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.

The album, inspired by their canoe trip down the Mississippi River, features original mostly folk, country, and bluegrass numbers enhanced by virtuoso performances on a variety of instruments, including accordion, auto-harp, rhumba box, fiddle, udu, drums, pots and pans, tuba, trombone, and many others. According to a recent review in School Library Journal, “this unique, outstanding musical performance should have a place in every library.”

The two childhood friends took a month-long journey on the Mississippi, but never dreamed that their voyage would take them to the Grammys. About to board a plane home to Minnesota, Mailander told SLJ, “We are thrilled that the recording academy chose our album to represent the quality music that’s being made in the children’s genre right now. All the nominees were deserving and we’re honored to be in such great company.”

Four other children’s albums were nominated for a Grammy this year by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in the Best Children’s Album category: Bill Harley’s High Dive and Other Things That Could Have Happened (Round River); the JumpinJazz Kids’s A Swinging Jungle Tale (JumpinJazzKids), narrated by James Murray and featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater, Al Jarreau, Hubert Laws, and various artists; Little Seed: Songs for Children by Woody Guthrie (Smithsonian Folkways), re-imagined renditions of classic Guthrie favorites by Elizabeth Mitchell; and the Pop Ups’s (Brooklyn-based music duo Jason Rabinowitz and Jacob Stein) Radio Jungle (CDBaby.com).

Banned Books Week: From September 30 to October 6 libraries, schools, and bookstores will celebrate Banned Books Week, an annual event that focuses on First Amendment rights. “During Banned Books Week, we hope to remind Americans that the ability to read, speak, think and express ourselves freely is a right, not a privilege,” said Maureen Sullivan, American Library Association President. “As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, it’s important to recognize that book banning does exist in this day and age. It’s up to all of us, community residents, librarians, teachers and journalists, to continue to stand up and speak out for the right to read.”

To commemorate the event, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is coordinating the “50 State Salute to Banned Books Week.” State or regional library associations, local libraries, bookstores, schools, universities, and community organizations are urged to create a video of no more than 5 minutes for the Banned Books Virtual Readout “that emphasizes ways each state’s community celebrates freedom to read during Banned Books Week.” You can upload your video to a special YouTube channel. During last year’s Banned Books Week, more than 800 videos were uploaded, and included posts by such challenged authors as Judy Blume and Lauren Myracle. ALA encourages libraries to participate in the read-out by facilitating the event in their institutions. Be sure to check out the instructions for creating and submitting your video.

Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers and Judith Moyers have been named honorary co-chairs of Banned Books Week. Bill Moyers, a longtime supporter of the event, will appear in an online video “addressing the importance of our freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.”

Filmmaking Competition

Shoot a documentary: StudentCam, C-SPAN’s 2013 national video documentary contest, is open to middle and high school students. Students in grades 6 to 12 are asked to produce a 5-8 minute video focusing on this year’s theme: “Message to the President: What’s the most important issue the president should consider in 2013?” Entries must represent varying sides of the issue and include some C-SPAN video footage that supports the topic. Kids can compete individually or in teams of two or three. While the video must be the original work of the student, teachers are permitted to provide guidance. Rules for preparing the film and other guidelines can be found online. Young filmmakers can upload their videos directly online.

A total of 75 student prizes and 11 teacher prizes, totaling $50,000, will be awarded. There will be one grand prize—the student will receive $5,000 and the teacher/school will get $1,000 to purchase digital video equipment for the school. Awards in the middle and high school categories for first, second, and third prize winners range from $750 to $3,000, and teacher/school awards will range from $125 to $500. There will also be $250 for each of the 48 honorable mentions. The deadline for entries is January 18, 2013, and winners will be announced in March 2013. The top 27 winning videos will air on C-SPAN in April.

StudentCam is sponsored by C-SPAN Classroom, a free membership service intended to support educators’ use of C-SPAN programming in their classes or for research.

Test Prep

College admissions: It’s college application time for high school seniors, and now there’s help available. Shmoop is partnering with college preparation site Zinch to give students access to any one of Shmoop’s test prep resources, including the SAT, ACT, and PSAT, through January. Teens can register on Zinch Prep and get access to one of Shmoop’s test prep resources. If they want access additional Shmoop resources, they can go directly to Shmoop’s website and find additional test prep materials for a fee, unless their school or school district is already a member.

Zinch Prep is a college counseling program that offers students free step-by-step instructions from experts to help them through the college admissions process. Zinch Prep’s web series will provide information on college admission tips, writing your personal statement, application mistakes to avoid, and how to ask for recommendations. Schmoop is a digital curriculum and test prep company. “High income families will pay thousands of dollars for individual college admissions counselors, creating an advantage, while many students from families of more modest means may not be aware of the opportunities they have,” said Bob Patterson, Director of College Outreach at Zinch. “Zinch wants to help those students by offering Chegg Presents Zinch Prep and providing college admissions support to the 99 percent.”

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.

The Big Red Dog: The 50th birthday celebration of Norman Bridwell’s iconic Clifford the Big Red Dog will kick off on September 24th at 10 am with a party at Scholastic’s New York City headquarters. Everybody can join in on the “Biggest Birthday Party Ever!” The live event will be streamed to classes across the country. Teachers can register now so their students can watch the festivities and Bridwell’s 30-minute webcast. There’s also a free kit that includes lesson plans, art project ideas, and coloring pages. In addition, Norman Bridwell’s Clifford Collection, a compilation of six stories originally published between 1963 and 1977, will be released on the same day.

