Fast fast, like lightning, fast! It’s a Fusenews round-up of epic quickie proportions!
First up, my buddy Warren Truitt used to work with me in the Central Children’s Room of New York Public Library. Then he moved to Alabama. He’s kept busy, since that time with a long-term personal project. This one man machine is intent on setting up every single child in every single preschool in Lee Col, AL with three books that they can take home as their own. To do that, he has set up a very specific registry. If you want to help him out go to this Amazon wishlist and buy him one or more of the books on this list. This is a straight up good cause with direct results. Make yourself feel good about yourself today.
In other news, I have been mistakenly complimented. Cece Bell, the marvelous creator behind such books as El Deafo and the Rabbit and Robot easy book series wrote a post recently in which she wrote the following:
“After El Deafo came out, … Betsy Bird pointed out that the first book in the series (Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover) seemed autobiographical to her. (She was right in some ways—I had initially modeled Rabbit on someone else, but while working on the book realized that the high-strung, anxious Rabbit is pretty darn close to me.) Betsy used her crazy-good comp-lit skills and suggested that my personal connection to the book went even further. She pointed out that while Rabbit might represent me (I’m a rabbit in El Deafo, after all), perhaps the problem-solving Robot might represent the Phonic Ear, my clunky hearing aid from elementary school. I think Betsy was right! Robot drives Rabbit crazy but ultimately helps him out; my Phonic Ear drove me crazy, but ultimately helped me out. A lot.)”
She goes on to explain how the newest book in the series follows in this vein, though she didn’t intend it to do so. Now, you know me. I’m vanity incarnate. I like taking credit for things, but this? I can’t take credit for this. In point of fact it was my genius husband who actually came up with the Rabbit & Robot = El Deafo connection. So I thank you, Cece, but in truth it is Matt Bird who deserves this honor. I am but his humble vessel, parlaying his theories into the universe.
Seems like every day we’re getting more and more information about the upcoming Wrinkle in Time movie. It’s being directed by Ava DuVernay. This is good. Oprah will star in some capacity. Let the Oprah as winged centaur fan art begin! Still good news. Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon may be involved somehow. Better and better. And lastly, Storm Reid (seen here) will be Meg. Perfect! Right age and everything. BUT, and this is a big but, there is still one way they can mess everything up. MEG. MUST. WEAR. GLASSES. If Meg is not wearing glasses in this movie then I am checking out. Harriet the Spy didn’t wear glasses in that Rosie O’Donnell film and Meg didn’t wear glasses the last time they filmed this. Team Glasses, that’s me. Let’s see what happens. Thanks to Laurie Gwen Shapiro for the link.
Anyone else notice that there’s been a distinct increase in the number of articles praising translated books for kids and asking for more out there? Bookriot just came out with 100 Great Translated Kids Books From Around the World. I am not familiar with this M. Lynx Qualey but this is top notch writing. Hooray, #WorldKidLit Month!
New Blog Alert: In my travels I just found a new blog via a recent New York Times Book Review. New to me anyway. Apparently this woman’s been doing this since 2012. Meet Catherine Hong. She works on magazines. She blogs at www.mrslittle.com. And she writes on interesting topics with interesting titles. Here’s a smattering of what I mean:
Read that last one if nothing else. This is my kind of woman (to quote Animal from The Muppet Show)!
The National Book Award longlists were announced this week, people! And guess what? There’s a nice equal smattering of YA and children’s literature on the list. Hooray! Some years it’s all YA with just one children’s book squeezing in there. This year there are SIX children’s books, just slightly tipping in favor of younger readers. I’ve read five of them. See if you can guess which one I haven’t read. It’s not as obvious as you might think.
And now, your daily reminder that David Foster Wallace once taught Mac Barnett. I will repeat. The author of Infinite Jest taught the author of Extra Yarn. I’m just going to sit and process that for a while. Carry on.
Hey! Look over there! At the Horn Book Podcast (I listen to all the episodes – I’m such a junkie) Jules Danielson was on and she said many smart things. Many! Go listen to her and feel smart while doing so.
