In Case You Missed It!

New York Times Essay Discusses the Impact of Children's Book Giants Sendak, Silverstein, and Geisel

In the essay titled "The Children's Authors Who Broke the Rules," Children's book editor Pamela Paul writes how Maurice Sendak, Shel Silverstein, and Theodor Geisel challenged the established ideas of what a children’s book should be. Here is an excerpt:

"Once upon a more staid time, the purpose of children’s books was to model good behavior. They were meant to edify and to encourage young readers to be what parents wanted them to be, and the children in their pages were well behaved, properly attired and devoid of tears. Children’s literature was not supposed to shine a light on the way children actually were, or delight in the slovenly, self-interested and disobedient side of their natures.

Seuss, Sendak and Silverstein ignored these rules. They brought a shock of subversion to the genre — defying the notion that children’s books shouldn’t be scary, silly or sophisticated. Rather than reprimand the wayward listener, their books encouraged bad (or perhaps just human) behavior." 

Click here to read the complete article.

ALSO in The New York Times!

Check out Jerry Griswold's review of The Flint Heart titled "What the Zabog Knew." The Flint Heart is a retelling of the British fantasy by Eden Phillpotts, abridged by Katherine and John Paterson, illustrated by John Rocco, and published by Candlewick Press. Katherine Paterson is the current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and the author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, both winners of the Newbery Medal. She is also a vice president of the board of directors of the NCBLA. 

And be sure to read the review of Brian Selznick's book for young adults--Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures--in the review "A Deaf Boy's New York Quest." Brian Selznick is the creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a Caldecott Medal winner, and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (both Scholastic), a Caldecott Honor Book. He is also a contributor to Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

Activist Alert!

AMERICAN JOBS ACT Provides Funding
for Education and School Libraries

YOUR Support Is Needed

Please call both of your U.S. senators and your congressional representative at the capitol switchboard, 202.224.3121, and urge them to support the American Jobs Act. 

Less than a week after President Obama called on Congress to pass a new jobs creation bill, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced the American Jobs Act (AJA) of 2011 (S. 1549).

This Senate version of the jobs bill includes $30 billion for K-12 education to retain or rehire educators including school librarians to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 educators including many school librarians.  Since school librarians across the country are losing their jobs due to budget cuts, it is critically important that as much of this money as possible be used to save their jobs.

The AJA also includes an additional $25 billion to maintain and upgrade K-12 schools including school libraries to meet their 21st century demands and $5 billion for community colleges including their libraries.  

Please contact your elected officials TODAY and let them know what school libraries do in your community and how obtaining funds for construction through the AJA could improve the education of our students.

To see a chart outlining the estimated jobs impact by state, click here.

For more information about how you can support literacy and libraries, please visit the NCBLA's "Become an Activist" page. 

Meet EXQUISITE CORPSE ADVENTURE Contributors at the National Book Festival Next Weekend!

Don't Miss the Dramatic Reading of
The Exquisite Corpse Adventure
Saturday, September 24 at 10:00 AM
on the National Mall!

Starring

Mary Brigid Barrett, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper,
Jack Gantos, Gregory Maguire, Patricia McKissack,
Fredrick McKissack, Chris Van Dusen, AND
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature
Katherine Paterson!

We invite you to join us for a celebration of books and the joy of reading at this year's National Book Festival, to be held Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. 

Once again the NCBLA opens the Children's Pavilion events with our dramatic reading of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure! 

The National Book Festival is free and open to the public and takes place on the National Mall between between 14^th and 7^th NW Streets (on the west and east) and between Madison Dr. and Jefferson Dr. (on the north and south). The Children's Pavilion will be located east of 12th Street, just north of the Smithsonian Castle. Over 600 people attended last year's Exquisite Corpse presentation, so be sure to arrive early to get a seat!

Meet Exquisite Corpse Presentation Authors and Illustrators
Following the Exquisite Corpse presentation, be sure to catch up with your favorite authors and illustrators and learn more about their other amazing books at their solo presentations and autographing sessions throughout Saturday and Sunday!

Mary Brigid Barrett is the president of the NCBLA, as well as a children’s book author and illustrator. She is the creative editor of the NCBLA publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, named a best book of the year by the American Library Association, The Horn Book Magazine, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and she edits www.ourwhitehouse.org, recognized as one of the ALA’s Great Websites for Kids. Her most recent book is Shoebox Sam, illustrated by Frank Morrison.

Calef Brown is the author-illustrator of Tippintown: A Guided Tour and the New York Times Children’s Picture Books bestseller and Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry winner Flamingos on the Roof: Poems and Paintings. He most recent wrote and illustrated Boy Wonders. 

Susan Cooper is the author of the award-winning Dark Is Rising series, including The Dark Is Rising, a Newbery Honor Book, and The Grey King, a Newbery Medal winner. Her most recent book is The Magic Maker: A Portrait of John Langstaff. She is a member of the board of directors of the NCBLA.

Jack Gantos is the author of the Rotten Ralph series and the Joey Pigza series, which includes the Newbery Honor Book Joey Pigza Loses Control. Gantos is the 2010 winner of the ALAN Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Adolescent Literature. His most recent book is Dead End in Norvelt.

Gregory Maguire is the author of novels for both adults and children, including Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which has been made into a hit Broadway musical, and What-the-Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy, a New York Times bestseller. Maguire's most recent book is Out of Oz: The Final Volume in the Wicked Years. He is an honorary member of the board of the NCBLA.

Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack have co-authored more than one hundred books together. They are two-time winners of the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Their titles include A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter and Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States. Patricia is also the author of The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural, a Newbery Honor Book. They both serve on the board of directors of the NCBLA. The McKissacks recently collaborated with their son John McKissack to write Cyborg: The Second Book of The Clone Codes. 

Katherine Paterson is the author of Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, both winners of the Newbery Medal. She has won the National Book Award twice. Paterson is the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and has received both the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and Hans Christian Andersen Medal. She is also a vice president of the board of directors of the NCBLA. Her most recent book is The Flint Heart, co-authored with her husband John Paterson.

Chris Van Dusen is the author-illustrator of The Circus Ship and the Mr. Magee series. He is also the illustrator of the New York Times best-selling Mercy Watson series, which includes Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book. His most recent book is King Hugo’s Huge Ego.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the National Book Festival!

CLICK HERE to learn more about The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!