Hundreds Supported National Library Legislative Day

Library Advocates Gathered in Washington for 38th Annual National Library Legislative Day

More than 350 librarians and library supporters from across the country converged in Washington, D.C. from April 23–24, 2012, to meet with members of Congress to discuss key library issues during the American Library Association's 38th annual National Library Legislative Day. The event focused on supporting federal funding for national libraries.

The ALA had over 300 advocacy messages sent to members of Congress as part of Virtual Library Legislative Day, a component for library supporters who could not attend the Washington meetings. Advocates worked remotely to connect with legislators via phone calls, emails and social media platforms.

To read more news from the ALA about National Library Legislative Day, click here. 

Presidential Trivia of the Week

Presidential Trivia Questions to Share
with Your Class, Family, or Friends!

Copyright (c) 2008 Bagram Ibatoulline

In honor of this year's presidential campaign, the NCBLA is posting three presidential trivia questions each week. Why not take a few minutes to share these trivia questions with your family, class, or group of young people and see what they know?!

This Week's Trivia Questions

1. The Trust for the National Mall is in the midst of a redesign competition for our capital's National Mall, with the goal of restoring and maintaining this national treasure to a "level befitting its role as an irreplaceable piece of our American fabric."  What is the name of the architect President George Washington asked to design our nation's capital?
2. Who is the only American president to have served in both World War I and World War II?
3. Which first lady, well known for her regular communication with the public and her social activism, was the first to meet with reporters on a weekly basis and write a weekly newspaper column?

A go-to resource for discovering more about America's presidents is the NCBLA's interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, and it's coordinating educational website OurWhiteHouse.org! An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House.

Answers and Information for Learning MORE!

1. Pierre L'Enfant. In "George Washington's Vision of His City on the Potomac," Mary Brigid Barrett writes, "When L’Enfant envisioned a grand and glorious city, Washington agreed. He knew building a big, bold, beautiful city of solid stone-a city that could eventually hold its own with London or Paris-would let the world know that the people of the United States of America were serious, that they, that we, were here to stay. To George Washington, building a beautiful elegant city, with a mansion for the president, a magnificent house for Congress, with beautiful parks and fountains, and a world-class university symbolized the united power he knew we needed if the nation was to survive." To read the entire article, click here. 
2. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Like two of his predecessors––Presidents Washington and Grant––Eisenhower came to the presidency as a heroic military commander. Eisenhower was the only president to have served in both World War I and World War II. In World War II Eisenhower served as commanding general of the Allied forces in Europe and was most notably the commander who lead the troops to invade France on D-Day. But Eisenhower was no warmonger. Rather, he brought a penchant for peace to the White House, and he is credited with helping to end the Korean War in 1953. Learn more about Eisenhower and the other presidents' legacies in The Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
3. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor raised the bar for all her successors by transforming the role of first lady into a position focused on communication and social activism rather than as primary White House hostess. As first lady Eleanor dedicated herself to improving basic human rights, a passion that developed into a lifelong pursuit. Though many of her predecessors had served as political partners to their husbands, Eleanor actually traveled and spoke on her husband’s behalf, sitting in on meetings and even speaking for him at the Democratic Party Convention. During World War II she served as an ambassador for the president by visiting American troops around the world and touring Europe. Her legacy is nonetheless highlighted by her tireless efforts advocating for the expanded rights for women, children, and African Americans. Though Lou Hoover had often addressed the nation via the radio, Eleanor was the first to meet with reporters on a weekly basis and write a weekly newspaper column. Learn more about all the first ladies in the First Lady Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
   

 

Our White House is available
in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.
Ask for it at a library or bookstore near you!

And be sure to check out the companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which provides expanded book content that includes additional articles, resources, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics as well exclusive resources and articles regarding the presidency, presidential campaigns, and presidential elections.

Celebrate National Poetry Month

Share a POEM
with the Young People in Your Life!

In honor of National Poetry Month and this glorious season of spring, we share with you one of nineteenth century, American poet Emily Dickinson's poems. Why not take a moment and share it with the young people in your life? Take turns reciting each stanza. Print copies of the poem and put them in your pocket. Ask young people to write their own poems inspired by nature or something else they cherish!

