• Lifestyle

    Children's Book Council Resources

    “The Children’s Book Council (CBC) is the nonprofit trade association of children’s book publishers in North America, dedicated to supporting and informing the industry and fostering literacy.”  I am currently an ALA intern serving a two-year term with the CBC meeting in New York twice a year to talk about…

  • Lifestyle

    Then & Now

    Last night I was watching Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist on television with my boyfriend.  After one particular scene, where two of the characters are talking about the Beatles’ song, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (as they’re holding hands) a lesbian couple walks by holding hands as well and…

  • Lifestyle

    Diversity Resources

    There’s a lot of talk about diversity in children’s literature, but it may be difficult to actually find information.  I’ve found a few valuable resources (I’m sure there are a bunch more!) that make finding information a whole lot easier! 1.) We Need Diverse Books An official campaign that began…

  • Lifestyle

    Diversity Focus

    I’ve posted before about the importance of diversity in children’s literature, but for the next few days, I’m going to focus specifically on diversity because it is so important in the library world.  I grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania home to a small (very) conservative college,…

  • Lifestyle

    Super Bowl Sunday means…

    Eating homemade pizza with friends and watching the commercials and halftime show. We’ve got the Susie’s for pepperoni, cheese, white and buffalo chicken pizza and I just might make some chocolate chip cookies as well! What I’m even more excited about is that the Youth Media Awards are being announced…

  • Lifestyle

    Caldecott Illustrator Panel

    On Sunday, I was lucky enough to attend a Caldecott Illustrator Panel with Brian Selznick, David Wiesner, and Chris Van Allsburg. I love all of these illustrator’s artwork and have very specific memories about sharing and reading their books. I’ve had the great fortune to hear both David Wiesner and…

  • Activities

    Sharp-Schu Book Club – Don't Miss Out!

    Join the Twitter conversation tonight (10/29) as the Sharp-Schu Book Club discusses Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light and Seven Stories Up by Laurel Snyder from 8:00 – 9:00pm EST.  The book discussion is put together by Mr. Schu and Colby Sharp, both avid readers and teachers who hope (and do!)…

  • Lifestyle

    National Book Award Finalists

    It’s getting close to the time of year when the “Best of the Best” lists come out for just about everything – including books!  The National Book Award just posted it’s finalists in its four areas Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature.  As per usual, I’m really only interested…

  • Lifestyle

    We Need Diverse Books

    I was talking with a patron who was telling me a story of their 4-year old daughter.  The little girls is Black, Hispanic and White, but sadly doesn’t see many others in her small community that look like her.  She has begun asking her mom questions about the way she looks after…

  • Lifestyle

    100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime

    A new list popped up on Amazon from the book editors about the 100 Children’s Books to Read in a Lifetime of the 100 books on the list, I’ve actually read 80 and many of the ones that I haven’t had the chance to read yet are actually classics that…