Open Books, Open Minds

May 2, 2024 JennyLeave a comment

Today is the Open Books, Open Minds “celebration of reading and literacy,” a free virtual event from LJ/SLJ and NCTE. I moderated a panel on “the joy of reading” with five authors:

Veera Hiranandani (Penguin Young Readers), author of Amil and the After, How to Find What You’re Not Looking For, and The Night Diary, a Newbery Honor book.
Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster), author of the Spy School, Funjungle, Moon Base Alpha, and Once Upon A Tim series
Peter Kahn (Penguin Young Readers), poet, educator, and project creator; co-editor of Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 years of poetry from a Chicagoland High School
Tanisia “Tee” Moore (Scholastic), author of Micah Hudson: Football Fumble and picture book I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams
Claribel Ortega (Scholastic), author of Witchlings, Ghost Squad, and Frizzy, winner of the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award

All of the authors spoke beautifully and passionately about the importance and joy of books and reading. Brief notes on our conversation are below, and the whole day’s worth of panels and presentations will be available for online viewing for the next three months.

What does “the joy of reading” mean to you?

SG: (holding up a copy of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin) “Reading creates memories.”
CO: Reading allows me to go into other people’s lives and experience things I wouldn’t do otherwise.
TM: “Books transport you.” (Cited The Snowy Day and Nancy Drew mysteries.)
VH: Books provide companionship.
PK: When you’re reading a paper book, you can’t multitask. You are in the moment.

How did you come to love reading?

TM: Was always a reader, and reading and writing were linked; kept a diary from age 6. Characters in books “were my friends.”
SG: Always a reader, read a huge number of library books – even found the G section where his book would be if he wrote one someday. [Ed. note: One! Haha]
VH: Had a lot of free choice, and never felt judged for her reading choices, even when she read comics. Having that freedom was important.
PK: Saw his parents reading for pleasure on vacation, so perceived it as a fun/leisure activity rather than a forced one.
CO: Always a reader. Books and libraries provided a safe space.

What about kids who haven’t discovered the joy of reading yet?

VH: Again, freedom to choose what you read is important. And parents can model reading, too.
TM: Allow kids to discover what they enjoy. Read together, or read what they’re reading, and let books start conversations.
SG: Books should be FUN! Graphic novels can be a gateway to reading other kinds of books.
PK: Read together, read aloud.
CO: Kids love graphic novels. Also, if they’re interested in other media (computer games, TV shows, etc.), make a connection to those other interests.
TM: If there’s a movie or TV version of the book, read/watch both and compare them.
VH: If kids read when they’re young, then drift away from it, they can come back to it: “It’s IN there.” True for adults too.

What are some ways your books can be, or have been, used in the classroom?

PK: There is a website with videos to accompany Respect the Mic. Seeing poets perform their own work aloud increases engagement; there are also lesson plans and prompts.
SG: Did a lot of research for the Charlie Thorne series (partially inspired by reading Michael Crichton, who combined science and adventure), so history is woven in. Notes at the end of the book go some way toward explaining what parts are fact and what is made up, but students are encouraged to do their own research too.
CO: Witchlings has themes of prejudice, belonging, inequality, and socioeconomic status. Some teachers have asked students to use their problem-solving skills to suggest changes in the fantasy world of the book. What if…?
TM: I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams introduces readers to contemporary heroes, expands on Black history, and asks readers to consider when and how to make “good trouble.” It can be used in social studies and during Black History Month.
VH: Nisha, the protagonist of The Night Diary, and her twin Amil, protagonist of Amil and the After, are twins with very different styles of learning, ways of creating meaning, and ways of expressing themselves. Readers can consider their own and others’ learning styles, meaning-making, and expressions.

Why do you think reading is important, and how do you convey that to young readers?

SG: Reading about different worlds, cultures, and experiences creates empathy. Reading is a gateway.
VH: Echoes Rudine Sims Bishop’s “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.” Books allow people to enter into others’ lives and gain a deep understanding.
CO: Books are a place to learn about tough topics safely.
PK: Having hard (physical, paper) copies of books is more important than ever so that you can focus without distraction, scrolling, notifications.

How do you communicate a message/theme to young readers without being didactic?

CO: TRUST your reader. Let things be messy. Some things aren’t fixed – that’s realism. Kids appreciate you being real with them.
TM: Use dialogue and action to show; allow readers space to figure things out on their own. It’s harder to write a picture book than people imagine!
SG: A little bit of messaging goes a long way; make it powerful, not repetitive.
VH: A didactic message reveals an adult agenda.

Is it mandatory to have a child in order to be a good children’s book author? (audience question)

TM: Most important is to BE A READER of the genre you want to write in. Spend time around kids (doesn’t have to be your own).
VH: Be in touch with your inner child.
CO: Talk with kids on school and library visits.

