The Guardian has shared a video celebrating the 25th anniversary of the beloved We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. In the video, the two sit down and discuss the origins of the story and the impact of the art work.
Recommended Links
American Library Association’s Most Challenged Books of 2013
It’s National Library Week this week and ALA has released their annual list of the most challenged books of last year. As always, the list is filled with books for children and teens, though And Tango Makes Three is not on the list this year!
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Bone (series) by Jeff Smith
Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I think are pretty cool:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
HarperCollins to publish new Paddington Bear book | The Bookseller http://buff.ly/1lIIwCx #kidlit
Illustrator Becomes First Latin American to Win Highest Children’s Lit Honor | Vocativ http://bit.ly/1e8wVgh #kidlit
Should celebrities stop writing children’s books? | Comment is free | The Observer http://bit.ly/1g0ORV4 #kidlit
PUBLISHING
Tom Weldon: ‘Some say publishing is in trouble. They are completely wrong’ | The Observer http://bit.ly/1g0P8r5 #books #publishing
READING
Serious reading takes a hit from online scanning and skimming, researchers say – The Washington Post http://buff.ly/1qkngTN #reading
TECHNOLOGY
Science says using social media makes you depressed | Science http://buff.ly/1lKcUfL (Yes, I’m sharing it on social media. Enjoy the irony!)
Search Engine DuckDuckGo Is Taking On Google By Doing The One Thing They Won’t Do – Business Insider http://bit.ly/OkOBbZ
YA LIT
8 Great YA Novels Featuring South Asian Protagonists :: Paste http://bit.ly/1g0Pqyl #yalit
15 years of SPEAK: An Interview with Laurie Halse Anderson | BOOK RIOT http://buff.ly/PM31mE #yalit
Ann Brashares talks dystopia and her new YA novel ‘The Here and Now’ http://buff.ly/1koonV3 #yalit
Hunger Games to Divergent: Get ready for the next teen revolution | Mail Online http://bit.ly/1e8td6j #yalit
Idaho school district bans award-winning book for being racy, racist and anti-Jesus http://bit.ly/1g0Pk9W #censorship #yalit
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S LIT
The 9 Most Mischievous Literary Pranksters, Ranked| BookBub | http://buff.ly/1pWFYlU #kidlit #reading
10 diary books | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1pWJYmy #kidlit
Are We Rushing Kids Out of Picture Books? | ShelfTalker http://buff.ly/1oqC9YZ #kidlit
Classic Childhood Books That Grow With You| Zola Books | http://buff.ly/1pG5o5r #kidlit
Does Winnie-the-Pooh hinder a child’s ability to learn science? | Toronto Star http://buff.ly/1dBpUnS #kidlit #stem
Hear what ‘wordless author’ David Wiesner has to say about books http://buff.ly/1oqLJer #kidlit
How Jean Craighead George’s ‘Ice Whale’ Got Finished Thanks to Her Surviving Children | SLJ http://buff.ly/1pWIHvF #kidlit
Marilyn Nelson: ‘Many performance poets seem to believe that yelling a poem makes it comprehensible’ – GalleyCat http://buff.ly/1orhlAH
Top 10 Mothers – and mother figures – in children’s books | Children’s books http://buff.ly/PagKUi #kidlit
EBOOKS
How I learned to stop worrying and love the Kindle | The Daily Dot http://buff.ly/1k33vT0 #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Amazing Reading Nooks: Create Cozy, Inventive Reading Havens in Your Library | School Library Journal http://buff.ly/1pWHzbm #libraries
Libraries are branching out into digital – Fortune Tech http://buff.ly/1pWKyPh #libraries
TEEN READS
11 Things You Learn When Your Book Is Turned Into A TV Show| Kass Morgan | http://buff.ly/PafjFl #yalit
Beyond the Bestsellers: So You’ve Read SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson | BOOK RIOT http://buff.ly/1pM2r5f #yalit
‘The Perks Of Being A Wallflower’ Should Be Banned: Kamloops Dad http://buff.ly/1pG5qKA #yalit
See the cover of Scott Westerfeld’s new novel ‘Afterworlds’ | Shelf Life http://buff.ly/1hFkCDj #yalit
The well-read teenager: brilliant classics for young adult readers | Children’s books http://buff.ly/PagSmt #yalit
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S LIT
Aaron Starmer and Laurel Snyder Interview Each Other About Loneliness, Magic, and The Outsiders | Nerdy Book Club http://buff.ly/1dpp2CL
Can books unite children across the world? | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1ixp76n #kidlit
Jean Craighead George’s Children Complete Her Final Novel http://buff.ly/1dpktIw #kidlit
A Picture-Book Like No Other | Brain Pickings http://buff.ly/1hxtJ97 #kidlit
