Attention Citizen Writer Challenge Participants!

Reading Rockets and AdLit.org Must Receive All Citizen Writer Entries by April 30

Winners in all grade levels will be announced by May 16, 2011.

 

Prize winners will have their work published on Reading Rockets and AdLit.org and will receive a gift basket of age-appropriate books and a personalized certificate. Prizes will be distributed by May 24, 2011. Click here to review the official contest rules. 

 

While visiting Reading Rockets, be sure to check out their informative blogs: "Sound It Out" by Joanne Meier and "Page by Page" by Maria Salvadore. 

Join Macy's Thank-a-Mom Movement to Support RIF!

Say "Thanks" to the Moms in Your Life and Macy's  Will Donate $5 to RIF or Another Charity You Choose

Macy’s has started the Thank-A-Mom Movement as a way to say thank you to moms and give back to special “mom-approved” charities---including RIF---this Mother’s Day! 

Now through May 10, visit Macy's Facebook page to send a free, personalized message to all the special moms you know, and Macy’s will donate $5 in each mom’s honor up to a total of $400,000 when you select RIF. Since 2006, Macy’s has raised $16 million for RIF to fund multicultural book collections, volunteer engagement opportunities, and recognition of RIF's Volunteer of the Year Award winners.

In addition to RIF, you can specify that Macy's contribute its donation to the American Heart Association, Futures Without Violence, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the National Park Foundation. 

Rich Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Librarians Provided on the RIF Website

Be sure to check out "Getting the Most Out of Picture Books," the Interactive Poetry Game, and "Giving Children Access to Print Materials Improves Reading Performance" on RIF's website!

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance Salutes The New York Times!

Hurrah for . . . . 

  

In a time when many newspapers and media outlets have reduced or stopped their coverage of young people's books and the literacy/literature world The New York Times is increasing its coverage! 

There are a number of periodicals that service professionals in the world of children's literature, but only few media outlets can directly reach parents, guardians, family members, and the general public like The New York Times can, spreading the good news about great books for children and teens.  Because of reduced advertising revenues, many newspapers have very limited coverage of the young people's publishing world, so The New York Times extending that coverage is, in fact, an act of generous public service!

We want kids to be lifelong readers. Creating life long readers means that all kids need to know how to read, and need to have ready access to great books, both entertaining and informative, that will excite them about reading and inspire them to read more. Many parents have no idea what books to buy for their kids, and unlike children's books professionals, have no idea where to find that information.  If all our newspapers, local and national, would follow The New York Times example and feature more articles about great new books for kids, many more parents would be informed borrowers and buyers of books in libraries and book stores. And when parents are more informed about entertaining books and interesting information books, our kids reading experiences will be greatly enriched, and their education skills greatly enhanced.

The NCBLA applauds The New York Times  for its continuing coverage of young people's books, highlighting new books, new authors, new illustrators. Thank you New York Times editors and  York Times Book Review editors! And thank you NYT Children's Book Editor Pamela Paul!!!!

FYI links:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/index.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/childrens_books/index.html?ref=books

http://www.pamelapaul.com/

April Literacy Events!

Reading Rockets and AdLit.org Accepting Entries for Citizen Writer Contest Through April 30

This year's contest challenges students to think and learn more about America's people, places, and ideals as they write.  

 

To inspire maximum creativity, four very different kinds of writing prompts are being offered, each designed to match students' interests and stretch their creative skills. For kids who enjoy visualizing their ideas, the Mapmaker challenge could be a perfect fit; or, if you have students gifted in music and poetry, they might want to try the In Verse challenge, which  asks students to write songs and poems.  The Take a Letter challenge invites students to write a letter to a person in history, and the Free to... challenge invites students to exercise their freedom by writing a short essay or article about an issue important to them.

Prize winners will have their work published on Reading Rockets and AdLit.org and will receive a gift basket of age-appropriate books and a personalized certificate. 

 

Dia Event Celebrates Many Children, Many Cultures, Many Books 

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration EVERY DAY of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30.  

 

 

Award-winning children’s author Pat Mora will join the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) for the national kick-off 15th anniversary celebration of Día at the Valencia Branch of the Pima County Library System from 11:30 – 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2011. Learn more. Pat Mora will also be celebrating Díapalooza on her blog  by posting a Día related item and reflection each day.
 
Read a Poem a Day to Celebrate Poetry Month!

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 with the ultimate goal of widening the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. This year the Academy offers a list of 30 ways (one activity for each day of the month!) you can celebrate National Poetry Month.  Read the list here!

Authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire to Speak April 27 
Celebrated authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire will lead a discussion about books, writing, and children's literacy on Wednesday, April 27th.  A question and answer period will follow, along with a reception for the public.

The event will take place from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Thoreau School, 29 Prairie Street, Concord, MA. Tickets are $18 ahead of time, $20 at the door, and $10 for university students with an ID; children are free of charge.  All proceeds will benefit the Evergreen Garden Playschool, a Waldorf inspired preschool and kindergarten in Devens, MA.

Is This What You Want for Your Children? For Our Nation's Children?

Congress and the President are Taking Opportunities from Our Kids:

Here are the cuts for 2011 that will affect our kids, our kids' education, and our kids' futures. These cuts will result in serious staff and program cuts that will limit and end educational services for our nation's young people. Even more cuts are planned for 2012. Is this the America you want to live in?

Here are the cuts that will effect all of our young people:

$100 million in Educational Technology State Grants

$231 million from Fund for the Improvement of Education

$250 million from Striving Readers

$104 million from Safe Schools and Citizenship Education

$67 million from Evenstart

$73 million from Teaching of Traditional American History

$26 million from the National Writing Project

$19 million from Literacy Through School Libraries

$49 million from Mentoring Children of Prisoners
$23 million from Americorps
$80 million from PBS's quality television for children
$44 million from the Institute of Museum and Library Services 
$13 million from the Library of Congress
$13 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities
$13 million from the National Endowment for the Arts


Listed above are just a fraction of the cuts to services for our kids!


Is this the America you want to live in? Do these cuts reflect your and your families priorities? 

Write the President and the Congress and let them know how you feel! 

You are the only "lobbyists" our kids have. Write to Congress and the President now so that the cuts to our kids' education do not get worse in 2012, and keep contacting them until they get the message that our kids and education are our priority!

Visit www.ncbla.org to find out how to contact Congress and the President at: http://www.thencbla.org/BPOSpages/activistbasics.html

Celebrate National LIbrary Week April 10-16

Take Action! Let Your Legislators Know How Critical Libraries Are!

Yesterday marked the launch of National Library Week with the theme “Create your own story @ your library.” This week presents a perfect opportunity to let your legislators know how important libraries are to you by telling your story about how important your library is to you and the difference your library makes in your community. Libraries need your voice!

Libraries continue to be busier than ever helping families survive during these tough economic times, yet public libraries, school libraries, and academic libraries are facing closures and elimination of librarians and library workers—the people who help those with a job application, teach 21st-century skills, and nurture the love of reading in kids that will serve them the rest of their lives.

State governments provide much needed funding for libraries to provide public access to the Internet to everyone, critical databases for individuals and small businesses, and homework help.

Take action NOW! Click here for direct links to your elected officials and let them know the importance of libraries!

Authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire to Speak April 27

A Conversation Between Two Writers: Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire

Renowned authors Patricia MacLachlan and Gregory Maguire will lead a discussion about books, writing, and children's literacy on Wednesday, April 27th.  A question and answer period will follow, along with a reception for the public.  

The event will take place from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Thoreau School, 29 Prairie Street, Concord, MA. Tickets are $18 ahead of time, $20 at the door, and $10 for university students with an ID; children are free of charge.  All proceeds will benefit the Evergreen Garden Playschool, a Waldorf inspired preschool and kindergarten in Devens, MA.  For more information and tickets, please call 978-772-9595 or email sarah@egplayschool.org.

Patricia MacLachan is the celebrated author of many award-winning books for young readers.  Books include the Newbery Award winning SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL, BABY, JOURNEY, WHAT YOU KNOW FIRST, ALL THE PLACES TO LOVE, the newly published WORD AFTER WORD AFTER WORD, and others.  She also wrote five screenplays, the Emmy nominated Hallmark Hall of Fame SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL series, starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken, BABY, and JOURNEY. She has taught Children's Literature at Smith College, as well as teaching other writing workshops.  In 2002 she won the National Endowment for Humanities Medal for her body of work.  She is a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, devoted to children's literacy issues. She lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts.

Gregory Maguire is the author of many novels for children and adults.  His best known book WICKED, inspired the musical of the same name, now in its seventh year on Broadway and playing in six venues internationally.  An ABC mini series produced by Selma Hayak, is in development as well as a major motion picture of the Broadway show.  