It was such a privilege to speak with these authors today and hear what they had to say about the joy of reading. Library news lately has been dominated by book bans and budget cuts, so to hear kidlit creators speak out so strongly in favor of free choice in reading was marvelous. I believe that kids will build an identity as a reader if they are allowed to choose their books (including graphic novels and audiobooks); if they see the adults in their lives reading books; if they engage in conversations about books. I believe that reading builds empathy, and prepares people to live in the world with other people, and to experience scary things in a safe way.

Happy reading to you all!

Tis the season for picture books and graphic novels

December 1, 2023 JennyLeave a comment

I developed these two presentations for the senior center, but why not share more widely?

“Picture This: Picture-Perfect Gift Books“ for the 2023 holiday season (or whenever! Books are good 365 days a year).

With an older audience in mind, I focused on recent titles from our current golden age of picture books, from wordless wonders like Aaron Becker’s Journey to Caldecott winners like Sophie Blackall and Matthew Cordell, from nonfiction to humor to holidays. Does a kiddo in your life need a new picture book this month? Sure they do!

Humor slide from Picture Books presentation: The Big Cheese, Bathe the Cat, Gotta Go, A Very Cranky Book

“What Are Graphic Novels (and why are they so great)?“ is an attempt to introduce adult readers to a format that might be new for them, and to dispel the harmful idea that graphic novels aren’t “real” books. (Graphic novels ARE real books! If your kids/students are reading graphic novels, they’re reading! And they probably have better visual literacy skills than you do. While I’m up here on my soapbox, audiobooks are real books, too.)

"What is a graphic novel?" slide from GN presentation

Links will take you to Google Slides presentations. For both sets of slides, I used SlidesCarnival (shout-out to my grad school friend Becca for introducing me to this resource).

Readers, I hope you check some of these books out from the library, or buy (local if you can!). School and public librarians, feel free to copy and remix if that’s helpful to you; please give credit. Neither of these presentations is intended to be comprehensive – just some award winners and lots of my own personal favorites. Happy reading!

ALA Youth Media Awards 2023

January 30, 2023 JennyLeave a comment

Cover image of Hot Dog — What a day for a dog!

Last year, I followed the ALA YMA on Twitter while preparing to teach seventh graders online research skills; the year before, I watched in my pajamas with my five-year-old on my lap. This year, I missed the beginning of the livestream, but the timing worked out so that a third grade class was in the library when the Caldecott awards were announced, and they were so excited!

As I watched not just the Caldecotts but all the other awards roll in, it struck me more than any previous year how many deserving books there are. Not that I disagree with the committees’ choices – plenty of books I cheered for, others I hadn’t read – but there are just so. many. good. books in any given year! And because I was on this year’s Heavy Medal committee (Mock Newbery) and ran a Mock Caldecott program at my school, I was more attuned than usual to award predictions.

So rather than recap today’s winners, I’m going to list a few middle grade and picture books I think could have gotten awards, and just happened not to, but are still wonderful and you should read them:

Middle grade:

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
Violet and Jobie in the Wild by Lynne Rae Perkins
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff
Where the Sky Lives by Margaret Dilloway
The Insiders by Mark Oshiro
The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander
Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya Pasternak
A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser

Cover image of the Ogress and the Orphans

Picture Books

Mina by Matthew Forsythe
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond, illustrated by Daniel Minter
Sweet Justice by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall, illustrated by Vera Brosgol
I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal
Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Dan Santat
Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
Snow Horses by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Micha Archer

Squirrels that turn out to be cats, magic doors that lead to a refuge and friendship, a Mars rover with human emotions, a choose-your-own-adventure fairytale, escaping frogs, an unsung civil rights hero, some beautiful collage, and more – there’s something for everyone, and awards are only a piece of it all. Congratulations to all authors and illustrators who put something out into the world in 2022; readers are grateful.

Mock Caldecott 2023

January 30, 2023 JennyLeave a comment

In my first year as an elementary school librarian, I had to do a Mock Caldecott. It was one of the programs I’d heard other elementary librarians (and some children’s librarians at public libraries) talk about for years and it always sounded like a fun way to get kids engaged and excited. Plus, it’s a good chance to focus on the (incredible) art, and consider things like trim size and shape, endpapers, use of the gutter, use of color, light and dark, and media. I always look to see if there’s an art note on the copyright page about what materials the illustrator used, and kids are sometimes surprised (especially the born-digital art).

Here’s how I ran our program, loosely based on Travis Jonker’s:

Intro/practice week (first week of January):

Introduce the Caldecott Award. What is it for? Who decides? Which books (illustrators) are eligible? Even the youngest students grasp the difference between an author’s job and an illustrator’s job, and learn that if there’s one name on the cover, it means that person did both jobs.
Read two past Caldecott books, and have a vote (by show of hands). Make the tally visible on the whiteboard. In kindergarten and first grade, we read Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005) and This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (2013). In second and third grade, we read Beekle by Dan Santat (2015) and Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin (2022).

