Public Libraries

Whether educators broach controversial topics in a learning context or not, young people will encounter plenty of related content. Social media all too easily fills the void, fueling misinformation while suppressing critical reflection. NCSS, the National Council for the Social Studies, offers encouragement and materials to support important discussion.

Fiction and nonfiction booklists for kids who are enthralled with the Disney movie, astronomy, or both. 

How did Suzanne Collins dream up Panem and the Hunger Games? Influences range from Roman Gladiators to the Vietnam War, as this booklist shows. 

A survey from SLJ revealed the extent to which individual librarians have faced hostility from community members, organizations, and in some cases, their administration.

There is confusion over who placed the restrictions on Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa, authors of His Name Is George Floyd; Pink to distribute banned books at Florida concerts; and more.

We Need Diverse Books offers a new website with resources for librarians and educators about books by Native creators and how to use them in the classroom; Newbery-winning author Susan Patron has died; YALSA releases Teen Top 10 list; federal education employees will create AI guidance and policy for K-12; and more in this edition of News Bites.

Leah Johnson, author of You Should See Me in a Crown, has opened Loudmouth Books, a bookstore in Indianapolis dedicated to the titles often targeted by bans; former Central  York, PA, students get a book deal to tell their stories; a video on the mental health impact of book bans; Kentucky district returns more than 100 books to the shelves; and more.

Whether for witty wordplay, star-crossed love stories, or bloody history, the Bard's plays still inspire—in particular, they inspire YA adaptations.

AI translations lack the beauty of Shakespeare’s verse in every sense. But they provide on-ramps to enjoy it.