NCBLA: National Report Card Dismal News-

Only 20 percent of fourth graders, 17 percent of eighth graders and 12 percent of high school seniors demonstrated proficiency on the nation wide American history exam!

"History advocates contend that students’ poor showing on the tests underlines neglect shown to the subject by federal and state policy makers, especially since the 2002 No Child Left Behind act began requiring schools to raise scores in math and reading but in no other subject. The federal accountability law, the advocates say, has given schools and teachers an incentive to spend less time on history and other subjects. 'History is very much being shortchanged,' said Linda K. Salvucci, a history professor in San Antonio who is chairwoman-elect of the National Council for History Education." From The New York Times article: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/education/15history.html?_r=1&hp

Because we feel that universal literacy is essential to a healthy democracy, and that there is a direct link between literacy, historical literacy, and civic engagement The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance published Our White House, Looking In, Looking Out to encourage and inspire young people to know more about their nation's history.

The Our White House book  illustration above of George Washington looking out over the Potomac is by Bagram Ibatoulline. Below are more incredible illustrations from Our White House, art that will peek a young person's curiosity about American history.

An illustration of Thomas Jefferson in the first White House garden by S.D. Schindler makes Jefferson seem human and approachable.















This poignant portrait of Lincoln and his son by Chris Sheban illustrate a moving poem, In Early April, by Kate DiCamilllo.

A beautiful illustration by Leo and Diane Dillon of Mary Lincoln and her friend and seamstress Elizabeth Keckly in a inspiring story of their friendship by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack.

Illustrator Emily Arnold McCully show young people the very first White House protesters--suffragettes!







You will find these illustrations and many more inspiring paintings, poems, and real life stories about our nation's history in the NCBLA's multiple award-winning publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. Ask for it at your local library or bookstore.and share it with the young people in your life. We are all responsible for educating our nation's youth!

National Book Festival Website Now Available!

Celebrate the Joys of Reading Aloud!

National Book Festival

September 24-25

Readers of all ages are invited to attend the 11th annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. The festival is free and open to the public.

Visit www.LOC.GOV/bookfest to download the festival poster created by artist Jon J Muth and learn more about this enchanting event!

Father's Day is This Sunday, June 19

Celebrate with Stories and Activities

Read Together!

If you are looking for heartwarming stories to share with fathers, grandfathers, and the other loving men in your life, be sure to check out the annotated lists of book recommendations compiled by Reading Rockets. Find some books to share this Father's Day weekend on the Fabulous Fathers list and the Reading with Dad list. Both lists include beloved books that celebrate fathers and grandfathers--books that are perfect for sharing with kids through age 12. 

 

Learn Together!

Two times in our nation's history a father and son have both been elected to the presidency. Do you know who they were? Check out the article and lesson titled "Like Father, Like Son: Presidential Families" on EDSITEment!   

 

You can dig deeper into the American presidency in the NCBLA's anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. Learn more about 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 at OurWhiteHouse.org.

Help Your Child Send an E-Card

Download your own Father's Day e-card, which features the delightfully bold artwork of Javaka Steptoe. Steptoe is a young artist, designer, and illustrator. His debut work, In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers, earned him the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.

Read Up on the Value of Reading

Don't forget to check out the literacy resources for parents available on thencbla.org, where you will find such helpful articles as "I Will Read to My Kids--If I Ever Find the Time!" and "Kids See, Kids Do! Become a Literacy Role Model."

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Ask Your Senators to Sign Library Funding Letter

Twenty One Senators Have Signed the Library Funding Letter

More Signatures Needed

The deadline to sign the letter written by Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snowe in support of federal funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries has been extended to Friday, June 10. 

Libraries experienced major cuts at all levels in fiscal year 2011. School and public libraries cannot continue to provide essential services without increased funding in fiscal year 2012. 

The following lists the senators who have signed the letter. If your senators are not on this list, please call them at (202) 224-3121. When they agree to sign the letter, please ask them to  contact Elyse Wasch in Senator Reed’s office if they are Democrats or Matthew Hussey in Senator Snowe’s office if they are Republicans. THANK YOU!

