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The 22nd Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival, one of North America’s premier literary events, takes place Oct 18 - 25 in Vancouver, BC. The Vancouver Sun just published a great article on the festival, Big Names and a Six-Day Smorgasbord for Local Books Worms, that gives a glimpse of the treasures in store for literary fans attending. The article highlights one event that I would love to attend but is unfortunately sold out: author Mariatu Kamara of The Bite of the Mango in conversation Kathryn Gretsinger.

On Thursday I will be chaperoning students in my son’s class to Event #29 - Hide and Seek with acclaimed young adult authors Gordon Korman and Matthew Skelton. My son Evan is most excited to see Gordon Korman in person! Last year Evan “discovered” Korman and was instantly hooked on his books especially the Dive, Everest and Island series. This promises to be a great experience for the students (as well as us chaperones!). Here’s the preview for the event:

Adventures around the world and through time join together these two skilled authors. A phoenix-like bird in a nest guarded by crows, a daring hot-air balloon ride, a skillful heist of animals from a floating zoo, a speedboat chase through the canals of Venice, modern Europe and 18th century Antarctica and 16th century England—all find their way into the books of Gordon Korman and Matthew Skelton. Novels can take you to places you’ve never been and times that you’ll never see. Come and play hide and seek with two of the best children’s authors writing today.

To read and watch the events unfold at this year’s festival visit the Festival Blog. 7 bloggers will be contributing text, audio clip interviews and photos on a daily basis.

(Click on event name for more information)

Canadian Library Month~ Canada

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ ongoing until Oct 3, USA

Hispanic Heritage Month~ ongoing until Oct 15, USA

Entries Accepted for the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Oct 23, Philippines

22nd Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava~ ongoing until Oct 26, Bratislava, Slovakia

The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place~ ongoing until Oct 28, Exeter, NH, USA

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, Chicago, IL, USA

National Young Writers’ Festival~ Oct 1 - 5, Newcastle, Australia

4th Annual Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Nominations Open~ Oct 1 - 15

The Children’s Book Festival~ Oct 1 - 31, Ireland

Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature Awards Ceremony~ Oct 2, Boston, MA, USA

8th IBBY Regional Conference “Children´s Books: Where Worlds Meet”~ Oct 2 - 4, St. Charles, IL, USA

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Oct 3 - Nov 1, Takahama City, Japan

Orange County Children’s Book Festival~ Oct 4, Costa Mesa, CA, USA

13th Poetry Africa~ Oct 5 - 10, Durban, South Africa

Children’s Book Week: Words and Pictures~ Oct 5 - 11, United Kingdom

TaleBlazers Festival~ Oct 5 - 30, Province of Alberta, Canada

6th International Literacy Conference~ Oct 7 - 9, Penang, Malaysia

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival~ Oct 7 - 11, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Inky Awards Shortlist Announced, On-line Voting Begins~ Oct 9, Australia

Latino Book and Book Festival~ Oct 10 - 11, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Monterrey International Book Fair~ Oct 10 - 18, Monterrey, Mexico

Frankfurt Book Fair~ Oct 14 - 18, Frankfurt, Germany

OGAMAS Aboriginal Literary Festival: What We Gather For Each Other~ Oct 15 - 17, Brandon, MB, Canada

56th Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 16, New York, NY, USA

International Conference on the Book~ Oct 16 - 18, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Winners Ceremony~ Oct 17, Washington, D.C., USA

SCBWI Tokyo Presents Writing for Children: The Picture Book with Author Holly Thompson~ Oct 17, Kyoto, Japan

CHARACTER COUNTS! Week~ Oct 18 - 24, USA

YALSA’s Teen Read Week: Read Beyond Reality~ Oct 18 - 24, USA

Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival~ Oct 18 - 25, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Library Exhibition~ Oct 18 - 25, Jakarta, Indonesia

Utan Kayu International Literary Biennale~ Oct 20 - 24, Bogor and Jakarta, Indonesia

14th Annual New England Conference on Multicultural Education~ Oct 21, Hartford, CT, USA

Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature: Creative Approaches to Biography and Historical Fiction~ Oct 22 - 24, Westport, CT, USA

