bird names, species, and history as well as bird songs and videos. PBS Kids Raising Readers Kids Island features games and activities to help kids develop and practice basic reading skills. Created by Jeff Kinney (“Wimpy Kid” series), Poptropica is a virtual world in which gamers can create a character and set out on quests on “islands” based on themes from history, nature, and more. The New York Times Learning Network offers materials based on the newspaper’s content as well as lesson plans, resources for teachers, quizzes, and activities for students 13 and older.

Be sure to check out ALSC’s other Spring 2012 winning websites: ABCya!, CIA for Kids-Games, Common Sense Media, Generation on Youth Advisory Council, Judy Schachner, Seymour Simon, and We Give Books.

Click here for more information about judging criteria.