Week One:

Now it’s onto this year’s Caldecott contenders! I requested several books from my public library, using my own reading from the past year as well as The Horn Book’s Calling Caldecott blog and Betsy Bird’s predictions on her Fuse8 blog at SLJ. Ideally, I’m looking for books with less text, because classes are only 40 minutes and we want to do book checkout too. I use the Whole Book Approach, which means I welcome students’ observations while we’re reading – which means it takes longer to read a book aloud.
Kindergarten and first grade read I Don’t Care by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by real-life best friends Molly Idle and Juana Martinez-Neal, and Like by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Leo Espinosa. Second and third grade read The Blur by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat, and This Is Not A Story About A Kitten by Randall de Sève, illustrated by Carson Ellis. I note when illustrators have previously won a Medal or an Honor.

Cover images of I Don't Care and Like

Cover images of The Blur and This Story is Not About A Kitten

Week Two:

Kindergarten and first grade read Somewhere in the Bayou by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, and Little Houses by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek. Second and third grade read Knight Owl by Christopher Denise and Hot Dog by Doug Salati. Actually, this week we mixed it up a little bit; one of the first grade classes read the second and third grade pair of books, and one of the other first grades read Hot Dog and Little Houses. Attention spans vary, and it seemed like the right call at the time.

Cover images of Hot Dog and Little Houses

Screen Shot 2023-01-25 at 8.40.44 PM

Week Three:

Here we started to run into a few scheduling snags, including a (planned) holiday and some (unplanned) weather-related time off (a full snow day, a delayed start, and an early dismissal). It’s winter in New England, after all. That’s okay! We’re not being super scientific or mathematical about this, though I am keeping track of the tallies and figuring out the total votes for each book each week, and noting the number of classes that read each book.
Kindergarten and first grade read Don’t Worry, Murray! by David Ezra Stein and Witch Hazel by Molly Idle. Second and third grade read Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall (who has already won twice!) and Snow Horses by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Micha Archer. This final pair of books is absolutely gorgeous, and my second- and third-grade students are an observant bunch, so we’re pretty squeezed for time given that these two are more text-heavy than some of the others (and Farmhouse is all one long sentence!).

Screen Shot 2023-01-25 at 8.42.49 PM

Cover images of Farmhouse and Snow Horses

Now, are the titles we read my top picks for the 2023 Caldecott? Not necessarily, although I think a lot of them have a very strong chance and I’d be delighted to see them get a shiny gold or silver medal. A few contenders we’d read earlier in the year: Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Dan Santat; Mina by Matthew Forsythe; Berry Song by Michaela Goade, John’s Turn by Mac Barnett, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. So, these are the ones that were fresh for my students, and that I could get from my public library in time.

Visual supports: The award is for illustration, after all, so I wanted to create a visual environment to support our Mock Caldecott. Here are a few ways I did that:

A few years ago at a conference I got a poster with all of the Caldecott winners on it, plus that year’s honor books. I put that up on our whiteboard, and kids frequently pointed out books they’d read (even pre-readers could recognize the book covers). (Note: I would love an updated poster like this, and no one seems to make one! Let me know if you know of a source…)
On the easel whiteboard, I kept each week’s tally (photographing it regularly in case anyone erased it, accidentally or on purpose). Results were so different from class to class!
On my bulletin board, I printed out cover images of the Caldecott contenders we read, along with title, author, and illustrator info. This helped us remember what we’d read in past weeks, and make connections; for example, one third grader noticed that The Blur and Farmhouse took place over a long span of time, whereas This Is Not A Story About A Kitten and Snow Horses took place over the course of just one day/night.
I covered several tables with face-up Caldecott winner and honor books from past years and encouraged students to check those out – many did! (And some just wanted My Weird School or A-to-Z Mysteries or Wimpy Kid or the Biscuit books, and that’s fine too. But at least they saw them as choices, and picture book circulation increased! Though lots of students were baffled about why some books had “the sticker” and some didn’t.)

Caldecott poster

Whiteboard with vote tallies

At the end of our program, I figured out all the tallies and reported our results to the 2023 Mock YMA blog. Knight Owl got the most votes, followed by Somewhere in the Bayou, The Blur, Don’t Worry Murray, Farmhouse, and Hot Dog. And today, it worked out that one of my third grade classes was in the library during the live Caldecott announcements, and they went wild for Knight Owl and Hot Dog. It was gratifying to see them throw their hands up and cheer for books they recognized (I was cheering too, of course!).

