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Broadcasting is increasingly filled with citizen-generated content. But being a media producer also brings responsibilities.
Created out of necessity, virtual library programs for little ones and their families, who tune in from home, have many upsides.
Research shows that preschoolers naturally categorize people by race, can be conscious of social stereotypes as early as age six, and naturally attribute positive traits to their own ethnic or racial groups.
From alternate histories to dystopian futures, these teen genre selections offer up magic, mermaids, mechsuits, and more.
Readers will cheer for these YA books about boxing, basketball, field hockey, and more.
Finding books that are age-appropriate but still compelling enough to hook the interest of older tweens and young teens can be tricky. Here are some of our recent favorites.
These immersive works of historical fiction surface events often omitted by textbooks, blend history and other genres, and urge readers to reconsider the past and look to the future.
Anthropomorphic animals, emotive androids, an enchanted Chicago, and more: These 16 titles provide excellent summer escapes for young readers.
Nothing like bugs that fizz, animals with mucus-skin, and slimy information about digestion to get the whole family in on these weird science lessons!
Featuring vivid settings, relatable characters, and absorbing narratives, these moving titles will inspire readers to learn more about these eras—and to question whose stories still go untold.
Ten adventure and survival fiction titles to keep summer reading fresh and exciting.
Back to school will look different at individual schools across the country. Here are guidelines issued by educational organizations and individual states. Where will libraries fit into the plans?
With evocative memoirs, complex love stories, and socially-conscious supervillains, these graphic books offer new windows into our world.
Exploring everything from collection development to programming to scholarly literary analysis, these titles will equip school and public librarians with plenty of ideas come fall.
Sometimes emerging readers want to sink into a slightly longer book, and one that looks a little more challenging than many picture books. Graphic novels are cool—and they help strengthen both print and visual literacy skills. These titles offer food fights and tender moments.
Some of it’s memoir, and some is made up, but all of it makes for delightful summer reading.
From Kwame Alexander to Gwendolyn Brooks and Maya Angelou, we've selected some of our favorite poets to remind readers that summer is the time to slow down and savor the sounds of words.
From robots to Rube Goldberg machines to cosplay costumes, kids of all ages—and their grown-ups—will find plenty of inspiration in these works.
With signs, books, and passion, educators support Black Lives Matter around the country.
By popular demand, the full recording of the picture book creators session, featuring author Derrick Barnes and illustrator Gordon C. James discussing their latest collaboration, I Am Every Good Thing.
While we're rethinking everything, how would you better serve youth in your community? SLJ is supporting a project to devise a new, crowdsourced vision for libraries.
The IMLS-funded project aims to give librarians science-based information to keep things as safe as possible as they reopen.
Across the country, districts are ending contracts with police departments and a youth-led movement of advocates is pushing others to do the same.
Tackling everything from racism to politics and elections to sexual abuse, these works of YA nonfiction will leave teens informed and inspired to help make a better world.
Some books are just nicer when they are shared! We pulled together some favorites that allow for exploration, discussion, or just lap time.
These thrilling teen novels will keep readers up on hot summer nights.
14 titles to keep tween mystery fans turning pages well into the summer.
These titles avoid classic romance tropes and tackle topics of race, feminism, and being true to yourself, all with humor and heart.
Ten mysteries for independent readers ranging from laugh-out-loud interactive fun to edge-of-your-seat thrills.
These picture books, with their exuberant illustrations and positive prose, offer portraits of Black joy, within and beyond the African diaspora.
Juneteenth isn't taught in most schools, but this year's attention could help push it into the curriculum.
Dear students: Listen deeply. Tell your truth. Ask questions. Hear what else this middle school media specialist has to say in her open letter.
These silly stories are guaranteed to provoke giggles and snorts.
Science and math take a starring role in these stories that explore everything from the deep sea to outer space.
History, science, current events, and social sciences are explored in these highly engaging narrative and expository nonfiction texts for middle grade readers.
These eight books for children and adults are packed with gardening inspiration, as well as activities and information to help anyone interested in growing their own plants.
Newly proficient readers in the longer form are always delighted to be in on the jokes. Here are 13 titles to get them started.
The bestselling author counters those accusing her of being transphobic, while actor Daniel Radcliffe urges "Harry Potter" lovers to hold on to their individual, "sacred" connections to the story.
Suggestions for family and caregivers who are virtually connecting with young children.
To help you and the young people in your life get moving, we have rounded up some of the best online fitness videos that families can do together at home. These eight classes are fun, free, and suitable for all fitness levels.
