#ALAMW15 It’s been an amazing conference, blizzard and all. I have just left the Youth Media Awards and have to say I am still wiping little tears out of the corners of my eyes.
What an impressive statement. What an incredible group of people were on these committees. In case you missed it, the message of the utmost importance of diversity in our books for children and young adults was shouted through an enormous sound system… US!
It rang through most of the categories and as each was announced I just got more and more thrilled and goosebumpy (apparently not a word but should be). This was history being made. This was a group of very courageous, savvy and smart librarians who stood up and said take a look at our winners… every child matters and every child deserves the Mirror Book.
Wow… stunning. Wow…. so wonderful. Wow… takes my breath away. We can make such a difference by giving young readers a book that helps them find their sense of identity and their sense of place and their sense of value. It is certainly time and it is incredible to see the wave begin to spread.
On a personal note, in the middle of the Awards announcements I got the email from my airlines that my flight has been canceled:) Don’t you love it?
So, where do we go from here? I was texting the librarians back home at my library in Maryland who were running all over the place to find the award winners! We’ll share them with our customers in the library and reach children that way. I added some of the winners..couldn’t keep up with all… on my abookandahug.com Facebook page and I saw many people around me doing the same thing so we are getting the word out one caringn librarian at a time.
On Sunday, Feb. 8 I’ll share some of the award winners on Baltimore’s NBC TV affiliate, WBALTV Channel 11. If you hear of other television coverage, please email me at bookandahug@gmail.com.
It’s time to make children’s and young adult books part of the national conversation and this wave of diversity is a great place to start. If you remember the TODAY Show bringing the Newbery and Caldecott winners on for interviews…well…that stopped about four years so ago.
I hope you all enjoyed the LIVE BLOGGING here at ALA MIDWINTER 2015. It was wonderful sharing this conference with you. What we do is amazingly important! Every child deserves a book and a hug and the golden knowledge that she or he makes the world a better place. Let’s go tell them!
Bye for now, Barb Langridge