You Finish Our White House!!

Involve Kids and Teens in This Year's Historic Election!

Finish the Presidential Timeline in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Bob Kolar's double page spread illustration at the end of Our White House Looking In, Looking Out is both a trivia game and a presidential timeline. The last space was left blank to give readers the chance to finish the book themselves---a great opportunity to involve young people in this remarkable race to the presidency. Adults and kids can discuss the election results together and complete the presidential timeline in Our White House!



Go to http://www.ourwhitehouse.org/ enter the site and click on the red Presidential Candidate sticker at the top of the page. Follow the directions on the sticker page and finish Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out! And while you are on the site: explore!

Remember read about the election in newspapers and news magazines in both traditional and electronic formats and discuss the election results with the young people in your life!



Remember:
Literacy + Historic Literacy = Civic Engagement!

Go to:
http://www.ourwhitehouse.org

http://www.ourwhitehouse.org/OWHStickerSheet.pdf

Our White House Raves Continue!

PW's Bethanne Patrick Recommends Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out on NY1!

Bethanne Patrick has been reporting about books and authors long enough that her galley shelf is stacked three deep -- yet she still worries about being short on reading material. A PW Contributing Editor and a member of the National Book Critics Circle, Patrick reads, writes, and rants (occasionally all at once) from the Washington DC area.

To hear Bethanne Patrick's recommendation of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and other great kids' books for fall watch this great NY1 newsclip and read Bethanne Patrick Publisher's Weekly blog go to:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/670000267/post/740035474.html

In Case You Missed It!

Watch the Library of Congress National Book Festival Webcast of
Katherine Paterson,
Steven Kellogg,
Jon Scieszka,
and special guest
Lynda Johnson Robb
Reading from
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

If you could not attend the Library of Congress National Book Festival, you can still see and listen to the NCBLA's Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out presentation on a LOC webcast!

Katherine Paterson and Steven Kellogg, NCBLA Vice-Presidents ; Jon Scieszka, the Library of Congress Children's Book Ambassador; Mary Brigid Barrett, NCBLA President ; and special surprise guest, the former First Lady of Virginia and RIF uber-advocate, Lynda Johnson Robb read from their contributions to the NCBLA's new book Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at the LOC National Book Festival. We were delighted that LOC's Center for the Book director, the amazing John Cole, introduced our presentation and only regret that he did not have a chance to read from his contribution to Our White House--his delightful essay about First Lady Laura Bush founding of the National Book Festival.

We invite you to view the LOC Book Festival webcast at:
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4398

You may also want to check out the LOC Book Festival's Young Reader Tool Kit. The Tool Kit offers suggestions from authors and illustrators to help young people become better readers, writers, and artists!

Katherine Paterson at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_kpaterson.html

Steven Kellog at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_skellogg.html

Jon Scieszka at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_jscieszka.html

Mary Brigid Barrett at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_mbbarrett.html

Family Field Trip!

Illustrator David Macaulay Art Exhibit at
The Rhode Island School of Design Museum
and Don't Miss the Macaulay Lecture!

Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay is the first in-depth museum exhibition devoted to this prolific author and artist. Macaulay [RISD '69, Architecture] has demystified the workings and origins of everything from simple gadgets to elaborate architectural structures. A favorite with readers of all ages, the Caldecott Medal-winning artist and MacArthur Fellow is the subject of an exhibition that takes a look at his artistic process and extensive body of work, including The New Way Things Work, Castle, Cathedral, City, Mill, Ship, and Mosque. Building Books presents a diverse range of exhibition materials, including original works of art, studies, sketchbooks, book dummies, manuscripts and correspondence, artifacts (including hand-built ship models), stuffed specimens, reference materials, travel mementos, and a video documentary about the artist, produced for the exhibition. Macaulay's books bring together the worlds of art, history, science and fantasy.

Thirty-Third Annual Gail Silver Memorial Lecture: David Macaulay

RISD Auditorium, Canal Way, Providence

6:15 PM - 8:15 PM.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Author/artist David Macaulay (RISD BArch 1969; former RISD faculty) presents this year's Gail Silver Memorial Lecture. His books, including The New Way Things Work, Cathedral, Ship, Rome Antics, and Mosque, have demystified the workings and origins of everything from simple gadgets to elaborate architectural structures. They have won him a gold and two silver Caldecott medals, not to mention a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2006. His soon-to-be-released book, The Way We Work, explores the human body. The lecture is free and open to all.

For more information go to: http://www.risdmuseum.org/

Our White House educational companion website now live!

www.ourwhitehouse.org




www.ourwhitehouse.org is launched!

Stage one of the Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out's companion educational website www.ourwhitehouse.org is live and ready for your perusal!

