You have to be in it: The 2013 Samsung K–12 “Return on Intelligence” Gift Programs have been announced by Samsung Techwin, a manufacturer of document cameras. The Superhero Program competition encourages students to prepare a 1–3 minute digital video (camera phone quality is acceptable) in which they portray their favorite historical character. The deadline for entries is May 31. The contest is opened to students in grades K–12 and the video will be judged on presentation performance, character and content accuracy, and content quality. The winner will receive $500 and the student’s class will get a SAMCAM 760 document camera.

To enter the Scholarship Program, high school students must write an essay of no more than 300 words in response to the question: What do you think about technology advancements and how they will change the way we learn in the future? Is it for the better? The deadline for submissions is May 15. Essays will be judged on the basis of original thinking, relevance to the real world, and writing quality. All applicants must be sponsored by a teacher. Five winners will be announced on May 31 and will receive a $1,000 award.

Under its 2013 Grant Program, ten teachers will each have the opportunity to win a SAMCAM 760 document camera for use in school by writing a fun lesson plan of 100 words or less in which they use the camera. The deadline for submissions is May 1, The top 20 finalists will then have to submit a video showing their lesson in the classroom using the SAMCAM 760. Ten winners will be selected on June, and their school district will also keep the camera.

Freebies

Teaching guide: Hurry up and get your free copy of Brother Sam and All That: Historical Context and Literary Analysis of the Novels of James and Christopher Collier (Clearwater Pr., 1999) from AudioGO. The lessons compiled in this companion teaching guide provide teachers and librarians with information about how to use historical fiction in the classroom—just what the Common Core Standards require—and tips for teaching the novels by James and Christopher Collier. AudioGO publishes audiobook and ebook versions of more than 50 novels by James and Christopher Collier, including the classroom favorite, My Brother Sam Is Dead. The first 100 people to email michell.cobb@audiogo.com will receive this teaching guide at no cost.

Publishing News

Trade picture books: This spring, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, is launching a collection of fully illustrated picture books. “We are excited to introduce a range of picture books in both paper-over-board and trade paperback formats,” says Ashley Andersen Zantop, Group Publisher and General Manager. “We believe that quality illustrated titles provide an important stepping stone to reading and an opportunity to inspire imagination, creativity, and a love for good books.” The titles and series scheduled for publication in February 2013 are: Flood by Alvara F. Villa, “Princess Heart” series written and illustrated by Molly Martin, “The Other Side of the Story” series by Nancy Loewen (classic fairy tales), and Charlotte Gullain’s “Animal Fairy Tales” series.

And more picture books: Hank Finds an Egg (ages 3–8) written and illustrated by Rebecca Dudley will be published by Peter Pauper Press in May 2013 as their initial venture into publishing children’s trade picture books for children. The wordless picture book tells the story of a young boy who finds an egg on the forest floor, helps it return to its home in a tree, and is rewarded by his new forest friends. Three additional titles are scheduled for publication: Bruce Arant’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep! (Fall 2013), Digby Differs by Miriam Koch (Fall 2013), and Sarra J. Roth’s Not the Quitting Kind (Spring 2014). If you’re a picture book author, Peter Pauper Press is accepting unsolicited submissions online, or you can send your manuscript to Mara Conlon, Senior Editor, Peter Pauper Press, 202 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY 10601.

Peter Pauper Press has been publishing gift books, references, travel guides, children’s activity books, and other products for adults since it was founded in 1928.

Children’s Lit Conference

Digital Lit: Librarians, teachers, and others who love books are invited to attend e-Looking Glass: Children’s Literature in the Digital Age, a full-day conference to be held at Carthage College Hedberg Library in Kenosha, WI, on April 13, that will explore “how books are being reinvented to create visual and interactive experiences that printed books cannot provide.”  Topics will include the changing landscape of texts (interactive ebooks, book apps, learning products, and online communities), how to integrate this new technology into the classroom, and the design and development of these new types of books. Among the speakers are Brandon Oldenburg, award-winning illustrator and co-founder of Moonbot Studios; Umesh Shukla, animation director and founder of Auryn, a digital publisher of apps; Denise Johnson, author of The Joy of Children’s Literature; William H. Teale, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and others. Undergraduate continuing professional education credit is available. The cost to attend the conference is $65, and $40 for students. You can register online. The cost of one credit hour is $50; to view the syllabus, contact Marilyn Ward at mward@carthage.edu.

