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I usually begin with a video of myself whenever I’ve a chance, but this week I’m preempting my own face because this video is the coolest thing ever.  By the time I left New York Public Library its Rose Reading Room had already been closed for half a year.  Now you get to see the room in a time lapse video looking cooler than ever.  52,000 books are shelved here in two minutes.  Trust me – you won’t be bored.

This month I hosted one of those fun little interviews I do from time to time on my show Ladybird and Friends. This month the interviewee was Mike Grosso of the new feminist middle grade novel I Am Drums.  He’s great.  The book’s great.  We have fun.  But if you really want to skip to the weird part, be sure to also go to about 28:34.

And just to keep it all in the family, my husband’s book The Secrets of Story is out and available for purchase.  To prep you a bit, Matt’s been creating short interesting videos to highlight some of the ideas in the book.  This one’s about objects.  I’m a fan.  Check it:

You’ve heard of book trailers, surely, but audiobook trailers? This one for Adam Gidwitz’s magnificent The Inquisitor’s Tale will make you a believer. Let’s see more of these in the future!

Meanwhile, over at 100 Scope Notes, Travis Jonker swore that if he ever heard of a children’s book creator on television, he’d watch. Then he heard that Oliver Jeffers was on an Irish talk show called The Late Late Show. So what does he do? He tracks down the Irish video link. That’s dedication, people. That’s chutzpah. And we are the beneficiaries:

N.D. Wilson.  He writes middle grade children’s books.  Good ones too.  Books that get a lot of critical attention.  But apparently that’s not enough for Mr. Wilson. Oh no.  He has to go out and actually write and direct a real as real movie.  It’s called The River Thief and it has a limited national release and is on VOD.  Check out the trailer here if you’re curious:

Fun Fact: The creation of this movie, from concept to end of production, was three weeks. That includes the three days it took to write the script. Here’s a behind the scenes on that, if you’re curious.

Next UP: Not safe for work.  Not really.  But anything that takes the “sexy librarian” stereotype and turns it on its head/tongue is fine by me.

And for the off-topic video, I warn you.  This bad lip-reading will get caught in your head.  This is the earworm to rule all earworms.

Paul Feig’s Ghostbuster’s remake has made waves on both sides of the Atlantic. As the original 1984 film set some significant action in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library, we couldn’t help but indulge in a rifle through the archives of cinematic tributes to libraries.

The post From the archives: the top 5 movie scenes set in libraries appeared first on OUPblog.

Do you plan on celebrating Valentine’s Day this weekend?

The New York Public Library team created a map of fictional romances set in New York City. According to the organization’s blog post, a group of book experts shared some of “their favorite romantic scenes that take place in the city.”

This interactive map features several well-known spots such as The Museum of Natural History, The Strand bookstore, and the 7 train. Some of the books that provided these locations include The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart, and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith. Follow this link to view the map.

William P. Kelly will join the New York Public Library (NYPL) as the Andrew W. Mellon director of the research libraries. Prior to his hiring, he served as the interim chancellor of the City University of New York (CUNY) and president of the CUNY Graduate Center.

Here’s more from the press release: “Kelly described leading the research libraries of NYPL as a privilege of the first order…Kelly’s responsibilities will include collection strategy, acquisition, and accessibility; researcher engagement; preservation; long-term and short-term fellowships; and taking a lead role in several important research initiatives happening in the next few years at NYPL.”

Kelly will oversee the leadership of the organization’s four research centers: the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), the Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, and the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. His start date has been set for Jan. 2016.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has unveiled its list of “Top Book Check Outs of 2015.” Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult has claimed the top spot.

Some of the titles include The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. The organization has also revealed six additional lists such as “Top 10 Books in Manhattan,” “Top 10 Books in Staten Island,” and “Top Books by Branch in the Bronx.”

Here’s more from the press release: “Individual branches saw a wide variety of books checked out the most, from Henry A. Clumpton’s The Art of Intelligence Lessons from a Life in the CIA’s Clandestine Service at City Island Library in the Bronx, to Prodigal Son by Danielle Steel at South Beach Library in Staten Island…Over 20 million items, including books, are circulated throughout the NYPL system each year. Opportunities to check out items will be even greater in 2016, when hours expand at branches across the system thanks to a $43 million city funding increase for New York’s three public library systems: NYPL, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Library.”

Fay Rosenfeld will join the New York Public Library (NYPL) as the vice president of public programs. Just prior to her hiring, she served as the COO of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College.

