ALA Annual Conference 2021

#Newbery and #Caldecott Virtual Banquet at #alaac2021

Usually, on this night, I am dressed up and sitting with a group of librarians to celebrate the #Newbery and #Caldecott Awards. This year, I still wanted it to be special. So, I treated my family to Yogurtland. I wore my “This Is How I Roll” t- shirt featuring a book truck. And, I got to visit the homes of amazingly talented authors and illustrators and listen to their inspiring words from my living room. I loved every minute of it. I encourage you to watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPOrSDaxsaE There are so many favorite moments, but a few highlights… In her Caldecott acceptance speech, illustrator Michaela Goade was truly an inspiration as the first indigenous/BIPOC woman to win a Caldecott. I want to listen to her speech over and over from her beautiful description of her home in Alaska to her discussion of her illustrations for “We Are Water Protectors”…

Blogger ALSC Membership Committee

Mocking Masters: Future Librarians Dive into a Mock Caldecott

I teach children’s literature in a Canadian university and my students are the next generation of children’s services librarians. For the past 2 years I have held a class-wide Mock Caldecott. This serves the dual purpose of introducing them to a lot of current illustrated material and teaching them the specifics of this important book award. My hope is that they will be able to apply these same steps to other children’s book and media awards. After reading and book-talking eligible books all term, we came up with the following top 10 Mock Caldecott contenders, in alphabetical order by title, followed by the name of the illustrator.

Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries

Final Call for Caldecott Suggestions

Final call for your suggestions for the 2019 Caldecott Award! ALSC members are invited to submit book titles from the 2018 publishing year by December 15 for consideration. The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States in English during the preceding year. For the complete terms and criteria, refer to the ALSC website. Have your ALA login & password handy to access the suggestion forms, and go here to post your suggestion(s)! With thanks, Mary Fellows 2019 Caldecott Committee Chair   This post addresses the following ALSC Core Competency: IV. Knowledge, Curation, and Management of Materials.

Books

Read any wonderfully illustrated children’s books recently?

The 2019 Caldecott Award Selection Committee invites ALSC members to submit book titles for consideration. The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the United States in English during the preceding year. For the complete terms and criteria, refer to the ALSC website. Do note that only books from the 2018 publishing year are under consideration for the award. Also, please note that this suggestion form is for personal members of ALSC to use to nominate titles, and should not be used by publishers, authors, illustrators, or editors to suggest their own titles. Go to http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2019-media-award-suggestions to post your suggestion. You will need to have your ALA login & password handy to access the suggestion forms. Deadline for your suggestions: December 15, 2018. Mary Fellows 2019 Caldecott Committee Chair   This post addresses the following ALSC Core…

ALA Annual 2018

A Night of Children’s Book Excitement #alaac18

I feel like a fancy librarian for attending the Newbery, Caldecott, and now- Children’s Literacy Legacy Award (YAY!!!) for all five ALAs that I have attended. I also felt fancy for wearing a giant sheer bow fascinator that was an instant conversation piece! But– this awards reception remains a staple for my conference (sorry wallet) because of the pure joy that is expressed there– something all the award winners and ALA/ALSC presenters reminded us over and over. So really, I attend for the glamour and speeches (although you can do this all for free by just sitting in the chairs on the sides after dinner!) As a librarian, I book talk daily– sometimes it even spills into my personal time with RA to my hair stylist, barista, and anyone who happens to cross my path. And as we all know– you may never know the impact of handing a book to a…