The American Library Association has released the top eleven most challenged books from last year. Their Office of Intellectual Freedom tracked 347 challenges to materials in 2018 that included 483 books. You will see that once again many of the books are challenged for having LGBTQIA+ content. Here are the top ten:
A Rosh Hashanah apple cake bake-off fit for reality television and another installment in the Scarlet and Sam series from the award-winning author Eric A. Kimmel are among the highlights in the crop of new High Holiday books for children.
It can sometimes be tricky to convey big themes like “familial heritage” and “cultural contributions” to little kids, and I really feel like picture books — even more so than movies or film — do the best job of this.
Evidence shows that higher literacy skills are linked to greater levels of employment and higher incomes. Moreover, raising literacy rates seems to be the most effective way to decrease poverty. Therefore, focusing on improving your child’s reading skills is arguably the best way to prepare them for a successful future.
“The two main characters are wearing little black bowlers, as kind of a nod to both surrealist plays and Laurel and Hardy,” Klassen said. “It sort of makes them into little comedic guys before they even get to say anything. And there is a snake that wears a beret for reasons I have not explained to myself—but I know it is the right choice. There is one other character in the book, and he does not wear a hat, but I won’t spoil his identity here.”
Telgemeier’s audience has been steadily growing since her first release struck a chord with young readers, with 18 million copies of her books in print across Scholastic’s U.S. distribution channels, and her books translated into 22 languages.
“Libraries serve the local needs of their communities. Macmillan’s embargo will make that impossible. That’s why it is vital we get the public involved.”
Waugh found a new way to enjoy an old pastime, and this experience is exactly what Lax thinks libraries should be fostering. “A lot of times at the library, you can check out the book or the cookbook or something, or you can go on YouTube and watch a video on how to do something,” he says, “but the actual thing you need to do it, it was kind of the missing piece.”
Basically, 2019 marks the first time a huge quantity of books published in 1923—including works by Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and Robert Frost—have become legally downloadable since digital books became a thing.
A unanimous City Council decision this week makes Phoenix, the fifth-largest metropolis in the U.S., also the largest one nationwide to dump the fines.
“I think the e-book bubble has burst somewhat, sales are flattening off, I think the physical object is very appealing. Publishers are producing incredibly gorgeous books, so the cover designs are often gorgeous, they’re beautiful objects,”
Eighth graders at Bailey Middle School were supposed to read “All American Boys,” which is about police brutality. Police call the book reckless and are now trying to get it banned at all schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district.
If you’re anything like me, you may find adult horror a bit daunting. There’s no doubt that YA horror can be sleep-with-the-lights-on levels of scary, but it’s not quite as daunting as say The Exorcist.
Harry Potter used to be the number one banned book in schools, according to Caldwell-Stone. These days, she said, books with LGBT themes are increasingly being targeted, both with lawsuits and other extreme measures, like public book burnings.
When it comes to our relationship with Mexico, it struck me that children would have an honest response akin to the child in the old “Emperor’s New Clothes” fable (“Why is that man naked, Mama?”)
It may sound counterintuitive, but Paul cautions parents not to reward their children for reading, no matter how badly you want them to crack open a book.
Ultimately, I told the legend in a Mother Goose style of my own, incorporating poems of hers that related to her life. Vladimir’s challenge was to design and illustrate the book so as to keep the strings of text separate and understandable. We worked on the book for six or seven years. He was ill for a number of those years, so there were inevitable big gaps when he didn’t have the strength to work.
With children’s books in particular, those in translation have an added aura of adventure, even a sense of the hidden being revealed. At least they did for me. I thought of books written in English as like coming across a fortune typed in that special red ink; I thought of books written in another language as that same fortune, but with a cookie around it, a message you got to crack open for yourself.
As publishers anticipate the 2020 women’s suffrage centennial, they remain mindful of how history is presented to children. And just as words matter, so too do pictures, says Susan Van Metre, executive editorial director at Walker Books.
“A good library today is not your grandma’s library,” library director Kristin Vogel said. “Nothing against grandmas, but that shushing, that quiet, that sense of policing is very different than what a lot of people experienced in their childhood.”
The Copper Queen Library in Bisbee, AZ, is the oldest in the state. It’s older than the state itself, having been founded in 1882 and open continuously ever since. But it isn’t resting on its laurels. Once focused on mining, today’s Bisbee is a study in contradictions.
The decision to bring in a social worker didn’t happen overnight: The library staff gradually realized how ill-equipped they were to deal with certain situations, particularly those related to homelessness and drug abuse —
…Mary H.K. Choi is quietly defining new-adult literature with her modern explorations of how relationships help young people figure out who they really are.
Fast-forward to 2019 — with its bulgogi tacos, K-pop, snail slime masks and Sandra Oh memes — and Koreans are the new purveyors of cool. Korean-Americans are making a mark on American culture, and the Y.A. universe is no exception.
As mental health struggles get more time in the spotlight, mental health nonfiction books have been cropping up aimed a variety of demographics. In fact, many options are now available just for teens. This list looks at great resources for those who are struggling with mental health issues or want to help someone that is.
Growing up is incredibly and inescapably weird. It is weird in its own unique way for every single kid. So graphic novels for middle grade readers might as well be weird too, right?
Beginning in 2020, Scholastic will publish two novels, Shuri: A Black Panther Novel, to be written by Nic Stone, bestselling author of such novels as Dear Martin and Odd One Out; and Avengers Assembly, an original middle grade series to be written by Preeti Chhibber, Spider-Man superfan and author of Spider-Man: Far from Home: Peter and Ned’s Ultimate Travel Journal.
Being a kid swallowed by fear and anxiety felt so isolating. If I had had a book like this, it would have helped me enormously. I make books for the kid I was, knowing there are other kids (and grown-ups) out there who will see themselves in my stories. The more of yourself you share with others, the better.
Seeing representation in media is a powerful tool to make LGBTQ+ kids feel less alone in the world by creating a sense of normalcy around queerness. If queer kids see characters like themselves in the books they read, they’ll feel more like their peers.
“I pick people who represent the values I want to give my own kids. Historical figures who represent kindness, compassion, humility, or in the case of Walt Disney, creativity. Along the way, we learned one thing: We’re not that special. Millions of parents want the same thing for their own kids,” explained Meltzer.
“I think the attitude of publishers towards children’s literature in translation is changing,” says Arabic translator Sawad Hussain. “Having said that, the ‘big five’ publishers need to do more to include translated kid lit on their lists and also make themselves more open to receiving submissions.”
The library system’s project is designed to emphasize “forward-thinking, human-centered design to create functional, efficient library spaces that will benefit the Cleveland community for years to come,’’
Axelsson decided to use googly eyes combined with sound and movement to both show the robot’s intent and express its state of being. Most importantly, the eyes are programmed to indicate the robot’s direction to customers, so they’re not caught unaware when it’s moving around.
Today, the Vatican Library treasures around 75,000 codices, 85000 incunabula (i.e., editions made between the invention of the printing press and the 16th century), for a grand total of more than a million books.
The titles absolutely include books perfect for research and reference, but these titles also serve as more recreational nonfiction reading for teens. This isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a good, solid start.
Waking Brain Cells 