 

I have a Bird in spring  

by Emily Dickinson

 

I have a Bird in spring
Which for myself doth sing --
The spring decoys.
And as the summer nears --
And as the rose appears,
Robin is gone

Yet I do not repine
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown --
Learneth beyond the sea
Melody new for me
And will return.

Faster in a safer hand
Held in a truer Land
Are mine -
And though they now depart,
Tell I my doubting heart
They're thine.

In a serener Bright
In a more golden light
I see
Each little doubt and fear,
Each little discord here
Removed.

The will I not repine,
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown
Shall in a distant tree
Bright melody for me
Return. 

 

MORE Fun with Poetry!

To learn more about poet Emily Dickinson, visit the Emily Dickinson Museum website. Here you will find poetry activities, a Dickinson poem of the week, teacher resources, and information for visiting the Dickinson Museum and properties in Amherst, Massachusetts.

 

To discover more ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month, visit Poets.org.

To find more poems by Dickinson and other poets, visit your local library or bookstore!

To see a list of recommended poetry books for kids ages 0-9, visit ReadingRockets.org.

To see a list of recommended poetry books for older kids, visit AdLit.org.

 

Celebrate Dia!

Dia Event Celebrates Many Children, Many Cultures, Many Books

 

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children's Day/Book Day), known as Día, is a celebration EVERY DAY of children, families, and reading that culminates every year on April 30. 

 

Dia emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

 

Share the Joy of Dia!

Teachers, librarians, parents, and guardians, YOU can share the joy of Dia with all the young people in your life! Check out the ALA's Dia website for planning ideas and resources, and check out the ALSC's Dia map to find Dia celebrations in communities around the country. 

 

For a resource guide to celebrating Dia, click here. 

 

To review the Dia book list, which lists book recommendations by age, click here. 

 

To watch Reading Rockets interviews with celebrated Hispanic and Latino children's book authors and illustrators, including Pat Mora — the founder of El día de los niños/El día de los libros, click here.

In Case You Missed It!

Reading Teacher Shares How Classic Literature Enriches Students with Cultural Capital

In the New York Times editorial "Teach the Books, Touch the Heart," Manhattan teacher Claire Needell Hollander writes:

"As student test scores have become the dominant means of evaluating schools, I have been asked to calculate my reading enrichment program’s impact on those scores. I found that some students made gains of over 100 points on the statewide English Language Arts test, while other students in the same group had flat or negative results. In other words, my students’ test scores did not reliably indicate that reading classic literature added value. ... I MAY not be able to prove that my literature class makes a difference in my students’ test results, but there is a positive correlation between how much time students spend reading and higher scores. The problem is that low-income students, who begin school with a less-developed vocabulary and are less able to comprehend complex sentences than their more privileged peers, are also less likely to read at home."

To read the entire article, click here.

Activist Alert! Rally for Libraries!

Support Our Nation's Libraries and Offer Your Support for Virtual Library Legislative Day!

National Library Legislative Day is this coming Monday and Tuesday, April 23 and 24, but YOU can advocate for our nation's libraries from afar by participating in Virtual LibraryLegislative Day!

All you need to do is call your members of Congress any day next week to express your support for America’s libraries. To find the phone numbers of your legislators, click here. 

The American Library Association recommends you discuss the following two issues of importance with your Senators and Representatives:
 
    Ask Your Senators to Include School Libraries in ESEA

On October 20, 2011 the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee marked-up the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Unfortunately, the legislation that came out of committee did not include any language for school libraries.

Please contact your two senators and tell them that school libraries MUST be included in ESEA.  ESEA will determine K12 federal education policy in the country for years to come and it is critical that school libraries be included in this legislation.

    Ask Your Representative to Vote NO on CISPA

Please call and ask your U.S. Representative to OPPOSE H.R. 3523, The Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 or CISPA, one of several bills to be considered in the U.S. House of Representatives during “Cybersecurity Week” starting April 23, 2012.

ALA is concerned that essentially all private electronic communications could be obtained by the government and used for many purposes – and not just for cybersecurity activities.  H.R. 3523 would permit, even require ISPs and other entities to monitor all electronic communications and share personal information with the government without effective oversight just by claiming the sharing is for “cybersecurity purposes.”

In this proposal the National Security Agency (NSA), would be able to indefinitely retain and use the shared information for other purposes.  The NSA could even share the information with other federal agencies and local law enforcement, even with entities concerned with intellectual property.

