Presidential Campaign 2012

Get Kids Involved in This Fall's Presidential Campaigns with Great Ideas for Hosting Their Own Mock Campaigns and Elections

You can encourage young people to host their own mock election at home, in school, at your local library, or at your local community center! Depending upon the number and ages of kids within your group, you may want to organize a full-fledged campaign and election with complete media coverage or a simpler voter registration drive and election day. 

Discuss with young people the presidential campaign and election process and all the activities that are involved in getting someone elected as president of the United States. (Refer to "Help Wanted: President of the United States," "Persuading the People: Campaigning for President," and "Getting the Votes and Getting Elected: The Popular Vote vs. The Electoral College" all on OurWhiteHouse.org for more information.) Then determine the activities you would like to include in your own mock election. 

You might consider grouping kids and their responsibilities into three groups, picking and choosing the responsibilities you want to assign based on the time and resources available:

• Campaign Committees
• Media Group
• Get Out the Vote Committee

For more ideas and instructions on how to help your kids organize their own campaigns and election, check out the NCBLA's "Host a Mock Election" activity in the free and comprehensive resource Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

In this election year, the NCBLA has created the Presidential Campaign and Election Kit to help all adults who live and work with young people engage with our kids in informed discussions about the presidential campaigns and election, teach them to think critically, and energize them to learn more about the political process in America. This Kit includes:

• Exclusive articles regarding such topics as presidential job requirements, the history of presidential campaigns, and the evolution of voting rights.
• Activities to use with young people in the classroom or at home.
• Discussion questions you can share during class, around the dinner table, and at a Scout or club meeting.

To check out the complete contents of Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids, click here.

The anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and its coordinating educational website OurWhiteHouse.org provide the perfect springboard for engaging youngsters in the discussion of current events, history, and the importance of the democratic vote in America. Our White House was created by the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance as a collaborative effort by over one hundred award-winning authors and illustrators 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 hardcover and paperback.

Ask for it a library or bookstore near you!

In Case You Missed It

Washington Post Article Addresses
the Impact of Technology
on Kids' Learning and Development

A 13-month old uses an iPad
(Matt Cardy/GETTY IMAGES)

In the article titled "Is Technology Sapping Children's Creativity?" published in the Washington Post by education writer Valerie Strauss, education professor Nancy Carlsson-Paige examines how technology is affecting our kids' learning and development. Here is an excerpt:

It wasn’t long ago that we were talking about how much TV kids should watch. And now here we are in the midst of a technology revolution that is happening so fast we can barely keep up with the number of devices and the options for screen time available to kids — on computers, tablets, cell phones, iPhones, flip down car monitors, interactive “app” toys, and on and on. 

There has not been time to reflect on how this cascading influx of technology is affecting us all or to study the potentially far ranging influence it is having on our children. While electronic games for young children are flooding the market (72 percent of iTunes’ top-selling “education” apps are designed for preschoolers and elementary school children), the research on their impact is scant. 

To read the entire article, click here. 

Contemporary History for Kids!

Help Young People Separate Fact from Fiction in This Fall's Campaign Rhetoric

Our White House Resources Provide
Extensive Articles, Activities,
Discussion Questions, and MORE!

Now that the Republican and Democratic Party conventions have ended, the presidential contenders are back on the road extolling their experience and ideas for moving the country forward. The stump speeches and interviews with the candidates, their surrogates, and their respective campaign representatives often include swats and jabs at their opponent, some true and some not so true.  In the wake of the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, Super PACs have created a relentless stream of TV ads to promote presidential candidates independently of each candidate’s campaign, adding more flames to the political fires. How can adults help young people separate the fact from fiction?

Parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and librarians can work with young people to not only encourage political curiosity, but to also teach them healthy skepticism and critical thinking skills helpful in sorting through the campaign rhetoric--critical thinking skills that can also serve young people in all of life’s decisions. 

The anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and its coordinating educational website OurWhiteHouse.org provide the perfect springboard for engaging youngsters in the discussion of current events, history, and the importance of the democratic vote in America. Reviewing magazine ads and TV commercials that market services and products directly to children with youngsters and asking them to question how they appeal to them lays the groundwork for critically reviewing political ads in the future. Older youngsters may be surprised to learn that many of the techniques used in spinning toothpaste and toys, such as leaving out critical facts and appealing to authority, work equally well in crafting campaign commercials. 

To address the critical need of engaging our nation's young people in this year's election, the NCBLA has created Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

This all-in-one educational resource includes informative articles explaining presidential job requirements, the history of presidential campaigns, and the evolution of voting rights. Also included are extensive discussion questions, engaging activities, and references to even more resources.

