SLJ

A class-action lawsuit alleges Lucy Calkins, Heinemann Publishing, and Fountas & Pinnell, among others, engaged in "deceptive and fraudulent marketing" that resulted in harm to students exposed to the whole language reading method and curricular products; registration is open for LibLearnx in January; auction offers rare items and experiences to benefit We Need Diverse Books; and more in News Bites.

Books in translation are a great resource to enrich young minds and library shelves. Here, SLJ rounds up 7 recent titles for the middle grade set.

From board books that invite the littlest readers to hippity-hop to anthologies that encourage older readers to explore deep themes in narratives, these 11 titles celebrate the Festival of Lights in a variety of ways.

In the face of rising censorship in schools and libraries, Lerner Publishing Group is hosting a Thursday, December 5 concert in Minneapolis. Proceeds from ticket sales will go to organizations engaged in fighting book bans and challenges, including EveryLibrary’s Fight for the First campaign, We Are Stronger Than Censorship, and the American Librarian Association’s Unite Against Book Bans initiative.

Thirty-six schools will receive grants to purchase Mathical Book Prize titles.

With these titles, young readers can see some of the many different ways people celebrate Christmas around the world.

November's starred offerings include nonfiction by Kwame Alexander and Andrea Davis Pinkney, as well as a professional reading title about Judy Blume.

This month’s starred titles celebrate Lunar New Year, snow, and the Galápagos Islands, among other things.

All of SLJ's 193 Best Books of 2024 have been revealed, and we are blessed with a gorgeous cover for the December Best Books issue by Ekua Holmes, the illustrator of Black Girl You Are Atlas. See the stellar cover here.