A Literary Treat for the Holiday Season!

PBS American Masters Features Louisa May Alcott

“I am happy, very happy tonight for my five years work is done, and whether it succeeds or not, I shall be the richer and better for it, because the labor, love, disappointment, hope and purpose, that have gone into it, are a useful experience that I shall never forget. Now if it makes a little money and opens the way for more, I shall be satisfied, and you in some measure repaid for all the sympathy help and love that have done so much for me in these hard years. I hope Success will sweeten me and make me what I long to become more than a great writer—a good daughter. And so God bless you, dear mother, and send us all a Happy New Year.”

~Louisa May Alcott in a letter to her mother accompanying a copy of her new book Moods.

Check your local PBS television schedule to find out when American Masters: Louisa May Alcott, the Woman Behind Little Women airs in your community.
More information at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ 



And if you live in or are visiting New England, a visit to the Alcott family home, Orchard House makes for fascinating family field trip for all ages!
For more information go to: http://www.louisamayalcott.org/ 

For more information about Louisa May Alcott, visit the Library of Congress website at: 

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/nov29.html

Louisa May Alcott's book Little Women is an extraordinary book to read to your kids aloud chapter by chapter.  Read it together before you see a movie version of the story. And after reading the book and viewing a Little W0men movie, have a conversation with your kids comparing and contrasting the story to the movie, and comparing and contrasting the experience of reading a book to  watching a movie inspired by a book. 


You can readily find copies of Little Women at your local neighborhood library, or you can read it online at:  http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/AlcLitt.html

Read "The Christmas Carol" Online!

"God Bless Us Everyone!" 

The Board and Staff of The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance 

Wish You All a Delight-filled Holiday Season and Joyous New Year!

M.T. Anderson
Natalie Babbitt

Mary Brigid Barrett

Susan Cooper

Geri Eddins
Carol Greenwald

Nikki Grimes
Steven Kellogg

Mary Kemper
Stephanie Loer

Louis Laste

David Macaulay

Patricia MacLachlan

Patricia and Fredrick McKissack

Gregory Maguire

Grant Oliphant

Linda Sue Park
Katherine Paterson

Elizabeth Rock
and Sarah T.Truslow

We invite you read aloud and share books and family stories 
with your loved ones this holiday season! 
You can find a great version of The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens on the Library of Congress READ.gov website, as well as many family classics!

 

Go to: http://www.read.gov/books/pageturner/2003bit37729/#page/2/mode/2up

Last Minute Gift Suggestion!

 Our White House: 

Looking In, Looking Out

The Perfect Gift Book for Young and Old!

all proceeds benefit the advocacy 
and education work of 

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance!

Check out the NCBLA's Our White House companion educational website at:


www.ourwhitehouse.org 

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out Awards

• 2009-2010 National Endowment for the Humanities We the People “Picturing America” Bookshelf Award
• 2009 American Library Association Notable Children’s Book for All Ages
• 2009 National Council for Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
• 2009 International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Booklist Selection
• Amazon.com Best Books of 2008 Top 10 Editors’ Pick for Middle Readers
• Parents’ Choice Foundation Recommended Book Award, Fall 2008
• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year 2008
• The Horn Book Fanfare, Best Books of 2008
• Publisher’s Weekly 2008 Best Books of the Year, Children’s Nonfiction
• Publishers Weekly 2008 Cuffie Award, Best Nonfiction Treatment of a Subject, Honorable Mention
• Scripps-Howard News Service Favorite Children's Book of 2008
• WWW.ourwhitehouse.org named a 2009 American Library Association “Great Websites for Kids”

 

Read All About It!

Exquisite Corpse Adventure
Online Resource Center
Features Specialized Reading Lists
...and MORE!

Have you been reading The Exquisite Corpse Adventure with the young people in your life? Each episode of this progressive online story game--being written and illustrated by a dream team of eighteen award-winning authors and illustrators--is published on Read.Gov every two weeks. Episode Seven, written by Shannon Hale and illustrated by Calef Brown, is available NOW!

Maximizing the educational impact of this zany story is the NCBLA's coordinating Educational Resource Center--available free and online. Parents, teachers, librarians, and homeschoolers--we have designed this site for you!