• In the article "Help Wanted: President of the United States," young people can learn the president's job description as specified in the Constitution, how an American seeks the presidency, and what kind of compensation a president can expect.
• Young people can read how today's heated campaign rhetoric is nothing new, how dissent about how to develop infrastructure and confront foreign aggression led to a vicious battle in the press between supporters of early presidential contenders John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the article "Persuading the People: Presidential Campaigns."
• Younger kids may enjoy learning how presidents are people with quirks and flaws just like anyone else in "Presidents Are People Too!" by Heather Lang. 
• And for specific ideas on how to help young people sort through all of this year's campaign rhetoric, check out "Separate Fact from Fiction: Analyze the Campaign Rhetoric." 

Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids! is available free on OurWhiteHouse.org. To review the complete Kit, including an easy-to-print PDF version, click here. 

Our White House is available
in both hardcover and paperback. 

Ask for it a library or bookstore near you!

Make Plans to Attend the National Book Festival

National Book Festival to be Held in 11 Days!

Podcasts Let You Hear Festival Authors
Before the Festival

The 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, September 22, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 23 from noon to 5:30 p.m., rain or shine. The event is free and open to the public. 

If you live in the area or will be traveling through, you will want to attend this glorious day celebrating the joy of books with readers of all ages who come from across America and other countries! Be sure to bring your kids!

More than 100 authors, illustrators and poets will make presentations on the National Mall throughout the weekend in the Children, Teens, Fiction & Mystery, History & Biography, Contemporary Life, Poetry & Prose, SciFi Fantasy & Graphic Novels and Special Programs pavilions, plus the Family Storytelling Stage featuring authors and musical acts popular with young children. For a complete list, click here.

To listen to one-on-one chats with festival authors, such as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Walter Dean Myers and Newbery Medal author Lois Lowry, click here. From this page on the Library of Congress website, you can also watch videocasts from author and illustrator presentations at previous book festivals, including the NCBLA's dramatic reading of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure at last year's festival, which featured authors and illustrators Mary Brigid Barrett, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Jack Gantos, Gregory Maguire, Patricia McKissack, Katherine Paterson and Chris Van Dusen.

For more detailed information about this year's festival, including a map of the festival grounds, click here.

Congratulations to NCBLA Board Member Patricia McKissack

Children's Book Author Patricia McKissack Awarded the PEN/Steven Kroll Award 

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance is thrilled to congratulate board member Patricia McKissack who was won the PEN/Steven Kroll Award. The PEN/Steven Kroll Award honors the author of an illustrated children's book; McKissack has been granted the award for her book Never Forgotten (Schwartz and  Wade/Random House). This annual award is being conferred for the first time in 2012 and comes with a prize of $5,000. Judges for the Kroll Award were Carmen Agra Deedy, Susan Kuklin and Vera B. Williams.

The PEN Awards are the most comprehensive literary awards program in the country. This year marks PEN’s 90th anniversary. For more than 50 of those years PEN’s Literary Awards program has honored many of the most outstanding voices in literature. For more information about the PEN awards, click here. 

Pat and Fred McKissack at the 2011 National Book Festival.
Photo by Rocco Staino.

Patricia McKissack’s picture book, Mirandy and Brother Wind, was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal. In addition to writing her own books, Patricia often writes as a team with her husband Fredrick McKissack. Together they have written over one hundred books for young readers, including picture books, beginning readers, information books, and biographies. Their book, A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter, was awarded both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Jane Addams Peace Award. Patricia and Fred McKissack feel strongly that all young people need good literature by and about African Americans and have stated a dual goal of improving the self-image of African-American children and of encouraging an open attitude in all children toward cultures different from their own.

Parents, Teachers, Homeschoolers, Librarians, and Community Leaders!

Help Our Nation's Young People Dig Into This Year's Presidential Election and
Learn More About Civic Engagement
Using Our White House 

Exciting stories, informative essays, humorous poetry, and extraordinary art can really help kids understand the past and make connections with our present and future. A perfect resource for learning more about American and presidential history that provides all of this and MORE is the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

With Our White House, kids can learn about the building of the White House--and why it once burned. They can engage with intimate stories of those who have resided in the White House over the years, including presidential pets and ghosts! And kids can also discover the joys and sorrows that have faced our nation and the often gut-wrenching decisions needed to be made by our presidents.

Our White House was created by the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance as a collaborative effort by over one hundred award-winning authors and illustrators 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.

The Our White House anthology is supported by a companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which expands the book content with additional stories, primary sources, articles, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics. The Race to the Ballot: Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids is the most recent addition to this site, designed to help you engage young people in this year's presidential campaign and election season!

Learn more about how you 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 Our White House at a library or bookstore near you!

Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review!

“Eight years in the making, this anthology of White House history convenes an all-star roster of 108 children's authors and illustrators, as well as a few scholars and former White House employees and residents and it is a blue-ribbon choice for family sharing during an election year. Chronologically ordered, the entries range from poems to presidential speeches, satirical cartoons to stately portraits. . . . The volume makes the invaluable point that history does not have to be remote or abstract, but a personal and ongoing engagement.”

The Horn Book Starred Review!

“With something for adults and children alike is the sumptuous new anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. . . . The contributors are all luminaries of the children’s book field. A fascinating, eminently browsable, and accessible entrance into the People’s House.”

