News & Features

While many of us have thought about the interplay of art, text, and design in picture books, few of us have considered how the same elements work in nonfiction. It's time to talk about the decisions that go into choosing and using art in nonfiction.

When I hear heart-breaking news like this recent story of the closings of the libraries at Philadelphia’s two top academic high schools, following the closing of so many others,  I recognize that my own community likely takes our own libraries for granted. Really, how often do we as communities stop and acknowledge that we value [...]

November is Picture Book Month. Five winners and five finalists of the NYC Neighborhood Library Awards were announced September 17. Apply for the Stony Brook Southampton (NY) MFA in Children's Literature Fellows program. Kids in grades 2–5 can enter the LEGO Essay Contest.

Margaret Atwood’s award-winning dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale (McClelland and Stewart, 1985) will remain accessible to 12th graders in Guilford, NC, high school libraries, following a local school board vote this week to retain the book on its suggested reading list.

Grand Rapids, MI, school officials are hoping to better engage students through technology: 100 Nook e-readers provided by the Grand Rapids Public Library (GRPL). The new readers were procured specifically to engage the city’s teenage population, says Jessica Liddell, GRPL’s youth services librarian.

There is only a short time left to nominate a connected educator for the White House’s next “Champions of Change” event, which celebrates education leaders who creatively use technology to help kids learn. Those selected will be invited to the White House in October—in honor of Connected Educator Month—to showcase their efforts to support more connected schools and students. Online nominations are due by midnight on Friday, September 20.

Acclaimed author/illustrator Kevin Henkes spoke to a live audience at Bank Street College of Education in New York City on September 17. The event, which coincided with the publication date of his latest children's book The Year of Billy Miller, was also broadcasted to classrooms and libraries across the country.

High school students in Randolph County Schools in North Carolina may no longer access Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (Random House, 1952) in their school libraries following a vote on Monday by the board of education to remove it from shelves.

STEAM education engages young people in science and technology through collaboration and invention, much the same as a maker space does. In fact, many aspects of the best maker spaces already exist in school libraries. Two readers weigh in.