‘Pippi Longstocking’ Author Astrid Lindgren Gets a Spot on Sweden’s 20 Krona Note – GalleyCat http://buff.ly/1jnnStZ #kidlit
Rush Limbaugh selection in children’s book competition causes a stir – CNN http://buff.ly/1giNPbK #kidlit
E-BOOKS
E-book Settlement Refunds Released to Consumers http://buff.ly/1gyrCa0 #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Fisking How “Libraries Are Failing America” | Agnostic, Maybe http://buff.ly/1diKvgf
How US libraries are becoming community problem solvers | Local Leaders Network | Guardian Professional http://buff.ly/1loNSVK #libraries
I hang out at libraries, even when I’m not looking for a book | Halifax, Nova Scotia | THE COAST http://buff.ly/1gxHMQY #libraries
Joint statement from the presidents of AILA, APALA, BCALA, CALA, REFORMA and ALA http://buff.ly/1hsmvDb #libraries
New Top 10 Reasons Why Libraries are still Important – Stephen’s Lighthouse New http://buff.ly/1hs8buD #libraries
St. Paul Public Library: Sharing More Than Books – YouTube http://buff.ly/1dvK6Yv #libraries
PRIVACY
MetaPhone: The Sensitivity of Telephone Metadata « Web Policy http://buff.ly/1gj1XSr #privacy
People Battle to Regain Online Privacy http://buff.ly/1fUAAIA #privacy
TEEN READS
American Libraries Learn To Read Teenagers : The Protojournalist : NPR http://buff.ly/1irSira #libraries
Another Reason The Hunger Games Is Awesome: Katniss Is Taller Than Peeta – http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/11/another-reason-em-the-hunger-games-em-is-awesome-katniss-is-taller-than-peeta/281826/ … AMEN says the tall girl
A Censored History of Ladies in YA Fiction | BOOK RIOT http://buff.ly/1ixukeb #yalit
Is Divergent Sci-Fi’s First Successful Bisexual Allegory? http://buff.ly/1ilUW1N #yalit #glbtq
A message from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1hfneYi #yalit
Must Every YA Action Heroine Be Petite? – Julianne Ross – The Atlantic http://buff.ly/1hfyyns #yalit
Stacked: Challenging the Expectation of YA Characters as "Role Models" for Girls http://buff.ly/1dppnp5 #yalit
Tanya Byrne’s top 10 black characters in children’s books | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1ilW4m4 #kidlit #yalit
This Spring’s Hottest Teen Books http://buff.ly/1gxRSkS #yalit
YA Outer Space Adventures to Read While Waiting for the Next Tin Star | BOOK RIOT http://buff.ly/1l7B1oo #yalit
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Board Book Roundup: Spring 2014 Edition – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1dgL62p #kidlit
Newbery / Caldecott 2015: Spring Prediction Edition — @fuseeight A Fuse #8 Production http://buff.ly/1guh0mo #kidlit
Stacked: Girls Kicking Ass With Their Brains: Guest Post by Sarah Stevenson http://buff.ly/1gxGf7B #kidlit
Your Kids Love ‘Cosmos.’ Keep Them Interested in Science With These Books. – Tablet Magazine http://buff.ly/1daAOAM #kidlit
EBOOKS
Judge Rules for HarperCollins in Open Road E-Book Dispute http://buff.ly/1gPVsRW #ebooks
People Who Use E-Readers Dive Far Deeper Into Books | Underwire http://buff.ly/1l3Zi1c #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Libraries designed without old-fashioned books, for new-fashioned readers http://buff.ly/1daBpCG #libraries
Who Says Libraries Are Going Extinct? – Pacific Standard: The Science of Society http://buff.ly/1l7JBWG #libraries
TEEN READS
Darren Shan: "I wanted to write about racism in the UK – zombies seemed like a good way to do that." http://buff.ly/1gy5ZAB #yalit
DIVERGENT: Early Reviews Not Promising » EarlyWord – http://buff.ly/1gyahIe #yalit
Is The "Young Adult" Boom Dwindling In Books As Well As Movies? http://buff.ly/1gPWtcZ #yalit
LGBTQ-Friendly YA Novels Get Award Nods, But Are They Getting a Crossover Audience? | Bustle http://buff.ly/1gQ0Y7p #yalit
The Maze Runner unveils first teaser poster – Movies News – Digital Spy http://buff.ly/1gy5C9j #yalit
Nancy Pearl Interviews: Laurie Halse Anderson » EarlyWord http://buff.ly/1d6MGnk #yalit
‘Rango’ Scribe To Pen Paramount’s Miley Cyrus Project ‘Wake’ http://buff.ly/1daB1UC #yalit
Toxic Relationships in Teen TV and YA Novels – Flavorwire http://buff.ly/1l42v0J #yalit
‘Uglies’ Author Westerfeld Shines a Light on the Publishing Industry for Next YA Novel http://buff.ly/1eBygqd #yalit
The Lack of People of Color in Children’s Books
The very talented father and son, Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers have both written separate pieces in the New York Times on the need for more children’s books to be written featuring children and people of color. Both pieces are powerful and vital.
