Back to School! Tips for Easing the Transition

Excellent Resources Available
to Help Parents and Guardians
Get Kids Back to School
with Less Stress

As teachers prepare their curricula and classrooms for the first day of school, the NCBLA would like to share some authoritative resources to help parents and guardians everywhere ease the transition from summer to school as smoothly as possible.

Offering excellent tips for families with kids of all ages is "Back to School: Reducing the Stress!" in the NCBLA's Parent and Guardian Handbook, written by Mary Brigid Barrett. This informative article provides a series of tips helping your family prepare for and begin a successful school year. Mary Brigid Barrett is the president and executive director of The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. She is the author of the recently released children’s picture book Shoebox Sam (HarperCollins: Zonderkidz), and is the editor of, and contributor to, the NCBLA’s award-winning publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (Candlewick Press).

 

Other resources of interest to parents and guardians in the NCBLA's free Parent and Guardian Handbook include: "I Will Read to My Kids--If I Ever Find the Time!," "Helping Your First Grader Learn to Read," and "Homework: A Parent's Guide."

Resources Mined from the Internet!

Other excellent resources to help your kids begin a successful school year include:

* "Back-to-School Resources for Parents and Educators" on ReadingRockets.org.

* "Ensuring Successful Student Transitions from the Middle Grades to High School" by Kathy Christie and Kyle Zinth on AdLit.org.

* "Get Ready to Go Back to School" on ReadWriteThink.org.

Save the Dates!

The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards and
Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium

Scheduled for September 28-29

Celebrate the best in children’s and young adult literature! Register today for the Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium and automatically be admitted to the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards ceremony the preceding evening!

Attendees to the two events will be immersed in the world of children’s literature, and hear directly from the authors and illustrators of this year’s winning books! Plus, learn about the awards selection process from the judges, join fellow children’s literature lovers and industry experts to take a closer look at books for young people, get an inside look at the Picture Book Proclamation and have your books signed during the autographing sessions!

Colloquium speakers will include:

• Erin E. Stead, illustrator of And Then It's Spring
• Mal Peet, author of Life: An Exploded Diagram
• Elizabeth Wein, author of Code Name Verify
• Thom Barthelmess, Lecturer and Curator, Butler Children’s
  Literature Center, Dominican University
• Julie Fogliano, author of And Then It's Spring
• Elizabeth Bicknell, Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Candlewick Press

To register, click here. 

Reading Rockets Needs Your Input

Take the START WITH A BOOK Survey

Get a Chance to Win Books for Your Kids!

Reading Rockets developed Start with a Book to help parents and summer youth programs keep kids reading, exploring, and learning all summer long. On the Start with a Book website (www.startwithabook.org), there are 24 kid-friendly themes and lots of resources to build literacy skills and a love of reading.

Help make Start with a Book even better! Tell Reading Rockets what you think about the Start with a Book resources and how they can improve the content and usability of the site. The survey takes only about 10 minutes to complete. For taking the time to help, you can enter a drawing to win a basket of children's books (age-leveled for your child) and a Green Eggs and Ham reading adventure pack.

Your feedback is so important. Your every word will be read and your best ideas put into action to ensure that Reading Rockets continues to help launch confident young readers. Thank you!

Take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YNLR9GL

Engage Kids in the Upcoming Republican and Democratic Conventions!

Share the History of the Donkey and the Elephant as Political Mascots with the Young People in Your Life

Exclusive New Article Now Available on OurWhiteHouse.org

OurWhiteHouse.org, the NCBLA's companion educational website to the art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, features a treasure trove of exclusive articles, discussion questions, activities, and other resources to help young people connect with American history. Both the Our White House website and book are perfect partners for helping you get kids engaged in this year's presidential election!

JUST ADDED to OurWhiteHouse.org is a new web exclusive "The Donkey and the Elephant" by NCBLA volunteer writer Helen Kampion. 

Parents, teachers, and librarians--did you know that two of America's most famous political icons owe their existence to a campaign insult and a phrase popular during the Civil War?  Do you know which political cartoonist is responsible for cementing the usage of the donkey and the elephant as the Democratic and Republican Party mascots? You can read all about how the donkey and the elephant rose to iconic status in Kampion's exclusive article. We encourage you to share this article--and the accompanying discussion questions and activities--with all the young people in your life.

