Recommended Links

We Need Diverse Books Video

| Tasha

Wow. One powerful video of why we need diverse authors who have a passion for creating diverse books for our children. Beautiful!

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

Securing a portal:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

11 Children’s Books That Pass The Bechdel Test

in children’s books goes deeper than race

How One Woman Is Helping Black Kids See Themselves In Books

I Ate Like My Favorite Children’s Book Characters

PJ Lynch is Ireland’s new children’s laureate

Sorry, Junie B.: Early Chapter Book Characters I Actually Like – GeekDad

Behind Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Success May Surprise You

This could become the most expensive ever children’s book if it sells for £2m

EBOOKS

Books are back. Only the technodazzled thought they would go away | Simon Jenkins

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LIBRARIES

Dems Try To Stop Republicans From Making Library of Congress Use Term ‘Illegal Alien’

Newfoundland To Shutter More than Half its Libraries

San Jose council might put off library changes to ‘explore’ new partnership

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

The Art Of Animation, Imaginism ✤ || CHARACTER DESIGN REFERENCES | キャラクターデザイン • Find more at https://www.facebook.com/CharacterDesignReferences:

CHILDREN’S  BOOKS

20 children’s books for mini-feminists

“Books on Film: Morris Micklewhite’s Controversy”

Ignite her curiosity with these books starring science-loving Mighty Girls!

Lane Smith explains the origins of his darkly funny picture books

Michael Rosen’s greatest quotes to mark his 70th birthday!

Middle Grade Books Take on Mature Topics

My Brother is a Superhero wins best children’s book award

Revered children’s illustrator told to ‘change stereotypical images’

Through The Looking Glass: How Children’s Books Have Grown Up – NPR

Why every parent should read to their kids

Reading:

LIBRARIES

“Knowledge Is Power: Serving Gender Diverse Youth in the Library”

“North Carolina Librarians, Library Associations React to HB2 [Library Journal]”

Ah, the good old days, when we ignored each other with books instead of smartphones.:

TEEN READS

“10 New YA Books to Read This Summer”

Kentucky Parent Warns of ‘Filth’ in Looking for Alaska via

Why we shouldn’t protect teenagers from controversial issues in fiction

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Comics Update! – ALSC Blog

Q&A with Gene Luen Yang – GeekDad

Reading Through Trauma: How Story Helped Us Navigate Challenging Days | Brightly

Sherman Alexie’s ‘Thunder Boy Jr.’ May Be Slated To Be A New Classic And A Bestseller – Forbes

Read:

LIBRARIES

How Libraries — Yes, Libraries — Are Helping People Ditch Stuff They Don’t Need

The Hushed Interiors of 19th Century Libraries

Why I Sacrificed 45% of My Salary to Work in a Library

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TEEN READS

New young adult novels tackle self-acceptance, rape culture

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

#books #reading:

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Children’s Lit Community Launches Auction to Help Refugees in Europe

Fresh Graphic Novel Picks – ALSC Blog

From school books to publishing, black girls deserve better representation

‘I pinch myself everyday’ says children’s book author and illustrator Ashley Spires

Jackie Carter, Who Pushed for Racial Diversity in Children’s Books, Dies at 62

Why children and teens need funny books

Why it’s time to take children’s books seriously

I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.:

EBOOKS

How Amazon Kindle Unlimited Scammers Wring Big Money From Phony Books

LIBRARIES

Beyond books: Eight things you may not know about libraries

Boulder Public Library aims to empower parents with new early literacy app

Community celebrates Billings Public Library’s recent awards

In praise of the Library of Congress

Is your local library a bestseller? — Mass. circulation rates tell an interesting tale – The Boston Globe

L.A. Public Library unveils new card designed by Shepard Fairey

Lending a Library a Hand in Colorado

Library director reflects on dramatic changes as retirement draws near

The once and future library

Open libraries: Self service libraries – The Danish way.

The Rise of Pirate Libraries

Toronto library workers say they’re heading for strike | Toronto Star

Weeding the Worst Library Books – The New Yorker

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TEEN READS

The best starter graphic novels for YA readers

New Study of Impact of Literacy Apps

| Tasha

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Science Daily has information about a study of the impact of tablets loaded with literacy apps on children. For the last four years, MIT, Tufts University and Georgia State University have been studying whether tablet computers with literacy apps could improve reading preparedness of young children living in economically disadvantaged communities.