According to the press release, Rosenfeld will work “to develop and implement a comprehensive program designed to enlighten and engage the public in the work and mission of The New York Public Library. This will include reviewing and strengthening current NYPL programming, collaborating with curators, exhibitions staff, and staff from the Library’s branches to develop new programs to engage a variety of new audiences, identifying fundraising and partnership opportunities for programming, and developing plans to push NYPL content and programs beyond the physical building via technology, among other responsibilities.”

Rosenfeld will report to Carrie Welch, the chief external relations officer. Her start date has been set for Jan. 11, 2016. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Blanc / NYPL)

The New York Public Library has installed “The Librarian Is In” booth at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The librarians at this booth will provide reading recommendations upon request.

Two staff members, Lynn Lobash and Gwen Glazer, have signed on to work at the booth. Visitors will find it at the 5th Avenue lobby available until Dec. 23.

Lobash had this statement in the press release: “Reading is a very personal thing, and the whole key to enjoying it is to find the right book, the one that gets you excited and interested and unable to stop turning pages. Finding that book and experiencing that joy is a real gift. We’re here to help. This is what librarians do.”

The New York Public Library has opened a pop-up exhibit called “A Writer’s Christmas: Dickens & More.”

This program was organized to celebrate the holiday season. Some of the items being displayed include a Christmas card from James Joyce, a Christmas-themed book by T. S. Eliot, and ceramic figurines associated with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

According to the press release, visitors will only be able to see this exhibit at the McGraw Rotunda inside the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The closing date has been scheduled for Jan. 04, 2016.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has acquired the archive of the New York Review of Books magazine. This publication garnered great fame for featuring pieces by several beloved writers such as W. H. Auden, Joan Didion, and Norman Mailer.

The NYPL team estimates that the materials will require about three years to fully process before it can be made available to researchers. Some of the notable items from the archive include letters, telegrams, emails, drafts, manuscripts, and galleys.

Here’s more from the press release: “The archive includes a wealth of correspondence between editors Silvers and Epstein and The Review’s wide range of authors over the magazine’s 50-year existence. This outstanding correspondence provides unique evidence of intellectual life in the United States in the second half of the 20th century. In addition, letters to The Review detail the lively literary disputes that have long given the magazine its character of intensity and passion for factual correctness. The archive shows the evolution of the magazine as it took a vocal role in opposition to both the Vietnam War and later wars in Iraq.”

The curators at the New York Public Library have put together a display in celebration of July Fourth.

The theme of this program will center on Sparking The Revolution: “No Taxation Without Representation.” The items chosen for this display include Benjamin Franklin’s annotated copy of a pro-Stamp Act pamphlet, an engraving of the Boston Massacre, a copy of the Continental Congress’s Olive Branch Petition, and a rare copy of the first New York printing of the Declaration of Independence.

According to the press release, visitors will see items that that spotlight on “key historic moments surrounding the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. A key focus of the display is the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act, a wildly unpopular British tax on all paper used by the American colonists, and one of the critical sparks that launched the fight for American independence.”

The curators at the New York Public Library have put together a flash display called The Collections: Celebrating Marriage Equality.

This program was organized to honor the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to disallow the states from banning same-sex marriage. CNN.com reports that the United States has become the twenty-first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

According to the press release, visitors will find this display in Astor Hall of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The items being featured include a 1934 photo of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, a children’s book with a story about a same-sex wedding called Daddy’s Wedding, a copy of the 1963 edition of One magazine, a 1927 letter written by Virginia Woolf addressed to Vita Sackville-West, and a copy of The Surprising Adventures of a Female Husband! pamphlet. The opening date has been scheduled for June 26th.

“Chim, chimney, chim, chimney, chim, chim, cher-ee!” A display of rare Mary Poppins-related items has opened at the New York Public Library.

This character stars in an eight-book series by writer and actress P.L. Travers (with artwork by artist Mary Shepard). Some of the pieces on display include Travers’ umbrella, a Dutch wooden doll that served as a model for the book illustrations, and an \"N is for Nursery\" pen and ink drawing.

Visitors will be able to find this program at the children’s room of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. This display will be on view until the Fall time.

The New York Public Library has designed a literacy kit. The organization will offer these kits to patrons from “high-needs communities.”

The following branches have been tasked with giving away 15,000 kits: Hunts Point, Kingsbridge, Grand Concourse, Morrisania, Inwood, Hamilton Grange, Countee Cullen, St. George, West New Brighton, and Stapleton. More branches will also be getting kits later this year.