In www.ourwhitehouse.org, you will find expanded book content for Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, as well as ideas, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics. Also included is an American history resource and literacy center, a guide to presidential field trip destinations, and an extensive young people’s bibliography. We will be continually adding to the site to include more book-related content and activities, as well as information on civic education and media literacy.

Please, check out the new partner website for Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at:
http://www.ourwhitehouse.org/

Another Starred Review for Our White House!

The Horn Book Magazine
Gives
Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out
a STAR Review!


The NCBLA's extraordinary publication
OUR WHITE HOUSE
receives its third starred review!

The Horn Book Magazine writes:


Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
242 pp. Candlewick 9/08 isbn 978-0-7636-2067-7 $29.99 (Intermediate, Middle School)

From Natalie Babbitt to Jon Scieszka and from R. Gregory Christie to Steven Kellogg, 108 contemporary writers and artists use a variety of stories, poems, and historical records to take readers on a virtual tour of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Starting from the ground up with the construction of the President’s House and first residents John and Abigail Adams, these voices and images, roughly chronologically arranged, recognize those living and working inside and those observing from the outside. Unique bits and pieces (including Jefferson’s fascination with fossils and William Henry Harrison’s purchase of a national cow) create a browser’s dream as readers explore the nooks and crannies of American history. Other entries deal with somber topics such as death, war, and protest; the text of a few, such as Charles Dickens’s 1842 observations and FDR’s Four Freedoms, are not original to the book. Occasionally, connections to the White House are tenuous, and historical links may require an adult intermediary, a joyous job that opens up avenues of discussion on topics from politics to pets. Appended with biographical notes (of contemporary contributors only), an index, and a supporting website (http://www.ourwhiteouse.org), this handsome book concludes with a portrait of an empty chair in the Oval Office that signals the yet-to-be-written future. b.c.

Parents, teachers, and librarians will find The Horn Book Magazine is an exemplary guide to the best in children's literature and will also find their website of great interest.
At: www.hbook.com/

Also of interest is The Horn Book's Editor-in Chief, Roger Sutton's provocative blog READ ROGER at: http://www.hbook.com/blog/

Our White House Looking In, Looking Out

On the Road with
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Join authors Patricia and Fred McKissack, Lynda Johnson Robb,
and author/illustrator
Mary Brigid Barrett at The Southern Book Festival in Nashville, Tennessee, October 10-12 talking about Our White White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

On October 10-12, Nashville's Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word will be temporary home to approximately 250 authors from across the nation.

Join Our White House contributors Mary Brigid Barrett, Patricia McKissack, Fredrick McKissack, and Lynda Johnson Robb on Saturday October 11, 2008 in Room 12 at the Legislative Plaza on Nashville's War Memorial Plaza to celebrate American history and hear readings from Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Fredrick McKissack and his wife, Patricia McKissack, have written more than 100 books about the African-American experience. They have won countless awards and received much critical acclaim, all the while bringing enjoyment and information to young readers.

Lynda Johnson Robb is the elder of the two daughters of United States President Lyndon Baines Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson. She served as First Lady of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and as Second Lady of Virginia from 1978 to 1982. She served as chair of the board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest children's literacy organization, from 1996 to 2001. In 2002 she received the Ella Dickey Literacy Award for her work in promoting literacy.

Mary Brigid Barrett is a children's book author and illustrator; a professional educator; and the founder, president, and executive director of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA). She has won numerous awards for her books, including an Oppenheim Gold Award and the National Storyteller's Association's "Best Book of the Year" award.

For information about the festival, go to:
http://tn-humanities.org/festival/current.php

For the complete list of children's and young adult events, go to:
http://tn-humanities.org/festival/children.php

NCBLA Board Member Illustration Exhibit

Family Field Trip:
David Macaulay's Illustration Exhibit
"Building Books the Art of David Macaulay"
at the Museum of Art
at Rhode Island School of Design

Running from September 27, 2008- February 11, 2009, Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay is the first in-depth museum exhibition devoted to this prolific author and artist. David Macaulay has demystified the workings and origins of everything from simple gadgets to elaborate architectural structures. A favorite with readers of all ages, this Caldecott Medal-winning artist is the subject of this exhibition that takes a look at Macaulay's artistic process and extensive body of work, including The New Way Things Work, Castle, Cathedral, City, Mill, Ship, and Mosque. The exhibition presents a diverse range of exhibition materials, including original works of art, studies, sketchbooks, book dummies, manuscripts and correspondence, artifacts (including hand-built ship models), stuffed specimens, reference materials, travel mementos, and a video documentary about the artist, produced for the exhibition. Macaulay's books bring together the worlds of art, history, science and fantasy.

Parents and grandparents will enjoy visiting this show with their children and teens. And this exhibit would make a wonderful field trip for teachers and their students. For directions, exhibit hours, and all other information call 401-454-6500, or go to: http://www.risdmuseum.org/exhibition.aspx?type=forthcoming&id=15266

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Rave Reviews for
Our White House:
Looking In Looking Out!