From summer camp to improv troupes to rom coms, these YA reads keep things light as the days get longer.
Learning to recognize and combat racism and other forms of injustice and move toward a more equitable world is a lifelong process—and one that must start as early as possible. Aimed at infants and toddlers through elementary school students, these titles introduce topics such as intersectionality and privilege, with explanations that are age-appropriate and honest.
Book about racism and antiracism and those by black creators are in high demand, for adults and children.
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards cover 31 categories. Winners are chosen by online vote.
These delightful beginning readers feature simple sentences, accessible design, and text features that strengthen emerging readers' decoding and comprehension skills.
The redesigned database with a focus on elementary students, Gale in Context: Elementary, aims to provide individualized instruction for kids in the classroom and at home.
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress results, showing that only 37 percent of fourth graders read proficiently, renewed debates over how to teach reading.
The young people featured in these middle grade novels are intrepid, confronting racism, grief, queer identity, and more. They’re relatable teens and tweens, making mistakes and stumbling as they find themselves. Looking for more summer reading recommendations? SLJ is publishing lists all summer long—from family stories to mysteries to teen reads.
These YA authors don’t flinch from the tough stuff, exploring harassment, privilege, racism, family expectations, and more, but these tender, utterly intimate books are also laced with humor and understanding. Looking for more summer reading recommendations? SLJ is publishing lists all summer long—from family stories to mysteries to teen reads.
Whether kids are eager to read about friendship woes, holidays, or new pets, they’ll find something to satisfy them in this list of realistic chapter books. Looking for more summer reading recommendations? SLJ is publishing lists all summer long—from family stories to mysteries to teen reads.
Starting this week and continuing through the end of June and beyond, SLJ is publishing lists of our top picks for summer reading, from stories to share with the whole family to recommended titles for emerging readers to captivating fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels for tweens and teens.
Follow this librarian's plan to get books into kids hands for the summer while ensuring safety for staff and families.
Jason Reynolds and Ibram Kendi, co-authors of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, kicked off SLJ's Day of Dialog. Here is the entire keynote conversation.
Kwame Alexander, Jason Reynolds, and Jacqueline Woodson have organized a Kid Lit Rally for Black Lives on Facebook Live on Thursday. It will include other children and teen literature authors and a conversation for young people and as well as a second one for parents, librarians, and educators.
We need more titles to counter the single narrative in picture books: Police help everyone. Police catch bad guys. Police keep everyone safe.
From inventors and engineers to scientists and artists, the individuals profiled in these captivating read-alouds will inspire young readers (and their grown-ups). Looking for more summer reading recommendations? SLJ is publishing lists all summer long—from family stories to mysteries to teen reads.
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is adding educational resources to her productions, starting with a learning companion to When They See Us, and more news and resources in this issue of News Bites.
Librarians join forces to serve students better as distance learning stretches on.
In a new series of articles and virtual sessions, the authors will guide a conversation about the future of public libraries, culminating in a practical plan to reenvision youth services.
Here are the most popular blog posts of the week.
SLJ welcomes information as we continue to report on the pandemic and its impact on students, educators, and libraries. We invite readers to contribute to our reporting.
The winners of the 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are Saturday by Oge Mora, King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, and Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace by Ashley Bryan.
More schools are consider new ways to add news literacy and SEL to their teaching. There’s never been a better time to combine these efforts.
Mentioning the census in storytimes, including virtual storytimes, is a simple way to reach families about this vital issue.
With school and public libraries shuttered, librarians and literacy organizations have gotten creative trying to get books into students' hands, especially those who don't have books at home.
SLJ's reporting takes stock of the pandemic's impact on school and public libraries and the kid lit community.
With news of Tom Low's death this week, people in the publishing world mourned the loss of the man who co-founded Lee & Low Books to combat the lack of diverse literature for children and opened a new world of possibilities for authors, educators, and readers.
"The Last Dance" may be over, but there are plenty more sports documentaries that can teach, entertain, and inspire.
A common goal is to build positive connections while helping to stem negative impacts traditionally associated with wholly punitive discipline, such as school suspensions and expulsions.
Restorative justice practices—which emphasize group engagement to repair harm —can make our libraries safe spaces for everyone. Here are suggestions.
Youth services librarians at public libraries around the country have been adjusting to pandemic closures and trying to plan for future programming amid many unknowns, including budgets, according to SLJ's recent survey.
