It all ended with a bear in a pink tutu sitting on my keyboard. I arrived in my office weary and weighed down with books on Tuesday, January 24th, still in recovery mode from my whirlwind trip to ALA Midwinter where I had participated in my first ever ALA Award Committee. I opened a package on my desk and there she was…Lucille Beatrice Bear. Star of the 2012 Carnegie Medal winning film Children Make Terrible Pets. Her pink bow slightly crooked on her square bear head. It was the perfect end to an incredible experience. In October 2010 I received an e-mail from then ALSC President Julie Corsaro inviting me to become a member of the Notable Children’s Videos and Carnegie Medal Committee. I had just finished my year as an ALA Emerging Leader and was eager to get more involved with ALA and ALSC. I began my two year…
Category: ALA Midwinter 2012
Congrats to Linda A. Perkins!
Congratulations to Linda A. Perkins, ALSC’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award recipient! Linda was present at the Monday board meeting at the 2012 Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas where ALSC President Mary Fellows read the announcement (video forthcoming). The Distinguished Service Award is given to “an individual member of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) who has made significant contributions to and an impact on, library service to children and/or ALSC.” At the Monday board meeting Perkins noted that she had “stood on the shoulders” of ALSC leaders who came before her. Perkins time with ALSC has included serving on the ALSC Board of Directors three times, including once as the ALSC President (1991-92). A strong advocate for multiculturalism, during her tenure as president she helped build a relationship with REFORMA that eventually led to the creation of the Pura Belpré Award. She has also been integral in the…
Youth Media Award Recipients React
I’m sure that you all saw this, but the ALA has created a YouTube site for winners and honorees of the 2012 Youth Media Awards. You can find many of your favorite authors as they react to the announcements. A great example is Caldecott Honoree John Rocco’s video below. By the way, if you’re looking for a full list of the 2012 Youth Media Award awards and honors, you can find it on the ALSC homepage. If you watched the announcements in Dallas or online, we hope you enjoyed the show! 2011 was undoubtedly a great year for youth media!
Bouncing in our seats
The ALA Youth Media Awards #alayma12 were held in a real theater this year, complete with cushy seats. This meant that as each award was announced, not only did the huge space resound with cheers and shrieks and applause, but also librarians were literally bouncing in their seats with excitement. The theater was a pulsating mass of passionate book lovers. The Academy Awards would be SO much more interesting if that audience were this passionate and raucous! The award announcements aren’t just the end of a long year of hard work by the award committees. They herald the beginning of an exciting time when the award books are handed over to all librarians, teachers, and booksellers. Now we have a fresh batch of exciting books to use in our never-ending quest to encourage reading and great books for kids. So now that we’ve recovered from the dizzying drama of…
#alamw12 Happy New Year! Thanks, and see you in Anaheim at Annual!
Happy New Year: The Year of the Dragon began last evening as many of us returned home. Dallas was a hospitable location for my first out-of-state ALA conference! Thanks to all who helped organize. My highlights include the 5K Fun Run/Walk, meeting with my committee, and attending the suspenseful ALSC/YALSA awards announcements. And what a thrill to be among so many book lovers! I encourage all to attend ALA Annual this summer in Anaheim. Whether you are new to the profession or a veteran, you will come away re-energized with lots of great ideas. It is an honor to host ALA conferences in our home state, so I especially encourage colleagues in California to attend. I guarantee that out-of-state attendees will also receive a warm welcome. See you there!
Unpacking #alamw12
Look at the loads and loads of good stuff I brought back from Dallas! I packed an empty carry-on just for this purpose and it was worth carting it through airports. Here are some things that you might want to know about: Kingfisher Readers Kingfisher just released a new non-fiction beginning reader program Penguin Young Readers Enter the sweepstakes for a complete set of these new readers here. Bad Kitty Costume now available. Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App! For iphone, ipad and ipod touch available at the App Store. Scholastic’s Seasonal Catalogs interactive & available online – including digital F&Gs! Take a Virtual Field Trip to the American Museum of Natural History to learn more about the science & research behind Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. FREE Live Webcast (for grades 3 & up) on Graphic Novels with Jeff Smith, Raina Telgemeier & Kazu Kibuishi on Wednesday, March 7,…
It’s been real, #alamw12
At this point I’m bleary-eyed, alarmingly over-caffeinated, and nursing a small blister (despite my sensible footwear selections.) I couldn’t be happier. It’s the best kind of exhaustion. I’ve spent the last few days talking about books, art, technology, and public service with- hands down- the smartest, most intriguing, hard-partying librarians, publishers, vendors, and assorted library-lovers. Yesterday I met my fellow 2013 Caldecott committee members and our fantastic committee chair. We discussed the upcoming year, traded ideas on how we will organize our books and thoughts, and started the process of getting to know each other before the deluge of books begin pouring in. The overall takeaway for me was to keep an open mind, stay organized, and simply enjoy the experience. Sitting in the audience at this morning’s Youth Media Awards I caught myself tearing up. Not from any particular winner or award, but from the sheer force of excitement and…
Youth Media Awards at #alamw12
Once more, ALA’s Youth Media Awards — the crí¨me de la crí¨me of the children’s and YA book communities — met expectations. Early this morning, hundreds of young people’s literature enthusiasts filled the Dallas Convention Center Theater to hear the Awards announced. There were some surprises, but the committees had to feel good as they heard the shrieks of excitement as each award winner was made known. Want to see which titles won? Click here for the official press release. Congratulations to all the winners. And THANK YOU to all the committee members for your hard work! You are appreciated!