Critics, Parents, Teachers, Librarians embrace Our White House! Read below to find out what people across the country are saying about the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance's Our White House! You can find Our White House at your local library or bookstore, and then write us and tell us what you think about it!


School Library Journal: *Starred Review*-


"The pairing of words and art is often inspired, as in Maybelle Mayer’s paper doll cutouts from 1938 that accompany Nancy Willard’s poem about White House dresses. There are powerful visual moments as well, such as the dazzling series of spreads featuring visual interpretations of Roosevelt’s "Four Freedoms," each by a different artist. . .

Some readers will progress straight through from Jane Yolen’s imagined conversation between John and Abigail Adams to the first National Book Festival in 2001, while others may browse and jump about; either way, this entertaining introduction to the White House is full of fascinating information, challenging ideas, and appealing artwork. "

Read more at: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6591908.html


Publisher's Weekly: *Starred Review*-
"Among the most provocative entries are works by artists who “look in” on the White House with a demonstrably personal vision: David Small shares color sketches of “backstairs at the White House,” a study in contrasts; Bob Kolar arranges the presidents as if on a board game, with clever annotations (who knew President Arthur held a yard sale while in office?); Peter Sís supplies 37 characteristically enigmatic portraits to illustrate freedom to worship. . . . the volume makes the invaluable point that history does not have to be remote or abstract, but a personal and ongoing engagement."

Read more at: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6593070.html?industryid=47139 http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6587034.html?nid=2788




Scripps Howard News Service-"a stunning gathering of children's-book stars..."

Let's just say it flat-out: "Our White House" is a stunning gathering of children's-book stars, all with a single goal of illuminating a national treasure for young readers...."Our White House," a coffee-table-size book with unusual intellectual and artistic heft. With each piece of text just three pages or less in length, it's perfect for reading aloud or just dipping into as time permits.

Read more at:
http://www.shns.com/shns/g_index2.cfm?action=detail&pk=CORNER-BOOKS-10-01-08


Notes from The Horn Book Magazine-"sumptuous new anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out"
Of far more durable interest, and with something for adults and children alike, is the sumptuous new anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, compiled by the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. More than one hundred essays, poems, short stories, and paintings explore the White House and its inhabitants, history, and significance. . . .A fascinating, eminently browsable, and accessible entrance into the People’s House. "

Read more at: http://www.hbook.com/newsletter/index.html



ForeWord Magazine: . ."impressive compilation of text and images by 108 authors and illustrators."

"What makes this compilation a stunning achievement are the host of illustrations, ranging from realistic to dramatic and satirical, by Brian Selznick, David Small, Roxie Munro, and other award-winning illustrators. Our White House is not meant for one sitting; instead, entries should be savored one at a time. While written for older children and teens, they should be shared with parents and educators, who can add their own personal stories to the experience."

Read more at: http://www.forewordmagazine.com/reviews/viewreviews.aspx?reviewid=4349&rssref=20080930


Children's Book Page- "a spectacular anthology"

"Eight years in the making, as a special project of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance, the arrival of Our White House is truly a major event in children's publishing. The book is a treasury of essays, personal reflections, letters, poems, speeches and comics, demonstrating that the most celebrated house in America is simply bursting with stories."

Read more at: http://www.bookpage.com/0809bp/children/our_white_house.html

Kirkus Reviews- "even brief dips into this will leave readers with the clear sense that we do have a national history, and it's worth knowing too."

"In this sumptuous pro bono volume, 108 children's authors and illustrators (with the occasional celebrity, president or other official chiming in) contribute original art, personal reminiscences, short stories, poems and historical vignettes about the White House and its residents."


Richie's Picks- "This is a collection of uber talent."

"OUR WHITE HOUSE is a rollicking literary and visual excursion through the
history and mythology, the hijinks and tragedies, and the family moments that
have accrued over the course of two centuries of presidential life at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue."

Read more at:
http://lists.sjsu.edu/pipermail/calibk12/2008-June/004591.html

Our White House at the National Book Festival!

OUR WHITE HOUSE:Looking In, Looking Out at the
Library of Congress National Book Festival!!

NCBLA Vice-Presidents Katherine Paterson and Steven Kellogg, with special guest Jon Scieszka, the Library of Congress Children's Book Ambassador, and NCBLA President Mary Brigid Barrettwill discuss NCBLA's new book Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at the LOC National Book Festival. The Festival takes place Saturday, September 27, 2008 on the National Mall in Washington D.C., between 3rd and 7th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public.

Katherine, Steven, Jon, and Mary Brigid are looking forward to sharing Our White House with Book Festival middle grade readers, their friends, family, and all who share an interest in our nation's rich history!