Confession: I was just going to coast today, since I’d technically already submitted my four blog posts for the week (Sundays totally counts). Then Travis Jonker goes and does THREE brilliant posts in. a. row. This will not stand. I can’t compete with that. First he predicted the upcoming New York Times Best Illustrated books for 2016. Then he did a piece called Who Has Published the Most New York Times Best Illustrated Books in the Last Decade (the answer may surprise you . . . but won’t) and then he followed that up with The Failed Political Campaigns of Children’s Book Characters. I was particularly keen on the last of these because just two days ago I interviewed Aaron Reynolds about President Squid for this new show I’m doing. I recommend that if you don’t want to listen to my big face, skip to about 18:30 where you can experience the most enjoyable sensation of watching a really good author/performer read his book aloud. The voice of President Squid here is fantastic.
Another New Blog Alert: Did you know that the Horn Book has created a new blog? Designed specifically to aid families that like to read together, the Family Reading Blog just started. Check it out!
Did I ever tell you about the time I dug through the library equivalent of the last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark to try to find Pura Belpré’s puppets for a Leonard Marcus exhibit? That was fun. In any case, please check out this article How NYC’s First Puerto Rican Librarian Brought Spanish to the Shelves. I don’t think they mention it in the piece but there’s actually a great picture book about her called The Storyteller’s Candle/La Velita de los Cuentos. Check it out if you’ve a chance!
You could do a lot of things with your day today. For my part, I suggest that you read The Paris Review article What We Talk About When We Talk About Ill-Fitting Doll Suits. If nothing else, read the captions on the photographs. They’ll get you through your day. Thanks to Sara O’Leary for the link.
By the way, remember Jules Danielson? Are you aware of the role she played recently in getting 100 authors and illustrators to contribute beautifully painted piggy banks to help bookseller Stephanie Appell pay for her cancer treatments? Well the piggies got made and they are gorgeous. Really beautifully done. Wouldn’t you like to own one?
Of course you would! So here are the details then:
How You Can Participate (And Bid on the Piggies!)
- If you’re in Nashville, join us for the BANK ON BOOKSELLERS party on Sunday, September 25, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to view all the piggies and get the bidding started! The party is open to the public. A $10 donation is requested at the door.
- No matter where you are, you can see all the piggies and bid online via BiddingOwl beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 25, 2016, through 8 p.m. on Friday, September 30.
- Spread the word: share this post and tag it #BankOnBooksellers!
Meanwhile, in New York City, Gallery Nucleus is hosting a Labyrinth 30th Anniversary Tribute Exhibition tomorrow (September 17th) from 7-10 p.m. called “Through Dangers Untold”. I would go.
Two great tastes that taste great together: First Book and Lee & Low. Now these two powerhouses have combined. LEE & LOW Partners with First Book and NEA Foundation to Expand New Visions Award. Just in case you were feeling depressed about the state of the world today.
Daily Image:
If anyone has any additional information about this book that somehow never got published, I’d love to hear it.
Check out the plot description: “Years before Sarah entered the Labyrinth, a young boy named Jareth faced his own incredible journey in a desperate attempt to rescue his true love from the clutches of the wicked and beautiful Goblin Queen. Archaia and the Jim Henson Company and proud to present an original prequel to Jim Henson’s classic fantasy film.” Only they didn’t because the book never happened. Mysterious. Reminds me of that old fan theory about the movie too.
ALSC invites you to celebrate diversity in children’s books and library programs at ALA Annual Conference. Learn more about the Día initiative and how to incorporate diversity into your library programs and collections for children.
On Sunday, June 29th stop by the How do YOU Día?: An Interactive Showcase of Culturally Diverse Children’s Library Programsposter on the Exhibit Hall floor between 12:30-2pm PT. ALSC’s Public Awareness Committee members will be showcasing successful a variety of successful Día programs and will be sharing materials and ideas to help you get started in your own community.
Continue to learn more about how to incorporate Día into your programming at Dynamic Digital Día: Promoting Cultural Competence in Digital Storytimes. The program will be held at the Las Vegas Hotel in Pavilion 11 on Sunday, June 29th from 3-4pm. Speakers will discuss ways in which librarians can provide broader access to culturally responsive materials. The program will provide selection criteria and suggestions for using apps to promote cultural competence in children’s library programs.
