Comments matter to us. Be it frank criticism or sharing insight about the topic at hand or those exclamations, positive and negative, about our reviews, reader feedback is ­welcome, taken in, and considered here at SLJ.

Take our recent suggestions to refresh the literary canon with contemporary titles. A few readers questioned our choices, including Jody Stone.

“I have to say that I am disappointed in this list of possible replacements for the ‘Little House’ series,” she commented on our post, “ ‘Little House’ Revamped: 9 Alternatives for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Most Famous Work”.

“While I agree that those books are candidates for removal, the titles you suggested are not near the reading level of the would-be readers. I have second, third and fourth graders reading at the level of the ‘Little House’ books, but none of the suggestions—with the exception of Prairie Lotus for the advanced readers—fit the replacement bill for my school. Do you have any suggestions for read-alike replacements for younger readers that might be reading the ‘Little House’ books?” asked Stone, a library media specialist in New Hampshire.

Reviews editor Shelley Diaz and team responded. The “Little House” list has been updated with titles recommended for younger students.

Read: From the Editor

Other users of SLJ have weighed in, and I am pleased to share some of that feedback in this space.

“This @sljournal post [‘Reading Joy in the Time of Coronavirus’] by @donalynbooks from April 2020 has been my North Star to helping find my way back to reading. Remember that ongoing trauma impacts focus, access to books, etc. But stories & book joy will be here for us. #nctechat” —@90secondnewbery on Twitter

“This shouldn’t be a battle between what students want and what teachers want or ‘old vs. new’ titles. Why not make it a collaboration between ­teachers and ­students—teachers set out the goals they have for ­wanting the students to read—and they work with students to ­create a rubric from those goals for reading selections. 
     Students submit a list of their choices based on what they chose to read (following the rubric) ­during the school year. Those become the summer reading list for the next summer’s cohort of incoming ­students—and so on! Students read what they want (more or less!) and demonstrate to others why they should also read these books!” —Heidi Ziemer, on our story “Educators Weigh In on Summer Reading Lists in SLJ/NCTE Survey” by Lauren Young

“It’s wonderful that kids have a safe space at school especially if their family is not supportive of their journey into adulthood.” —Kathy Hennessy, on Facebook, about our feature “Librarians Support Students Amid Anti-LGBTQIA+ ­Legislation, Challenges” by Marva Hinton 

“A.S. King should always be in the hero spot.” —Amanda Elend, Instagram, responding to our June cover

Keep it coming. We’re listening.