Author: Laura Schulte-Cooper

Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Happening around ALSC

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ALSC logo

Spring is a busy time in ALSC as we prepare for the ALA Annual Conference, which marks the culmination of the awards year as we honor our book and media winners. ALSC also hosts education programs; membership, discussion group, and meet-up meetings, the Charlemae Hill Rollins President’s Program (Leading with Your Hands and Your Heart: A Conversation about Leading from Wherever You Are), and more at the June conference. Advance registration prices runs through June 16 if you haven’t registered yet. And, hurry, if you are planning to attend the Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet on Sunday, June 25, tickets are close to selling out. (And, by the way, Judy Blume is headlining the conference’s opening session on June 23!) ALSC webinars in June ALSC also is presenting two webinars in June, a two-part series on Trauma Informed Supervision for Library Leaders. Part one, Understanding Trauma Informed Supervision, will be held on Wednesday,…

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Summer Reading Lists Are Here!

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2023 ALSC Summer Reading Lists

The 2023 ALSC Summer Reading Lists are here! Compiled by the Quicklists Consulting Committee, the lists are full of engaging and award-winning book titles to keep children reading throughout the summer. For young digital media fans, the committee also recommends a range of apps, podcasts, and websites to help kids discover and develop their interests. This year’s lists have a clean, straightforward design, making them easy to download and print for the children, parents, and caregivers in your library and community. Find the FREE lists on the ALSC website. More reading lists These annual summer favorites are the newest addition to ALSC’s recommended reading resources, which also include the Día and Graphic Novels booklists. The 2023 Dia lists feature lots of engaging stories that represent and celebrate diverse cultures and backgrounds. Revised in 2022, the Graphic Novels lists include titles that have popular appeal and are well-reviewed.

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Rita Williams-Garcia to Host ALSC Lecture

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Rita Williams-Garcia

In case you missed it, award-winning author Rita Williams-Garcia will deliver the 2024 Children’s Literature Lecture. And, the application to host the event is open! The annual Children’s Literature Lecture features an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature. Library schools, college/university departments of education, and children’s library systems are eligible to host lecture. ALSC annually administers the lecture award. About Rita Williams-Garcia Rita Williams-Garcia is a New York Times best-selling author of novels for young adults and middle graders. With an interest in writing from a very young age, Williams-Garcia sold her first story to Highlights Magazine at 14. Her books have received numerous awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Honor Book, and the Scott O’Dell Prize for Historical Fiction. Her 2017 novel Clayton Byrd Goes Underground was a National Book Award finalist and won the NAACP Image Award for Youth/Teen Literature. She served on…

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Enjoying The Last Word

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CAL Rewind, ALSC's Children & Libraries

ALSC’s journal Children and Libraries (CAL) offers scholarly articles, practical pieces on library programming and services, and interviews with award-winning authors and illustrators, among other content. But, did you know that CAL also has a feature called “The Last Word?” A short and sweet feature on the last page of the issue, The Last Word, over the years, has highlighted upbeat, human interest essays that celebrate the spirit of childhood, reading and libraries. And, who can’t use some lightheartedness right now? Take a little quiet time to curl up with your favorite beverage and phone, tablet or laptop to enjoy these short stories from the front, which have populated the very back of Children and Libraries. The Path to Poetry The Last Word: Pitching Poetry by Laura Purdie Salas According to children’s author and poet Laura Purdie Salas, poetry gives so much to readers. Its powerful language builds better readers…

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Good Things Come in Pairs — Couples Who Collaborate

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CAL Rewind, ALSC's Children & Libraries

Everyone knows it: good things come in pairs. Peanut butter and jelly, hugs and kisses, fun and games, Batman and Robin. The same holds true in children’s literature. A strong author/illustrator team is behind many great books for kids. And, quite a few of these creators have teamed up in their personal lives as well as in their work. Enter…Couples Who Collaborate—Children and Libraries’ feature interview with thriving author/illustrator partners. Couples Who Collaborate has been sharing stories and insights from these dynamic duos for several years now. In this CAL Rewind, we present several interviews from 2018. Team Ransome at Work & Play Couples Who Collaborate: James Ransome and Lesa Cline-Ransome by Jennifer Gibson James Ransome and Lesa Cline-Ransome are a prolific creative team. They have produced numerous award-winning picture books together. Their collaborative titles include Satchel Paige, Quilt Alphabet, Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass, and…

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Successful Library Partnerships in Action

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CAL Rewind, ALSC's Children & Libraries

Collaboration among organizations can build community awareness, enable resource sharing, and create positive synergy. Here is a sampling of Children and Libraries articles that highlight successful library partnerships. Click on each article link to read the full story about these creative relationships. Community/Library Partnership Together We’re Stronger: Helping Missoula’s Families All Under One Roof by Pam Carlton Libraries are the place to go for information and entertainment. Joining forces with community partners allows libraries to reach an even larger and more diverse population. Knowing this, the Missoula (MT) Public Library embraced an opportunity to collaborate with the Missoula Food Bank and University of Montana. The result: a dynamic learning center, EmPower Place, at the food bank facility. This “all under one roof” partnership model allowed the three organizations to collaborate and contribute their unique strengths in the creation of the space. EmPower Place’s grand opening was held in 2017, and had…

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Awards & Scholarships

Fascinating Worlds of Children’s Lit: Adventures from the Baldwin Library

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CAL Rewind, ALSC's Children & Libraries

Along with feature articles, interviews, and columns, did you know Children and Libraries also features reports written by ALSC’s Bechtel Fellowship winners? The Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship provides a grant of up to $4,000 for a children’s librarian to spend up to four weeks reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville. And, during their visits, Bechtel winners enter some fascinating worlds of story and illustration. In this edition of CAL Rewind, we highlight Bechtel stories from past winners: Bridgid Mangan, Wendy Stephens, and Angela Reynolds. Who knows…maybe they will inspire a future Bechtel winner or two. (Bechtel Fellowship 2020 applications are still open!) The Many Faces of Little Red The Better to See You With: Peering into the Story of Little Red Riding Hood, 1695–1939 by Angela J. Reynolds Meet Little Red Riding Hood. She’s been around…

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Blogger Laura Schulte-Cooper

Rewind on Summer Reading and Learning

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CAL Rewind, ALSC's Children & Libraries

I know I don’t need to tell you that summer reading and learning programs are a mainstay at public libraries across the country. It’s no surprise then that ALSC’s journal, Children and Libraries, features many an article to support librarians with all aspects—planning to evaluation—of this celebrated, annual undertaking. Why not take a break from putting the finishing touches on your own summer planning and read these hand-picked articles that address various facets of the summer reading and learning experience. They may provide valuable food for thought for your 2020 summer program planning. Engaging Students with the Library Dream It, Write It, Share It: How One Library Engages Students’ Summer Learning Program Interest by Melanie Lewis When Summer Reading program participation waned at the Mint Hill Branch of the Charlotte (NC) Mecklenburg Library, the children’s services team took action and devised an approach for increasing the program’s visibility and participation. The…

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