News & Features

Libraries are in prime positions to take advantage of President Obama’s recent call for an increase of funding and attention to for early childhood education. Early learning has been an integral part of public libraries’ services to children for decades, and the recent increase of grant-funded programs can further extend children’s librarians’ reach into their communities. Wondering where to start? SLJ has compiled a list of grants for libraries seeking new ways to finance early learning initiatives, big and small.

The perfect companion on a summer hike? National Geographic's digital guide to North American birds allows nature lovers to identify winged creatures, learn about their habits, and record sightings, all before they can say Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Some summer camps offer what schools straining under reduced budgets and months of test prep can't—and they aren't just for the wealthy. Turn your library into a clearing house of information for kids and their parents about the range of programs available to them.

Leonard Marcus might just be the busiest man in the world of kid lit. In June, the children’s literature historian and scholar launched a critically acclaimed exhibition at the New York Public Library (which he curated) and had a book published that celebrates the life and work of Maurice Sendak (which he edited). Marcus shared with SLJ some of the details of his recent projects, insider knowledge of children’s literature history and icons, and his belief that picture books might be the solution to saving all physical books.

Our teens review music for R&B listeners as well as country/western fans; Kelly Rowland, well-known for her affiliation with Destiny's Child, dishes out tasty tunes on her lastest album ​Talk a Good Game​, while relative newbie Hunter Hayes hits the mark with his special release, ​Encore. Looking for a videogame experience that promises a "gut-wrenching journey full of action, horror, combat, and stealth?" Cue up ​The Last of Us​, a new release for Playstation 3.

The Kids in Need Foundation is calling for applications for its classroom grants program. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund released Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love to Read, a free resource that promotes comics' positive impact on readers' literacy skills. Apply for the Estela and Raúl Mora Award, which recognizes exemplary programming that celebrates El día de los niños/El día de los libros. Edie Parsons has won the first Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer Award that celebrates authors over the age of 50 who have not been traditionally published in the children’s literature field.

From Rita Willams-Garcia's P.S. Be Eleven to Cynthia Kadohata's The Thing About Luck, these middle grade novels selected by Junior Library Guild editors showcase plucky protagonists who learn to forge their own paths despite the circumstances that come their way.

An assortment of recent books that examine both historical milestones and current research in exploring our solar system and beyond.

A selection of tried-and-true titles that babies and toddlers adore.