The Educational Resource Center includes a series of materials and activities designed specifically to help you make the most of each episode. One key component of the episodic resources is the annotated reading list being created by Butler Children’s Literature Center at Dominican University.

Our lists of suggested read aloud books and books to read independently are created based on a key thematic element of each episode. The reading list for Episode Seven finds its inspiration in the forest setting and recommends Lois Ehlert's Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf as a read aloud book and Gennifer Choldenko's If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period for independent readers. Mistaken identities provides the theme for the Episode Five reading list and includes Hyun Young Lee's Something For School as a recommendation for younger readers and Debbie Dadey's Cherokee Sister as a recommendation for independent readers.

We find these lively, annotated reading lists to be not only informative but also great fun! The NCBLA hopes these reading lists inspire you and your young readers to read even more! If you are looking for last-minute holiday gifts, you may just find the perfect book in our reading lists.

In addition to the annotated reading lists, the Educational Resource Center includes a series of classroom activities, art appreciation activities, and discussion questions. Be sure to check out these innovative classroom activities, also developed by the talented folks at Butler:

"Little Words from Big Words" for Episode Seven
"Would You Rather?" for Episode Six
"Riddles and Knock-Knocks" for Episode Five.

Click here to read all seven episodes of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.

Click here to check out the NCBLA's Exquisite Corpse Adventure Educational Resource Center.

Sneak Preview!! The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode Seven!!!

Forest Born, Princess Academy educated YA Author Shannon Hale
Writes Episode Seven of
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!!
with a very creepy illustration by Calef Brown!

Loyal readers, hold onto your hats, mittens, gloves, purses, your cat Widgeon, and all you hold dear! We now give you a taste of the Episode Seven: THE BEAST PIT!

“Joe held the baby tighter. Nancy raised her hands in karate pose and turned slowly, daring the villains to attack.

‘Now don’t be foolish,’ said the unfamiliar and unfriendly voice behind them.

Into the circle of shadowy figures strode a man so large, so horrifying, so disquieting that I tremble to describe him. Let me simply say that his rear was where his face should be and his rear . . . spoke.”

excerpt from The Exquisite Corpse Adventure: Episode Seven by Shannon Hale

And who are these guys???



Tune in TOMORROW at
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure to find out!

To read all The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episodes, go to: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2uphttp://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

To find out what The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is all about, and to find educational support materials to help you expand your children’s and teens’ literacy and literary experience, go to: http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html

Not Too Late to Catch the Latest Exquisite Corpse Adventure!!

NCBLA Board Members and Award-Winning Authors Patricia and Fredrick McKissack Write the Latest Exquisite Corpse Adventure with a Marvelous Illustration by James Ransome!

"As Genius Kelly built up speed, heading for Max, Nancy stuck out her foot and tripped the pig who slipped, slid, and fell flat on his nose. That gave Joe, who had recovered from his spill, just enough time to snatch up the baby and run into the woods. Genius Kelly followed, snorting and sniffing and hurling insults and threats like lightning bolts."

Read The Exquisite Corpse Adventure with the young people in your life, free on line at: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2up

A new adventure will be posted every two weeks!

To find out more information about author Patricia and Fredrick McKissack's great books go to:
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/reviews/group/mckissack.asp

To view a video of Patricia McKissack at the National Book Festival go to:
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3439

And look for Pat and Fred McKissack's latest books at your neighborhood library and bookstore! Here are some of their recent titles:


Porch Lies: Tales of Slicksters, Tricksters, and Other Wily Characters by Patricia McKisssack

Abby Takes a Stand by Patricia McKisssack

And a Christmas Classic for Holiday Gift Giving--

Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters

by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack

And here are just a few of James' Ransome's (http://www.jamesransome.com)delightful books to share with the Young People in your life! All make great gifts!

Young Pele: Soccer's First Star
by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart

by Lisa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James Ransome

Sky Boys
by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by James Ransome

What Lincoln Said
by Sarah L. Thomson, illustrated James Ransome

To read all The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episodes, go to: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/Book/#page/2/mode/2up

http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

To find out what The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is all about, and to find educational support materials to help you expand your child’s literacy and literary experience, go to: http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html