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.

The 2010 Odyssey Award Committee is asking you to submit your favorite audiobooks published between November 1, 2008 and October 31, 2009 for consideration. The Odyssey Award, in its third year, is given to the producer of the best audiobook for children and/or young adults available in English in the United States. Along with the award-winner, honor titles may also be named.

The Odyssey Award is jointly given and administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA, and is sponsored by Booklist magazine. The 2010 Odyssey Award will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards Press Conference on Monday, January 18, during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston, MA.

This award recognizes excellence by a producer or director for accomplishment and/or innovation in the production of an audio program. The winning title must exemplify the highest standards of direction, narration, engineering, and technical achievement. All literary genres, including read-alongs, are eligible for consideration. The audiobook must be intended for either young adults or children, who are defined as persons up to and including age 18; works for this entire age range are to be considered. Adult titles are ineligible.

For more criteria and additional information about the Odyssey Award, visit the Odyssey page on the ALSC website.

Please send your suggestions to Sharon Grover at sharon.grover@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Sharon Grover
Chair, 2010 Odyssey Award Committee
Head of Youth Services
Hedberg Public Library
316 S. Main St.
Janesville, WI 53545

Margarita Engle is the author of the 2006 Pura Belpré Medal Winner, The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, and The Surrender Tree, which received the 2009 Pura Belpré Medal as well as a 2009 Newbery Honor.

Henry Holt Books for Young Readers is a division of MacMillan which provides a wonderful profile page of Ms. Engle. One of my favorite stories is how her mother and father met in Cuba. Since neither could speak the other’s language, they communicated with each other through drawing pictures.

On ALSC’s Pura Belpré page, the 2009 Belpré Committee Chair Claudette McLinn remarks, “Engle’s prose breathes life into each character, and her rich use of language catapults the reader into the jungles of Cuba. The engaging story keeps the reader racing through the pages of history.”

I was thrilled to attend the 2009 Pura Belpré Celebración. I’m pleased to share with you a portion of Ms. Engle’s beautiful acceptance speech.

excerpted portions of Engle’s Pura Belpré acceptance speech for The Surrender Tree

– posted by Teresa Walls, ALSC member and ALSC Blog manager

The program below is one of many featured on ALA’s online clearinghouse for school/public library cooperation managed by the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation. Visit the clearinghouse to learn more or share your own exemplary partnership!

Title of Program: Great Library Card Adventure/Get Carded
Type of Program: Library Card Campaigns
Age level: Elementary & secondary
Description of Program:

The Great Library Card Adventure is a library card campaign for kindergarten classrooms in Multnomah County, presented by the Multnomah County Library School Corps. Although we usually run the campaign kindergarten classrooms, every few years we extend the campaign to all K-5 students. (All K-5 students are able to apply for cards during any Great Library Card Adventure campaign, but during most years, the contest is for the kindergarten classrooms only.) We want every student, faculty and staff member in the county to have a Multnomah County Library card. We send letters to school principals and library staff inviting them to join the campaign, and we send kits with posters, applications, and instructions to those who join. After returning the applications, teachers receive a drink coupon from Starbucks. Students (both those who already had cards and those who get them through the program) receive Great Library Card Adventure stickers. Kindergarten classrooms with 100% of the students signed up for library cards are entered in a drawing to win one of three collections of age-appropriate fiction and non-fiction books for their classroom. Classes with 100% of students signed up that do not win a book collection will receive a gift certificate to a local bookstore. URL: http://www.multcolib.org/schoolcorps/glca.html

Get Carded! is a library card campaign for middle and high schools students. We have done this campaign twice since 1997. We send letters to school principals and library staff inviting them to join the campaign, and we send kits with posters, applications, and instructions to those who join. School return tally sheets to us with the numbers of students who already had cards, and the applications of those who are applying. All students and teachers who participate in the program (whether they already had cards or applied them) received a card with discount offers from local businesses.

Contact Information:
Jackie Partch
School Corps Team Leader
Multnomah County Library
205 NE Russell, Portland, OR 97212
503.988.6004
jacquelp@multcolib.org