Did we predict the winner? Not exactly, but two out of five ain’t bad. Did we read some great picture books? Absolutely! Will I do it again next year? Yes! What will I do differently? Mainly, I’ll start requesting books from my public library ahead of time, really concentrating on the ones with less text, so we can focus on the illustrations without being rushed during our 40-minute periods. I could change the way we vote – I was thinking of some clear jars and colored pom-poms that kids could use as their votes after reading four or five books over the course of a few weeks, instead of having two books go head to head each week.

Overall, it was a fun program I hope to run again next year. Now, as we’re about to enter Black History Month, I’m thinking of doing something similar (minus the voting) with Coretta Scott King award and honor books. Heck, there are enough awards to focus on a different one each month of the school year…

2022 Reading Wrap-Up

January 1, 2023 Jenny1 Comment

It’s that time! To recap, here’s my reading wrap-up from 2021, and here’s my mid-year reading round-up from early July 2022; when I’ve listed titles below, I’ve focused on those I read between July and December. Without any ado at all, the numbers and the breakdown:

Total number of books: 558.

Partially read or started-didn’t-finish: 19. Like previous years, a mixed bag of fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, poetry, and books I started reading with the kiddo but she whisked away to finish on her own.

Picture books: 226

Sonya’s Chickens by Phoebe Wahl
Sometimes I Grumblesquinch by Rachel Vail
A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall
Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast by David Ezra Stein
Puppy Bus by Drew Brockington
Except Antarctica by Todd Sturgell
How Old Is Mr. Tortoise? by Dev Petty
Out On A Limb by Jordan Morris
Mina by Matthew Forsythe
Don’t Eat Bees by Dev Petty
Tía Fortuna’s New Home by Ruth Behar
Watch Out for the Lion! by Brooke Hartman
Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke
El Chupacapras by Adam Rubin
That’s Not My Name by Anoosha Syed
Gibberish by Young Vo
John’s Turn by Mac Barnett
Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall
Three Billy Goats Gruff by Mac Barnett
Books Aren’t for Eating by Carlie Sorosiak
Shoshi’s Shabbat by Caryn Yacowitz
Knitting for Dogs by Laurel Molk
Like by Annie Barrows

Early readers: 15

Cornbread & Poppy by Matthew Cordell
Ollie & Bea by Renee Treml
See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle
It’s A Sign by Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey

Chapter books: 11

Crimson Twill: Witch in the City by Kallie George
Wednesday Wilson Fixes All Your Problems by Bree Galbraith
Twig & Turtle 6: No Hard Feelings by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Middle grade: 116

See the first half of the year’s titles in the 2022 mid-year round-up; I still stand by all of them! Between the MCBA award titles and Heavy Medal, there have been plenty of excellent middle grade titles to read this year. Here are a few of my favorites that I read between July and December:

Monster Club by Darren Aronofsky
The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Focused by Alyson Gerber
Tumble by Celia Pérez
The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
The Insiders by Mark Oshiro
A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
Attack of the Black Rectangles by A.S. King
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
Violet and Jobie in the Wild by Lynne Rae Perkins

YA: 38

When the World Was Ours by Liz Kessler
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Family of Liars by E. Lockhart
The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes
A Year to the Day by Robin Benway
Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert
The Peach Rebellion by Wendelin Van Draanen
I Miss You, I Hate This by Sara Saedi
Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
Whiteout by various authors

Graphic novels (overlap with other categories): 52

Garlic and the Vampire and Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen
Witches of Brooklyn: S’more Magic by Sophie Escabasse
Bunnicula by James Howe
The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat
Lightfall (books 1 and 2) by Tim Probert
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
Marshmallow and Jordan by Alina Chau
Catherine’s War by Julia Billet
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Ducks by Kate Beaton

Adult fiction: 41

Picking up where I left off in June 2022…

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Everyone Knows Your Mother Is A Witch by Rivka Galchen
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

Adult nonfiction: 30

How Old Am I? by Julie Pugeat
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell
Once Upon a Time We Ate Animals by Roanne Van Voorst
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
Go Back to Where You Came From by Ali Wajahat
Secrets of the Sprakkar by Eliza Reid
Use Scraps, Sew Blocks, Make 100 Quilts by Stuart Hillard
Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
Deaf Utopia by Kyle DiMarco
What Can A Body Do by Sarah Hendren
Things to Look Forward To by Sophie Blackall

Children’s nonfiction: 36

Africa, Amazing Africa by Atinuke
Dragon Bones by Sarah Glenn Marsh
Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic by Kelly Crull
Orangutans Are Ticklish by Jill Davis
Girl Running by Annette Bay Pimentel
Flowers Are Pretty…Weird by Rosemary Mosco
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Martin Briggs
Pizza! A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli
How to Build A Human: In Seven Evolutionary Steps by Pamela Turner

Short stories/essays: 20

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein
Mother Noise by Cindy House
She Memes Well by Quinta Brunson
The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
We Show What We Have Learned & Other Stories by Claire Beams
The Office of Historical Corrections and Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
Ancestor Approved by Cynthia Leitich Smith and others