Walter Dean Myers writes of his own complex relationship with books and then his own role as a writer:
When I was doing research for my book “Monster,” I approached a white lawyer doing pro bono work in the courts defending poor clients. I said that it must be difficult to get witnesses to court to testify on behalf of an inner-city client, and he replied that getting witnesses was not as difficult as it sometimes appeared on television. “The trouble,” he said, “is to humanize my clients in the eyes of a jury. To make them think of this defendant as a human being and not just one of ‘them.’ ”
I realized that this was exactly what I wanted to do when I wrote about poor inner-city children — to make them human in the eyes of readers and, especially, in their own eyes. I need to make them feel as if they are part of America’s dream, that all the rhetoric is meant for them, and that they are wanted in this country.
Christopher Myers writes so poetically of the children we are not supporting and instead are abandoning:
We adults — parents, authors, illustrators and publishers — give them in each book a world of supposedly boundless imagination that can delineate the most ornate geographies, and yet too often today’s books remain blind to the everyday reality of thousands of children. Children of color remain outside the boundaries of imagination. The cartography we create with this literature is flawed.
My hope is that their voices are heard, that we move beyond platitudes to true inclusion of people and children of all sorts of diversity. In the meantime, I will do my small part of selecting books for my community that show the rainbow of diversity that we serve and also blogging here and featuring books about diverse people. We can make a change!
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Battle Over Purim Children’s Book With Two Dads – Forward Thinking http://buff.ly/1h6VRkB #glbtq #kidlit
Children’s author reaps rewards for two books http://buff.ly/1h9waQr #kidlit
David Walliams first book, The Boy in the Dress, to be made into BBC film for Christmas! http://buff.ly/1ghYfa7 #kidlit #glbtq
Fighting Gender Stereotypes in Kids’ Publishing http://buff.ly/PjRr2l #kidlit
Five questions for Lois Ehlert – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1lSUjQZ #kidlit
An Interview with Neal Porter – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1gtD6Gu #kidlit
Lives lived large – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1lSUNXl #kidlit
New Judith Kerr picture book to HCCB | The Bookseller http://buff.ly/1ghYkL6 #kidlit
Piet Grobler’s top 10 multicultural books | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1gdtxuy #kidlit
Read E.B. White’s poignant explanation for writing Charlotte’s Web http://buff.ly/1lJe6SQ #kidlit
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast » Seven Questions Over Breakfast with Wendell Minor http://buff.ly/1nnboEf #kidlit
Things that stop and go – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1lSUJa0 #kidlit
What Makes a Good Book Cover? – The Horn Book http://buff.ly/1iBhv1a #kidlit
EBOOKS
The Future of Books Looks a Lot Like Netflix | Wired Business http://buff.ly/1fvKYLt #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Library’s ‘shelfies’ put witty twist on social media photos – News – Ohio http://buff.ly/1lT5XLE #libraries
Malorie Blackman: Why are libraries mandatory in prisons but not schools? – Telegraph http://buff.ly/1kM7ToV #libraries
Movers & Shakers 2014 http://buff.ly/1ghYgLb #libraries
Nutter apologizes for ‘worst decision’: Cutting library funds http://buff.ly/1iwAY3k #libraries
S.F. library proposes new code of conduct with penalties – SFGate http://buff.ly/Pk82D9 #libraries
Think We No Longer Need Libraries? Think Again. | LinkedIn http://buff.ly/1cN2yvk #libraries