Be sure to also celebrate this year’s Pura Belpré Medal winners and honorees at the 18th Annual Pura Belpré Award Celebración. Enjoy live entertainment and a book signing by the winning authors and illustrators on Sunday, June 29th from 1-3pm PT at Caesars Palace.
Learn more about this important topic by downloading ALSC’s The Importance of Diversity in Library Programs and Material Collections for Children white paper. This white paper, written for the Association for Library Service to Children by Jamie Campbell Naidoo, PhD, was adopted by ALSC’s Board of Directors on April 5, 2014.
In addition, join the conversation at the ALSC Membership Meeting on the importance of diversity in children’s librarianship. The meeting will be held Monday, June 30th from 10:00am – 11:30am at LVCC-N252.
Welcome to First Book’s celebrity blog series. Each month we will be connecting with influential voices who share a belief in the power of literacy, and who have worked with First Book to curate a unique collection that inspires a love of reading and learning. All recommended books are available at deeply discounted prices on the First Book Marketplace to educators and programs serving children in need.
This month we hear from Peggy McCloud, Ed. D. the Deputy Vice President of Education and Workforce Development at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) on engaging Latino families and children in reading and learning.
Any student who has parents that understand the journey from preschool to college is better equipped to navigate the road to long-term student success. While parent engagement is critical to increasing educational attainment for all children, engaging Latino parents in their children’s schooling has typically been challenging – often for linguistic and cultural reasons.
The National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR) parent engagement program is designed to eliminate these challenges and create strong connections between schools, parents, and their children. A bilingual curriculum designed to be administered by school staff, the Padres Comprometidos program empowers Latino parents who haven’t typically been connected to their children’s school. Many of the parents the program reaches are low-income, Spanish-speaking, first and second generation immigrants. Through Padres Comprometidos, these parents gain a deeper understanding of what the journey to academic success will be like, and how they can play a role in preparing their children for higher education. Prior to participating in the program, not all parents expected their children to attend college. After the program, 100% of parents indicated that they expected their children to attend college.
Much of Padres Comprometidos success rests on the program’s ability to address language and culture as assets, rather than as obstacles to be overcome. This asset building strategy extends to NCLR’s partnership with First Book. Together, we’re working to ensure Latino children of all ages have access to books that are culturally and linguistically relevant, books they need to become enthusiastic readers inside and outside of the classroom. Click here to access the three parent engagement curricula developed by NCLR—tailored to parents of preschool, elementary and secondary school students.
Below you will find a few tips and titles that can help you engage families and get children – and their parents and caregivers – reading and learning.
1. Find ways to connect stories that parents know about to help them engage in reading and conversation with their children. This Mexican folktale can open that door:
La Llorona: http://www.fbmarketplace.org/weeping-woman-la-llorona-bilingual-english-spanish.html
2. Keep an English/Spanish dictionary handy to use when you have a parent visiting or to give away to a parent or caregiver who needs it. It will show them that you’re making an effort to engage in their language of comfort.
Webster’s Everyday Spanish-English Dictionary: http://www.fbmarketplace.org/websters-everyday-spanish-english-dictionary.html
3. Learn about the children you serve and their heritage, and identify books that will affirm them. This Pura Belpré award winner is actually about Pura Belpré, the first Latina (Puerto Rican) to head a public library system.
La Velita de los Cuentos: http://www.fbmarketplace.org/the-storytellers-candle-la-velita-de-los-cuentos.html
4. Share books that include some of the everyday experiences of the children and neighborhoods you serve, like this story highlighting the value of community and family.
Grandma and Me at the Flea: http://www.fbmarketplace.org/grandma-and-me-at-the-flea-los-meros-meros-remateros.html
5. Bilingual books provide family members and caregivers the opportunity to read the same books their children are reading, but in their language of comfort. Families will love reading about all the colors of the rainbow in English and Spanish.
My Colors My World: http://www.fbmarketplace.org/my-colors-my-world-mis-colores-mi-mundo.html
Sign up with First Book to access these and other great titles on the First Book Marketplace.
Peggy McCloud, Ed. D. is Deputy Vice President of Education and Workforce Development at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).
The post 5 Tips to Engage Latino Families and Students appeared first on First Book Blog.
