The immigration experience: Immigration is an important issue today not only in the news but also in the lives of many students and their families, making it a topic that’s relevant for discussion in classes across the curriculum. This spring, the Smithsonian is presenting two online education conferences—“From Where I Stand”—featuring historians, curators, and educators.

Curators L. Stephen Velasquez and Nancy Davis of the National Museum of American History will present “A Closer Look at Understanding Immigration/Migration Experiences in the United States” on April 10 at 1 pm ET. Latino program director Magdalena Mieri of the National Museum of American History and educator Ashley Naranjo of the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies will be present “Immigration/Migration Stories in the Classroom” on May 8, 4 pm ET. The session is educator-focused and will “highlight techniques for sparking classroom conversations.”

In addition, through its Smithsonian Quests program, students will have the opportunity to earn two new digital badges. Kids in kindergarten through fourth grade can earn the Proud Publisher badge by making a book that “features a person, place, and object that represents their heritage.” Middle and high school students can earn a Cultural Storyteller badge by “analyzing an object that represents their identity and heritage.”

Video analysis: Subscribers of Shmoop’s online digital curriculum service can connect with students in a new way. Shmoop has added 26 new Video Activities to their teacher’s guides (with more on the way) that are all aligned with Common Core. George Orwell’s Animals Farm, John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Hamlet’s Romeo and Juliet, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird are just some of the titles that now have an added video feature with analysis and more.

Additionally, Shmoop offers a free online library of more than 150 videos covering literature, math, and history called Shmoopsterpiece Theater. Video reading guides are offered for classics like Lord of the Flies and Romeo and Juliet, and more contemporary fiction, like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Research Competition

Serving the Latino population: Have you conducted research that focuses on the library and/or informational needs of the Latino population in your community and how those needs are being met? REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, and the American Library Association’s Library Research Round Table, is asking librarians, information professionals, master’s students, doctoral students, researchers, and others to submit their latest research by April 15 for a chance to make a 15-minute presentation at the “Investigaciones par servirles/Research at your service” forum at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference in Chicago.

REFORMA will present the three winners with a $250 honorarium. The proposal should be sent via email and should include a cover page with the author’s name, title of the paper, contact information, and email address. The second page should include the paper’s title and a 500-word abstract summarizing the proposed presentation (must be based on original research). Send your submission to Sandra Rios Balderrama, REFORMA Office Manager.

Industry News

Manga: Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King (Harlequin Teen, 2010), a popular young adult novel, is going to be transformed into a manga book. She’s partnering with Bluewater Productions using Indiegogo to crowdsource $10,000 to hire top talent to produce it. The Iron King is one title in her popular “Iron Fey” quartet.  Fans can support the project by making contributions ranging from $10 to $2,500. All donations must be received by April 22. Prizes to contributors include a t-shirt, a signed bookplate, an original sketch by Kagawa, a handmade sculpture of one of the book’s characters, and more. “We are really excited to be working with Julie and Indiegogo to transform her novels into a manga series, like they did with ‘Twilight’. The Iron King is a great novel that was made to be experienced visually,” noted publisher Darren G. Davis. “Not only are these comic books fun, but they can be used as a tool for reluctant readers.”

Awarded

Book awards: The finalists in the Children’s Choice Book Award program, sponsored by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader have been announced. It’s the only national book awards program that gives children and teens the chance to vote for their favorites from the group of finalists. Librarians and teachers are encouraged to spread the word with the online digital toolkit and have their students participate by voting for Book, Author, and Illustrator of the Year. Kids can vote individually, or you can make it a class project. Online voting is open through May 3. Winners will be announced at the 6th Annual Children’s Choice Book Awards gala on May 13 at the Liberty Theatre in New York City.

The finalists in all categories are:

K–Grade 2 Book of the Year: Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick); The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems (Hyperion/Disney); I’ll Save You Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal (S & S/Atheneum); Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons created and illustrated by James Dean, story by Eric Litwin (HarperCollins); Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta, illustrated by Ed Young (Little, Brown).