The consequences for library users are also inherent to cloud computing, higher education networks, privatized libraries and networks, and network/vendor contracts - whether intended or not.

For more details on this issue, click here. 

If you’d like to learn more about ALA’s events and agenda issues for National Library Legislative Day, click here.

Spread the Word!

We ask you to please share this critical information with your friends and colleagues  and invite them to participate in Virtual Library Legislative Day. Please give them a call or send them an email message. And if you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, or blog, please use those outlets to spread the word as well!

Book People Unite!

Reading Is Fundamental
Inspires Children to be Lifelong Readers by Delivering Free Books and Literacy Resources to Those Who Need Them Most

THE ISSUE
Only 1 child for every 300 living in poverty in the U.S. has access to books. A child without books starts out behind and is likely to stay behind for the rest of his or her life. The books RIF provides can spark a lifetime of ambition. Imagine a world where every child has a book. Where a greater number of students earn diplomas. Where our workforce is larger, smarter, and more innovative. This vision of a literate America is within our grasp.

THE SOLUTION
RIF is sparking a widespread movement in support of reading through a national awareness campaign, “Book People Unite.” RIF has gathered several of the world’s most beloved children’s book characters to create a history-making PSA. The campaign speaks directly to youth and their parents, calling on them to identify as book people. Book People embrace books in all formats. Book People know that reading helps children overcome obstacles—opening a door to a wider world of experiences. Book People Unite because Reading Is Fundamental.

JOIN US
Your voice will help place books into the hands of children who need them most. And, millions of RIF kids throughout the country will see you as a leader in helping them turn the page to a brighter future. 

Take the pledge at BookPeopleUnite.org!

To watch the Book People Unite film featuring Pinnochio, Madeline, Clifford, Babar, and other favorite characters, click here.

Celebrate National Poetry Month

Share a POEM
with the Young People in Your Life!

In honor of National Poetry Month and this glorious season of spring, we share with you one of English Romantic poet William Wordsworth's most beloved poems. Why not take a moment and share it with the young people in your life? Take turns reciting each stanza. Have someone read the poem while driving around town. Ask young people to write their own poems inspired by nature or something else they cherish!

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

1804. 1807.

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

 

- William Wordsworth

 

Editor Andrew J. George notes in The Cambridge Edition of the Poets: Wordsworth (1904) that Wordsworth wrote this poem at Town-end, Grasmere.  "The Daffodils grew and still grow on the margin of Ullswater, and probably may be seen to this day as beautiful in the month of March, nodding their golden heads beside the dancing and foaming waves."

MORE Fun with Poetry!

To hear actor Jeremy Irons reading Wordsworth's poem on YouTube, click here.

To discover more ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month, visit Poets.org. 

To find more poems by Wordsworth and other poets, visit your local library or bookstore!

To see a list of recommended poetry books for kids ages 0-9, visit ReadingRockets.org.

To see a list of recommended poetry books for older kids, visit AdLit.org.

Presidential Trivia of the Week

Presidential Trivia Questions to Share
with the Young People in Your Life!

Copyright (c) 2008 Wendell Minor

Are YOU playing presidential trivia?! In honor of this year's presidential campaign, the NCBLA is posting three presidential trivia questions each week. Check out this week's questions and have fun sharing the questions and answers with the kids in your life!

This Week's Trivia Questions 

1. The American Revolution earned America's independence from Great Britain, but in the years after the war, the United States continued to struggle with Britain due to a continued presence of British troops in American territory and the impressment of American ships attempting trade with France. During which president's tenure was war again declared on Britain? 
2. Who was president when the stock market crashed to trigger the Great Depression?
3. Which president is credited with confronting America's energy crisis in the late 1970s by creating the Department of Energy and a national energy policy?

 

A go-to resource for discovering more about America's presidents is the NCBLA's interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, and it's coordinating educational website OurWhiteHouse.org! An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House.

Answers and Information for Learning MORE!

