This Is Not Another “Best of” [input year] Post
I promise you this is not another Best of [input year] post. In fact, if I were to rename it, it’d be The Most Exciting Stuff in the Youth Services World, like, right now; right now.
I like pointing these things out so much I create a biweekly Youth Services newsletter for my colleagues. [mysteriously] Who knows, maybe I’ll unleash it upon the internet in 2021? [strokes goat goatee] It’s loaded with all things frabjous, from live webinars with authors whose work we drool upon to easy crafts, programming ideas, news – [foreign accent] your interest is piqued, no? Oh! And this stuff is all totes free! Sans fees! Gratis!
Famous Authors Live!
This subheading should read “Not Another Webinar”
Watch THE POLAR EXPRESS creator Chris Van Allsburg read aloud this holiday classic on Barnes & Noble’s Facebook page on Saturday, December 4 at 7 p.m. ET
Share what the holidays mean to you with #IBelieveInThePolarExpress. Believe in magic this holiday season!
For all things related to The Polar Express, including a party kit, countdown callendar, and more visit http://polarexpress.com/
Probably the most important webinars
For the Parents and Caregivers we serve
This is not a section about stuff to do as a family — it’s much much more; so there.
- The USPS Letters to Santa Program You Need to Know About
- 30 Meaningful Ways to Spend Time Together in December
- 8 Awesome Activities to Beat the Holiday Break Blues
- 19 Epic Indoor Forts You’ll Want to Live In
- Something cute for you: The penguins of Shedd Aquarium took a trip to Soldier Field
- Ernesto’s Sanctuary for Syrian Cats celebrated its fifth birthday and my heart is full of rainbows
- Review any skill with this holiday game. [READ MORE]
- Boost students’ writing skills with these prompts that are perfect for December. [READ MORE]
- Want more activities for December? [READ MORE]
Crafts Upon Crafts Upon Crafts — a little STE(A)M
Who could possibly have enough craft ideas? And I promise you – NO toilet paper roll crafts — ever! Save those things for the firepit – or the Sarlacc pit if you are an SW fan.
- 22 Handmade Christmas Ornaments Anyone Can Make
- 14 Fun Crafts to Help You Celebrate Hanukkah
- Winter Science Ideas here
- DIY Advent Calendar Ideas here
- Christmas Science here
- Do-Able Christmas Crafts here
- Basquiat Inspired Portrait
- “science-at-home” projects, click here
- LEGO: Supplement your existing brick collection with easy to use activities
- DIY LEGO Christmas Advent Calendar video
- How to make a DIY book page wreath.
- Homemade Bread in a Bag
- Butter in a Jar
Just for YA
- Color! Click here to download all 4 YA coloring pages (featuring AMELIA UNABRIDGED, SLINGSHOT, TALES FROM THE HINTERLAND, and YOU HAVE A MATCH!) and share your masterpieces using #MacLibColors
- Umbrella Academy has been renewed for a third season with Netflix.
- First official trailer for Tiny Pretty Things!
- Warner Brothers TV strikes an overall deal with YA author and activist Kimberly Latrice Jones.
- Wonder Woman: 1984 will be released in theaters on Christmas Day, but it will also be available to stream on HBO Max simultaneously.
- 6 popular YA authors are collaborating on a new novel called Blackout
- The Guardian says unseen JRR Tolkien Essays on Middle-earth are coming in 2021 though maybe don’t get too excited…
- Ernest Cline is talking about a possible prequel to Ready Player One.
- Get your geeky food on with this Wonder Woman cookbook.
- Kimberly Latrice Jones, YA author who went viral over the summer with her video How Can We Win?, signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Warner Bros. to develop content “in scripted drama, comedy, unscripted and digital series.” Jones has two more books coming out with Henry Holt starting next year, and she’s worked in television prior to becoming an author.
- Jason Reynolds, author of multiple bestselling books for kids and teens (and an adult book on the horizon), gave an interview with The Guardian about what it’s like touring as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, how he’s kept busy while quarantining at home, and his thoughts about the election results and holding Joe Biden accountable for change in America.
Youth Services News
This section’s all about news that impacts the Youth Services world in its entirety. Wow…heavy.
- Here’s the first teaser trailer for Clifford the Big Red Dog.
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library documentary is set to air in December.
- And then there were four…Penguin Random House’s parent company is officially purchasing Simon & Schuster.
- Best books of 2020 from BBC, Book Page, (general & SFF), Kirkus (picture books), LitHub (short story collections), New York Times, Shelf Awareness (children’s/YA), Smithsonian Magazine (food), Time (children’s/YA, nonfiction), and Wired (cookbooks).
- Simon & Schuster is launching two new graphic novel lines for young readers.
- Kid Quick, DC’s first non-binary character, will appear in next month’s anthology, DC’s Merry Multiverse.
- Police Sketches of Literary Characters Based on Their Book Descriptions
- New York Public Library released several Best Books of the Year lists for kids, teens, and adults.
Dad Jokes, ’cause, well, I’m a dad
Shopping centers, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen the mall.
And this stuff is actually funny:
- May we all look so spiffy in our tiny hats
- Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring
That’s All Folks
If I don’t see you, have a pleasant, and safe holiday season — keep your proverbial chin up, I mean, [tempts fate] how bad could next year be?