Grade 3–4 Book of the Year: Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel (Macmillan/Roaring Brook); Get the Scoop on Animal Poop! by Dawn Cusick (Charlesbridge/Imagine); Homer by Shelley Rotner, illustrated by Diane deGroat (Scholastic); Just Joking by National Geographic Kids (National Geographic); Pluto Visits Earth! by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Jared Lee (Scholastic).

Grade 5–6 Book of the Year: Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renée Russell (S & S/Aladdin); Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (Random/Wendy Lamb Bks.); Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School by Kim Baker, illustrated by Tim Probert (Macmillan/Roaring Brook); Rebel McKenzie by Candice Ransom (Hyperion/Disney); Stickman Odyssey, Book 2: The Wrath of Zozimos by Christopher Ford (Philomel).

Teen Book of the Year: Cinder: (The Lunar Chronicles, Bk. 1  by Marissa Meyer (Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends); City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare (S & S/Margaret K. McElderry Bks.); The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Dutton); Insurgent by Veronica Roth (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Bks.); Rapture: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate (Delacorte).

Author of the Year: John Green for The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton); Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel

(Abrams/Amulet); R. J. Palacio for Wonder (Knopf); Rick Riordan for The Mark of Athena: Heroes of Olympus, Book 3 (Hyperion/Disney); Veronica Roth for Insurgent (HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Bks.).

Illustrator of the Year: James Dean for Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (HarperCollins); Anna Dewdney for Llama Llama Time to Share (Viking); Ian Falconer for Olivia and the Fairy Princesses (S & S/Atheneum); Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet (HarperCollins); and Mo Willems for The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?(Hyperion/Disney).

Kagawa’s passion for writing continued into adulthood, but to pay the rent, she worked in several bookstores. When she was caught on the job reading more than shelving books, Kagawa turned to her other passion—training animals—and worked as a professional dog trainer for several years. Once her first book sold, Kagawa started to write full-time.

A New York Times and internationally bestselling author of “The Iron Fey” series, Kagawa is a is a guest speaker at SLJ‘s August 9 online event, SummerTeen: A Celebration of Young Adult Books. If you’ve signed up for SummerTeen, make sure to gather your teens to hear Kagawa speak on the “Aftermath Lit” panel from 3:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Registration is still open.

How did you end up writing fantasy novels?

JK: I originally wrote a novel I thought was an adult fantasy, but most of my characters were young, so my agent decided it was actually YA. Looking back, almost all my characters in my previous stories have been teens, so I’ve been writing YA for a while now, I just didn’t know it.

What do you like best about writing for a YA audience?

JK: I just really love the genre. I love writing for and about teenagers; they’re incredibly dynamic, both in story and real life They love and hate with such a passion. I also love that I can find a lot of my readers online in social media, which allows me to talk with fans and others who love YA. 

What’s one of the most moving things you’ve heard about your work?

JK: It’s always the “your book inspired me to write” compliment that gets me every time. I myself began writing because certain books and authors inspired me, and to know that my books can do the same is the best thing someone can tell me.

How valuable are librarians at getting the word out about your work?

JK: Invaluable. I have nothing but awe and respect for librarians; they are so essential in getting people to read and spreading the word about great books. If they like a book, they will tell people about it, and I know of many people who will read a book or a series just based on their recommendation. They are the unsung heroes of the literary world. 

Do you ever worry about being censored?

JK: To me, censoring is far more dangerous than the content of any book, and I believe it is a parent’s responsibility to decide what books their child is ready for, not a group’s decision to ban a book from everyone. To that end, I try to write what feels real—how real teens speak and act and think. I write what the story calls for, and if that somehow gets my book censored or challenged, so be it. It will still find its way into the hands of my audience, regardless of censorship.

What are you working on now?

JK: At the moment, I am working on the sequel to The Immortal Rules, the second book in the Blood of Eden series, titled The Eternity Cure, and it will be out sometime in early 2013.

Other SLJ SummerTeen Interviews:

Gareth Hinds

Earl Sewell

A.S. King

Johan Harstad

Barry Lyga

Sean Michael Wilson

Peter Hautman

Karen Healey

Cecil Castellucci