1. James Madison. Madison's term as president was overwhelmed with the ongoing problem of the war between France and Britain. Shipping rights continued to be denied and trade thwarted as America's ships were constantly attacked. The U.S. declared war on Britain, and continued to lose many more ships. In 1814 the British launched an oppressive assault against the U.S.: fifty ships carrying 4,000 troops landed 35 miles from Washington. The Americans were not prepared, and the British aggressively attacked and burned Washington, D.C., including the White House. An observer noted that “not an inch, but its crack'd and blacken'd wall remained” of the White House the day after it was burned. Victory for the U.S. at Baltimore was then followed by the decisive victory in New Orleans, at which time the peace treaty had already been signed to end America's second war of independence and ensure Madison's term ended with the nation at peace. Learn more about James Madison and his legacy in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org. AND, read all about the War of 1812 in the essay "The White House Prepares for War: 1812" by Ralph Ketcham in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.
2. Herbert Hoover. Hoover was president for less than a year when the stock market was seized by the most devastating crash in American history, plunging the U.S. into the period known as the Great Depression and initiating an international economic crisis. The consequences of the crash were devastating as businesses went bankrupt, banks failed, and millions became unemployed. People lost their homes, farmers lost their land, and many lost their life savings. By the end of 1930 more than 1,300 banks had closed across the country. Ultimately the Great Depression witnessed the failure of 10,000 banks and the loss of $2 billion in deposits. Nearly five million Americans were out of work by January 1931. Unfortunately, the economic situation continued to deteriorate and by 1933 nearly 13 million people were unemployed.
   
   In the days following the crash, Hoover announced his intention to maintain a balanced budget, but to also cut taxes and increase public works spending as a means of providing employment. Though Hoover attempted to rally the people, he firmly believed that providing direct aid to the destitute was not the job of the federal government. Rather, he believed that local communities should take charge of administering assistance to those in need.
   
   Hoover did intervene, however, through the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in January 1932, an independent federal agency authorized to lend money to rebuild the U.S. economy. The RFC distributed $1.5 billion by the end of 1932 in the form of aid to state and local governments and loans to banks, railroads, farm mortgage associations, and other financial institutions. The RFC also lent money for public works projects, such as hydroelectric plants and toll bridges, that would eventually pay for themselves. Many blamed Hoover for the Depression, and he was easily beaten by Franklin Roosevelt in the following election. Today many historians believe that Hoover could not possibly have solved the economic crisis, though he might have eliminated human suffering by authorizing direct relief. Learn more about Herbert Hoover and his legacy in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org. AND, check out the comic strip titled "Hoover's One Term" by Matt Phelan in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.
3. James Earl Carter.  Carter attempted to control the energy crisis by creating the Department of Energy and a national energy policy. He appealed directly to the public regarding the need to reduce consumption on an individual level. Carter also strengthened environmental protection laws, expanded the national park system to protect 103 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, and signed legislation to ensure the financial solvency of Social Security. Learn more about Jimmy Carter and his legacy in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
   

Our White House is available
in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.
Ask for it at a library or bookstore near you!

And be sure to check out the companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which provides expanded book content that includes additional articles, resources, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics as well exclusive resources and articles regarding the presidency, presidential campaigns, and presidential elections.

 

Bankstreet College of Education Announces Best Children's Books of the Year, 2012

Extensive Lists of Best Books 

Categorized by Age Group and 

Available in Easy-to-Print Format

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COMMITTEE at the Bank Street College of Education strives to guide librarians, educators, parents, grandparents and other interested adults to the best books for children published each year. The all-volunteer committee includes educators, librarians, authors, parents and psychologists who share a passion for and expertise in the world of children’s literature. Young reviewers from all over the country, ages 2–18, read and evaluate many of our books as well.

In choosing books for the annual list, reviewers consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place, age suitability, positive treatment of ethnic and religious differences, and the absence of stereotypes. Nonfiction titles are further evaluated for accuracy and clarity. Each book accepted for the list is read and reviewed by at least two committee members and then discussed by the committee as a whole.

TIPS FOR PARENTS FROM BANK STREET

• Share your enjoyment of books with your child.
• Talk over your reading.
• Continue to read aloud to your child even after he or she reads independently.
• Encourage your child to choose a book to read aloud to someone else.
• Broaden your child’s horizons by helping to select from a wide range of subjects.
• Encourage your child to read whatever he or she enjoys even if it appears to you to be too easy or too hard.
• Let your child see your enjoyment of your own reading.

