The NCBLA is NOW on Facebook!

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Fans of The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance---be sure to check out our new Facebook page (titled "The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance") so you can keep up with all our projects, news, events, and literacy advocacy alerts.

Headlining our Facebook news will be the very latest information regarding our primary projects: The Exquisite Corpse Adventure and Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Learn more about our national reading outreach project--the wacky 27-episode adventure story game---The Exquisite Corpse Adventure on our companion educational site. And help the young people in your lives dig deeper into America's past and think critically about our future with the NCBLA's art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and its companion website OurWhiteHouse.org.  

Francesca Lia Block to Appear at Cambridge Public Library

Event Scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 2:00 PM

 Cambridge Public Library

Main Library Lecture Hall
449 Broadway

Francesca Lia Block is the award-winning author of more than twenty books including The Frenzy, Roses and Bones, Fairy Tales in Electri-City, and her beloved Weetzie Bat compilation, Dangerous Angels. 

The Harvard Book Store will have books available for purchase and autographing. For more information call 617-349-4027.

Save the Dates! National Book Festival Scheduled for September 24-25, 2011

Authors Announced! Event Expands to Two Days on National Mall!

World-renowned authors David McCullough, Russell Banks, Dave Eggers, Terry McMillan, Pulitzer Prize-winners Siddhartha Mukherjee and Jennifer Egan, Garrison Keillor, Amy Chua and Nobel- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Toni Morrison will be among more than 80 writers speaking at the 11th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on Saturday, Sept. 24 and Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, between 9th and 14th streets on the National Mall. The event, free and open to the public, will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, rain or shine. 

Over Two Dozen Authors and Illustrators for Young People Participating

The authors for young people who will be participating in this year's book festival include: National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Katherine Paterson, Sherman Alexie, Mary Brigid Barrett, Harry Bliss, Calef Brown, Cassandra Clare, Susan Cooper, Tomi dePaola, Sarah Dessen, Jack Gantos, Margaret George, Joe Hayes, William Joyce, Gordon Korman, Uma Krishnaswami, Gregory  Maguire, Sam McBratney, Patricia McKissack, John Bemelmans Marciano,  Shelia P. Moses, Kadir Nelson, Allen Say, Gary Schmidt, Brian Selznick, Chris Van Dusen, and Rita Williams-Garcia.

Pavilions Added for Urban Fiction and Graphic Novels

The 2011 National Book Festival will feature authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions, including two new genre pavilions: Urban Fiction and Graphic Novels. Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite authors, get books signed, have photos taken with PBS storybook characters and participate in a variety of activities. Some 150,000 book fans attended the 10th-anniversary festival in 2010.

Festival to Celebrate the Joys of Reading Aloud

Celebrating the joys of reading aloud will be the theme of this 11th National Book Festival. Details will come soon to the website at www.loc.gov/bookfest. The website offers a variety of features, and new material will be added to the website as authors continue to join this year’s lineup.

Click here to read the complete press release from the Library of Congress.

Click here to check out videos from the 2010 National Book Festival, including the The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Readers' Theatre Production, featuring Mary Brigid Barrett, M.T. Anderson, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, James Ransome, and Timothy Basil Ering.

In Case You Missed It!

New York Times Article Examines the Education Advocacy Work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

In the online article "Behind Grass-Roots School Advocacy, Bill Gates" published May 21 on the New York Times site journalist Sam Dillon writes:

"A handful of outspoken teachers helped persuade state lawmakers this spring to eliminate seniority-based layoff policies. They testified before the legislature, wrote briefing papers and published an op-ed article in The Indianapolis Star. 

They described themselves simply as local teachers who favored school reform — one sympathetic state representative, Mary Ann Sullivan, said, “They seemed like genuine, real people versus the teachers’ union lobbyists.” They were, but they were also recruits in a national organization, Teach Plus, financed significantly by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."

Click here to read the entire article. 

Congratulations to America's Student Citizen Writers

Winners of Reading Rockets Citizen Writer Writing Challenge Announced

This year Reading Rockets challenged students across the country to think and learn about America's people, places, and ideals by writing--and drawing!--creative pieces prompted by civics, citizenship, and community. Prompts were provided in four categories, and our young people rose to the challenge!

