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 [...]

Smithsonian Education offers educator resources including Virtual Heritage Tours. If you haven’t had the chance, I encourage you to explore the site and share it with your patrons.

by Teresa Walls
I’m putting together a pecha kucha (a 6-minute powerpoint presentation of 20 slides) to be shared at the Allen County (IN) Public Library Camp. Patricia Ross Conover’s “Quilt It” project from her book, Technology Projects for Library Media Specialists and Teachers is my inspiration. Speaking of library camps, I wish I lived closer [...]

My four-year-old child is interested in robots, so we’ve been talking about how to make one. Our next trip to our local library will include checking out several books with the Dewey Decimal number 629.892. While we will probably use tin cans to make something that looks like a robot, his interest has led me [...]

At the Membership Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall at the ALA 2009 Annual Conference, April Roy, member of the ALSC Early Childhood Programs and Services Committee presented the new brochure and announced the new product line for the ALSC Born to Read initiative during a Saturday Membership 101 Program.
April shared the new design which offers [...]

Last evening I attended the Booklist Books for Youth Forum where Russell Freedman, Jean Feiwel, Candace Fleming, and Deborah Hopkinson discussed their stories behind their Lincoln books. I jotted some notes while each was speaking:
Russell Freedman, author of Lincoln: A Photobiography:

“There have always been more books about Abraham Lincoln than anyone could read over [...]

I’m uncertain how frequently I will blog during the 2009 American Library Association’s annual conference. I will attempt to give an overview of my daily activities while I’m there. However, don’t be surprised if you don’t read any entries from me until Wednesday. Special thanks to all the folks who have offered to blog about [...]

Yes, summer is almost here, a perfect time to plan how to promote your library’s research databases this fall.
As I begin my plan, I’m thinking:

Use them myself. Keep a notebook. Share what I learn with colleagues and patrons.
Offer classes and pathfinders for each database.
Provide individual appointments for students, parents and teachers to demonstrate the [...]

The Allen County (IN) Public Library (ACPL) has created this flier, “Follow the CAR,” to encourage adults to follow the child’s lead when talking and reading to infants and toddlers. CAR means to:
Comment and wait*
Ask questions and wait*
Respond by adding a little more
*Waiting gives the child time to respond.

Librarians model and share ideas with caregivers [...]

How about leading a letter parade at your next preschool or family storytime? You could give everyone the same letter. You could mix it up and give everyone a different letter. Maybe a vowel parade? Or only certain consonants? Or blends? During the parade, you could make the sounds of the letters or call out [...]