The arrival of shorter days and longer nights up here in the Northern hemisphere is a bit of conundrum for me. I love the autumn weather and watching the trees change color but seriously do not love getting up for work while it’s still dark outside. However, all year round I love picture books featuring night-time themes. It might have something to do with how easy it is to recommend them as bedtime stories. It makes sense that reading books that take place at night will suit the situation of getting kids ready for bed as the sun goes down. Or, perhaps I am just into the visual aesthetic of night-time scenes and enjoy the many creative ways that illustrators portray them with shadows and glowing images. Whatever the reasons, I thought this was the perfect time of year to share some of my favorite night-themed picture-books with you all. Noisy Night by…
Category: Children’s Literature (all forms)
work of ALSC Priority Group VI and other items about children’s literature (including but not limited to books, songs, video, etc.)
2024 Pura Belpré Input Wanted
The 2024 Pura Belpré Awards Committee is asking ALSC, REFORMA, and YALSA members to submit titles for consideration. Three Pura Belpré awards are presented annually: one to a Latino author of an outstanding book for youth ages 0 to 14, one to a Latino author of an outstanding book for young adults ages 12 to 18, and one to a Latino illustrator for creating an outstanding illustrated book for youth ages 0 to 18. Each of these must be an original work that portrays, affirms, and celebrates Latino cultural experiences.
Seeking Nominations for the Children’s Literature Award
The ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture is an annual event that started in 1970. Each year, a chosen lecturer prepares a paper and talk considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature. Most recently, Bryan Collier presented the 2023 lecture, and Rita Williams Garcia is slated to present in 2024. The complete list of past lecturers is on the ALSC website.
Celebrating the Week of the Young Child 2023
The Week of the Young Child aims to focus attention on the importance of the early childhood stage, recognize the value of early childhood programs, and community services that support young children and their families.
Celebrating Board Books for Babies
Every year, I teach a survey of children’s literature class to MLIS students. After I have covered the history of children’s publishing, and children’s literacy development, I spend a whole class on books for babies. It’s one of my favourite classes because I get to bring an enormous stack of baby books to class and teach my students all about them. Reading to babies I start out by reminding them that human babies are born totally helpless and frankly – they don’t care what anyone reads to them. That being said, babies do want and need to be held and touched and interacted with. Books designed for babies do seem to offer parents and caregivers a nice way of doing just that: holding, touching, and interacting with their babies from their earliest days onwards. When babies are born, their vision is not fully developed so high contrast books with very clear and spare black…
Exploring refugee child experiences through picture books
Mirrors and Windows You have likely come across the metaphor “mirrors and windows” as it relates to children’s books before. It is a metaphor coined by Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop when she discussed how books can mirror a child’s own experiences – thereby legitimizing them by showing that people similar to themselves are important enough to be in books. Additionally, she said that books can also be windows through which children can see the lives and experiences of children who are different from themselves. (Bishop, 1990). I am going to apply this wonderful metaphor to some of my favorite picture books about refugee child experiences. Come with me as I explore the ways in which these books can be mirrors (for children with refugee backgrounds to see reflections of their family’s lives) as well as windows (for other children to grow in their understanding of people who have refugee backgrounds)….
All Together Now 2023 SRP
But It’s Still Winter… Believe it or not, this is my 20th year working – as a paid employee – in Central Florida libraries. If you include volunteering…well…that’d be most of my life. From all I’ve ever experienced, you can never be fully or overly prepared for a season of summer reading programming. As a matter of fact, I am known for ALWAYS having a backup plan for each program, right down to duplicates of mission critical equipment. Sounds like a military operation, doesn’t it? So, yes, it’s January and we are talkin’ All Together Now, our 2023 Summer Reading Program! Nitty Gritty, Nuts and Bolts I always love a tool kit, a place I can have everything in one spot, like a Swiss Army knife. I’m based in Florida, but this seems to have universal appeal: CSLP 2023 Program Resources 2023 Summer Program (and beyond) Resources: Overview of popular…
The 2023 Geisel Award Committee Wants Your Help!
ALSC Personal Members: We need your help identifying the very best in children’s literature published in 2022. Pleaseconsider suggesting a title to the 2023 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Selection Committee forconsideration.