Industry News

Have you heard about "The Hub Reading Challenge," sponsored by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)? As reported in SLJ’s Good Comics for Kids blog, YALSA is hosting an expanded, new and improved The Hub Reading Challenge for 2013. This is how it works: you have until June 22 to read as many titles as you can from YALSA’s official challenge list. Once you hit the 25 book mark, you're eligible to submit a reader’s response for any of the titles you’ve read. Sure, there’s a prize, and you can earn a badge too!

As this article goes live, we are three—count 'em!— three days away from opening the new Gum Spring Library. I've been here since mid-January, and I'm just beginning to realize that the expectations I had in my head were way off base. Between preparing volunteers, planning opening day activities, and training pages, few things have gone exactly as planned. Yet despite the many changes we've made in our schedule, our confidence grows as we learn what must be done now and what can wait.

The familiar faces of beloved book characters Madeline, George, and Eloise greeted visitors at the 110th Toy Fair at the Javits Convention Center in New York City this month, an industry-exclusive event showcasing toys and technology from thousands of companies around the world. Here are my top dozen of the best new items for children's librarians and educators to incorporate into their programs.

Though the Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz awards have all been announced, the excitement isn’t over yet! The Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards have been revealed. Included among the winners are several previously recognized titles, such R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb, and Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina.

Copyright law is arduous enough, but throw in an instance of international remixing by nerdfighters, and you have a real mess. But in the hands of author John Green, it’s also the basis for a pretty cool video.

Children's literature author and illustrators visit Sandy Hook Elementary School; attendees gather in New York City for Book^2 Camp.

It took many by surprise when Nick Lake’s ambitious young adult novel In Darkness (Bloomsbury) was named for the Printz Award at last month’s Youth Media Awards. Although filled with vivid details of oppression, poverty, and violence, Lake sees the book as a hopeful one with an important message for its teen readers, “this idea of darkness being only a temporary thing,” he tells SLJ.

This week's News Bites include info on Samsung's competitions for teachers and students, 2 new picture book imprints, a new conference about kidlit in the digital age.

With their emphasis on clear observation, logical thinking, and well-drawn conclusions, mysteries support many Common Core State Standards and lend themselves to an array of interesting writing assignments. These audiobooks are sure to spark student interest.