Finnish Reading Association Conference: New Literacies-Reading and Writing with New Technologies~ Oct 23 - 24, Jyväskylä, Finland

Children’s Literature Council Fall Gala~ Oct 24, Los Angeles, CA, USA

IBBY Congreso Internacional Lectura~ Oct 26 - 31, Havana, Cuba

Book Week~ Oct 27 - Nov 9, Japan

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Awards Ceremony~ Oct 30, San Marcos, TX, USA

For over 20 years the Museum of Children’s Art (MOCHA) located in Oakland, California has been providing hands-on learning experiences for children and adults in 5 program areas: Museum Programs, Artists in the Schools, Early Childhood Programs, Professional Development Programs, and Community Programs. As well as advocating for arts as an essential part of a strong, vital and diverse community, MOCHA emphasizes outreach to children in low-income communities that do not typically have wide access to the arts; and works towards their mission of ensuring that the arts are a fundamental part of the lives of all children. Last year over 35,000 children took part in MOCHA programs!

The first Saturday of each month, MOCHA links literacy with art-making in a free event known as Saturday Stories. First, a children’s book is read aloud and then participants engage in an art activity that highlights the themes of the book. On Saturday 12 September, from 1 - 2pm, MOCHA visitors are invited to join author Anjana Utarid. She will be reading her picture book Roti Rolled Away (Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2007): the story of Asha, a young girl in India who encounters unique and exotic animals as she chases down a runaway bread roti.

Anjana, who has an MA in Counseling Education, has traveled around the world several times and is an active advocate for at-risk children. Roti Rolled Away was her first children’s book and was derived from watching her mother teach her daughter to make rotis. Teri Sloat reviewed the book and says:

Roti Rolled Away allows us to follow the Roti, instead of the Gingerbread Man, as it rolls away from Asha. Anjana Utarid uses a familiar pattern and wonderfully rhythmic writing as Asha pays her respects to the animals of India while following the Roti through the jungle, only to watch the Roti disappear into the river. A wonderful grandmother story and bridge between cultures.

(Click on event name for more information)

Skipping Stones Youth Honor Award Winners Announced

Western Australia Spring Poetry Festival and National Poetry Week~ ongoing until Sep 4, Australia

Taranaki Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Sep 5, Taranaki, New Zealand

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

National Literacy and Numeracy Week~ ongoing until Sep 6, Australia

Singapore International Storytelling Festival~ ongoing until Sep 12, Singapore

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Sep 27, Nishinomiya City, Japan

Entries Accepted for the 2010 PBBY-Salanga Prize~ ongoing until Oct 23, Philippines

Exhibition - Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ ongoing until Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Their Magical Years: a National Workshop on Early Childhood Learning and Development~ Sep 3 - 5, New Delhi, India

Beijing International Book Fair~ Sep 3 - 7, Beijing, China

Munsch a Bunch of Miles for Literacy~ Sep 3 - 11, Canmore, AB, Canada

Decatur Book Festival~ Sep 4 - 6, Decatur, GA, USA

heARTlines: Children’s Literature and Book Illustration Festival ~ Sep 4 - Oct 4, Mundaring, Australia

22nd Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava~ Sep 4 - Oct 26, Bratislava, Slovakia

International Literacy Day~ Sep 8

UNESCO Literary Prize Awards Presentation~ Sep 8, Paris, France

Brisbane Writers Festival~ Sep 9 - 13, Brisbane, Australia

International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival~ Sep 9 - 13, Berlin, Germany

CYA later, Alligator - Children’s and Young Adult Writers And Illustrators Conference~ Sep 12, Brisbane, Australia

57th St. Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 13, Chicago, IL, USA

10th Annual Hog Wild About Reading: A Motorcycle Ride For Literacy~ Sep 13, Port Moody, BC, Canada

Book Blogger Appreciation Week~ Sep 14 - 18

Hispanic Heritage Month~ Sep 15 - Oct 15, USA

The Manila International Book Fair: Words Without Borders~ Sep 16 - 20, Manila, Philippines

The Art of Allen Say: A Sense of Place~ Sep 16 - Oct 28, Exeter, NH, USA

International Symposium: Beyond Borders: Art, Narrative and Culture in Picturebooks~ Sep 18 - 20, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Bath Festival of Children’s Literature~ Sep 18 - 27, Bath, United Kingdom