Here’s more from the press release: “The kit’s centerpiece is an original children’s board book called ABC Read With Me In NYC featuring illustrations by artist Antonio De Jesus. The book follows the Library’s signature lions as they learn classic nursery rhymes and explore New York City landmarks. With both English and Spanish translations, the book encourages parents to not only read with their children, but talk, sing, and play with them. Additional literacy materials will also be available for download as the program continues at nypl.org/abc.”

We know that access to books – in all forms – is critical for children to develop into readers.

Now, through a new White House-led initiative, First Book is helping connect children in need across the country with access to thousands of e-books. The initiative, announced today by President Obama, is part of a broad effort to ignite kids’ love of reading by improving access to digital content and public libraries.

Through the initiative, called Open eBooks, publishers are providing $250 million worth of e-books for free to children from low-income families. 10,000 of their most popular titles will be included.

The books will be accessible through an Open eBooks app, which is currently being developed by the New York Public Library, the Digital Public Library of America and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Once complete, the app and all the e-books will be available to programs and classrooms serving children in need through First Book.

Know someone working in the lives of children in need? Encourage them to sign up with First Book.

The post First Book Joins White House to Bring Thousands of e-Books to Kids in Need appeared first on First Book Blog.

The New York Public Library has revealed the finalists for the 2015 Young Lions Fiction Award. We’ve created another literary mixtape linking to free samples of all the nominated novels.

Here’s more from the press release: “The Young Lions Fiction Award is given annually to an American writer age 35 or younger for either a novel or collection of short stories.  Each year, five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians.”

The winner will be announced during a ceremony which will be held at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on April 27th. This year’s panel of judges include The Twelve Tribes of Hattie novelist Ayana Mathis, New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead, and Once the Shore: Stories author Paul Yoon.

15th Annual Young Lions Fiction Award Finalists

The UnAmericans by Molly Antopol

Silence Once Begun by Jesse Ball

Nobody is Ever Missing by Catherine Lacey

What Ends by Andrew Ladd

10:04 by Ben Lerner

Have you ever visited Patience and Fortitude at the New York Public Library? Two famed comediennes, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, will lend their voices to the famed marble lions for the New York Spring Spectacular.

Actresses Whoopi Goldberg and Bella Thorne will play the Statue of Liberty puppet and the Alice in Wonderland statue. This show will open at Radio City Music Hall on March 26th and close on May 3rd.

Here’s more from Playbill.com: “Celebrities announced to make video cameos include 50 Cent, Odell Beckham Jr., Victor Cruz, Walt Frazier, John Leguizamo, Al Michaels, Kelly Ripa, Mariano Rivera, Sam Rosen, Carmelo Anthony, Henrik Lundqvist, Martha Stewart, and Donald Trump. The stage production stars Tony Award winner Laura Benanti (Gypsy, Nashville), Emmy Award-winning choreographer Derek Hough (Dancing With the Stars), Lenny Wolpe (Wicked, The Drowsy Chaperone, Bullets Over Broadway), and Jared Grimes (After Midnight, Boardwalk Empire).” (via The Hollywood Reporter)

The New York Public Library has installed an outdoor reading room on the Fifth Avenue Plaza at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

According to the NYPL blog, visitors can enjoy this summer time retreat until August 15th. It will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Mondays through Saturdays.

Patrons who snap selfies are encouraged to use the #ireadeverywhere hashtag on social media. What do you think? (via The Gothamist)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This may sound a little crazy, but even though I’m on maternity leave for three months or so, this video made me nostalgic for my system. It’s the rather remarkable Why Libraries Matter short documentary from The Atlantic. Beautifully shot and LOOK! There’s Rita Meade again! Somebody give that gal her own show.

While we’re loving our libraries, let’s keep on keeping on.  Here’s Brooklyn Public Librarian Alla Roylance on her own journey and time in the library.  And yes, there are pregnant iguanas involved.

Oh, what the heck. One more.  Here’s a piece on how popular our storytimes are.  Shout outs to Danielle Kalan and Rachael Payne, who both appear in this piece.

I know he’ll soon be living in Brooklyn for a year, but I’d never had a chance to see the man behind Press Here actually speak.  Et voila!  Herve Tullet discusses his latest book.

Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link!

Actually, 100 Scope Notes had most of the good videos this week.  Like John Green’s 47 Charming Facts About Children’s Books.  Tell me this isn’t awesome.

Of course Fact #18 may be untrue.  I did some research for my upcoming book Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature (how’s that for a plug, eh?) and though it didn’t make the final cut I have evidence that suggests that it was Potter’s MOTHER and not Potter herself who insulted young Roald.  I do not, however, have any evidence to suggest that it wasn’t Ms. Potter who yelled at Diana Wynne Jones’s sisters for swinging on her fence.  That story appears to be legit.