Audiobooks: 17 (but actually many more if re-reads count)

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill
A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser
Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin
Star Crossed by Barbara Dee
Diary of a Mad Brownie by Bruce Coville
Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Best At It by Maulik Pancholy
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks
Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

Five-star ratings: 34. A pair of nonfiction books about food (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Once Upon A Time We Ate Animals), some excellent adult fiction (Our Missing Hearts, Sea of Tranquility, True Biz, The Marriage Portrait, and Hester), and plenty of middle grade fiction and picture books, mentioned above. (But you know, I think I have to mention that fantastic page turn in Mina yet again. “Oh, I see the problem…”)

Re-reads: Unknown number, mostly picture books and chapter books or middle grade audiobooks, like the Hamster Princess series by Ursula Vernon and the Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker. And we listened to The Ogress and the Orphans on a road trip after I’d read it in print (it’s great both ways).

WeNeedDiverseBooks: 155, or 27.7% of the total, which is higher than last year (good!) but I plan to do even better next year.

LibraryThing Charts and Graphs: It looks like there’s an option to filter by year, but it isn’t working right now. Let’s assume that, as in past years, I’ve read more female and nonbinary authors/illustrators than male, and more American, Canadian, U.K., and Australian creators than those from elsewhere.

And that’s a wrap for 2022! Hat tip to Betsy Bird’s “31 Days, 31 Lists” for highlighting kidlit titles I might have missed otherwise.

How middle grade has changed (in) a generation

May 15, 2022May 16, 2022 Jenny2 Comments

Working in a middle school library for the past year, I have been more conscious than ever about what books I am putting into kids’ hands – and, if the match is right, into their heads and hearts. They might read a chapter and put it down, or they might slog through and forget it after they’ve finished a required project…or, they might remember it forever. With that in mind, I (a) always encourage kids to return a book they’re not enthusiastic about and try something else instead, and (b) am extra mindful of representation. When reflect on the books that stayed with me (list below), nearly all of them feature white, American kids, and the few books that centered Jewish characters were all historical fiction set during WWII and the Holocaust (except for Margaret. Thank you, Judy Blume).

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (1970)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977)
The Devil in Vienna by Doris Orgel (1978)
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop (1985)
Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (1988)
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (1989)
A Horse Called Wonder (Thoroughbred series #1) by Joanna Campbell (1991)
The Boggart by Susan Cooper (1993)
The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (1995)
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (1996)

It’s a disservice to kids – to any readers – when only “mirrors” books or only “windows” books are available to them. Everyone deserves to see themselves reflected in literature (and art, music, movies, TV, magazines, etc.). The presence of a character similar to you says You exist. You matter. But only reading about characters like yourself is limiting; reading about those who are different in some way provides a window into another way of experiencing the world: They exist. They matter.

I have read so many middle grade books in the past few years that I couldn’t have imagined existing a generation ago. There are books with trans and non-binary characters, like Kyle Lukoff’s Different Kinds of Fruit and Too Bright to See and Ami Polonsky’s Gracefully Grayson and Alex Gino’s Melissa. There are books with Muslim protagonists by S.K. Ali and Saadia Faruqi, Hena Khan and Veera Hiranandani, and books with Latinx characters like Meg Medina’s Merci Suárez, Celia Pérez’s The First Rule of Punk, and Pablo Cartaya’s Marcos Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish. There are books that address contemporary racism and microaggressions and police violence, like Blended by Sharon Draper. There are books by and about Indigenous people, like Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac and Ancestor Approved by Cynthia Leitich Smith and others. There are books that explore the histories and modern experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islanders, like Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh, Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga, and Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai – the last two of which are in verse, a form I never encountered as a young reader but which is becoming more and more popular now (and with good reason). There are books about fat-shaming and fatphobia and body positivity, books that show what good therapy looks like, characters who experience mental illness or poverty, frank discussion of periods and endometriosis, and activism.

There is nothing inherently bad about the books I read and loved as a kid; I still re-read and love them, and am starting to share them with my daughter (and discuss parts that are sexist, racist, or otherwise problematic). But as a collection, they don’t show the dazzling breadth and depth of human experience that children’s literature illuminates now, from picture books through middle grade to young adult. I am so grateful to the authors and illustrators who create these works, let readers step into their characters’ shoes, learn about their lives, and grow in empathy, and I feel lucky to be able to put these books into kids’ hands.

