Ideas

Do young fanfiction authors seek the kind of feedback that educators would find “useful” in K-12 settings, and are fanfiction communities really the nurturing environments of peer-critique that some make them out to be?

"We can look at cosplay as a medium that assists other media, anime and manga, by targeting a certain audience segment related to fandom."

"The key idea is actually a media literacy one related to representation: no one in real life actually looks like an anime or manga character."

Media literacy discussion points covering novel-to-film adaptations, marketing, genre, screen violence, and more.

More than just a craze, the interest in zombies points the way towards a new kind of literacy engagement.

I’m chatting today with Edith Donnell, the Youth/Teen Librarian for the Chelsea District Library. For the last five years she has been one of the driving forces behind the all-ages Kids Read Comics event, which is held at the Ann Arbor District Library – 343 S 5th Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This year the [...]

Published in SLJ’s October 2010 print issue, but still relevant today, the following article highlights resources that classroom teachers, librarians, and parents can use to broaden children’s worldview and prompt discussions about current events and news.

Children’s book author and former teacher Kate Messner has always had a passion for sharing books with kids, so when she recommended Hena Khan’s Golden Domes and Silver Lanternsto her Twitter followers for its portrayal of Islam, she did not expect the backlash she received. A few days after the original message, someone who does not follow her on Twitter replied with the below, continuing an intense multiday exchange with her about what he believes to be “the real Islam.”

They may be young, but teacher Arturo Avina’s talented kindergarteners are already celebrities in their own right. Students at the Los Angeles Unified School District Olympic Primary Center are the stars of a short-film adaptation of Harry G. Allard Jr.’s beloved children’s classic Miss Nelson Is Missing. Over the course of two months, Avina directed the youngsters, filmed the scenes, and, with the help of the budding actors, edited the movie with technology available in most classrooms.