And that’s not all. There will be other events throughout the school year. Clifford’s BIG Birthday app for iOs and Android featuring three birthday-themed games will be launched in September. And kids can create their own birthday cards for Clifford online and send them to the pooch via Scholastic’s website. And there’s more! Teachers can enter Clifford’s Big Birthday Classroom Sweepstakes. Just have your class create a birthday card for Clifford by December 14th. Five winners will each receive an all-expense-paid classroom birthday party, including a visit from the Big Red Dog—and every student will receive a Clifford book. In December, PBS Kids will air the broadcast Clifford’s Really Big Movie, the animated film originally released in 2004 by Warner Brothers.

Industry News

Enhanced ebook: Inheritance Deluxe Edition, a new version of the final book in Christopher Paolini’s popular “Inheritance” cycle, will be released by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers as an enhanced ebook with videos on October 23. The 17 videos take readers behind the scenes with the author as he offers commentary and shares stories about Inheritance. Paolini’s commentaries on scenes are embedded throughout the text. There’s also new artwork by the author, a letter to fans, and a new scene. You can get a sneak peak at the videos now. The print version of the Inheritance Deluxe Edition will publish simultaneously.

Curriculum Connections

Common Core: Educators looking for help in implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in both mathematics and literacy can now use a free digital tool introduced by Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). According to the organization, EduCore features “a variety of formative assessment lessons and videos ready for classroom use, including more than 20 formative assessment mathematics lessons. Developed by the Shell Centre, the Classroom Challenges for middle and high school include problem-solving and content-development formative assessments on subjects such as solving linear equations in two variables. There are also student materials, PowerPoint slides, and three templates that have been created by the Literacy Design Collaborative for “argumentation, informational, and narrative teaching” to help implement the literacy standards in all subjects. ASCD also has additional resources to help educators implement the Common Core.

Student writing: Turnitin is launching a series of free 30-minute weekly webcasts that provide educators with information to help students in high school and above improve their writing skills. Among these professional development webcasts that run from September 6th to October 11th^. are: “Partners in Education: Creating Common Core Rubrics,” presented by Dawn Lewis, English instructor and co-chair of the English Professional Learning Council; “Bridging the Gap: Common Core Rubrics for Secondary and Higher,” offered by Dr. Shelly Valdez, director of educational collaboration for IEBC; and “The Plagiarism Spectrum: Tagging 10 Types of Unoriginal Work,” presented by Ray Huang, customer programs manager at Turnitin. Register quickly since the webcasts will begin very shortly.

Star Wars: National Star Wars Reads Day is October 6. The event is an initiative of Lucasfilm and its publishing partners, Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Scholastic, Titan Magazines, and Workman. Although the sign-up period to receive a free Star Wars event kit from the sponsors (1000 libraries signed up) has ended, there is another option available for libraries that want to participate in the event. ABDO Publishing is offering a free Star Wars event guide containing teacher’s guides, promotional posters, interviews with celebrities connected to the franchise, a list of nearly 300 Star Wars universe terms, a video of the event that was held in the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis, and an order form for the 68 ABDO/Spotlight Star Wars library editions. You can also follow Star Wars Reads Day on Facebook.

Game On

Free online game: Electronic Arts’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, previously a subscription only massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), will be available online for free starting this fall. The free version allows players “to play free to Level 50, with game play restrictions that limit game options and access to certain game content,” according to Jeff Hickman, the game’s executive producer. Those who continue to subscribe for $15 per month will have free unlimited access to all game features and game updates. The publisher will rely on players buying premium content and virtual items to make money.

Digitally Yours

Multimedia ebooks: eBoost is ABDO Digital’s new multimedia line of flip book ebooks that are combined with related media links. Among the multimedia features of ABDO’s flip books is the ability for readers to turn pages and make them larger. Each ebook in the new eBoost line also includes Web links; downloadable content; embedded videos; RSS and/or Twitter feeds; notes and custom links fields for teacher comments, posting messages, and student assignments; and more. The eBoost titles, featuring secure Web-based hosting by ABDO, are compatible with Macs, PCs, iPads, and Android-based tablets such as Kindle Fire or the Nook. The new line is being launched with 164 titles for elementary through middle grade students. Titles can be ordered individually or in bundles such as Animal Kingdom, Body Systems, The Civil War, Planet Earth, and more. eBoost is sold as a site license with simultaneous access for multiple users.

Granted

Public awareness campaign: The 2013 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant is an annual $3000 award open to all libraries. To apply for the grant, libraries must come up with a public awareness campaign using the National Library Week Theme—“Communities matter @ your library—and involving at least one other community organization. An application form and guidelines are available on the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant website. The application deadline is September 30. The winner will be announced after the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle in January 2013. The winner must provide documentation of their activities and submit a report to ALA’s Public Awareness Committee by May 20. The grant is sponsored by Scholastic Library Publishing and is administered by the Public awareness Committee of the American Library Association (ALA).

Read On

Literacy initiative: Author John Green, Michael L. Printz and Edgar Award winner, has been named the spokesperson for the 2012 Teen Read Week, a literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The theme of this year’s Teen Read Week—celebrated October 14-20—is “It Came from the Library!” “Getting more teens to pick up a book and make it a regular habit” is what Teen Read Week is all about says Jack Martin, YALSA president. Among his duties, Green will host a national event to kick off the celebration and will judge a contest in which teens are charged with creating a video about their favorite book.