The NCBLA congratulates the creative efforts of all these young people and invites you to check out their fabulous winning entries on ReadingRockets.org!

Read! Think! Act!

Learn More About Civics, Citizenship, and American History with Our White House!

You can help young people dig deeper into America's past and think critically about the future using the NCBLA's art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. The illustrations, essays, short stories, presidential letters, personal reflections, and historical accounts in Our White House inform and entertain, offering a window on more than 200 years of American history.  Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback. The new paperback edition features a NEW poem by Nikki Grimes about President Obama’s inauguration!
 

Complementing the book is the NCBLA's educational website OurWhiteHouse.org, which hosts a vast array of exclusive articles, primary sources, activities and discussion questions, and research resources. Be sure to check out "I Pledge Allegiance: Classroom Kit on Becoming an American Citizen" by Helen Kampion, "Presidents Are People Too" by Heather Lang, "A Taste of the Past: White House Kitchens, Menus, and Recipes" by Mary Brigid Barrett, "The Eloquence of 'Silent Cal'" by Katherine Paterson, and "Who Gets to Vote?" by Geri Zabela Eddins.

 

In Case You Missed It!

New York Times Opinion Piece Highlights Innovative Mission of First Book

In the online article "A Book in Every Home, and Then Some," David Bornstein (author of How to Change the World) writes:

"When we imagine people without books, we think of villagers in places like Afghanistan. But many families in the United States have no children’s books at home. In some of the poorest areas of the country, it’s hard to find books for sale. A study of low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia, for example, found a ratio of one book for sale for every 300 children. Tens of millions of poor Americans can’t afford to buy books at all."

Click here to read the entire article and discover how First Book is attacking the problem of book access for needy children through their innovative marketplace. And be sure to visit FirstBook.org to learn even more about First Book's programs.

Department of Education Withdraws Federal Support for School Libraries

Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program Eliminated

The American Library Association reports that the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program was zeroed out under the Department of Education's allocation for FY2011 funding,  released yesterday.

Improving Literacy Through School Libraries is the only federal program solely for our nation’s school libraries. This program supports local education agencies in improving reading achievement by providing students with increased access to up-to-date school library materials; well-equipped, technologically advanced school libraries; and professionally certified school librarians.

“This decision shows that school libraries have been abandoned by President Obama and the Department of Education ,” Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association (ALA) Washington Office, said.

“The Department has withdrawn funding for numerous successful literacy programs in order to launch new initiatives to bolster science, technology, engineering, and math education. Apparently, what the Department of Education fails to realize is that the literacy and research skills students develop through an effective school library program are the very building blocks of STEM education. Withdrawing support from this crucial area of education is an astounding misstep by an Administration that purports to be a champion of education reform.”

Nancy Everhart, president of the ALA’s Association of School Librarians (AASL), said school library programs provide students with the skills they need to select, interpret, form and communicate ideas in compelling ways with emerging technologies, preparing students for the demands of a global, competitive economy, and a 21^st century workplace.

“Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that students in schools with strong school library programs learn more, get better grades, and score higher on standardized tests even when differences in socioeconomic factors are taken into consideration,” Everhart said.

“School libraries are there for every child. They are the great equalizers of society and by making this cut, it’s taking away the opportunity for all children to excel in every area of education, especially science and math. The school library has traditionally been the place where low-income students gain access to the resources and learning experiences that make STEM subjects relevant and rich.”

The ALA calls on Congress to include a dedicated funding stream for school libraries in the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Take Action!!!

Contact your legislators NOW to let them know your thoughts regarding the importance of school libraries! It's EASY! Click here to access an online form that enables you to send an email message directly to your elected officials!

Civil War Events to be Held at the Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library Commemorates the 150^th Anniversary of the American Civil War

May through December 2011 features exhibitions, lectures, and programs

This month marks the start of the Boston Public Library’s 8-month, citywide commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War. Through four unique exhibitions along with lectures, guided tours, films series, musical events, period reenactors, and online displays, the BPL will bring to life one of the defining events in American history.