Among his children's books are the New York Times bestseller WHAT-THE-DICKENS: THE STORY OF A ROGUE TOOTH FAIRY and LEAPING BEAUTY AND OTHER ANIMAL FAIRY TALES.  Maguire was featured in a New York Times Magazine profile and has appeared on Oprah as well as performing original work on NPR'S "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" and "SELECTED SHORTS."  A founding codirector of Children's New England, Inc. for twenty-five years, Maguire has lectured on children, literature, and culture across the United States and abroad.  Most recently he brought out MATCHLESS, illustrated by himself, which retells and expands Hans Christian Andersen's story, "The Little Match Girl," and MAKING MISCHIEF:A MAURICE SENDAK APPRECIATION.  Maguire is a member of the honorary board of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance. He lives in Concord.

April Is National Poetry Month

30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 with the ultimate goal of widening the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. This year the Academy offers a list of 30 ways (one activity for each day of the month!) you can celebrate National Poetry Month. Here's ten from their extensive list:

1. Read a book of poetry.
2. Memorize a poem.
3. Revisit a classic poem. Maybe a Shakespearean sonnet?
4. Put poetry in an unexpected place...perhaps the bathroom mirror?
5. Bring a poem to your place of worship.
6. Attend a poetry reading at your bookstore, library, or coffee shop.
7. Support a literary organization.
8. Take a poem out to lunch.
9. Recite a poem to family or friends.
10. Add your favorite verse to your email signature.

Visit poets.org to discover the remaining 20 ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month! Which is your favorite? What other ideas can you come up with?

TEACHERS! Check Out These Tips and the Citizen Writer Contest!
Be sure to check out the Academy's Tips for Teachers for great classroom poetry activities! And don't forget Reading Rockets and AdLit.org's Citizen Writer Challenge, which includes the In Verse challenge inviting  students to write and submit songs and poems. 

Poetry lovers who also enjoy American history may delight in reading Gregory Maguire's poetic metaphor about the White House titled "Looking In, Looking Out" and Nikki Grimes' poem about a blind student's visit to the White House titled "Staking Claim." Both are available exclusively on ourwhitehouse.org.

Also be sure to review the diverse poetry included in the printed anthology Our White: Looking In, Looking Out, which is available in libraries and bookstores. Included in the Our White House collection are Jane Yolen's imagined conversation between John and Abigail Adams titled "The White House First Residents," Jack Prelutsky's humorous poem about the Clinton's cat titled "I Live in the White House," Jon Scieszka's rhyme titled "The White House," Lee Bennett Hopkins' poem titled "Good Nights," Kate DiCamillo's touching piece about Lincoln's death titled "In Early April," and Paul B. Janeczko's haunting "Mary Todd Lincoln Speaks of Her Son's Death, 1862."

Learn more about Our White House at ourwhitehouse.org.

Author Katherine Paterson Speaking at Dominican University This Wednesday

Spring Lecture Scheduled at Dominican's Butler Center in River Forest, Illinois

United States National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Katherine Paterson will deliver the 2011 Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science spring lecture this Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at 6:00pm in the Bluhm Lecture Hall (Room 108) in Parmer Hall. Ms. Paterson's  lecture is entitled "Read for Your Life." A reception will follow in the Parmer Atrium.  

Ms. Paterson is the acclaimed and beloved author of dozens of books for children and teens. Her books have won the Newbery Medal (twice), the National Book Award, and the Scott O'Dell Prize for Historical Fiction, and have been included on lists of distinction including the Horn Book Fanfare, the American Library Association Notable Books for Children, Library of Congress Books for Children, Booklist Editors' Choice and School Library Journal Best Books, among others. In 1998 she was chosen by the International Board of Books for Young People for the Hans Christian Anderson Award recognizing her lasting contribution to literature for children, and is one of only six American authors and illustrators to be so honored. Paterson is also a vice president of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.

For more information about the lecture, contact Thom Barthelmess, Butler Children's Literature Center Curator, at (708) 524-6861 or tbarthelmess@dom.edu . For more information about the Butler Children's Literature Center at Dominican University, visit their website. 

 

Learn More About Katherine Paterson

To learn more about Paterson's books, visit Terabithia.com. And visit Read.gov to read more about the National Ambassador program and to read Paterson's three episodes of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure! 

 

Watch a video interview with Paterson on ReadingRockets.org.

 

Read Paterson's speech, "The Child in the Attic," delivered at the Ohio State University Children's Literature Festival on thencbla.org.