Tamejavi - Our Voice, Our Stories: A Path to Inclusion~ Sep 19, Fresno, CA, USA

Eden Mills Writers’ Festival~ Sep 20, Eden Mills, ON, Canada

Thin Air - Winnipeg International Writers Festival~ Sep 20 - 27, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

International Day of Peace~ Sep 21

The 4th World Summit on Arts and Culture~ Sep 22 - 25, Johannesburg, South Africa

Canwest Raise-a-Reader Day~ Sep 23, Canada

25th Annual Göteborg Book Fair~ Sep 24 - 27, Göteborg, Sweden

Darling Children’s Book Fair~ Sep 24 - 26, Darling, South Africa

Reading Association of Ireland’s Annual International Conference: Literacy in the 21st Century: Perspectives, Challenges & Transformations~ Sep 24 - 26, Dublin, Ireland

Margarita Engle ~ Finding the Poetry in History~ Sep 25, Fresno, CA, USA

Wigtown Book Festival~ Sep 25 - Oct 4, Wigtown, United Kingdom

The Children’s Bookshow: Picture Books and Poetry ~Sep 25 - Nov 25, United Kingdom

National Book Festival~ Sep 26, Washington, D.C., USA

Children’s Book Seminar - SCBWI at UP Visayas 2009~ Sep 26, Iloilo City, Philippines

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ Sep 26 - Oct 3, USA

The Word on the Street National Book and Magazine Festival: Celebrating Reading. Advocating Literacy. ~ Sep 27, Canada

New Zealand Reading Association 2009 Conference~ Sep 27 - 30, Queenstown, New Zealand

PaperTigers is always happy to help spread the word on multicultural children’s and young adult literature events. If there is an event happening in your neighbourhood that you think would be of interest to our readers, send an email to corinne(at)papertigers(dot)org and we’ll post it on the blog. Here’s what promises to be a great event sent to us by Anjali Goyal, board member on The South Asian Women’s Creative Collective (SAWCC):

Beyond Gossip Girls: An Evening with Young Adult Authors Neesha Meminger and Sheba Karim

Books and films for young adults have exploded onto the scene recently with the success of the Twilight series, Gossip Girl, Harry Potter, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. How do teens of color fare amidst this explosion? What is it like to try to publish works with multicultural characters or characters of color in an industry clamoring for the next Twilight?

Join us for a reading and discussion with young adult novelists Neesha Meminger (author of Shine, Coconut Moon) and Sheba Karim (author of Skunk Girl). Meminger and Karim deal with issues ranging from the Sikh experience post 9/11 and single parenthood to body image and Muslim American identity, while providing cohesive narratives of South Asian American adolescences and their growing pains. Both authors will read from their new novels and discuss their different paths to publication and writing for a teen audience. Booksigning and reception to follow.

Wednesday, July 29 at 7pm

The Asian American Writers’ Workshop
16 West 32nd Street, 10th Floor
New York, New York

Lucía González, renowned storyteller, puppeteer, and Pura Belpré Honor author, will be doing a presentation at the Hedberg Public Library, 316 S. Main Street, Janesville, WI, on Saturday, July 18, at 1:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend.

(Click on event name for more information)

Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ ongoing until Jul 10, Ukraine

READ!Singapore 2009 - Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ ongoing until Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Exhibition - Drawings from the Heart: Tomie de Paola Turns 75 ~ Jul 3 - Nov 1, Amherst, MA, USA

Kids and Young Adult Literature Festival~ Jul 4 - 5, Rozelle, Australia

West Cork Literary Festival~ Jul 5 - 11, Bantry, Ireland

NAIDOC Week~ Jul 5 - 12, Australia

Asterisks and Obelisks: Classical Receptions in Children’s Literature~ Jul 6 - 10, Lampeter, United Kingdom

Worlds in Dialogue Conference~ Jul 8 - 11, Potchefstroom, South Africa

Storytellers of Canada Annual Conference~ Jul 8 - 12, Victoria, BC, Canada

SCBWI British Isles Hosts an Evening with Tamarind Books Founder Verna Wilkins~ Jul 9, London, United Kingdom