Katherine, Steven, Jon, and Mary Brigid have also participated in the Festival's great educational outreach project, the 2008 National Book Festival Young Readers Toolkit, now available online at www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/. Bringing the festival into libraries, schools and homes across the country, the Toolkit features information about National Book Festival authors who write for children and teens, podcasts of their readings, teaching tools and activities for kids. This interactive resource also shows educators, parents and children how they can host their own book festival.

For more information about the LOC Book Festival go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

For Katherine's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_kpaterson.html

For Steven Kellogg's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_skellogg.html

For Jon Scieszka's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_jscieszka.html

For Mary Brigid Barrett's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_mbbarrett.html

And discover all the great festival author/illustrator toolkit interviews at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/

OUR WHITE HOUSE LOOKING IN LOOKING OUT: AUTHOR APPEARANCE!

Our White House Contributors
Katherine Paterson,
Steven Kellogg,
Lynda Johnson Robb, and
Mary Brigid Barrett at
Politics and Prose
Book Store
in Washington D. C. this Friday!


Come By, Visit, Chat and Take at Look at
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

On Friday afternoon, September 26 at 4:30 P.M. hear
award-winning authors Katherine Paterson and Steven
Kellogg, along with Our White House contributors Lynda
Johnson Robb and Mary Brigid Barrett read from their
contribution to Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!
Then stay and participate in a discussion of Our White House,
an anthology of original art, poetry, and prose that uses the
White House to tell the story of America!

Katherine Paterson, twice the winner of both the National Book
Award and the Newbery Award and Steven Kellogg, an award
winning author and illustrator, are two of the most
's book creators in America. Lynda Johnson Robb is
Reading is Fundemental's Chairman Emerita, former First Lady
of Virginia, and daughter of President Lyndon Baines Johnson and
First Lady Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson. Mary Brigid Barrett is an
author, illustrator, teacher, and the president of the National
Children's Book and Literacy Alliances the literacy organization
that, with 108 gifted contributors and publisher Candlewick Press,
has created Our White House Looking In, Looking Out, a creativetour de force that will energize and inspire young readers on their journeys to becoming the civic leaders of tomorrow!

For more information about the NCBLA event at Politics
and Prose, go to:
http://www.booksite.com/texis/scripts/
community/eventdetail.html?
sid=1425&cal=3&eventid=489df7d765
For more information about Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out go to:
http://www.thencbla.org/ncblanews.html

Our White House!

Our White House Podcast:
A Not to Missed Interview!

NCBLA Board Member
Natalie Babbitt interviewed by
First Book about
Our White House:
Looking In,Looking Out

Esteemed writer Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting, Kneeknock Rise, Goody Hall, and most recently the delightful Jack Plank Tells Tales, talks about the mysteries of her home state of Ohio, the joy of illustrating, and her latest work, “Seven From Ohio,” featured in the new book Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out just published by Candlewick Press!

P.S. Don’t forget — if you plan to be in the Washington, D.C. area on September 27th, don’t miss other contributors to Our White House when they discuss its creation at the National Book Festival on the Mall!

For more information go to:
http://blog.firstbook.org/2008/09/22/first-book-podcast-tuck-everlasting-author-natalie-babbitt-chats-with-first-book/

Our White House

Our White House
Looking In, Looking Out:
Part of the Performing Arts Series
at the
Kennedy Center!

Telling Stories: Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

Thursday, November 6, 2008 Grades 5-8 Nationally recognized creators of books for
young people, Katherine Paterson, Steven Kellogg and Mary Brigid Barrett, share insights into a recently released book titled Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. This book is a compilation of history, historical fiction, personal essays, poetry, drama, and original art by 108 renowned authors and illustrators that offers a view of American history as seen through the eyes of the White House. Our White House was created by the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, NCBLA, in an effort to combat historical illiteracy and to get students excited about reading. The program will be hosted and moderated by children's literature and library expert, Maria Salvadore.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in cooperation with the Prince William Network, offers arts-based educational programming free to teachers and students across the country through the Performing Arts Series. Programs feature artists and companies who perform at the Kennedy Center and explore the areas of music, dance, theater, and literature.

For more information, go to:
http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/pwtv/

Rave Review for Our White House!

Children's BookPage calls
OUR WHITE HOUSE a "spectacular anthology," a "glorious and multifaceted collection that showcases the talents of more than 100 acclaimed authors and illustrators."

Children's book reviewer Ellen Trachenberg at Children's BookPage says, "Eight years in the making, as a special project of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance, the arrival of Our White House is truly a major event in children's publishing."

For BookPage's full review of
OUR WHITE HOUSE: LOOKING IN, LOOKING OUT, go to:
http://www.bookpage.com/0809bp/children/our_white_house.html

Our White House Author Appearance

OUR WHITE HOUSE at the
Library of Congress National Book Festival!!