Recovery grants:

You Have to Be in It…

Free audiobooks: To promote its new distribution partnerships, Findaway World, the maker of Playaway, Playaway View, and Catalist Digital, is giving away three $1,000 Playaway starter collections to schools. Media specialists and teachers can visit the website, complete a short survey, and enter for the chance to win one of these great audiobook collections. One school will be selected to receive a starter collection each month, from March through May.

Playaway audio content comes preloaded in circulation-ready media players. Playaway’s new distributors include Mackin Educational Resources, Perma-Bound, Children’s Plus, Baker & Taylor, Classroom Library Company, Delaney Education, Bound To Stay Bound, Central Programs, and AV Café. Each distributor will offer various titles from Playaway’s collection of 17,000 titles. Findaway World will continue its longstanding distribution relationship with Follett Library Resources and Follett Educational Services.

Programming

Arts and humanities awards: Libraries are encouraged to apply for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP) Award, an initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The deadline is February 4. Be sure to check out eligibility requirements before completing the application. Twelve winners will be selected to receive a $10,000 grant. In addition, 38 finalists will receive a Finalist Certificate of Excellence. The award will be presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony at the White House.

Programs should be in place for at least five years and “offer sustained and consistent out-of-school or afterschool opportunities for young people to engage hands-on with the arts or humanities.” After-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs sponsored by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations; educational institutions (e.g., preschools; elementary, middle, and high schools; universities; and colleges), arts centers, community service organizations, businesses, and eligible government entities can submit an application.

Industry News

Professional development: After recently acquiring the assets of Maupin House, a publisher of more than 200 professional resources on literacy topics for K–12 educators and administrators, Capstone has launched Capstone Professional. This new professional development service will include onsite and online training webinars, books, and ebooks. Among Maupin House’s bestsellers are “Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle” series by Jane Ball Kiester; Razzle Dazzle Writing  2001) by Melissa Forney; and the CraftPlus K–8 Writing Program, a curriculum aligned to the Common Core Standards. Capstone is a leading publisher of children’s books, digital products, and literacy programs.

Your Vote Counts: OneVote 2012 is a student mock election held before the national presidential election. Launched by Channel One News, the program gives young people the opportunity to learn about the electoral process and the issues via interactive content as well as the chance to cast their votes for the next president of the United States from October 22–26. Prior to the election, Channel One News will offer news and other special segments to help teens make informed decisions. Team OneVote, a group of six teens, will act as on-air political commentators and contribute to OneVote on Channel One’s YouTube channel. The site features informative brief videos about issues such as energy, the Latino vote, healthcare, voter ID laws, education, and more. There’s even a lesson plan for teachers to use with their students. Educators are encouraged to get their classes involved. Just print out the ballots, tally them, and submit them to onevote.com by October 26. The results will be broadcast on November 1. And it’s interesting to note that since 1992, OneVote has accurately predicted the result of every presidential election.

The Latino Experience

Culturally relevant: Mamiverse Books, launched by Mamiverse.com, is a digital book resource for Latino parents who want to introduce their children to books that accurately reflect the U.S. Latino experience. The site offers book reviews, author interviews, and feature articles. The site also features recommended picture books and bilingual books as well as books for middle grades and young adults. In conjunction with the launch of this site and National Book Month, there’s also an online pledge, Mamiverse Reads, that commits Latino families to making reading and books a life-long priority. “Studies have shown that reading paves the way for future academic success,” notes Adriana Dominquez, former reviews editor for School Library Journal’s Criticas magazine and executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books. “It is essential that we provide families with quality resources that specifically address the needs of Latino parents who want direction on how to incorporate books and reading into their children’s lives.”

App-enings

Borrow ebooks with your Nook: It’s just become easier for Nook users to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from their public and school library. Overdrive recently introduced a free OverDrive Media Console app for Nook. Just visit the Nook store and install the app. With the app, you can locate a library or school nearby and browse or search their ebook collection. Then simply enter a valid library card or school ID and check out and download the title for up to three weeks (or a time period allowed by the library). At the conclusion of the lending period, the title expires.