What Matters to Academic-Library Directors? Information Literacy – Chronicle of Higher Education http://buff.ly/1kM0YvS #libraries
READING
35 Things You Should Never Say to a Book Lover http://buff.ly/1nLvQeQ
Levels of key brain chemicals predict children’s reading ability http://buff.ly/1gtSRNs #reading
TECHNOLOGY
The 25 Best Tumblr Accounts for Book Nerds http://buff.ly/1gtY8EM
Inventor of the Web Is Right: We Need an Internet Bill of Rights | Wired Enterprise http://buff.ly/1gtrNhp #internet
Web firms face a strict new set of privacy rules in Europe — here’s what to expect — Tech News and Analysis http://buff.ly/1gtrGm7 #privacy
TEEN READS
Dystopian Thrillers: The Rare Hollywood Genre Where Women Rule | Underwire http://buff.ly/1eta0GT #yalit
Quickfire interview: Sally Green | Children’s books http://buff.ly/1g0PPj3 #yalit
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers to Release Two Transgender Teen Memoirs – GalleyCat http://buff.ly/1gnHTcv #glbtq #yalit
Using the wisdom of crowds to pick the next teen romance bestseller http://buff.ly/1gtxfAM #yalit
Young-adult author Kirstin Cronn-Mills homes in on transgender experience http://buff.ly/1g0WBFe #glbtq #trans #yalit
This Week’s Tweets, Pins and Tumbls
Here are the links I shared on my Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr accounts this week that I hope you find interesting:
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
11 Reading Hacks for Parents | HarperCollins Children’s Books http://buff.ly/1khilER #reading #kidlit
A Brilliant Cover to Celebrate 50 Years of Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain http://buff.ly/1gRrkXV #kidlit
E.L. Konigsburg Remembered http://buff.ly/1khiwQm #kidlit
It’s not only adults who need comfort reading | Books http://buff.ly/1niA6lH #reading #kidlit
Jeff Kinney, author of Wimpy Kid series is most read in British schools | Mail Online http://buff.ly/1fH6WMw #kidlit
Laurel Snyder » Blog Archive » The VERY Best way to Go Out of Print!!! http://buff.ly/1gPdXHH #kidlit #authors
The Official SCBWI Blog: The 2014 Golden Kite & Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winners! http://buff.ly/1kBlYFL #kidlit #yalit
Riding High: Brian Floca on the Remarkable Process Behind His Caldecott-winning ‘Locomotive’ | SLJ http://buff.ly/1nhNmqM #kidlit
Watch. Connect. Read.: Book Trailer of the Month: The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend http://buff.ly/1kAPETi #kidlit
EBOOKS
BBC – Culture – The World Wide Web at 25: Changing literature forever http://buff.ly/1gRAnYL #ebooks
Infographic: Top Ten Reasons for Choosing a Paper Book over an eBook – The Digital Reader http://buff.ly/1gHFcnk #ebooks
LIBRARIES
Chicago Public Library to Expand YOUmedia Labs with Additional $2.5 Million | School Library Journal http://buff.ly/1kAxbX0 #libraries
Detroit Public Library Provides Food to Fight Child Hunger | American Libraries Magazine http://buff.ly/1khNcB9 #libraries
Mid-Continent Public Library Proves Summer Reading Programs Boost Student Achievement | School Library Journal http://buff.ly/OKKFCr
New Report Hails Librarians as Drivers of Digital Transition – The Digital Shift http://buff.ly/1fH1k4O #libraries
X–SPACE: A Library Designed and Built By Its Students by Project H Design, 501c3 — Kickstarter http://buff.ly/1fH1edy #libraries
TECHNOLOGY
Infographic: 9 Tips for Keeping Your Internet Usage Private http://www.intelligenthq.com/social-media-posts/infographic-9-tips-for-keeping-your-internet-usage-private … #privacy
The world’s largest photo service just made its pictures free to use | The Verge http://buff.ly/1kAypBA
TEEN READS
Comic Books Are Real Books | BOOK RIOTComic Books Are Real Books – BOOK RIOT http://buff.ly/1gPe1Ho
Gene Yang Returns with ‘The Shadow Hero’ http://buff.ly/1kAxdhy #yalit #kidlit
Waking Brain Cells 