NCBLA Vice-Presidents Katherine Paterson and Steven Kellogg, with special guest Jon Scieszka, the Library of Congress Children's Book Ambassador, and NCBLA President Mary Brigid Barrettwill discuss NCBLA's new book Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at the LOC National Book Festival. The Festival takes place Saturday, September 27, 2008 on the National Mall in Washington D.C., between 3rd and 7th streets from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public.

Katherine, Steven, Jon, and Mary Brigid are looking forward to sharing Our White House with Book Festival middle grade readers, their friends, family, and all who share an interest in our nation's rich history!

Katherine, Steven, Jon, and Mary Brigid have also participated in the Festival's great educational outreach project, the 2008 National Book Festival Young Readers Toolkit, now available online at www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/. Bringing the festival into libraries, schools and homes across the country, the Toolkit features information about National Book Festival authors who write for children and teens, podcasts of their readings, teaching tools and activities for kids. This interactive resource also shows educators, parents and children how they can host their own book festival.

For more information about the LOC Book Festival go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/

For Katherine's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_kpaterson.html

For Steven Kellogg's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_skellogg.html

For Jon Scieszka's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_jscieszka.html

For Mary Brigid Barrett's toolkit interview, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/authors/bio_mbbarrett.html

And discover all the great festival author/illustrator toolkit interviews at:
http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/2008/toolkit/

Our White House in the Washington Post....

Splashed Across the Kid's Post Pages
in The Washington Post:
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

Read about the NCBLA's new book, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/05/AR2008090502752.html

Great News!

Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out
named a National Endowment for the Humanities
We the People Bookshelf Selection!

The NCBLA is honored that the National Endowment for the Humanities has named
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out as a We the People Bookshelf selection for 2009-2010, when the book shelf theme will be “Picturing America.” The NEH has indicated that they will be purchasing 7,000 copies of Our White House to make them available for school and public libraries in need across the country.

The We the People Bookshelf is a set of classic books for young readers from kindergarten through high school. Each year the NEH identifies a theme important to our nation's heritage and selects books that embody that theme. This collection of theme-related books is the Bookshelf. In addition to introducing young readers to good literature; the Bookshelf promotes understanding of abstract or general ideas through the power of particular stories. NEH awards these Bookshelves to libraries across the country for use in programs primarily for young people. U.S. public and school (K-12) libraries are eligible to apply for Bookshelf grants. In return for receiving a Bookshelf, libraries organize programs that highlight the theme and encourage young readers to explore the selected books.

The American Library Association(ALA) collaborates with NEH to deliver this program. ALA staff and libraries help to select the books, and work directly with the nation's libraries to disseminate information and to encourage libraries to take part in the We the People Bookshelf grant program.

For more information about the NEH's Bookshelf program and information concerning grant applications go to:
http://www.wethepeople.gov/bookshelf/picturingamerica.html
http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf/

Children's Literature Lovers

Maurice Sendak's 80th Birthday Celebrated Next Monday in New York by Wild Things of Many Varieties!

Interesting don't miss article on Maurice Sendak in the New York Times. If you are not familiar with his work, Mr. Sendak is a decidedly brilliant creator of books for young people, a genius author and illustrator of picture books. He is also an Honorary Board member of the NCBLA.

To read the NYT's article go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/arts/design/10sendak.html

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

First Book Podcast with Mary Brigid Barrett, NCBLA President about
Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out!

Jenny Wrenn, the effervescent director of First Book's National Book Bank, interviews NCBLA President and Executive Director Mary Brigid Barrett about The National Children's' Book and Literacy Alliances incredible new book, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

To listen in on the podcast, go to:
http://blog.firstbook.org/2008/09/09/first-book-podcast-mary-brigid-barrett-welcomes-you-to-%e2%80%9cour-white-house%e2%80%9d/

To learn more about First Book, one of our nation's most stellar literacy organizations, and the First Book National Book Bank, go to: http://www.firstbook.org

Author Audios

Katherine Paterson,
Kate Di Camillo, and
Patricia McKissack
talk about
Our White House:
Looking In, Looking Out
on Washington Post Website!

Hear Katherine Paterson's, Kate
Di Camillo's, and Patricia McKissack's remarks about the NCBLA's new book, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out on the Washington Post's website at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/audio/2008/09/05/AU2008090501980.html

Hurrah! In stores September 9th!

NCBLA's
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
Lands Starred Review from School Library Journal!


NATIONAL CHILDREN’S BOOK AND LITERACY ALLIANCE. Our White House: Looking in, Looking Out. illus. by authors. 256p. Candlewick. Sept. 2008. RTE $35. ISBN 978-0-7636-2067-7. LC number unavailable.