We tend to think all of our books are winners and if we could sticker them all we would. But in some special cases, our books get shiny gold and silver medals given by people OTHER THAN US. Today, the ALA announced the 2012 Youth Media Awards, and our books showed up for the occasion! Below is a list of the books, authors, illustrators, and their accolades. Enjoy!
John Newbery Medal: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
John Newbery Honor: Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
Randolph Caldecott Honor: Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Underground by Shane Evans
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Notorious Benedict Arnold by Steve Sheinkin
Pura Belpre Honor: Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engel
This year is the 15th anniversary for El día de los niños/El día de los libros! Happy birthday to this wonderful celebration of children and books from all linguistic and cultural backgrounds!
There are lots of celebrations going on and one I’m particularly excited about is the Pura Belpré Celebración at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans this June. Organizers tell us that they’re going to celebrate it as a Quinceañera with a traditional promenade. It’s going to be fabulous – we only hope we can sneak away from our booth long enough to participate!
For your collections, here are some Spanish and bilingual books to consider for your Día celebrations:
- Ada, Alma Flor and F. Isabel Campoy ¡MUU, MOO!: Rimas de animales/Animal Nursery Rhymes. Illus. Vivi Escriva. 2010
- Ada, Alma Flor and F. Isabel Campoy TEN LITTLE PUPPIES/Diez Perritos. Illus. Ulises Wensell. 2011
- Brown, Monica SIDE BY SIDE/Lado a lado. Illus. Joe Cepeda. 2010
- Dorros, Arthur MAMA AND ME. Illus. Rudy Gutierrez. 2011
- Dorros, Arthur RADIO MAN/Don radio. 1997 (paperback)
- Guy, Ginger Foglesong BRAVO! Illus. Rene King Moreno. 2010
- Guy, Ginger Foglesong MY GRANDMA/Mi abuelita. Illus. Vivi Escriva. 2007
- Lacamara, Laura FLOATING ON MAMA’S SONG/Flotando en la canción de mamá. Illus. Yuyi Morales. 2010
- Martinez, Rueben ONCE UPON A TIME/Habia una vez: Traditional Latin American Tales/Cuentos tradicionales latinoamericanos. Illus. Raul Colon. 2010
- Mora, Pat BOOK FIESTA! Illus. Rafael Lopez. 2009
- Mora, Pat WIGGLING POCKETS/Los bolsillos saltarines. Illus. Maribel Suarez. 2009
- Reiser, Lynn Tortillas and Lullabies/Tortillas y cancioncitas. Illus. Corazones Valientes. 2008
This list is by no means exhaustive (many of these authors and illustrators are prolific with rich and beautiful books in their backlist), but hopefully it’ll help get you started.
And make sure to check out the Día website – there’s a wealth of information about hosting your own Día event, events going
First up, my buddy Warren Truitt used to work with me in the Central Children’s Room of New York Public Library. Then he moved to Alabama. He’s kept busy, since that time with a long-term personal project. This one man machine is intent on setting up every single child in every single preschool in Lee Col, AL with three books that they can take home as their own. To do that, he has set up a very specific registry. If you want to help him out go to this Amazon wishlist and buy him one or more of the books on this list. This is a straight up good cause with direct results. Make yourself feel good about yourself today.
Seems like every day we’re getting more and more information about the upcoming Wrinkle in Time movie. It’s being directed by Ava DuVernay. This is good. Oprah will star in some capacity. Let the Oprah as winged centaur fan art begin! Still good news. Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon may be involved somehow. Better and better. And lastly, Storm Reid (seen here) will be Meg. Perfect! Right age and everything. BUT, and this is a big but, there is still one way they can mess everything up. MEG. MUST. WEAR. GLASSES. If Meg is not wearing glasses in this movie then I am checking out. Harriet the Spy didn’t wear glasses in that Rosie O’Donnell film and Meg didn’t wear glasses the last time they filmed this. Team Glasses, that’s me. Let’s see what happens. Thanks to Laurie Gwen Shapiro for the link.
Go Team Glasses!
Had no idea about the new Wrinkle In Time movie–so exciting to hear, and the cast seems fantastic. Have to agree with the glasses, though. It’s hard for me to picture Meg without them. I missed the kid lit translations article on BookRiot, so, as always, glad for your round-up features!