Here is an excerpt:

The earliest connection of the elephant to the Republican Party was an illustration in an 1864 Abraham Lincoln presidential campaign newspaper, Father Abraham. It showed an elephant holding a banner and celebrating Union victories. During the Civil War, “seeing the elephant” was slang for engaging in combat so the elephant was a logical choice to represent successful battles.

To read the entire article detailing the history of donkey and the elephant as mascots, click here. 

Helen Kampion received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She is a volunteer staff writer for The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance and, in addition to writing picture books and middle grade novels, runs book clubs and writing workshops for children.

Our White House is an outstanding collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, and poetry that melds with an equally stunning array of original art to offer a look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Starting with a 1792 call for designers and continuing through the present day, these highly engaging writings and illustrations, expressing varied viewpoints and interwoven with key historical events, are a vital resource for family and classroom sharing -- and a stirring reminder that the story of the White House is the story of every American.

To learn more about Our White House, click here.

For more articles and resources related to presidential elections, check out the OurWhiteHouse.org Civic Education page AND our other NEW exclusives:

•  "The Second Shall Be First: The 1948 Presidential Election--Truman V. Dewey" by Renee Critcher Lyons 
• "From Peas to Paper to IPads: The Evolution of the Ballot in America" by Heather Lang.
  

Our White House is available
in both hardcover and paperback.

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

Fall Book Festivals

Literature and Literacy Events Spark
Imaginations of All Ages

 

Princeton Children's Book Festival,
September 8

The Princeton Children's Book Festival is an annual event each September at the Princeton Public Library and the Albert E. Hinds Memorial Plaza, scheduled this year from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The Princeton Children's Book Festival is a celebration of of the love of libraries and books. This well-attended event continues to grow yearly and promises something for everyone. Here, you may meet your favorite author or illustrator, listen to them discuss their work, have a book autographed, or just have the opportunity to talk to them about their inspirations.

This is a free, rain-or-shine event that offers many additional fun activities throughout the afternoon. To learn more, click here.

National Book Festival, September 22-23

The 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held September 22-23, 2012 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.

This year's festival will feature authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions, including two Sunday-only pavilions: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Graphic Novels and Special Presentations. Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite poets and authors, get books signed, hear special entertainment, have photos taken with storybook characters and participate in a variety of activities.

Discover more information about this year's National Book Festival at LOC.GOV/bookfest.

Children's Literature Festival at Keene State College, October 27

Join other children's literature enthusiasts at this year's Keene State College Children's Literature Festival on Saturday, October 27 at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire. Scheduled speakers at this year's festival will each give a one-hour presentation: Jane Dyer, Will Hillenbrand, Boris Kulikov, Kathleen Krull, and Jim Murphy. The authors' and illustrators' books will also be on sale throughout the day of the festival. Learn more at the Festival website.  

Activist Alert!

Support Children's Literacy Funding in FY13

Ask Your Congressional Reps to Support Continued Funding for Literacy

The House and Senate Appropriations committees have begun considering their funding bills for 2013. But only the Senate version contains funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program,  which supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade within the attendance boundaries of high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools.  The U.S. Department of Education and other agencies, such as Reading Is Fundamental, use these funds to support innovative programs that promote early literacy for young children, motivate older children to read, and increase student achievement by using school libraries, distributing free books to children and their families, and offering high-quality literacy activities.

Many schools and districts across the Nation do not have school libraries that deliver high-quality literacy programming to children and their families.  Additionally, many schools do not have qualified library media specialists and library facilities.  Where facilities do exist, they are often under-resourced and lack adequate books and other materials.  In many communities, high-need children and students have limited access to appropriate age- and grade-level reading material in their homes.   The IAL program supports the implementation of high-quality plans for childhood literacy activities and book distribution efforts that are supported by at least one study that meets the definition of scientifically valid research.

As Congress is now at work drafting the 2013 budget, it’s critical that this investment in children’s literacy remains. Unfortunately, the House spending measure eliminates funding for the IAL program. 