They did three trials of the tablets: one in two rural Ethiopian villages with no schools and no written culture, one in a suburban South African school with a student-teacher ratio of 60 to 1, and one in a rural school in the United States.Students are given the tablets with no coaching from adults, because the plan is to scale this up to a larger level. There was no issue with children using the tablets and most had explored all of the apps by the end of the first day.

The results:

In the South African trial, rising second graders who had been issued tablets the year before were able to sound out four times as many words as those who hadn’t, and in the U.S. trial, which involved only 4-year-olds and lasted only four months, half-day preschool students were able to supply the sounds corresponding to nearly six times as many letters as they had been before the trial.

New trials are being run now in Uganda, Bangladesh, India and the US. A total of 2000 children have been part of the study so far.

This is certainly something for libraries and teachers to keep an eye on!

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

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CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Baby Books – Fowl Language Comics

Dinosaurs At Bedtime  – https://t.co/uCxK6ovS7m

Faith Erin Hicks Interview for ‘The Nameless City’ – GeekDad

The Inside Story of Rudyard Kipling and ‘The Jungle Book’

‘It Takes A Lot Of Bravery To Be Kind,’ Says Kids’ Author Kate DiCamillo

James Cross Giblin, 82, Wide-Ranging Author of Books for Children, Dies

The masses have spoken and they want BLOOD! A review of Samurai Rising. Beheadings galore!

Miss Peregrine author returns with illustrated collection of fairytales

My Republica – Exploring children’s literature in Nepal

Where Were These Kids Field Guides When I Was a Kid? – GeekDad

With ‘Thunder Boy Jr.,’ Sherman Alexie hopes to help correct a problem

C.S. Lewis:

LIBRARIES

Brown County to again consider library changes

Cat-Owning, Knit-Loving, ‘Hopelessly Sterotypical’ Librarian Is A ‘Jeopardy’ Badass

Fewer Americans Are Visiting Local Libraries—and Technology Isn’t to Blame

Madison Public Library wins nation’s highest library and museum honor for community service https://t.co/kcs084PYOI

Wisconsin’s Oldest Library Founded This Week In 1836 | Wisconsin Public Radio

RT : Libraries Need Diverse Books » Public Libraries Online

re-pinned by: http://sunnydaypublishing.com/books/:

TEEN READS

Catching Up With Comedian Jeffery Self On His New Young Adult Novel ‘Drag Teen’

Kids Can Press to Launch Teen Imprint

Naming Super-Man – Gene Luen Yang on Kenan Kong, China’s new hero –

Why Jane Eyre is most definitely a YA novel

This Week’s Tweets, Pins & Tumbls

| Tasha

Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are cool:

betterbooktitles: Eric Carle: The Very Hungry Caterpillar We’re a month away from the release of Never Flirt With Puppy Killers, so I’d like to share the best of Better Book Titles this month. Here’s my favorite.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Green Books for Eco-Minded Kids & Parents | Brightly

Kwame Alexander on winning the Newbery Award: ‘I’m going to keep it real with you’

Why I Came Out As A Gay Children’s Book Author

LIBRARIES
The 7 most beautiful new libraries in North America
The fall and rise of subscription libraries – BBC News
Need a ukulele? Grab one at Toronto’s 1st musical instrument library
Survey Shows Fewer Americans Are Visiting Libraries
TEEN READS
36 of Your Favorite YA Romances
TV deal for O’Neill’s Asking For It | The Bookseller

ALA’s Frequently Challenged Book List for 2015

| Tasha

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released their list of the most challenged books in the United States for last year. Here is the top ten:

  1. Looking for Alaska by John Green
  2. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
  3. I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings
  4. Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin
  5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
  6. The Holy Bible
  7. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
  8. Habibi by Craig Thompson
  9. Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter
  10. Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Ah, once again so many of my personal favorites on the list. Though I am not surprised to see LGBT books on the list, since they have always featured prominently on the list, I am saddened to see two that are specifically about transgender teens and children being targeted. Both are about real people and offer a glimpse into the transgender experience from those who are living it.

Though this list always makes me sad, it also lights a fire to make sure that my community has open access to these books as well as books like them. To make sure that LGBT members of our community see themselves reflected in our collection. To make sure that those from religions other than Christianity see themselves in children’s books on our shelves. To have books for teens that contain sexual experiences because, seriously, they are teens.

What lights your fire?