COMING VERY SOON 2019 JANE ADDAMS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE NAMED YOUNG PEOPLE’S POET LAUREATE
The Poetry Foundation has named Naomi Shihab Nye the Young People’s Poet Laureate for 2019 to 2021. It is yet another distinction for the acclaimed author, who becomes the first Arab-American to earn this honor.
The Young People’s Poet Laureate aims to “raise awareness that young people have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them.” Past recipients include Jacqueline Woodson and Margarita Engle.
READ MORE…
BRINGING HIDDEN STORIES TO LIGHT: A PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHY SYMPOSIUM
Whose stories deserve to be told in picture book biographies? Authors, illustrators, and editors gathered to discuss this question and others at a Saturday morning symposium called “Whose Life Is It Anyway?”
Speaking on a panel about the process of writing and illustrating a picture book biography, were author Laban Carrick Hill, illustrator Bryan Collier, Scholastic art director Patti Ann Harris, and children’s book historian Leonard S. Marcus. The topic of their discussion was the book Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave (Little, Brown), written by Hills and illustrated by Collier.
READ MORE…
POWERFUL BOOK FOR YOUNG BLACK BOYS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS WITH A PLEDGE TO GET 1 MILLION NEW READERS
Jerald LeVon Hoover is the published author of a Young Adult (YA) title, one of a few books targeted toward young Black and Brown boys ages 12 and up, My Friend, My Hero. This novella has become a staple, as recommended reading in elementary through high schools across the country and around the world. That is a distinct honor Hoover shares with a short list of African-American male YA authors including: Walter Dean Myers, Kevin Powell, Kwame Alexander, and Ralph Burgess.
READ MORE…
AUTHOR OF ‘THE BREADWINNER’ SPEAKING IN THUNDER BAY ON LITERATURE, SOCIAL CHANGE
One of the decisions Ellis has made, and that she believes is crucial to all children’s literature, is the need to give hope to young readers and let them know the main character is “a little bit stronger, a little bit wiser, a little bit more able to deal with whatever horrific things the adult world is going to throw at them.”
READ MORE…
‘ART OF DEATH’ AUTHOR EDWIDGE DANTICAT TALKS IMMIGRATION UNDER TRUMP PRESIDENCY IN CHICAGO
Danticat spoke of her work on the immigration experience from Haiti to America to an audience at Columbia College last week. During the event, Danticat explored the meaning of the “American Dream” during the Trump presidency…
READ MORE…
BOOK NOTES: A PIG UNITES A COMMUNITY
Montgomery writes books for adults and youth. This book has appeal for people of all ages. The language, beautiful and poetic at times, is filled with feeling and propelled by a quest for more – more knowledge, more adventure, more connection. It is, as promised, the story of a life lived in close proximity to animals. While that life is a privilege, it demands much of those who open themselves to animals and the environmental catastrophe that now imperils the wild world.