Please call your Congressional Representative today at the capitol switchboard (202.224.3121) and ask him or her to support the IAL program! To find direct contact information for members of Congress, click here.

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

In Case You Missed It!

Education Week Article Proclaims Benefits of Teaching Kids to Think Like Historians

Photo by Ramin Rahimian for Education Week

In the article titled "History Lessons Blend Content Knowledge, Literacy"  and published in Education Week, assistant editor Catherine Gewertz explains how implementation of the Common Core State Standards are prompting teachers to adopt new, innovative strategies for teaching history. 

Here is an excerpt:

For years, bands of educators have been trying to free history instruction from the mire of memorization and propel it instead with the kinds of inquiry that drive historians themselves. Now, the common-core standards may offer more impetus for districts and schools to adopt that brand of instruction.

A study of one such approach suggests that it can yield a triple academic benefit: It can deepen students’ content knowledge, help them think like historians, and also build their reading comprehension.

The Reading Like a Historian program, a set of 75 free secondary school lessons in U.S. history, is getting a new wave of attention as teachers adapt to the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts. Those guidelines, adopted by all but four states, demand that teachers of all subjects help students learn to master challenging nonfiction and build strong arguments based on evidence.

To read the entire article, click here.

Summer Reading Suggestions!

Explore the Grandeur of America Through Stories and Picture Books

Whether your summer travels are local or far, far away, take some time to experience the magic of America's National Parks in the pages of engaging books that take young readers deep into the redwood forest and up high in the mountains of Yellowstone. For a list of recommendations, check out the Books About Our National Parks list on ReadingRockets.org. 

For a list of recommended picture books and early readers that feature adventures in the great outdoors, check out "Summer Fun for Little Ones" by Katie Bircher on the Horn Book website. And for a list of books that include engaging summertime escapades for middle-grade kids, take a look at "Great Escapes (some quite literal) for Middle-Grade Summer Reading" by Martha V. Parravano, also on Horn Book.

To learn about President Theodore Roosevelt's role in preserving America's wilderness, read the article "Executive Order for Nature" by Jean Craighead George in the NCBLA's extensive art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. And be sure to take a look at the coordinating illustration "America's Wilderness" by David Slonim.  

 

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

To learn more about America's national parks, visit www.nps.gov, where you can use the search tool to discover which national parks are near you.

Presidential Trivia of the Week

Help Your Kids Learn About American History
by Playing Presidential Trivia

Are YOU playing presidential trivia?! In honor of this year's presidential campaign, the NCBLA is posting regular presidential trivia questions here on our blog. Check out this week's questions and have fun sharing the questions and answers with the kids in your life!
If you are traveling or always on the go, you can print the questions and answers before you leave or use a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop to read them on the spot. You can quickly find all our previously posted questions by typing Presidential Trivia in the search box at the top of this blog.

This Week's Trivia Questions

1. Which president declared an "unconditional war on poverty" and also promised to end racism, asserting that “This is not merely an economic issue or a social, political, or international issue. It is a moral issue.”?
2. Which president, who had served as a soldier for forty years,  said, "My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war at all times, and under all circumstances, as a national calamity to be avoided if compatible with national honor?"
3. Which presidential couple were the only ones to be married in the White House?