Cover image of Merci Suarez Changes Gears

MSLA 2022: Cynthia Leitich Smith keynote “Brighter Days”

March 28, 2022 JennyLeave a comment

Author, teacher, publisher, and Muscogee Nation citizen Cynthia Leitich Smith delivered this morning’s keynote, “Brighter Days: Decolonizing Hearts, Minds, and Books for Young Readers.” She began by zipping through a number of essential fiction and nonfiction titles for young readers, from picture books through YA; children’s literature created by Indigenous authors shows that “we have a past, a present, and a future…[we are] 3D human beings with a full range of emotion.” Still, Native books make up just under 1% of books published for kids. “Why does that matter? Because we are still here….There are Native families in your communities whether you realize it or not.” Some of these families may “fly under the radar,” partly because of distrust of schools due to past experience. That makes it more important, not less, to seek out, include, and promote literature from Native authors, because “erasure hurts kids” and “Native kids deserve more from all of us.”

Cynthia acknowledged that publishing is a slow-moving industry and “it’s hard to shake up the conventional wisdom,” but with new imprints, new interest, and demand from readers, librarians, and booksellers, change is happening. Ellen Oh and the WeNeedDiverseBooks movement have been a force for positive change, as have conferences like LoonSong and Kweli. “A single voice…is not enough,” Cynthia said, referencing times that she had been told by people within the publishing industry that there was no room, or no need, for more Native voices beyond one or two established ones. But we need more: Cynthia said, “factual information won’t matter or stick if we don’t focus on humanity. Native people are modern people. Every kid, Indigenous or not, can benefit from exposure to Native values” like honoring ancestors, and protecting land and water. Young readers deserve a chance to read the work of many Native authors.

Librarians, Indigenous or not, have an important role to play; we are ambassadors to young readers. “We can’t do it without your continued support and activism,” Cynthia said. When purchasing and recommending books, she had a few tips: look for tribal specificity, contemporary settings, present tense, accuracy, and stories of daily life. It’s important to balance the historical with contemporary, tragedy with joy. “Unfortunately, much of what happened in the past is terrible”: Acknowledge oppression, integrate joy and achievement, address miseducation, and be aware that there is diversity within each tribal nation and “identity is nuanced.”

This is year-round work and should not be limited to Native American history month or just around Thanksgiving. Cynthia encouraged us to integrate Native books into year-round reading, and across the curriculum: “We are Native every single day…[it is] otherizing and marginalizing” to limit reading books by and about Indigenous people to one time of the year. “All kids deserve a truthful education.” She closed on a hopeful note, declaring, “We are seeing tangible progress” in the publishing industry and in Hollywood.

Resources:

Cynthia Leitich Smith website
Kweli journal and conference
WeNeedDiverseBooks
American Indian Youth Literature Award
Publishers/imprints to seek out: Heartdrum, Lee & Low, Arthur A. Levine, Kokila, Chickasaw Press and other small independent presses

2022 ALA Youth Media Awards

January 24, 2022January 26, 2022 JennyLeave a comment

It’s the Oscars of #kidlit! (And honestly, at this point in my life, I’m much more excited about the ALA Youth Media Awards than about the Academy Awards.) This year I was following the announcements on Twitter and relaying them to my co-worker while we prepared to teach a bunch of seventh graders how to find reliable results when searching the internet (pro tip: there are more results after the first result! O brave new world…).

SLJ posted the winners of all the awards, but didn’t include the honor books on the same page; American Libraries has a complete write-up. I was thrilled to see Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin, win the Caldecott medal (and a Newbery Honor and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature – Picture Book), and equally delighted to see Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff and Last Night at the Telegraph Club win the Stonewall.

Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter won the Morris, the Printz, and an American Indian Youth Literature honor for YA; other AILA honor books I cheered for included Christine Day’s middle grade novel The Sea in Winter, Traci Sorrell’s picture book We Are Still Here, and YA novel Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.

Sea in Winter

Cover image of Unspeakable I can’t imagine anyone was surprised that Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, won two Coretta Scott King awards (for author and for illustrator), as well as a Sibert honor and a Caldecott honor. I’m looking forward to reading CSK illustrator honor book Nina, but I’m really surprised that Christian Robinson’s other 2021 book, Milo Imagines the World, didn’t get any official recognition.

By the time the Pura Belpré awards were announced I was busy in the library, but I was happy to catch up later and see that ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the Bridge by Raul III won the Youth Illustrator award, Yuyi Morales received an honor for Bright Star, and Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet got a YA honor!

Cover image of Starfish Other Printz honor books included Starfish by Lisa Fipps (a novel in verse!), Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, and Revolution in Our Time by Kekla Magoon (the latter is the only Printz book I hadn’t already read, but it’s on my list now).

Also added to my to-read list:

Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award and the Newbery Award winner The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
Schneider Family Book Award winner My City Speaks, and honor books A Walk in the Words, A Bird Will Soar, and A Kind of Spark
Sydney Taylor Book Award Gold Medalist How to Find What You’re Not Looking For and Silver Medalist The Summer of Lost Letters
Theodore Seuss Geisel Award winner Fox at Night, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor
Sibert Award winner The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art

greatstink I’d actually read a bunch of Sibert honor books, though not the winner; I was super excited to see The Great Stink on the list. We Are Still Here by Traci Sorrell and Unspeakable also got honors, as did Summertime Sleepers (which taught me the word “estivate,” which is like hibernating but in the summer).

