Hello, ALSC Readers! I promise, I am not being lazy and recycling old posts, but last month’s refresher post on Collection Resources (check it out here) brought in a few suggestions of additional resources, both online and offline. In researching some of these resources, and a few others shared with me by a teacher, I noticed that some of the sites used the words “multicultural” and “diverse” interchangeably, when they should not be. In 2014, I authored my first guest blog post for ALSC entitled: “Multiculturalism & Diversity: What is the Difference, and Why it’s Important”. In the post I wrote about the difference between diversity and multiculturalism, and the important role authenticity plays in a story’s perspective. In citing works by both Rudine Sims Bishop and Jacqueline Woodson, I offered the following definition: Multicultural literature can be a mirror, a window, and a sliding glass door 1: it can be…
Tag: children’s literature
The Witches, Roald Dahl, and a Renewed Legacy of Harm
Recently, HBO adapted Roald Dahl’s 1983 novel The Witches into a film. This isn’t the first time the extremely popular novel has been adapted – it was first made into a film in 1990, and has also been turned into a radio play and an opera. It’s also a novel that’s built upon a framework of antisemitism. Dahl and Antisemitism A brief summary of The Witches, if, like me, you never read it as a child: a young boy discovers that his grandmother’s stories about witches are true. He stumbles upon a large gathering of them, lead by the Grand High Witch. So far, so fine. The problems begin when you examine the way Dahl describes these witches, and how they align with antisemitic stereotypes: The witches are described as powerful, extremely wealthy, and lurking in society, secretly passing as “normal” women. This is built upon the antisemitic, and completely…
Submit Your 2020 Mock Elections Results!
It’s almost that time of year again! The 2020 ALA Youth Media Awards are coming up on January 27, 2020 at 8 a.m. ET. The ALSC Blog has a “YMA Mock Elections” page dedicated to each award year and libraries, schools, bookstore, and book clubs are welcome to submit their mock election results based on the exciting and robust discussions they’ve had in their own groups. Check out the real 2019 recorded webcast and 2019 Mock Elections results page. The 2020 Mock Elections submission form is now open! We look forward to receiving and posting your mock results on the 2020 page. Please submit your results by January 17, 2020 to have them featured on the ALSC Blog.
Kid-Lit Tour of London
A serious whim recently turned into a 4-day trip to London, England. I had been drooling over the exhibit Harry Potter: A History of Magic at the British Library for some time. When my friend Kirsten suggested we go to London to see the Winnie the Pooh exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum, we began to plan in earnest. I bought tickets for the Harry Potter exhibit before I even got my flight booked. Tickets were selling fast and the exhibit did sell out, a first for the British Library. But I had two spots for the last day.
Youth Media Awards #alamw18
There are not many reasons to get up at 7 am on a Conference day when your first meeting isn’t until 10 am, but then, not every morning is the Youth Media Awards! For those of you not there… allow me to paint a picture. Denver is cold– and the streets remain a bit icy, but yet hoards of library people are up and about– you wouldn’t need to consult your Scheduler, just follow the herd of people to a packed room. The room was abuzz with people chatting about their favorite books of the year and the excitement over what books might win! I had to search for my friend and my saved seat, but it was nearly impossible with all of the excited people. Once I found her, we started discussing predictions and just general excitement over what was to come! Every year I read the results as they…
Día Every Day
Coming soon: on April 30, we will celebrate the culmination of Día. But did you know that Día doesn’t end there? It’s the beginning of a new year of Book Joy, emphasizing the importance of literacy for all children from all backgrounds, and in all languages. How can you keep Día in your heart, and your work, every day? Commit to including a book, song, or rhyme from or about another place in every storytime. Creating a book display? Include diverse books on the theme, but then add translated editions of those titles; kids and adults need to know that their favorite reads are available in their first language. Visiting a site with your bookmobile? Check your stock for titles published in the languages spoken in the community before you depart. By demonstrating how easily all people can be represented, we encourage our peers, families, teachers, and caregivers to do the same. But…
Dreams Do Come True
In the world of children’s literature, I can’t think of a day that hasn’t been better than the one before it. On Monday morning, February 2nd, this theory proved true. Diversity in children’s literature was honored in a multitude of ways. Librarians, families, teachers and kids all awaited the Monday morning Youth Media Award announcements with anticipation. They waited to hear if their favorite girl would win an award in more than one category, if their favorite author would garner the top prize, if the book that reflected their lives and spoke to them would stand tall and proud amongst the best of the best. As the medal winners’ names were spoken, dreams were coming true all across the country. Each day that you have an opportunity to talk about diversity in children’s literature is a day when you are making the world more welcoming and real for all children….
Bechtel Fellowship: Professional Experience of a Lifetime
Little did I realize when arriving at the Gainesville Airport the evening of January 31, 2007, that the next month would be the highlight of my professional career. In 2005, as I was glancing through my most recent issue of Children and Libraries, I noticed Leslie Barban’s article, “Evolution of Children’s Literature Getting Sidetracked–Delightfully–at the Baldwin Library.” As I read the article, I thought, if only I could have that same experience. Before becoming a children’s librarian, I had worked for six years in rare book shops, so having the opportunity to research and read about children’s books would be a dream experience for me. In 2005, when both of my children were in college, I decided to apply for the 2006 Bechtel Fellowship. As part of the application, I needed to decide on a topic. The most difficult part of the process was determining which area of the collection…