English proficiency: English language learners can test their proficiency in English with Oxford University Press’s “How Good Is Your English” free app that that can be downloaded from iTunes to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. First, users take a test to determine their reading level, and then they can try a sample chapter with synchronized audio from each of the 30 Oxford Bookworms apps. For those without an Apple device, an online version of the test is available. There’s also a video from Professor Richard Day, chair and co-founder of the Extensive Reading Foundation, in which he explains the benefits of reading in English. “Being able to know your reading level, and to choose stories at that level, is an important first step to enjoying reading in a foreign language, says Verissimo Toste, teacher and teacher trainer in Oxford University Press’s professional development department. “Reading will feel comfortable as students focus on the story and not the language. Comfort and enjoyment will lead students to read more, exposing them to more language, helping them to improve their English.”

Oxford Bookworms apps offer six levels of readers with stories that will appeal to a wide range of readers, such as Sherlock Holmes tales, Dracula, Alice in Wonderland, and more. The stories are written or adapted for language learners and include color illustrations and interactive quizzes.

Industry News

Leveled readers: Capstone has launched Capstone Classroom, three leveled reading programs for early readers. “Engage Literacy” features leveled fiction and nonfiction books for K–3 readers that support literacy, language development skills, phonics, and phonemic awareness. “Wonder Reader” is a nonfiction levelled text program for beginning and transitional readers in the content areas of math, science, and social studies. The titles in the “Wonder Words” program feature nonfiction titles that present the first 100 sight words in math, science, and social studies themed titles.

Picture books: On August 31, Candlewick launched a yearlong video celebration of picture books in honor of their 20th anniversary. Every day for 365 days, as part of the We Believe in Picture Books campaign, Candlewick will offer a video shot by authors, illustrators, staff, and friends, sharing what picture books mean to them, recommending a favorite story, and more. Librarians and teachers are welcome to post these videos on their own websites to share with students. You can also submit your own video to the publisher in which you informally talk about your favorite picture book, what the format means to you, or why it matters.

Pinterest Contest

Win an audio package: Califone International is encouraging educators to follow them on Pinterest and create their own board titled “Classroom AV Wish List,” in order to win tools for their classrooms. To enter the contest, educators have to repin one of four audio packages—portable PA, mobile and ELA learning, library, and clicker—from the Califone Pinterest contest board and then explain how the it will help enrich their classroom. One pin per contestant per week is permitted. Contest rules and submission requirements are featured on the Califone blog. Winners will determined by Califone based on creativity and effective use of audiovisual products. You have until September 24 to enter. Winners will be announced by October 5.

Buy One Get One Free

Ebooks: To celebrate Capstone’s expansion of its Interactive Library interactive ebook program, the publisher is offering customers the opportunity to buy one ebook and get another free. This fall Capstone is expanding its program to include more than 2,000 titles. The program has also improved its technology and is compatible with any PC, Mac, iPad, interactive white board, and any other device with high-speed Internet access. Kids can access Capstone’s interactive ebooks in school, at home, or on any mobile device 24/7. Hurry—this special promotion only runs until November 16. To place an order, customers should use the code “12CILBOGO.”

Careers in Library Service

Career opportunities: The Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science (SILS) is offering students in their SILS program tuition scholarships and two semester internships at the Brooklyn Museum, the Frick Art Reference Library, and the New York Art Resources Consortium to prepare them for careers in museum libraries and archives. M-LEAD TWO (Museum Library Education and Digitization-Technology, Web, Online) is a three-year project that will give students hands-on experience—they will be able to work with research materials from these museum libraries and be mentored by the museums’ staff. Students will graduate with a master’s degree and an advanced certificate in museum libraries and will also get stipends for participating.

The project is funded by a grant of more than $261,000 from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the 2012 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. “With a two-semester internship program and a focus on collection accessibility, the new project furthers our efforts to prepare students for careers as museum librarians and archivist and also advances a new model for museum library education for the 21st century, incorporating digital collections and services across the museum so that graduates are preparing to meet the challenges of museums in our global networked information environment,” noted Tula Giannini, dean of Pratt-SILS and project director.