Diverse Books Opinion

Books about bears and pandas are super-popular with K–4 kids and a great way to encourage them to read.

Many people hold on to the belief that nonfiction writing is “just the facts,” often synonymous with formulaic, dull writing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Writers for young people model both substance and style, and can serve as mentors to their readers.

Students at the Bankstreet School discuss diversity and book covers with editors from Knopf; author Elizabeth Eulberg reunites with a fan at TEDXTeen.

As dwindling funds and looming budget cuts reach many of the nation’s public libraries, 12 institutions received $5,000 mini-grants to support programming in their diverse communities. ALSC recently gifted these Día Family Book Club Program awards to expand El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día) into an ongoing yearlong celebration. The winning libraries give SLJ some insights into how they garnered the much-needed funds.

How should librarians, publishers, and authors approach diversity in children’s books? Authors Sofia Quintero and Zetta Elliott and editor Connie Hsu joined a recent panel at the NYPL, moderated by Betsy Bird, to discuss these issues and more.

Permanent Record by Leslie Stella. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Bud Hess is starting a new school: Magnificat Academy. The official story is to give him a better education than he was getting in public school. The real story is a bit more complicated. It has to do with [...]

Boy, I love it when I set up a Literary Salon months in advance and then the universe conspires to make it even more timely than I’d initially intended.  Expect this next one at the main branch of NYPL to feature one hot and toasty little panel talk.  I shall mentally prepare in the interim. [...]

"Talking takes time" note the authors, but allowing students time for conversations about the texts they are reading is essential.