More than 66 percent of public librarians report that summer reading programs will go completely online, according to SLJ's Youth Services in Public Libraries COVID-19 Response Survey.
Reworking summer reading programs is the number one task being performed by public librarians who work with kids and teens, according to SLJ's survey. But the report shows a wide variety of work being done.
More than half of public librarians have collaborated with local school systems and teachers since the closures to provide digital and online services for children and teens, according to SLJ's Youth Services in Public Libraries COVID-19 Response Survey. And nearly 33 percent have collaborated with local agencies toward the same goal.
Ordering materials and resources continues during library closures, although purchasing has shifted to ebooks and other digital resources, according to SLJ's survey of youth services librarians.
The Centers for Disease Control has released its reopening guidelines for schools. See the flowchart to learn what the organization says is necessary to get students and staff back in the classrooms.
The National Education Association Foundation and Institute of Museum and Library Services are taking submissions for grants to fund programming that addressed the wide-ranging effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The annual event celebrates, elevates, and affirms the excellence of educators of color, while forcing readers to think and act for a more equitable, informed school and community.
Employees with disabilities and chronic illnesses have long fought for basic accommodations now granted to millions of workers from home. Here's what else is needed.
During virtual events, President and Michelle Obama will speak to graduates who have lost their in-person commencement ceremonies; a school librarian’s efforts during school closures are honored; celebrities are doing video readings of the first Harry Potter book; EduHam at Home can bring history and Hamilton to everyone, and more in this pandemic-related edition of News Bites.
At times it can be almost business as usual for the publishing industry—and celebratory business at that. The 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Awards and Best Children’s Publishers of the Year were announced during the virtual Bologna Book Fair; the 2021 Carle Honors Honorees were named; and Candlewick and MIT Press are set to launch two new imprints.
With students learning from home, Denver Public Schools' ebook and audio checkouts topped 51,000 in April. Here's how librarians are making that happen.
Target, Seattle Public Schools, and the Free Library of Philadelphia have something in common. All have been sued for having websites or digital tools that fail federal accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities. Knowing the rules of 508 compliance is important for school librarians, who are often responsible for tech, including maintaining website content.
In San Francisco, employment agreements say that librarians can be deployed as disaster workers. Elsewhere, librarians voluntarily pitch in to help municipalities.
Spring research season is here. Adjust your practice to ensure students have a rich and meaningful immersion while working on year-end projects.
As the world confronts this global health crisis, educators are also charged with helping students through the grief and trauma. SLJ spoke with mental health experts for advice and resources to meet the psychological and emotional needs of kids and adults.
Alex Gino's George is No. 1 on the list of most challenged books for the second year in a row, as LGBTQIA+ content is once again the top reason cited for challenges.
With schools shuttered due to the pandemic, are kids still reading? They are, according to data from Follett. Here are the top 25 lists for ebooks and audiobooks for grades K–3, 3–6, 5–8, and young adult titles.
A panel of experts shared the best digital resources for better remote learning on SLJ's recent webcast Digital Resources for K-12: Learning in the Age of COVID.
Twenty-five school libraries have earned $700 grants in the new funding program from Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in partnership with School Library Journal.
A school librarian in Virginia and district supervisor in New Jersey are among the educators, students, and makers using their expertise to make personal protective equipment during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
More than 1,000 librarians responded to School Library Journal's survey, offering insight into the profession during remote learning forced by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Here is the full report on our findings.
The most common library services offered to students during the COVID-19 shutdown of schools? Reader's advisory and storytime/readalouds were tops in middle schools and elementary schools, respectively, according to School Library Journal's recent survey.
When it comes to a schedule for school from home, how does it compare to the traditional schedule and curriculum? It's a mix, according to School Library Journal's survey of K-12 librarians, fielded from April 2 to April 12.
A Plan for Getting Books Returned? We'll Deal With That Later, Say Librarians. | SLJ COVID-19 Survey
When it comes to getting materials returned to the library, most librarians don't appear all that concerned, found School Library Journal's survey. In fact, 48 percent haven't made a plan for that.
Has the current crisis shifted spending? School librarians told us what they expect to buy, print versus digital, in School Library Journal's survey, fielded from April 2 to April 12.
For educators, a lot has changed amid a global pandemic—and at the same time, much hasn’t.
Not all high school teams have lost their seasons. Esports players across the country continue to compete.
An upside of sheltering in place? More time for reading. Library patronage has seen a boost, with OverDrive reporting a spike of 30 percent in digital checkouts since March 13, when the coronavirus epidemic was declared a national emergency.