And for our off-topic video, a very amusing video for Les Miserables fans.  It’s what happens when you run the lyrics to One Day More through a Google translator and back again.

Thanks to Marci for the link.



New York Public Library on 42nd & 5th Ave

I recently went to an exhibit at the New York Public Library on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue in New York City.  It is titled “Why Children’s Books Matter”. This exhibit walks you through the history of children’s books from early colonial times through Manga and the graphic novels of today. I really enjoyed the displays that included some of my favorites. From Alice in Wonderland to Winnie the Pooh, to Where the Wild Things Are, all the classics were represented. There were examples of children’s books from Russia and India, a history of the origin of children’s books, and a reading section where kids(or adults for that matter) could sit and read from the shelves of children’s books available. Some of the displays included props that I have never seen anywhere else.

The Original Winnie the Pooh & Friends

I think that kids will really love some of the interactive displays there.  There is a replica of the car from The Phantom Tollbooth, a life sized fireplace from Goodnight Moon, and a rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland for kids to crawl through.  Even if you don't bring any children, there is still enough on display to invoke memories from your own childhood.  The original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal was on display along with Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger. Mary Poppin’s umbrella was alongside the original book and clips from the movie were playing on the adjacent wall.  Across from this exhibit, original drawings from the Wizard of Oz hung on the wall.

My First Introduction to Poetry

What really made me feel like a kid again was seeing a vintage copy of Mad Magazine on display. This magazine helped fuel an irreverent sense of humor which I still have to this day. It also introduced me to poetry and taught me the concept of rhyme and meter before anyone else. Before I had ever read Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in school, I read Rhyme of the Modern Skateboarder in Mad Magazine. Like any good children’s book, this exhibit doesn't preach to you. It doesn’t tell you why children’s books matter. It simply shows you the work and lets you draw your own conclusions. But I do know why children’s books matter to me. They introduced me to a vast array of ideas and different ways of thinking. They taught me about the world and about myself in ways that I could relate to.  They also influenced me in ways I would not fully understand until much later on in life. After all, who knew back then that I would wind up recommending that budding poets read vintage copies of Mad Magazine to sharpen their poetry skills?  If you get a chance, I highly recommend seeing this exhibit.

• The biggest news of the day came in the form of a single headline in The New York Times yesterday: New York Library Drops Plan to Renovate Flagship. Whoa!   So.  That happened.  Wowzah.

• This news comes to us less than a week after Coldplay (yes, that Coldplay) hid something in one of the books in my Children’s Center at 42nd Street.  Apparently the doors opened that day and people tore into the room demanding, ultimately, Jeff Belanger’s Who’s Haunting the White House?  One wonders what Jeff Belanger thinks of all this.  Or if sales of his book have gone up.  Six copies of the books are now checked out of my system, I see.

• Oh, and it only took a year but The Paris Review finally made it over to NYPL to check out the current children’s book exhibit The ABC of It.  They liked it, which is good when you consider that it’s up and running until September now.

• May as well seek out the Secret Libraries of New York City as well, if you happen to be in town.  I knew some of these but others (the Conjuring Arts Research Center?!) who wholly new unto mine eyes.

• Unless you resided under a Wi-Fi free rock you may have missed the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign that went wholly and totally viral.  PW summed the whole thing up with its piece BookCon Controversy Begets Diversity Social Media Campaign.  At the time, I didn’t think to alert NYPL to the campaign, but as it turned out the folks there were already on board with it.  They whipped a Celebrate Diverse Children’s Books list out of some of the titles that have appeared on our 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing lists over the last three years.  It’s a nice list too.  Good show.

• There are, of course, children’s awards out there that remain under the radar, no matter how many diversity campaigns spring up.  Such is the case with the Children’s Africana Book Award.  Their history?  According to their site: “In 1991 the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association accepted a proposal from Africa Access to establish awards for outstanding K-12 books on Africa published in the U.S. The awards are designed to encourage the publication of accurate, balanced children’s materials on Africa, to recognize literary excellence and to acknowledge the research achievements of outstanding authors and illustrators. Collectively CABA winners show that Africa is indeed a varied and multifaceted continent. CABA titles expand and enrich our perspectives of Africa beyond the stereotypical, a historical and exotic images that are emphasized in the West.”  I was pleased beyond measure to see that Monica Edinger’s Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad won in the Best Book for Older Readers category.  Well played, Monica!