Finally, I was so happy to see A.S. King receive the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement, Grace Lin receive the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, and Jane Yolen recognized with the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award. A.S. King’s particular brand of magical realism/surrealism is completely unique to her; her books are deep and weird and thoughtful. Grace Lin writes for children of all ages, and her novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a favorite in our house. And Jane Yolen is Jane Yolen.

Previous year’s incoherent ramblings about ALA YMA:

2021 ALA YMA

2020 ALA YMA

Edited 1/26/2022: Note to self: next year write a post more like Abby’s (ALSC blog).

Reading Resolutions and TBR for 2022

January 8, 2022 Jenny1 Comment

I don’t make reading resolutions every year, but past ones that I’ve set and achieved (eventually) include:

Read at least one nonfiction book each month (circa 2008)
If I’m not enjoying a book, and it’s not for an assignment or book club, put it down (circa 2014)
Stop using important things as bookmarks (more recently than I’d care to admit)

This year I want to focus on reading more diverse books by BIPOC creators. Last year just over 20% of my reading fell into the #WeNeedDiverseBooks category; I’d like to get to 30% this year. (It might be that I’m closer than I think, since I don’t always know how an author or illustrator identifies.)

And here are some specific titles I’m excited about, but I’m sure that plenty more will come along during the year:

Children’s/YA

Amari and the Night Brothers #2 by B.B. Alston
Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang
I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani LaRocca
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder and Dan Santat
When I’m With You by Pat Zietlow Miller and Eliza Wheeler

Adult

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry
Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

Have you made any reading-related resolutions this year? Are there any books you’re looking forward to? Leave a comment!

2021 Reading Wrap-Up

January 1, 2022 Jenny2 Comments

Here is 2020’s reading wrap up. Many of those books are ones I’m still talking about, thinking about, and recommending, especially:

The picture books On Account of the Gum by Adam Rex, Lift by Minh Lê and Dan Santat, My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano and Jillian Tamaki, and Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina and Sonia Sánchez
Early reader and chapter book series (Elephant & Piggie, The Princess in Black, Ivy & Bean, Dory Fantasmagory, Clementine)
Nearly all of the middle grade books I listed, including Show Me A Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte, The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, and Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
Adult novels The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, and The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Nonfiction: the History Smashers series by Kate Messner. Even more titles came out this year and I’ve been recommending them all to students and teachers alike.

Now, on to 2021. This year was another good year for reading, even if it wasn’t good by (m)any other metrics. Betsy Bird did her marvelous and comprehensive #31Days31Lists again, and though I’ve read many of the titles she mentions, I requested a bunch of others from the library – they’re already starting to roll in!

Total number of books: 743. Yeah, this is a lot, even for me – I was surprised when I counted them up, especially since the number of picture books stayed approximately steady from last year to this year. Early readers, chapter books, and YA went up a bit, while middle grade dropped some (that was a surprise, too); graphic novels went way up.

Partially read or started-didn’t-finish: 19. Again, a cookbook, a book of poetry, and some children’s books that the kiddo wasn’t into (or took away to read by herself).

Picture books: 327.

Note: I’m limiting my list of standout picture book titles to those published in 2020 and 2021, because…327 books! In the other categories below, I haven’t limited myself to books published in 2020-2021, though many of them were.

When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith, illus. Nicole Neidhardt
What A Lucky Day! by Jashar Awan
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho
The Polio Pioneer by Linda Elovitz Marshall, illus. Lisa Anchin
All the Way to the Top by Annette Bay Pimentel, illus. Nabi Ali
A Small Kindness by Stacy McAnulty, illus. Wendy Leach
Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelly Anand, illus. Nabi Ali
Scarlet’s Tale by Audrey Vernick, illus. Jarvis
The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer, illus. Mariachiara DiGiorgio
Avocado Asks: What Am I? by Momoko Abe
Oh Look, A Cake! by J.C. McKee (reminded me of I Really Want the Cake!)
I Am Not A Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament by Liz Wong (reminded me of The Angry Little Puffin)
Watercress by Andrea Wang, illus. Jason Chin
Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It) by Carrie Finison, illus. Daniel Wiseman
A Map Into the World by Kao Kalia Yang, illus. Seo Kim
Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. Floyd Cooper
The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom by Colleen AF Venable, illus. Lian Cho
Dad Bakes by Katie Yamasaki
Maybe… by Chris Haughton

Early readers: 42.

