“What was this writer thinking?!”
“Would you like to ask the writer yourself?”

Maureen Hayes knew the importance of bringing children and author/illustrator together and the impact it can have on their lives. In 2005 the Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Visit Award was established with funding from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. The award honors Maureen Hayes life-long effort to make such visits a reality. The award provides up to $4,000 towards the honorarium and travel costs of a writer/illustrator to visit a location where children might otherwise never have this amazing opportunity. Applicant must be an ALSC member, work in conjunction with other organizations, and be able to supply administrative support, facilities and visibly promote this presentation as a distinctive event.
For more information or to apply for the award, visit the ALSC Web site. The deadline to apply is December 1.

Questions? Please contact Linda Ernst, chair of the ALSC Grant Administration Committee, at lindaern@kcls.org.

If you’ve never been to ALA Annual Conference, apply today for the Penguin Young Readers Group Award!

This award, made possible by an annual gift from the Penguin Young Readers Group, enables up to four children’s librarians to attend their first ALA Annual Conference. Librarians must work directly with children in elementary, middle school or public libraries, and have one to ten years of experience as a children’s librarian by the opening of the Annual Conference. Each winner will each receive a $600 stipend to attend the conference. All applications must be in December 1, 2009. For more information or to apply for the award, visit the ALSC Web site.

Questions? Please contact Linda Ernst, chair of the ALSC Grant Administration Committee, at lindaern@kcls.org.

Call for applications! The ALSC/BWI Summer Reading Program Grant is designed to encourage reading programs for children in a public library by providing financial assistance of $3,000, while recognizing ALSC members for outstanding program development. The application is easy to complete and is due December 1, 2009. The program must be (1) theme-based summer reading program in a public library and (2) open to all children from birth through 14 years. The applicant must work directly with children and be a personal member of ALSC. The Committee encourages proposals with innovative ways to encourage involvement of children with physical or mental disabilities. The application can be found on ALSC website under Awards and Scholarships, then Professional Awards. For more information or to apply for the grant, visit the ALSC Web site.

Questions? Please contact Linda Ernst, chair of the ALSC Grant Administration Committee, at lindaern@kcls.org.

The 2010 John Newbery Book Award Committee is asking the ALSC membership to submit titles for consideration. The Newbery Award is presented annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year. Honor Books may be named.

A contribution to American literature for children shall be a book for which children are an intended potential audience. The book displays respect for children’s understandings, abilities, and appreciations.

“Distinguished” is defined as:

• marked by eminence and distinction: noted for significant achievement
• marked by excellence in quality
• marked by conspicuous excellence or eminence
• individually distinct

For other terms and criteria, please refer to the ALSC Web site: http://bit.ly/2sb42W
The award will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards Press Conference during the ALA Midwinter Conference to be held in Boston, MA, in January, 2010. The award will be presented at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet during the ALA Annual Conference to be held in Washington, D.C. in June 2010.

The 2010 Newbery Committee calls on ALSC members to submit titles for consideration. Please remember that only books from the 2009 publishing year are under consideration for the award.

Please send suggestions to Katie O’Dell at kodell@multcolib.org.
Thank you!

Katie O’Dell
School-Age Services Manager
2010 Newbery Medal Chair
Multnomah County Library
205 NE Russell
Portland, OR 97212
kodell@multcolib.org (email preferred)
503.988.6002 (v)
503.988.5441 (f)
www.multcolib.org

The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published by an American publisher in the United States in English during the preceding year. There are no limitations as to the character of the picture book except that the illustrations must be original work. The award is restricted to artists who are citizens or residents of the United States. For additional information on the terms and criteria for the award, you can find the Caldecott Manual on the ALSC Web site.

Please send your Caldecott suggestions to Rita Auerbach at rita.auerbach@alum.barnard.edu.

REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services, is pleased to announce that the San Francisco Public Library, Topeka & Shawnee County (Kan.) Public Library, have been selected to be the recipients of the 2009 Estela and Raúl Mora Award for their commendable efforts in promoting El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros.

The Estela and Raúl Mora Award was established by author and poet Pat Mora and her family in honor of their parents to promote El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), also known as “Día.  This family literacy initiative is now housed at the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Día is a daily commitment to link children and books that culminates in celebrations around the country on April 30th.  The Mora award is presented annually, in partnership with REFORMA, to the most exemplary celebration(s).  The San Francisco Public Library and Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library will each receive $1,000 and a plaque commemorating their efforts.

