Monday was a very good day for Benjamin Alire Sáenz. His sensitive young adult novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, was named for three Youth Media Awards, distinctions that left him both stunned and grateful. SLJ caught up with Sáenz for a revealing chat about his reaction to the YMA wins, his personal inspirations for the book, his writing process, and his next YA project.
Touch Press's extraordinary new app, 'The Orchestra" brings readers and listeners on stage with London's Philharmonia Orchestra.
Ready or not, here they come. At almost every school I visited this year, teachers asked me to address the Common Core (CC) standard in my workshops. Planning lessons with CC in mind presents a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. These sites are designed with the express purpose of helping plan lessons around Common Core.
On Saturday, June 23, and Sunday, June 24, while attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, I ran around to as many of my favorite kids comics creators as I could and asked them all the exact same questions. Keep in mind, exhibit halls are crazy loud and crazy busy, so there [...]
In his latest "Consider the Source" column, Marc Aronson compares recent developments in digital publishing to hockey's "change on the fly" technique.
Scenes from this year's Midwinter meeting, from the Youth Media Awards to the National Forum on Libraries & Teens.
Many terrific announcements at the ALA Youth Media Awards! One of the great things about being able to attend the ALA Midwinter Meeting is being able to go, in person, to the Youth Media Awards. It’s so exciting, being in a room full of people who are excited about the awards, about what books, audiobooks, [...]
Teen behavior in libraries includes a lot of browsing. I have two different display spaces in my small high school library. Fortunately, one of them is right in front of my desk, so I often get the chance to watch students check out the latest books (surreptitiously, lest I scare them away!). Some will just [...]