The ALSC President’s Program “Think with Your Eyes!” took place at ALA Annual Conference a little over a month ago, but there’s more! A short video presentation was prepared for the conclusion of the 2013 ALSC President’s Program. Since the timing also coincided with the last moment in a year-long celebration of the Caldecott Medal’s 75th anniversary, program chair Wendy Lukehart couldn’t resist pondering what Randolph Caldecott might think of Visual Thinking Strategies and STEAM learning–elements of the program, as well as the twelve-month ALSC party in his honor. Of course all we have are his letters, sketches, art, and picture books to assuage inquiring minds. They offer some illumination if you look closely… Also check-out the great President’s Program resource guide that features titles and websites on visual literacy, understanding art, museum resources, museum/library collaborations, and STEAM programming. Many thanks to the ALSC committees that contributed to the guide.
Category: ALA Annual 2013
Red Carpet Extras
KidLit on the Red Carpet By now you’ve heard all about the outfits, activities, and refreshments that were part of the Caldecott 75th Anniversary Red Carpet event that took place before the 2013 Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder banquet at ALA Annual in Chicago. But you haven’t heard from the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder winners themselves and now you can! Authors Jim Averbeck, Betsy Bird, and Kristin Clark interviewed children’s literature heavyweights during the Red Carpet event. Pop some popcorn, mix up a Caldecocktail, and sit back and enjoy these enchanting interviews. Find out how Caldecott winner Jon Klassen hopes to live up to the award he’s been given. Discover what book makes Wilder winner Katherine Paterson’s grandchildren bloodthirsty. Learn how giggling librarians were almost convinced to take back Peter Brown’s Caldecott honor. All this and MORE on Jim Averbeck’s KidLit on the Red Carpet blog! Caldecott 75th Anniversary Logo Merchandise Merchandise featuring the fabulous anniversary logo…
My Wild Ride with Caldecott in Chicago
I was one of the very fortunate Friends of ALSC scholarship winners to “A Wild Ride: 75 Years of the Caldecott Medal” preconference at the Art Institute of Chicago. I feel very blessed to have attended this event, especially as I am going to be on the 2015 Caldecott Committee. I feel pretty blessed to be on that as well, but back to the preconference. Art. A whole day devoted to art, and not just any art, but picture-book art in particular! I think I can say with confidence that most children’s librarians would be pretty excited to be in the same room with 12 Caldecott artists and a whole room full of people who love children’s books. Love them to tears, in fact. Maurice Sendak said that he did not write books for children. Yet his books delighted generations of young people, and adults as well. If Brian Selznick is…
The Power of the Pickle Buck
Thank you to ALSC Intellectual Freedom committee, particularly Chair Heather Acerro, for arranging for Susan Linn to speak at ALA Annual in June. Susan’s presentation was welcome inspiration in the uphill struggle we librarians face in protecting our patron’s intellectual freedom. Susan spoke in particular on the thorny subject of sponsorship. The audience heard that research into child brain development points to creative play being vital for proper brain development. However, the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (which was cofounded by Susan) calls into question whether the ubiquitousness of the likes of Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Squarepants in the lives of children, even on our bookshelves, is hindering creativity. Susan explained that when children’s play involves these characters, instead of say, a sock puppet, creative play is inevitably stymied. When play elements are less defined, less pre-conceived, and open to choice, children have the opportunity to create wonderful…
Red Carpet Memories
The Red Carpet event hosted by the Caldecott 75th Anniversary Task Force prior to the Newbery-Caldecott-Wilder banquet was an occasion to remember! This non-ticketed event was open to attendees of the 2013 ALA Annual conference in Chicago. Upon arriving on the Red Carpet scene, guests were greeted in high style by Task Force members in ballgown and top hat. From there, Red Carpet attendees had the opportunity to enjoy a gold or silver Caldecocktail, pose for a Randolph Caldecott-inspired photo, shop for ALSC merchandise featuring the Caldecott 75th Anniversary logo, or play a round of Banquet Bingo. Banquet Bingo boards featured Banquet Bingo Trivia that challenged players to think about winning titles, historical banquet moments, and other anniversary facts. Guests could play online or in person for a chance to win 5 Caldecott medal-winning titles. Susan L. Smith, Assistant Library Director at Hodges University in Naples, FL…
2013 ALSC membership meeting
An earlier post provided an overview of our annual membership meeting held during the ALA annual conference in Chicago. This post will give more details of the discussion we had around the topics of Play and The Common Core. Rita Auerbach and I provided brief comments to contextualize the topics followed by open ended questions to provoke conversation. I attempt to summarize the trends, ideas, and observations shared by participants. Common Core State Standards Rita began this open mic session with a brief overview of the Common Core State Standards. These standards were developed at the behest of the national Governors Assn. and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in Social Studies and STEM subjects as well as standards for Mathematics education were released in 2010 and have now been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Standards for Science…
Back from Chicago
As always, the ALA Annual Conference was fabulous. The events were fun and exciting, the programs were thought-provoking, and the exhibits were spectacular. Publishers were generous with free promotional tchotkes and advanced reader copies of upcoming books. The Pura Belpré Celebracií³n was one of my favorite events of the conference. The authors’ acceptance speeches were emotional and left most of the audience in tears. I highly recommend reading all three of this year’s winning titles. I bought multiple copies to give as gifts. The session What’s Hot in STEAM Education provided practical information on improving literacy skills in traditionally underserved communities. I especially liked the idea of using building block parties as a way to promote narrative skills, build science vocabulary, and encourage teamwork. Some of the most interesting conversations occurred outside of the formal presentations. While grabbing a snack at the hotel, I overheard a table of senior attendees…
An interview with Temple Grandin at #ala2013
On Sunday morning, prior to Temple Grandin’s informative and inspiring presentation at the ALA Annual Conference, I was lucky enough to interview her. Temple Grandin has a PhD in animal science from the University of Illinois and is a professor at Colorado State University. She was diagnosed with autism at age 2 in 1949 and is now, in addition to her other professional accomplishments, one of the world’s most influential and inspirational advocates for people with autism. I was equally terrified and honored to be afforded this opportunity. I polled friends, family, and colleagues about what I should ask. I agonized about whether I’d be tongue-tied and how the interview would go. The interview was great. Dr.Grandin was welcoming, friendly, honest, enthusiastic, and very open. The following are excerpts from our conversation. Is there anything that you believe libraries should be offering or doing to help autistic children? Well, one…