The 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. Lyndon Baines Johnson. The tragic shooting of President Kennedy elevated Johnson into the presidency. Johnson promised to not only continue Kennedy's work, but to also implement his own vision for America, which he called "The Great Society." To realize this dream, he declared an "unconditional war on poverty" and also promised to end racism. Johnson wasted no time. He soon signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that ended segregation in schools, work sites, and public places. He also signed the Economic Opportunity Act, which created the Office of Economic Opportunity--an umbrella agency designed to provide job training, adult education, and loans to small businesses. The EOA also implemented such programs as Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA), the Job Corps, Head Start, and Family Planning centers, all conceived to confront unemployment and poverty directly. Almost a year later he signed legislation that instituted government-funded healthcare for the elderly and disadvantaged in Medicare and Medicaid. Johnson is also credited with signing environmental legislation to guarantee clean air and water. Many Americans prospered under Johnson's programs, and he won the 1964 election overwhelmingly.  Learn more about Lyndon Johnson n in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
2. Zachary Taylor. Taylor had been a soldier for forty years before he became president, having served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War in Illinois (1832), the Seminole War in Florida (1836-37), and the Mexican War (1846-48). He managed a stunning victory at Buena Vista in February 1847 when he defeated a Mexican force of 20,000 men with American troops that numbered only 5,000.  Learn more about Zachary Taylor in the Presidential Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org.
3. Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom Cleveland. At the very young age of 21, Frances Folsom became first lady when she married President Grover Cleveland in what has become the only presidential wedding in the White House. They married in an intimate candlelit ceremony in the Blue Room on June 2, 1886, during the second year of Cleveland's first term. Frances subsequently served as first lady for the remainder of Cleveland's first term through 1889 and then the entirety of his second term. Learn more about Frances Cleveland and the other first ladies in the First Lady Fact Files on OurWhiteHouse.org. And, be sure to read "Mrs. Cleveland, White House Bride" by Jennifer Armstrong in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out!

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.

Summer Travels: Visiting Presidential Birthplaces, Houses, and Libraries

The NCBLA's Field Trip Guides
Provide Helpful Hints for Planning and
Making the Most of Your Visit

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate

When planning your summer outings and travels this summer, you can help your kids connect with American history by visiting a presidential site. More than twenty states boast presidential birthplaces, historic homes, libraries, and museums. The NCBLA's educational website OurWhiteHouse.org offers a comprehensive guide to finding these fabulous places, listed by state in "Field Trip Guide: Presidential Birthplaces, Houses, and Libraries."

If you are planning a trip to DC this summer or sometime this fall, then a visit to the White House just might be at the top of your list. Keep in mind that although the general public is welcome to tour the White House, your visit must be planned a month in advance. Find all the information you need in "Field Trip Guide: Visiting the White House" on OurWhiteHouse.org.

Read, Think, Act!

Help young people dig deeper into America's past and think critically about the future using the NCBLA's art and literature anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. 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 paperback edition features a NEW poem by Nikki Grimes about President Obama’s inauguration! 

Complementing the book is the NCBLA's educational website OurWhiteHouse.org, which hosts a vast array of exclusive articles, primary sources, activities and discussion questions, and research resources. In addition to the field trip guides, be sure to check out "The Eloquence of 'Silent Cal'" by Katherine Paterson, "I Pledge Allegiance: Classroom Kit on Becoming an American Citizen" by Helen Kampion, "Presidents Are People Too" by Heather Lang, "A Taste of the Past: White House Kitchens, Menus, and Recipes" by Mary Brigid Barrett, and  "From White House Hostess to American Powerhouse: The Evolution of the First Lady's Title and Role" by Geri Zabela Eddins.

Two-Day Schedule for National Book Festival Announced

Book Lovers of All Ages Are Invited to Attend
the 12th Annual Library of Congress
National Book Festival

Festival poster by Rafael Lopez.

The 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held September 22-23, 2012 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. 

This year's festival will feature authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions, including two Sunday-only pavilions: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Graphic Novels and Special Presentations. Festival-goers can meet and hear firsthand from their favorite poets and authors, get books signed, hear special entertainment, have photos taken with storybook characters and participate in a variety of activities.

Discover more information about this year's National Book Festival at LOC.GOV/bookfest.

 

• To see the two-day schedule, click here.
• To see the list of participating authors, poets, and illustrators, click here. 
• To watch webcasts of past author and illustrator presentations, click here. 

New League of Women Voters Website Provides Critical Voter Information

Local Library Websites Offer Direct Link to Vote411.org

Voters across the nation will want to check out the latest online tool offered by the League of Women Voters, Vote 411, which helps people register to vote and offers information on voting requirements and state deadlines. 

The Vote 411 tool allows users to build an online voter's guide, view political races, compare candidate positions side by side, and print out "ballots" that can be used to remind them to vote on Election Day. The tool also provides visitors with helpful voting information, candidate statements, and details on current issues.