The best books are categorized by age group. To review the winners for each category, click here.  Each list of books is annotated and provided in a PDF file, making it easy for you to print and take to your local library or bookstore!

In Case You Missed It!

Columnist Maureen Dowd Talks to Photographer Diana Walker Regarding Powerful Hillary Clinton Photographs

Photograph by Diana Walker for Time.

In the New York Times op-ed column "State of Cool," Maureen Dowd discusses how one iconic photograph of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has endowed Clinton with "Clint Eastwood cool."

Time Photographer Diana Walker, who took the black and white photo of Clinton on a C-17 flight last fall from Malta to Tripoli, told Dowd she got a letter from a young woman, a friend of her son’s, who said she stared at the image for a long time. “It truly sent chills down my spine,” the woman wrote, “and I immediately shared it with my daughter because of the power it portrayed.”

To read the entire column, click here.

Photographer Diana Walker has been a contract photographer for Time magazine since 1979. She served as one of Time’s White House photographers during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations.

Check out some of Walker's phenomenal work in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, which features photographs of President Ronald Reagan and President George H. W. Bush. Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, an anthology produced by the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance and featuring the work of 108 authors and illustrators, has been making headlines since it was published in September 2008. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. 

Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback. Learn more at OurWhiteHouse.org.

Ask for Our White House at a library or bookstore near you!

Use "Our White House" Book and Website to Connect Kids with Current Events

Finalists in the National Mall Redesign Competition Have Been Announced!

Help Kids Delve into Our Past with Stories and Illustrations in Our White House Explaining the Earliest Plans for Designing D.C.

Diller Scofidio Renfro + Hood Design for Union Square

According to the Trust for the National Mall, "The National Mall has been loved to death. It is our country’s most visited national park, with more than 25 million annual visitors and 3,000 annual permitted events. This 700-acre park was not built to withstand this level of use and has not received adequate resources to be restored and maintained to a level befitting its role as an irreplaceable piece of our American fabric.

The Trust for the National Mall is the official non-profit of the National Park Service dedicated to restoring and improving the National Mall. Our mission is simply to make the National Mall the best park in the world.

To accomplish these goals the Trust for the National Mall is sponsoring a design competition for three key areas on the National Mall. Together these locations illustrate the cohesive approach necessary to prepare the National Mall for the types and levels of use it receives today and prepare it for greater use in the future." 

In the AP article "Finalists emerge to redesign National Mall sites,"  Donald Stastny, an architect hired to oversee the competition, says, "The face of the mall is going to change quite dramatically. ...The designs will bring the next evolution of the mall as a place that has changed significantly over the decades through war time and with the addition of new memorials."

The finalists' concepts are now on display through this coming Sunday at the Smithsonian Castle and National Museum of American History. To see the design ideas, click here.

To learn more about the design competition, visit NationalMall.org.

Take Kids Back to the Beginning!

Copyright (c) 2008 Bagram Ibatoulline

You can help kids learn more about the early days of our nation's capitol city in the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

Have you ever imagined what George Washington saw as he looked over the Potomac Valley to consider his vision for the new capitol city? So has artist Bagram Ibatoulline in his breathtaking landscape featured on the opening pages of Our White House. Have you ever wondered about the experiences of the craftsmen and stone cutters who left their homes to contribute their skills to the construction of the White House?  Be sure to read Mary Brigid Barrett's imagined memoir "Testimony of Padraig Tomas O'Deorain 1801" and look at its coordinating illustration in Our White House. And be sure to learn all about how slaves helped build the White House in the essay written by our nation's current National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Walter Dean Myers!

On the companion educational site OurWhiteHouse.org, you can find extensive articles, primary sources, discussion questions, activities, and resources all about the land and location of the city and Washington's ideas for the city buildings and architecture:

"The Land of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers"

"The Location of the New Nation's Capitol: North or South?"

"George Washington's Dream of a New National Capital"

"Primary Sources: The New Federal City"

And teachers and homeschoolers won't want to miss "From the Foundation Up: The Illustration by Bagram Ibatoulline," which includes not only a discussion of the painting, but also art activities and discussion questions to share with young people.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is a masterpiece of poetry and prose, art and photography, created by over 100 of America's most gifted storytellers and artists as 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. Our White House is available in both paperback and hardcover from Candlewick Press.

Ask for Our White House at a library or bookstore near you!