The Boston Public Library has superior Civil War-era collections that serve as the foundation for the commemoration that extends to all library departments and branches across the city. “This vivid commemoration combines the best of modern scholarship with the richness of the Boston Public Library’s historic collections,” said Amy E. Ryan, President of the Boston Public Library. “Our goal is to bring the Civil War to life for all our users, whether they visit an exhibition, borrow a title from a book list, attend a lecture, or enjoy a concert of Civil War-era music.”

Nationally renowned speakers who will visit the Boston Public Library to focus on different aspects of the conflict include James McPherson, Drew Gilpin Faust, and Tony Horwitz.

To learn more about the extensive series of exhibitions, lectures, films, tours, and live performances exploring the many dimensions of the war, visit the library’s dedicated web page: www.bpl.org/civilwar .

Not in the Boston area? Visit your local library--or their website--to discover their schedule of special events and programs for patrons of all ages! 

Today is National Library Legislative Day

Take Action to Support Our Nation's Libraries!

Libraries are increasingly essential in these tough economic times. People are flocking to our nation’s libraries for job and career information, small business research and e-government services, as well as support for formal and informal education and lifelong learning. 

Congress has made across-the-board cuts to federal programs in its FY2011 budget, including major cuts to public and school library services.

To learn more about the critical legislation affecting libraries, visit the American Library Association's website and read the article, "Key Issues for Libraries."  

Visit the ALA's Legislative Action Center to take action NOW! This webpage makes it easy for you to send an email to your senators and representatives letting them know your thoughts about the value of library services.

The Nation's Report Card for Civics Now Available

Civics Scores Show Progress for Fourth Graders But No Significant Improvement for Eighth and Twelfth Grade Students

The National Center for Education Statistics released this week the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for Civics. Results show that although Civics scores for students in Grade 4 are improving, the scores for students in Grades 8 remain mostly stagnant and the scores for students in Grade 12 show a bit of a decline. Nationally representative samples of about 7,100 fourth-graders, 9,600 eight-graders, and 9,900 twelfth-graders participated in the Civics assessment. At each grade, students responded to questions designed to measure the civics knowledge and skills that are critical to the responsibilities of citizenship in America's democracy. Comparing the results from the 2010 assessment to results from two previous assessment years shows the students' progress over time. 

In the New York Times article, "Failing Grades on Civics Exam Called a 'Crisis,'" former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor states, "Today’s NAEP results confirm that we have a crisis on our hands when it comes to civics education." O'Connor is a stalwart advocate for Civics education and recently founded iCivics.org, a web-based education project designed to teach students civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. O'Connor developed the project out of her concern that students are not getting the information and tools they need for civic participation.

In the same article, Charles N. Quigley, executive director for the Center  for Civic Education, states, "The results confirm an alarming and continuing trend that civics in America is in decline."  

Click here to read the entire New York Times article.

At the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, we believe that literacy--including Civics literacy--is essential to the development of responsible citizens in a democracy.

Help Kids Connect with Civics Topics With Our White House!

The NCBLA's Our White House Project Provides Printed and Online Materials to Help Adults Who Live and Work With Children Learn More About American History and Civics

Our White House is a project of The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance designed to encourage young people to read more about America’s rich history and culture; to think more about America’s future; to talk more about our nation’s leadership; and to act on their own beliefs and convictions, ensuring this great democratic experiment will survive and thrive. 

The Book!

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough introduces this creative tour de force, in which 108 renowned authors and illustrators have donated their poetry, prose, and art to help advance the cause of young people’s literacy and historical literacy. The illustrations, essays, short stories, presidential letters, personal reflections, and historical accounts in Our White House inform and entertain, offering a window on more than 200 years of American history. Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback. The new paperback edition features a NEW poem by Nikki Grimes about President Obama’s inauguration!

The Website!

In addition to the Our White House book, the NCBLA has created an extensive coordinating website filled with exclusive articles, resources, discussion questions. classroom activities, and links to other dynamic resources to help ignite our young people's interest in American history and civics, with the goal of creating an informed and engaged citizenship considerate of the past, present, and future. 

Be sure to check out our Civic Education page, featuring such articles as "The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights: Educational Resources," "Civic Education Websites," "I Pledge Allegiance: Classroom Kit on Becoming an American Citizen" by Helen Kampion, "Who Gets to Vote?," and "Choosing Sides: The Rise of Party Politics." 

Learn more at OurWhiteHouse.org.