• In other news the Tomás Rivera Book Award Winners which honors, “authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience” were announced and amongst the winners was Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People by Susan Goldman Rubin.  Woohoo!

• Just to round out the awards, the winners of the 2014 Irma Black Award were announced and the results were absolutely splendid.  PAR-ticularly The Cook Prize for the best STEM picture book.  The Boy Who Loved Math was a shoo-in to my mind, but it’s nice to see folks agreeing on that count.

• And here I thought I knew the bulk of the Maurice Sendak illustrated classics.  So how is it that only now I’m hearing about the fact that he illustrated The Velveteen Rabbit?  The technique is fascinating.  Like he wanted it to look as if a child had scribbled all over the book at strategic moments.  See, here’s what I mean:

• There are just too many folks to congratulate with the recent bout of 2014 ALSC Election Results but I will give one or two shout-outs just for the heck of it.  Big time congrats and woohoos to Andrew Medlar, our bright and shiny new Vice-President/President Elect. On the Caldecott committee, our fair GreenBeanTeenQueen Sarah Bean Thompson will be serving (yay, bloggers!).  The Newbery committee is seeing the delightful Allie Bruce of the Bank Street College of Education (did you see her latest SLJ article?) and Christine Scheper, my Materials Specialist colleague at the Queens Library System.  Well done, everyone!

• The issue of when one should begin telling kids about the Holocaust has come up time and time again in conversation.  How young is too young?  What makes a book appropriate or deeply inappropriate for a given age?  Well, Marjorie Ingall over at Tablet Magazine has some thoughts on the matter, even as she examines two very recent Holocaust titles that she admires (and that I need to read stat).  As Marjorie puts it, “A lot of us drag our heels when it comes to discussing the subject at all. We tell ourselves we want our kids to maintain their innocence for as long as possible. But what avoidance means, practically speaking, is that someone else often does the educating.”

• This is fun.  Recently I took part in a Facebook chat on the subject of getting kids into summer reading as well as various topics books can cover (the stars, science fiction, and camping, amongst others).  With that in mind the illustrious Lori Ess and I created the Reading Under the Stars Pinterest page.  A collection of spooky, camping, and space titles, it covers ages 0-18 and has a little something for everyone.

• Woo-hoo!  I love hearing whom The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art will honor at their yearly gala.  This year marks the ninth annual gala and fundraiser and so they’ll be honoring the following folks:

Artist: Jerry Pinkney

Angel: Reach Out and Read represented by Brian Gallagher and Dr. Perri Klass

Mentor: Henrietta Smith

Bridge: Françoise Mouly

For what it’s worth, I had the honor of hearing Dr. Perri Klass speak recently at the opening of a new NYU library and she was fan-friggin’-tastic.  So pleased she’s getting her due!  Henrietta Smith, for her part, is a children’s librarian so cool she has her own Wikipedia page.  And she served under Augusta Baker!  Man!  I wanna meet her stat.

• When I was asked if I had heard about the anthology Altered Perceptions I had to confess that I had not.  And here I thought I knew all the anthologies out in 2014.  Turns out, Altered Perceptions is a unique case.  Thirty-one authors ranging from Shannon Hale and Sara Zarr to Lauren Oliver and Brandon Mull have joined together to help out writer Robison Wells.  Rob suffers from four different mental illnesses, so his friends have donated writing to help him out of his financial debt.  It’s sort of a win-win situation.  You buy a book that includes work from one of your favorite authors and you help a guy out.  They’re halfway to their stated goal with only 17 days left to raise the funds.  Be a sport.  Help a guy out.

• When I hear that the Huffington Post has an article out with a title like 50 of the Best Kids’ Books Published in the Last 25 Years all that I ask of the universe is that when I open the dang thing I don’t immediately cringe upon seeing the picture book image they used to headline it.  So I opened this piece up and . . . yep.  Sure as shooting.  Cringeworthy.  Now add in the factual mistakes (the Galdone version of The Three Billy Goats Gruff came out in 1973, folks, not 1989).  Most of the books are fantastic, but man oh geez it’s an odd little list.

• Daily Image:

I’ve blogged the Little Golden Book Gown before on this site, so the fact that it exists shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.  What I did not know was that it’s about to be on display here in NYC on May 30th.

Stats about the dress include the fact that the paper skirt is comprised entirely of the original book illustrations sewn together with metallic gold thread and that the bodice is made from the books’ foil spines backed by tape adhesive.  So if anyone wants to lend this to me for an upcoming Newbery/Caldecott Banquet . . . hey, I’m totally game!