Tokyo International Book Fair~ Jul 9 - 12, Tokyo, Japan

American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference~ Jul 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ Jul 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Program and Meeting Schedule at the ALA Annual Conference~ July 9 - 15, Chicago, IL, USA

National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy~ Jul 9 - 12, Hobart, Australia

SHCY Biennial Conference: Children and Youth at Risk and Taking Risks: Historical Inquiries in International Perspective~ Jul 10-12, Berkeley, CA, USA

The 45th UKLA International Conference Making Connections: Building Literate Communities in and Beyond Classrooms~ Jul 10 - 12, London, United Kingdom

USBBY/YALSA Present Mixing it Up: The Process of Bringing International Children’s Books to the US~ Jul 11, Chicago, IL, USA

Creative Exchange: The Bologna Experience with Ayano Imai, Kiyo Tanaka and Shimako Okamura~ Jul 11, Tokyo, Japan

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ Jul 11 - Aug 16, Tokyo, Japan

Children’s Books Ireland Wild About Books Day~ Jul 12, Dublin, Ireland

10th Annual Pacific Northwest Children’s Book Conference~ Jul 13 - 17, Portland, OR, USA

20th Annual Children’s Book Fair~ Jul 13 - Aug 1, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Voices on the Coast, A Youth Literature Festival~ Jul 14 - 18, Sunshine Coast, Australia

2nd National Conference on Children’s Literature~ Jul 16 - 17, Diliman, Philippines

Harlem Book Fair~ Jul 17 - 19, Harlem, NY, USA

18th Storytelling Festival at the Edge~ Jul 17 - 19, Stokes Barn, United Kingdom

16th European Conference on Reading and 1st Ibero-American Forum on Literacies: Discovering Worlds of Literacy~ Jul 19 - 22, Braga, Portugal

Racial Harmony Day~ Jul 21, Singapore

20th Annual Hong Kong Book Fair~ Jul 22 - 28, Hong Kong

Lima International Book Fair~ Jul 23 - Aug 5, Lima, Peru

Montana Poetry Day~ Jul 24, New Zealand

Their Magical Years: a National Workshop on Early Childhood Learning and Development~ Jul 27 - 31, New Delhi, India

Latin American Regional Conference/Congreso Latinoamericano~ Jul 30 - Aug 1, Lima, Peru

(Click on event name for more information)

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Week~ ongoing until Jun 3, Sweden

World Book Fair~ ongoing until Jun 7, Singapore

Once Upon a Time: Children’s Book Illustrators, Then and Now~ ongoing until Jun 14, Oakland, CA, USA

Books Illustrated Traveling Exhibition: An Australian Menagerie - Australian Picture Books~ ongoing until mid Jun, China

Seoul Arts Center Exhibit: Voyage to the World of Illustration~ ongoing until Jun 23, Seoul, Korea

Skipping Stones Magazine’s Youth Honor Award Program - Multicultural Awareness and Nature Appreciation~ entries accepted until Jun 25

Illustration Exhibition for Children: Pictures of Fantasy~ ongoing until Jun 30, Siena, Italy

Exhibition of Prize-Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

READ!Singapore 2009 - Dreaming A Good Read~ ongoing until Aug 31, Singapore

Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009~ ongoing until Nov 8, 2010, Chicago, IL, USA

Reading Matters on the Road Series~ Jun 1 - 2, Bendigo, Australia

Don Quixote in “Sunny Spain”: the Mediation of National and Cultural Identity in Children’s Literature~ Jun 2, London, United Kingdom

Mitali Perkins and Rachel Vail, Resonating with Young Readers~ Jun 4, Greenwich, CT, USA

Nairn Book and Arts Festival~ Jun 5 - 13, Nairn, United Kingdom

Building Bridges - Bilingual Tandem Telling for Multicultural Audiences~ Jun 6, Singapore

Antioch University’s 2nd Annual Children’s Literature Conference~ Jun 6, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Book Launch for Grace Lin’s Newest Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon~ Jun 6, Cambridge, MA, USA

Librarian’s Day~ Jun 7, Cuba

A Passion for Poetry Series Featuring Steven Herrick (Australia) in conversation with Paula Green (New Zealand)~ Jun 10 - 12, New Zealand