Gr 3-8–More than 100 authors and illustrators contributed to this wide-ranging collection of short pieces about the First Family residence. Most participants are creators of books for youth, along with a sprinkling of other figures, such as historian David McCullough, and actual White House occupants. Arranged in general chronological order, the chapters are delightfully varied in form, tone, and subject matter. They include straightforward history, brief essays, personal narratives, and even fantasy, as in Meg Cabot’s lighthearted time-travel story. The handsome layout and excellent-quality illustrations provide strong appeal. The pairing of words and art is often inspired, as in Maybelle Mayer’s paper doll cutouts from 1938 that accompany Nancy Willard’s poem about White House dresses. There are powerful visual moments as well, such as the dazzling series of spreads featuring visual interpretations of Roosevelt’s "Four Freedoms," each by a different artist. Many segments convey personal details that humanize the presidential families, such as Virginia Euwer Wolff’s introduction to the musical sophistication of the Tafts and Anita Silvey’s look at Jackie Kennedy’s literary career. Humor plays a role too, as in Steven Kellogg’s artistic rendering of an imagined "Best in Show" contest among White House pets. Some readers will progress straight through from Jane Yolen’s imagined conversation between John and Abigail Adams to the first National Book Festival in 2001, while others may browse and jump about; either way, this entertaining introduction to the White House is full of fascinating information, challenging ideas, and appealing artwork.

Read more at: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6591908.html

The National Endowment for the Humanities Awards the NCBLA a Grant of $25,000 to Build www.OurWhiteHouse.org

The National Endowment of the Humanities has awarded the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance a $25,000 grant to build a companion educational website for the NCBLA publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

www.OurWhiteHouse.org will be written primarily for adults who live with and work for young people—parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, guardians, teachers, librarians, mentors, coaches, and community leaders. We hope that the additional historical content, and the ideas and activities we present on the site, will help adults ignite young people’s interest in our nation’s past as well as provoke them to thoughtfully consider our future. In her introduction to the first White House historic guidebook, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote, “it never hurts a child to read something that may be above his head.” With that in mind, we also hope that many young people will find our site compelling and useful.

In www.OurWhiteHouse.org you will find expanded Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out book content, as well as ideas, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics. And you will find an American history resource and literacy center, a guide to presidential field trip destinations, and an extensive young people’s bibliography. We will be continually adding to the site to include more book related content and activities, as well as information on civic education and media literacy.

NCBLA Riveting Publication!

OUR WHITE HOUSE:
LOOKING IN, LOOKING OUT
in stores and libraries September 9!!!!

Rave reviews are already tumbling in for the NCBLA creative tour de force about American history and the presidency, just in time for our 2008 historic presidential election!


Kirkus Reviews writes:

"In this sumptuous pro bono volume, 108 children's authors and illustrators (with the occasional celebrity, president or other official chiming in) contribute original art, personal reminiscences, short stories, poems and historical vignettes about the White House and its residents. The generally chronological arrangement begins with a reproduction of the mansion's original 1792 RFP and closes with a nighttime view of an empty chair. In between, it offers comments on the early African-American connection by Walter Dean Myers and Milton Meltzer; Richard Peck's account of William Henry Harrison's search for a good milk cow; Steven Kellogg's envisioning of a Presidential Pet Show and much besides. The tone is positive overall, though occasional entries such as a fictive interview with picketing suffragist Alice Paul, and contradictory passages from the 9/11 Commission Report, supply a tincture of controversy. . . . even brief dips into this will leave readers with the clear sense that we do have a national history, and it's worth knowing too."

Richie Partington---librarian, former bookseller, and creator of Richie's Picks: Great Books for Children and Young Adults (a marvelous site for parents, teachers, and librarians) writes this about Our White House:

"OUR WHITE HOUSE is a rollicking literary and visual excursion through the history and mythology, the hijinks and tragedies, and the family moments that have accrued over the course of two centuries of presidential life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The National Children's Book and Literary Alliance has brought together the work of 108 well-known, children's book authors and illustrators. In addition to all of the stories and pictures, editors have interspersed some fascinating bits of primary source and historical material.

This is a collection of uber talent. Taking a look through the contributors list, I found sixteen authors who have been recognized by Newbery award committees, a dozen who have been recognized by Caldecott award committees, five National Book Award winners, and others who have won the Jane Addams, the Golden Kite, the CSK, and the Pulitzer Prize.

Now, some might wonder whether all of that award-winner talk means that this is a book akin to high fiber and low calories: it's good for you but not particularly tasty. But that's wrong! Above all, I had a great old time reading OUR WHITE HOUSE, and discovered some really neat stuff.

....From the little-known early-American history to be found in Walter Dean Myers' piece "Slaves Helped Build the White House!," to the amusing recollections from the era in which I grew up -- LBJ's daughter Lynda's "My Room," OUR WHITE HOUSE: LOOKING IN, LOOKING OUT is a lively collection of fact, story, and illustration that one can be page through and read like a magazine, or dive into and enjoy cover to cover."