Reed – RI
Snowe – ME
Levin – MI
Rockefeller – WV
Leahy – VT
Udall, Tom – NM
Schumer – NY
Boxer – CA
Akaka – HI
Whitehouse – RI
Gillibrand – NY
Johnson, Tim – SD
Shaheen – NH
Sanders – VT
Lautenberg – NJ
Mikulski – MD
Kerry – MA
Cardin – MD
Kohl – WI
Menendez – NJ
Durbin - IL

Simmons College Sponsors Children's Literature Summer Institute

The Body Electric

A Symposium: July 5 - July 28, 2011

An Institute: July 28 - July 31, 2011

"The Body Electric," sponsored by The Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Simmons College in Boston, will be held the last weekend in July, commencing on Thursday evening, July 28th and concluding Sunday noon, July 31st. The preceding symposium will be taught by Associate Professor Kenneth Kidd from the University of Florida where his interests include nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature, gender studies/queer theory, and children's literature and media; it will run Tuesday and Thursdays beginning July 5th and will culminate with the Institute. 

The speakers who will attend the Institute are M. T. Anderson, Bryan Collier, Victoria Bond, Sharon Draper, Brian Floca, Helen Frost, Jack Gantos, Mordicai Gerstein, Jan Greenberg, Sandra Jordan, Karen LaFleur, Grace Lin, Cathryn M. Mercier, Barbara O'Connor, Sara Pennypacker, T. R. Simon, Tommy Simpson, David Small, Jacqueline Woodson, and Gene Luen Yang.

The symposium earns four semester hours of graduate credit; enrollment in the institute is on a non-credit basis. Click here to learn more.

FINAL DAY to Sign Onto Library Support Letter!

Help Save Library Funding!

Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snow Lead Effort to Increase FY2012 Library Funding

If you and your family value public and school libraries, please take a moment to call both of your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to sign onto the letter written by Senator Reed and Senator Snowe by close of business TODAY. 

Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snowe are leading an effort to increase support for FY2012 federal funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries.  Tell your senators’ staffers to contact Elyse Wasch in Reed’s office or Matthew Hussey in Snowe’s office.  We need other senators to sign the Reed-Snowe letter as soon as possible.  Please call immediately.

Click here to read the letter.  

You can get more information about your senators and their office hours on the ALA website.  

Growing Season Is Here!

Plant a Garden with Your Kids and Reap the Rewards

Spring gardening continues across the country as early crops are harvested and summer crops and flowers are planted. Why not take some time in the early days of summer vacation to plan and plant a garden with your children? No matter how big--or small--the garden, you and your family can benefit not only from the garden's bounty but also from the experience itself. In the NCBLA article "Growing a Spring Garden: Cultivating Plants and Your Child's Literacy Skills," author and educator Mary Brigid Barrett explains the interdisciplinary opportunities inherent in gardening with your children.

Make Connections!

To get your kids excited about gardening, make connections with the gardening work of other kids, including the work of kids helping in the White House kitchen garden. You can watch a video of elementary school students helping to plant the White House garden early this spring. And you can read about the latest crops planted by Native American schoolchildren in the White House kitchen garden--corn, beans, and squash!--in the Baltimore Sun article "'Three Sisters Make White House Appearance." 

Dig into the Past!
Help young people make connections to the past in the article "White House Colonial Kitchen Gardens" by Stephanie Loer in the NCBLA's literature and art anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. 

And be sure to check out the online article "A Taste of the Past: White House Kitchens, Menus, and Recipes" by Mary Brigid Barrett. This article is included in the educational companion website to Our White House and features a glimpse into the days before modern appliances eased the burdens of the White House cook.  Also included in "A Taste of the Past"  is President Dwight Eisenhower's not-to-be-missed recipe for Green Turtle Soup!

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. 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!

URGENT Activist Alert!

Federal Funding for Libraries at Risk

Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snow Lead Effort to Increase FY2012 Library Funding

If you and your family value public and school libraries, please take a moment to call both of your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to sign onto the letter written by Senator Reed and Senator Snowe by close of business Wednesday, June 8.  Also ask library supporters to contact your senators as well.

Senators Jack Reed and Olympia Snowe are leading an effort to increase support for FY2012 federal funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Improving Literacy Through School Libraries.  Tell your senators’ staffers to contact Elyse Wasch in Reed’s office or Matthew Hussey in Snowe’s office.  We need other senators to sign the Reed-Snowe letter as soon as possible.  Please call immediately.

Click here to read the letter.  

You can get more information about your senators and their office hours on the ALA website.