FNLIJ’s 11th Book Fair of Children’s and Young Adult Literature~ Jun 10 - 21, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

36th Annual Children’s Literature Association Conference~ Jun 11-14, Charlotte, NC, USA

The Art of Children’s Books~ Jun 12, Toronto, ON, Canada

Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival~ Jun 12 - 13, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Eric Carle’s 80th Birthday Bash and Children’s Book Festival~ Jun 13, Amherst, MA, USA

Cape Town Book Fair~ Jun 13-16, South Africa

Enchanted Worlds - Art of Fairy Stories & Mermaid Tales exhibition~ Jun 13 - Sep 5, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Giving Voice to Children’s Literature~ Jun 15, Sacramento, CA, USA

International Day of the African Child~ Jun 16,

Borders Book Festival~ Jun 18 - 21, Melrose, United Kingdom

The Great Story Picnic Season~ Jun 20, Oxford, United Kingdom

The Torquay Froth and Bubble Literary Festival~ Jun 20 - 21, Torquay, Australia

New Rochelle Festival of Books ~ Jun 20 - 21, New Rochelle, NY, USA

The Nye Memorial Children’s Literature Tour of the Ukraine~ June 23 - Jul 10, Ukraine

CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards Winners Announced~ Jun 25, London, United Kingdom

International Authors’ and Illustrators’ Forum~ Jun 25 -26, Munich, Germany

Sunthorn Phu Day (celebrated poet)~ Jun 26, Thailand

Canadian Multiculturalism Day~ Jun 27, Canada

Skipping Stones is an award-winning, nonprofit magazine for youth that encourages communication, cooperation, creativity and celebration of cultural and environmental richness. Founded in 1988 and published five times a year, Skipping Stones provides a forum for sharing ideas and experiences among youth from different countries and cultures. Art and original writings submissions in every language and from all ages are always welcomed.

Each year Skipping Stones recognizes outstanding authentic books and teaching resources with the Annual Skipping Stones Honor Awards. The honored books, published by both large and small publishers, promote cooperation and cultivate an awareness of our diverse cultures. Together, they encourage an understanding of the world’s diversity, ecological richness, respect for differing viewpoints and close relationships in human societies. Bound to provide a great reading adventure, they offer a variety of learning experiences. Reviewers aged 8 to 80, from many backgrounds and life experiences, help select the winners and their reviews are published in the Summer Skipping Stones issue.

The 2009 winners are broken down into 3 categories - Multicultural & International Awareness, Nature and Ecology Books, and Teaching and Parenting Resources; and winning titles include:

Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins,
The Storyteller’s Candle by Lucia Gonzalez, illustrated by Lulu Delacre,
Grandfather’s Story Cloth by Linda Gerdner and Sarah Langford, illustrated by Stuart Loughridge.

For a complete list of the winners, click here: I just printed it off and will be heading to my local library this afternoon to see what treasures I can find!

(Click on event name for more information)

National Poetry Month~ Canada and USA

Growing Up Asian in America Art and Essay Contest Winners Announced~ San Francisco, CA, USA

Exclusive Books Children’s Book Festival~ ongoing until Apr 4, South Africa

Toronto Festival of Storytelling~ongoing until Apr 5, Toronto, ON, Canada

7th Bangkok International Book Fair & 37th National Book Fair~ ongoing until Apr 6, Bangkok, Thailand

20th Annual Children’s Book Illustrator Exhibit~ ongoing until Apr 18, Hayward, CA, USA

Bologna Children’s Book Fair Events in the City~ ongoing until April 30, Bologna, Italy

Discovering Ethnic Minorities - Storytelling Workshops for Children~ ongoing until May 31, Hong Kong

Exhibition of Prize Winning Works of 16th Noma Concours (2008) “Palette of Dream Colours IV”~ ongoing until Jul 5, Tokyo, Japan

Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival~ Apr 1 - 3, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Ethiopian Children’s Book Week~ Apr 1 - 7, Ethiopia

International Children’s Book Day~ Apr 2

Desi Teens and Muslim Migration: Personal Journeys from the Asian Diaspora

25th Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults~ Apr 2 - 3, Kent, OH, USA