The American Library Association is supporting Vote 411 in the wake of the ALA Council's unanimous passing of the resolution opposing voter suppression at the recent 2012 ALA Annual Conference. "Librarians recognize the crucial connection between citizens' voting and democracy. We want to make this terrific tool available to every librarian in the country," said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington office.  To increase access to the Vote411 site, local libraries across the country are adding a direct link from their own sites to provide library patrons with direct access to Vote411.

To visit the Vote411.org website, click here.

Connect Kids with This Year's Elections!

Two very special resources you can use to help the young people in your life engage with this year's elections are the interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and its companion website, OurWhiteHouse.org.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out was created by the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance as a collaborative effort by over one hundred award-winning authors and illustrators. Our White House overflows with fascinating essays, stories, letters, illustrations, comics, and more.

The companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, expands the book content with additional stories and articles and also provides activities and discussion questions related to book topics. The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids is the most recent addition to this site, which has been named a Great Web Site for Kids by the American Library Association!

Both Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and OurWhiteHouse.org are projects created by the NCBLA to not only promote literacy, but to also excite people of all ages about our nation’s rich history. Learn more about how parents, teachers, and librarians can inspire young people using the Our White House resources in the online article "For Educators: Using Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and OurWhiteHouse.org in the Classroom."

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

Great Summer Reads for Kids Abound!

Queen of the Track:
Alice Coachman
Olympic High-Jump Champion

Written by Heather Lang and
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
 
Named a Great Summer Read for Kids by People Magazine

The NCBLA congratulates our volunteer writer Heather Lang on the publication of her book Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman Olympic High-Jump Champion, now available in a library or bookstore near you!

 

In its annual list of summer reads for kids, People magazine  recommended Queen of the Track as one of four great books for kids. With the Olympics starting in less than two weeks, you will want to share this inspiring story with the young people in your life. 

Queen of the Track tells the story of Alice Coachman, an athlete who never took her eyes off the prize. When Alice Coachman was a girl, most white people wouldn't shake her hand. Yet when the King of England placed an Olympic medal around her neck, he extended his hand to Alice in congratulations. Standing on a podium in London's Wembley Stadium, Alice was a long way from the fields of Georgia where she ran barefoot as a child. With a record-breaking leap, she had become the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

 

A portion of the author's royalties will be donated to the Alice Coachman Foundation, which helps deserving and proven amateur athletes reach their full potential. 

Author Heather Lang remembers winning a blue ribbon in the high jump in sixth grade, clearing the bar at 3½ feet and landing on a cushy blue mat. A former attorney, she now loves to write about people who fought for their dreams, usually without the benefits of a cushy mat. She lives in Lexington, Massachusetts. Visit her at heatherlangbooks.com. And be sure to check out her articles "Presidents Are People Too!," "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! Wild Animals at the White House," and "From Peas to Paper to IPads: The Evolution of the Ballot in America"on the NCBLA's educational website OurWhiteHouse.org.

Illustrator Floyd Cooper had a short-lived track-and-field career as a junior-high school student in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He can still hear the voice of his coach yelling, “Go! Push! Push!” as he trained in the southern heat. Today he is the acclaimed illustrator of more than seventy-five books for children. He is the recipient of the 2009 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration as well as three Coretta Scott King Honors, ten ALA Notables, and an NAACP Image Award, among others. He lives in Easton, Pennsylvania. Learn more about Floyd Cooper and his books on his website.

MORE Resources for GREAT Summer Reads for Kids!

 

• Themed booklists offered by the NCBLA:
  * American Heroes Series I: Folklore Legends
  * American Heroes Series II: Historic and Cultural Heroes in Bibliographies for Young People
  * Great Books for Boys
  * Dog Day Reading
  * Home Run Reading: Baseball and Books for Kids
  * Discovering Fantasy Beyond Harry Potter

• The Start with a Book website created by Reading Rockets provides 24  kid-friendly themes featuring specific ideas for using books and related downloadable activities to build closer relationships with children and to get them thinking, talking, creating and exploring. 
  
• The Horn Book's Summer Reading Lists
  
• Reading Rockets Summer Reading Lists
  
• Ad.Lit.org's Reading Lists for Teens

 Happy Reading Adventures!