To read Richie's complete review of Our White House, and to find other great book recommendations for young people go to: http://richiespicks.com/users/stories/picks/our_white_house.html

For a great informative article on Our White House written by Sally Lodge of Publisher's Weekly in PW's terrific Children's Bookshelf newsletter, go to:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6587034.html?nid=2788

URGENT!
Reading is Fundamental needs our help!!

Email your members of Congress today to help RIF get the $26 million dollars they need to get books and literacy support materials to 4.6 underserved children and families across our nation.
For more information go to : http://www.rif.org/get-involved/advocate/what/

Get involved! Write your congressman and senators! Today!

2008 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards
for Excellence in Children’s Literature Announced!!

Presented annually since 1967, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are customarily given in three categories: Fiction and Poetry, Picture Book, and Nonfiction. This year, as happens occasionally, the judges also awarded a Special Citation. The 2008 winners and honor books are:

For nonfiction:
The Wall by Peter Sís (Foster/Farrar), the winner.

Frogs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic), honor book.
What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic), honor book.

For fiction and poetry:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney (Little), the winner.

Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell (Atheneum), fiction honor book.
Savvy by Ingrid Law (Walden/Dial), poetry honor book.

For picture books:
At Night by Jonathan Bean (Farrar)

Fred Stays with Me! by Nancy Coffelt, illustrated by Tricia Tusa (Little)
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee (Harcourt)

And a special citation to: The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Levine/Scholastic)

The Boston Globe- Horn Book Awards were first presented in 1967. They are customarily announced in June, and are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category. On occasion, a book will receive a special citation for its high quality and overall creative excellence. The winning titles must be published in the United States but they may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country. The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges who are annually appointed by the Editor of the Horn Book.

For more information about this year’s award winners go to: http://www.hbook.com/bghb/current.asp

For more information about The Horn Book Magazine an excellent source of information about literacy and books for young people for parents, teachers, and librarians go to: http://www.hbook.com/

OUR WHITE HOUSE: LOOKING IN, LOOKING OUT
The NCBLA previews its innovative American history literacy project at Children's Literature New England's 2008 Colloquy!

Saturday, May 10, 2008; Essex, New York
Apple blossoms, emerald meadows, and the glistening waters of Lake Champlain provided the dramatic backdrop. NCBLA Vice-President Steven Kellogg's studio barn, filled with American antiques and distinctive folk art, provided the historic venue. And the gifted faculty and attendees of Children's Literature New England 2008 Colloquy, The Opening Page, could not have been a more perfect or appreciative audience for the unveiling of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, the NCBLA's upcoming book, an extraordinary publication that uses the White House and the presidency as its unifying theme to tell the story of America.


After a sun drenched ride across Lake Champlain via the historic Charlotte/Essex ferry, CLNE participants were welcomed to illustrator Steven Kellogg's Blockhouse Farm. In Steven's barn, every nook and cranny a visual feast, participants were invited into his studio where they were able to see his work in progress as well as original art for his forthcoming books. Attendees were then able to pull up a chair and dive into preview copies of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, provided by the NCBLA's publisher, Candlewick Press. Candlewick Press also generously donated the afternoon refreshments.

Later, Gregory Maguire and Steven Kellogg welcomed all to the afternoon's presentation.
NCBLA president Mary Brigid Barrett shared the news that the NCBLA will start construction on a companion website for Our White House, www.ourwhitehouse.org, that will not only expand the historical content of the book, but will also give adults the ideas and tools they need to get young people excited about our nation's rich history and cultural heritage. The NCBLA is most grateful to The National Endowment for the Humanities which has awarded the NCBLA a $25,000 grant to help build the Our White House educational outreach website.

A number of Our White House book contributors were present and read from their work. (Not one of the 108 contributors to Our White House have received any monetary reimbursement for their work.) The book begins with a beautiful poetic metaphor written by Gregory Maguire, which he read aloud to the attentive audience. Speaking in the voice of a British soldier, Susan Cooper shared the story of the burning of the White House in 1812. Marguerite Davol, read her piece about wild Andrew Jackson, written from Davy Crockett's perspective. Katherine Paterson revealed the evolution of the White House press corps, and she also read an excerpt from Natalie Babbitt's wonderfully wry examination of Ohio's prestigious position as the birthplace of multiple presidents. M.T. Anderson shared White House ghost stories. Virginia Euwer Wollf spoke of President's Taft's great love of music. Jeannine Atkins read from her piece on Woodrow Wilson and his work to establish a League of Nations. White House pets were covered by Steven Kellogg. Barbara Harrison, a Kennedy scholar, gave us a peek into the Kennedy White House. Brian Selznick read an excerpt from Jefferson's Monstrous Bones written by Barbara Kerley, and shared his illustration of that piece. And, Lynda Johnson Robb brought down the house, reading her humorous essay about the room she occupied in the White House when her father was president.

