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 [...]

Please join us for the Pura Belpré Celebración on Sunday afternoon, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, Continental Ballroom A/B. All award-winning authors and illustrators will be in attendance.

Legendary author Avi speaks to Booklist about Poppy and Ereth – his newest and most autobiographical book – as well as how he ended up with his famous name, how his lack of a distinctive style helps him as a writer, his thoughts on how the Newbery Award could improve, and which of his books [...]

If you are in the San Francisco area or need an excuse to go there, consider the upcoming Effie Lee Morris Lecture. The 13th lecture will feature Pat Mora speaking about Bookjoy: The Zing of Writing. The lecture will be held on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Main Library, Lower Level, [...]

Download the podcast.
Episode 8

Author Spotlight on Jim Gill
For this 15-minute podcast, Teresa Walls, ALSC Blog Manager, interviews Jim Gill, a musician, author and child development specialist with a graduate degree from the Erikson Institute of Chicago. So far, three of his works have been recognized by ALSC committees:

Jim Gill Sings Moving Rhymes for Modern Times, [...]

Jon Agee is the author/illustrator of Nothing (Hyperion), an ALSC 2008 Notable Children’s Book; Terrific (Hyperion/Michael di Capua), an ALSC 2006 Notable Children’s Book; and Milo’s Hat Trick (Michael di Capua/Hyperion), an ALSC 2002 Notable Children’s Book. He lives in San Francisco.
Check out Jon’s answers to 20 Questions on his official website.

Barbara Jean Hicks is the author of the 2006 ALSC Notable Children’s Book, Jitterbug Jam: A Monster Tale (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Barbara lives in Oxnard, California.
What is your personal history and how has it informed your work?
I grew up in a small farming community in Washington State, the middle of seven children. My parents [...]

Ken Mochizuki is the author of Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story (Lee & Low Books), a 1998 ALSC Notable Children’s Book as well as a 2001 ALSC Notable Children’s Recording which he narrates (Live Oak Media). The 2000-2002 ALSC International Relations Committee included his book Heroes (Lee & Low Books) on its The American [...]

Deborah Hopkinson is the author of the ALSC 2005 Notable Children’s Book, Apples to Oregon: Being the (Slightly) True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries (and Children) Across the Plains (Simon & Schuster/Anne Schwartz). Her book Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building (Random/Schwartz [...]

Kirby Larson is the author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky (Delacorte Press). She lives in Kenmore, Washington.
What is your personal history and how has it informed your work?
I’m the oldest of 4, so I’m great at being bossy, a trait that comes in very handy when I need to order myself [...]