News & Features

New York’s Bank Street Center for Children's Literature (CCL) has announced the finalists for its Irma Black Award for the best read-aloud picture book for first and second grade, and the finalists for its Cook Prize for the best picture book that teaches science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) principles. Both winners will be determined by students from around the world.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced has the nominees for its famed Nebula Awards, the Andre Norton Award, and the Ray Bradbury Award. Included among the Norton nominees are Libba Bray’s The Diviners, Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina, David Levithan’s Every Day, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall’s Summer of the Mariposas; all were SLJ Best Books.

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!

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.

The winners of the Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards—should’t that be the CYABLAs?) were announced last week, and although there are only two graphic novel categories, three graphic novels took the honors. The award-winners are… A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse, by Frank Viva (Toon Books) This was [...]

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.