Children's Literature New England gave the NCBLA a unique opportunity to share their new publication with a group of caring, committed, and knowledgeable teachers, librarians, and children's literature aficionados. The NCBLA is thrilled to have had the launch of Our White House; Looking In, Looking Out with a readership that understands the underlying reason and need for a book that creatively addresses both literacy and historical literacy challenges.

Here are some thoughts from our board about the day. We invite those who were present to share their's!

From Gregory Maguire:
America's informal national anthem rings true once more. Oh--beautiful!--for spacious skies... . Abreast the sweep of Lake Champlain, with the old mountains of New York and Vermont ringing the horizon, one remembers that an original impulse of patriotism is the love of the beauty of one's land. No better a setting, with fruit trees in blossom above sloping lawns, to launch Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. And a few stray children hanging from tree limbs and racing across the fields, making the land, and the future, their own....

From Susan Cooper:
As for favorite memories of our Launch, I think mine is the sight of Lynda Robb, with CLNE laurel wreath round her hat, standing on Steven's beautiful blossoming hillside describing how she learned that two deaths and an autopsy (Lincoln's) had taken place in her childhood bedroom at the White House.

From Katherine Paterson:
Another favorite memory was Marguerite Davol being Davy Crockett talking about his old friend Andy Jackson. She was so obviously thrilled to be a part of the book and celebration and did such a super job of presenting her piece.

More photos!

ALL OF OUR KIDS DESERVE AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO FULFILL THEIR POTENTIAL

A Nation at Risk-Does anyone in National Leadership Really Care? Does the American Public care? Why isn't the Media Raising Questions about Education during this Presidential Election?

During the Reagan administration, Education Secretary T. H. Bell put together a National Commission on Excellence in Education to address “the widespread public perception that something is seriously remiss in our educational system.”

The result of the commission's investigation, A Nation at Risk, reported that--

“The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and as a people. If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”

And what has been done to stop that erosion? A nation's true priorities can be easily assessed by determining where it's people and government spend money; by the attention, time, and creative problem solving a people and its leadership give to an issue. By any assessment, our young people and their education is a low priority on our national agenda.

Two recent op/ed pieces comment on the 25th anniversary of A Nation at Risk. The NCBLA does not necessarily agree with either of the essays, but we do encourage you to read and think about them; to email them to your friends, colleagues, and family; to use them as a catalyst for a broader discussion about our young people's, and our nation's future. Have we become so much of a "niche" society that we have forgotten that children, like adults, are integrated, not compartmentalized, beings? Have business interests had too strong a determining hand in shaping American education or not enough? How can we educate parents so that they understand their responsibilities in preparing their children for school, in providing a home atmosphere that values education and is conducive to learning? How can we help parents to help their kids? And in an age when every individual will not only have multiple jobs, but perhaps multiple careers, are we severely limiting our thinking and creatively problem solving because we confine "free" public education to servicing only the needs of citizens ages 5-18?

Edward B. Fiske writes this morning in The New York Times-

"....American education is in turmoil. Most troubling now are the numbers on educational attainment. One reason that the American economy was so dominant throughout the 20th century is that we provided more education to more citizens than other industrialized countries. 'A Nation at Risk' noted with pride that American schools 'now graduate 75 percent of our young people from high school.'

That figure has now dropped to less than 70 percent, and the United States, which used to lead the world in sending high school graduates on to higher education, has declined to fifth in the proportion of young adults who participate in higher education and is 16th out of 27 industrialized countries in the proportion who complete college, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education."

In this week's Washington Post, George Will writes--

"In 1964, SAT scores among college-bound students peaked. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) codified confidence in the correlation between financial inputs and cognitive outputs in education. But in 1966, the Coleman report, the result of the largest social science project in history, reached a conclusion so "seismic" -- Moynihan's description -- that the government almost refused to publish it.

Released quietly on the Fourth of July weekend, the report concluded that the qualities of the families from which children come to school matter much more than money as predictors of schools' effectiveness. The crucial common denominator of problems of race and class -- fractured families -- would have to be faced."

Again, the NCBLA encourages you to read each essay and form your own opinion, and most importantly, to ACT. Write a letter to the editor in response to these two essays. Write to your congressman or senator and share your opinion, your priorities. Post a comment on a blog. Contact your political party and your presidential candidate. Attend a school committee meeting. VOTE!

Read Mr. Fiske's essay at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/opinion/25fiske.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Read Mr. Wills essay at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/23/AR2008042302983.html

UPDATE:
Newsweek Magazine must read "Nation at Risk" at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/133846/output/print