The San Francisco Public Library hosted its 10th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros event celebrating 10 years of bringing children, families and books together in San Francisco.  A series of special programs were held in neighborhood libraries throughout the month of April.  These programs included bilingual storytimes and crafts, Native American stories, and dance performances.  The library also hosted a Día exhibit in which original artwork, posters, and memorabilia from the past 10 years were displayed.  A 10-year anniversary reception was also held to recognize volunteers, community supporters, funders, activity sponsors, and the event organizers for all the work they had done over the past 10 years.  The grand finale for El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros was held at Dolores Park with approximately 1,000 participants and included multicultural performances by Asian storytellers, Spanish bilingual puppeteers, an Afro-Brazilian dance, drumming and stilting ensemble, and a kid-centered hip-hop group.  The event also included many activities such as interactive art, 3-D animation, book making, lotería, and a free book distribution where approximately 825 multilingual books were given to children and their families. 

Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library celebrated its 4th El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros celebration on April 30, with more than 550 participants attending the event.  The library partnered with 18 community agencies, and targeted 35 pre-schools and 20 elementary schools.  The library in its effort to reach the Hispanic community targeted agencies that worked with the Hispanic community to help them promote the event through community meetings, bulletin boards and flyers.  These agencies also encouraged their clientele to participate in the event.  The celebration included a bilingual puppet show, bilingual reader’s theater, traditional dancers from Bolivia, a high school mariachi band, and bilingual storytelling and book displays.  Participants also had the opportunity to receive a free book and to participate in book-making activities, arts and crafts, lotería, and other activities.

Details about the Mora Award application and guidelines for 2010 will be announced and posted by February 2010 at http://www.reforma.org. Additional award information, photos, and links can also be found on Pat Mora’s website www.patmora.com/dia.htm. The ALSC page lists planning resources and celebrations across the country at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/initiatives/diadelosninos/index.cfm.

Questions can be directed to Lucia M. Gonzalez at Luciagonzalez@bellsouth.net or further information can be found on the REFORMA website at www.reforma.org

PaperTigers (http://www.papertigers.org/index.html) describes itself as a website about books in English for young readers. While books discussed are multicultural from or about any part of the world, it has a particular focus on the Pacific Rim and South Asia. The site includes book reviews, interviews, an online gallery of art by various illustrators, and a blog. PaperTigers has previously been recognized as an ALSC Great Web Site for Teachers, Librarians and Parents.

The 2011 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Committee invites ALSC members to suggest authors or illustrators for consideration for the 2011 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.

The Wilder Medal is given every two years to an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.

**Contact 2011 Wilder Chair Megan Schliesman (schliesman@education.wisc.edu ) directly if you would like to suggest authors or illustrators for the committee’s consideration. **

For more information on the Wilder Award, including past winners and the award criteria, go to ALSC Web Site’s Wilder Medal Page.

Megan Schliesman, Chair
2011 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Committee

The 2010 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee invites your input in helping us identify eligible titles. The Award will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards press conference at Midwinter (Boston) and presented at the Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

Terms: “The Mildred L. Batchelder Award shall be made to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country and subsequently published in English in the United States during the preceding year.” There may be Honor Books as well.

Basically, eligible books are those for readers within the age range of 0-14 years. Readers “should be able to sense that the book came from another country.” Books should have a “substantial” translated text, since this award focuses on text rather than illustration. Books should not be unduly Americanized. Both fiction and nonfiction are eligible, though folklore is excluded.

For more about the Award and information on current and past winners, see the Batchelder home page.

If you know of titles that are eligible for consideration, please contact me at agoldsmith.fsu@gmail.com.

Best,
Annette

Annette Goldsmith, PhD
Chair, 2010 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Committee
Member, USBBY Outstanding International Books Committee

By Sarah Polace
2009 Penguin Young Readers Group Award Winner 

I was very thankful to win the 2009 Penguin Young Readers Group Award which allowed me to attend the Annual Conference in Chicago. Without the award, I would never have had the opportunity to attend a professional conference so early in my career.

 My first conference experience was a very positive one.  My initial impression of the conference was that it was very well organized and I immediately felt comfortable participating.  I was completely surprised and impressed by the amount of people in attendance and the friendliness of those that I met throughout the conference.  The sessions that I attended at the conference were fantastic and gave me great ideas for programming and other services that I could implement at my library.  Some of the best programs I attended included the Booklist/Booklist Online Books and Blogs program, the Author’s Reader Theatre program and the Multiple Literacies in the Library program. 

I also really enjoyed exploring the expo floor to see what new and exciting products and services were available. In addition, it was great to see some of the new titles that would be published in the coming months.One of my favorite parts of the expo was meeting and chatting about library funding in Ohio with young adult author John Green. I was also able to meet many other authors and went home with several signed books. The highlight of the conference was attending the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder banquet and sitting at the Penguin table with top Penguin editors and publishers as well as author Laurie Halse Anderson. In addition, it was amazing to see my name on the screen as one of the award winners. The winner’s speeches were fantastic and it was an honor to meet the authors in the receiving line following the program.  Winning the Penguin award and being able to attend my first conference was such an incredible opportunity.  My first conference experience gave me the desire to become more involved in the association and attend future conferences.