“Living In…” series by Chloe Perkins
Disgusting Critters series by Elise Gravel
Elephant & Piggie by Mo Willems
Fox & Chick by Sergio Ruzzier
Pea, Bee, & Jay by Brian Smith
Chick & Brain by Cece Bell
Flubby Will Not Play With That by J.E. Morris

Chapter books: 55.

Zoey & Sassafras series by Asia Citro
Twig & Turtle series by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
Ruby Lu by Lenore Look
Unicorn Rescue Society series by Adam Gitwitz and others
Princess Pulverizer series by Nancy Krulik
Lunch Lady series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (graphic novels)
Book Buddies: Ivy Lost & Found by Cynthia Lord

Middle grade (some overlap with YA and GN): 56. Cover image of Starfish

Letters from Cuba by Ruth Behar
Starfish by Lisa Fipps
Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book by Kate Milford
The Sea in Winter by Christine Day
A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold (all three Bat books)
Chance to Fly by Ali Stroker and Stacy Davidowitz
The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz
The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
Imaginary by Lee Bacon
The Boys in the Back Row by Mike Jung
Flight of the Puffin by Ann Braden
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Simon B. Rhymin’ by Dwayne Reed
Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
Yusuf Azeem Is Not A Hero by Saadia Faruqi

YA (some overlap with MG and GN): 51.

The Selection (series) by Kiera Cass
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (re-read)
Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon, Angie Thomas, & Nic Stone
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Graphic novels: 88.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore and Gareth Hinds (YA)
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte (MG)
Haylee & Comet by Deborah Marcero (early reader/chapter book)
Hildafolk (series) by Luke Pearson (MG)
Jukebox by Nidhi Chanani (MG)
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (YA)
Blancaflor by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio García Sánchez (children’s)
Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse (MG)
Sanity & Tallulah by Molly Brooks (MG)
Bear by Ben Queen (?)
All Summer Long by Hope Larson (MG/YA)
Friends Forever by Shannon Hale (MG/YA)
Act by Kayla Miller (MG)

Adult fiction: 34.

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith
Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie
We Are the Brennans by Tracy Lange
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

Nonfiction (adult): 28.

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami
Candyfreak by Steve Almond
From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
Learning in Public by Courtney E. Martin

Nonfiction (children’s): 87.

The Great Stink by Colleen Paeff, illus. Nancy Carpenter
Rescuing Titanic by Flora Delargy
If the World Were 100 People by Jackie McCann, illus. Aaron Cushley
Secret Engineer: How Emily Roebling Built the Brooklyn Bridge by Rachel Dougherty
Drowned City by Don Brown
Yummy: A History of Desserts by Victoria Grace Elliott (GN)
Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe, illus. Jos A. Smith

Short stories/essay collections: 13.

Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self and The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans (stories)
The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken (stories)
Ancestor Approved by Cynthia Leitich Smith et. al. (linked stories)
Calypso by David Sedaris (essays)
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (essays)

Audiobooks: 16.

Starry River of the Sky and When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin, narrated by Kim Mai Guest
Elana K. Arnold’s Bat books, narrated by Patrick G. Lawlor
No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen, narrated by Nissae Isen
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff, narrated by Jax Jackson
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Graeme Malcolm
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, narrated by Judith Ivey
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale

Five-star ratings: 33. Sometimes I’m blown away by a book when I finish it but it fades in my memory; others stay vivid. There were some of each this year; those that made a sustained impact include (in order from picture books to adult books) Sootypaws, All the Way to the Top, The Polio Pioneer, Haylee & Comet, Castle Hangnail, Amari and the Night Brothers, Red White & Whole, Imaginary, Winterkeep, The Firekeeper’s Daughter, Piranesi, Braiding Sweetgrass, Say Nothing, and Cloud Cuckoo Land.

Re-reads: Not so many this year, other than familiar series (Ivy & Bean, Lunch Lady, Clementine) and picture books (we revisited This Is A Dog, Bo the Brave, Binny’s Diwali, A Small Kindness, On Account of the Gum, The Last Loose Tooth, The Magic School Bus Explores Human Evolution, and others), and the graphic novel Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse.

#WeNeedDiverseBooks: 161. That’s about 20% of the total, which feels low to me – better next year. I use the #WeNeedDiverseBooks tag any time the creators of or characters in a book are outside the dominant narrative (white, straight). These stories are essential.

LibraryThing has changed their “stats” page to “charts and graphs.” As in previous years, I read more female authors/illustrators than male ones, and more living authors (1,560) than dead (304). And as the genre chart below shows (no surprise), I read a lot of children’s books!

Screen shot of LT genre statistics

LT also provides a map of authors’ nationalities. I read mostly American, Canadian, Australian, and UK authors, but some Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, Mexican, Japanese, Russian, Nigerian, and others as well. If anyone has books to recommend by authors from outside the US/Canada/UK, please share your suggestions!

Screen shot of LT