Conference: What’s New in Children’s Books~ Apr 4, Boston, MA, USA

Young Poets Week~ Apr 6 - 12, Canada

Children’s and Young Adult Literature Festival: Read Green~ Apr 15 - 16, Salisbury, MD, USA

National Library Week~ Apr 12-18, USA

15th Celebration of Children’s Literature~ Apr 18, Berkeley, CA, USA

15th Annual Border Book Festival~ Apr 17 - 19, Mesilla, NM, USA

Congreso Iberoamericano de Libreros~ Apr 18 - 20, Buenos Aires, Argentina

London Book Fair~ Apr 20 - 22, London, United Kingdom

Global Action Week: Open Books, Open Doors~ Apr 20 - 26

Camara Chilena del Libro Book Fair~ Apr 21 - 28, Santiago, Chile

Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival and Children’s Festival~ Apr 22 - 26, Montreal, QC, Canada

World Book and Copyright Day~ Apr 23

Cambridge WordFest~ Apr 23 - 26, Cambridge, United Kingdom

35th Buenos Aires International Book Fair~ Apr 23 - May 11, Buenos Aires, Argentina

27th Annual Spring Festival of Children’s Literature~ Apr 24 - 25, Frostburg, MD, USA

SCBWI New England’s Annual Conference: Many Voices~ Apr 24 - 26, Nashua, NH, USA

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books~ Apr 25 - 26, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Lecture: The Reconfiguration of Children and Children’s Literature in a Globalized World~ Apr 27, Drumcondra, Ireland

5th Annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature~ Apr 27 - May 3, New York, NY, USA

Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winners Announced~ Apr 28, New York, NY, USA

El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros~ Apr 30, USA

Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award Winner Announced~ Apr 30, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards are given annually to children’s books published in the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races, as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence. On October 17th, winners of the 55th Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards received their awards, gave their acceptance speeches, and signed copies of their books at the United Nations Plaza in New York City.

PaperTigers congratulates:

WINNER - Books for Younger Children Category

The Escape of Oney Judge: Martha Washington’s Slave Finds Freedom, written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

WINNER - Books For Older Children Category

We are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin, written by Larry Dane Brimner

HONORS - Books for Younger Children Category

One Thousand Tracings: Healing the Wounds of World War II, written and illustrated by Lita Judge

HONORS - Books for Older Children Category

Rickshaw Girl, written by Mitali Perkins with illustrations by Jamie Hogan

Honors - Books for Older Children Category

Elijah of Buxton, written by Christopher Paul Curtis

Honors - Books for Older Children Category

Birmingham, 1963, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

You can read Mitali’s acceptance speech and see photos of the event on her blog. Check out Larry Brimner’s Write. Write. Written! — A Writer’s Journal and Lita Judge’s blog as well!

In November our PaperTigers website will focus on the theme of “war and peace in children’s books,” featuring original essays by Lita Judge (One Thousand Tracings) and Jo Montie, former member of the Jane Addams Award committee.

Today at work we are discussing our season's book champions, or push books, and what we need to do to get the marketing going.

Of course, as a writer, I have mixed tummy rumbling feelings.

YES--a big book is a necessity for any house's success and actually does propel the sales of the other books.
YES--there are some books that simply lend themselves to programming and outreach, while others are more quiet and personal and require handselling, one book at a time.

and
NO--you can't push EVERY book with equal marketing power.

still................

So I thought I would write today about how I determine a push book.  And I'm going to talk more about God's To-Do List, which I mentioned on Tuesday.
1.  There is a program that makes sense that encourages people to buy IN BULK.  Ron structured his book into ten chapters, one for each day of the Days of Awe.  Communities reading the book together are asked to read a chapter a day.  During Yom Kippur, the rabbi can talk about the book, the process, and the community's goals, which are built into the book.
2.  The author is dynamic.  Ron is amazing.  He travels.  He speaks well. People relate to him.
3.  The message of the book strikes a timely chord.  I didn't realize how true this was for GTDL until I heard Ron speak at the recent CAJE conference.  People were nodding, crying, laughing, holding each other.  They  had been clearly looking for a way to express the sentiments of the book.  Now they had a way.


Is that helpful to anyone?  Ask your q's.  I'll add more thoughts next week...

CHEERS!  Have a great weekend!