School Library Journal Starred Review!

“This handsome compendium is rich with excerpts, poems, and other writings about the historic residence, many of them personal in tone and subject. With artwork as eclectic as the text, the book offers glimpses into the presidents, their concerns, their families, and the mansion itself.”

Featured on the “Martha Stewart Show” as One of The New York Times “Eight Great Books for the Holidays”

On the December 15, 2008 “Martha Stewart Show,” Martha advised procrastinating audience members and viewers to “Think books! I do!” as ideal holiday gifts. With that in mind New York Times book review editor Sam Tanenhaus shared recommendations of eight great books. Our White House was one of those books—the only children’s book on his list!

L.A. Parent Recommendation!

“This is the definitive White House book for history buffs young and old. Whether you seek ghost stories, architectural details, or personal accounts . . . you will not be disappointed. With amazing artwork and entries spanning more than 200 years from literary luminaries ranging from Charles Dickens to Walt Whitman, Gregory Maguire to David McCullough, there is material enough to keep you coming back for more.”

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”

About The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance

The NCBLA is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization founded by award-winning young people’s authors and illustrators. Acting as an independent creative agent or in partnership with interested parties, the NCBLA develops original projects, programs, and educational outreach that advocate for and educate about literacy, literature, libraries, and the arts.

We believe that literacy is essential to the development of responsible citizens in a democracy. And we believe that citizens, both young and old, must have equal access to stimulating books and information sources that invite them to dream and give them the tools to achieve their dreams. As writers and illustrators, teachers and mentors, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles—as citizens and neighbors—our ultimate question is always how can we best serve all of our nation’s children?

For more information about the NCBLA, please visit our website at www.thencbla.org. 

Share History in the Making with Young People

The Democratic Convention Starts TODAY

Connect Kids with This Week's Events Using Engaging Activities and Discussion Topics!

"The White House, the Moon, and a Coal Miner's Son"
(c) 2008 Joe Cepeda

As the Democrats gather in North Carolina and the world looks on, you can help the young people in your life engage in this week's events and learn to think critically about the campaign rhetoric using informative articles, engaging activities, and discussion questions in the NCBLA's Race to the Ballot: Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids! The Kit is available free and online on OurWhiteHouse.org.  

An easy-to-print version of the Kit is also available for free download on the document-sharing website Scribd.com. 

Activities!
Ready-to-implement activities to engage with kids included in the Kit are:

• Watch a Presidential Stump Speech...and Invite Kids to Write Their Own
• Separate Fact from Fiction: Analyze the Campaign Rhetoric
• Collect or Make Campaign Tokens and Posters
• Be an Eyewitness to History
• Host a Mock Election
• Visit a Presidential Historic Site, Library, or Website
• Play a Game of Presidential Trivia 

To check out all these activities, click here.

Articles!

Exclusive, thought-provoking articles, each with its own discussion questions and activities include:

• "Help Wanted: President of the United States"
• "Persuading the People: Campaigning for President"  
• "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
• "The Donkey and the Elephant" by Helen Kampion
• "Presidential Debates: Watch the Debates with Your Kids and Teens" by Mary Brigid Barrrett

 Some of the ideas and activities provided in the Kit coordinate with the content and illustrations in the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (Candlewick Press), but most of the activities can be used independently of the book. We invite you to print and adapt content from the Kit as needed or to browse the pages using your smart phone, tablet computer, or laptop while on the go.

Click here to check out the complete Race to the Ballot: Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

About Our White House and 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 is an incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, offering a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House.  Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

The Our White House anthology is supported by a companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which expands the book content with additional stories, primary sources, articles, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics. The Race to the Ballot: 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."

Contemporary History Lesson!

The Republican Convention Starts Today

Share the Story of How the Elephant Became the Republican Party Mascot with the Young People in Your Life

Did you know that the birth of the elephant as the Republican Party symbol was triggered from a phrase popular during the Civil War?  Do you know which political cartoonist is responsible for cementing the usage of the elephant as the Party mascot? 

You can read all about how the elephant and the donkey rose to iconic status in the OurWhiteHouse.org  exclusive article "The Donkey and the Elephant" written by NCBLA volunteer writer Helen Kampion.   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.

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!

To read the entire article detailing the history of the 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 even MORE extensive resources to help engage young people in this year's campaigns and elections, check out our free and comprehensive Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

Our White House is available
in both hardcover and paperback.

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

Portable Story Time!

Aesop's Fables Available as a Free Reading App from the Library of Congress on Read.Gov

Other Classic Books Also Online and Available to Read on Your Laptop!

From Aesop's Fables, "Two Travelers and a Bear," Milo Winter

The children's classic Aesop's Fables has been adapted and updated by the Library of Congress for reading on the Read.Gov website, as well as for downloading for usage on iPads, iPhones, and Android devices.  

The Aesop for Children interactive book is designed to be enjoyed by readers of any age. The book contains over 140 classic fables, accompanied by beautiful illustrations and interactive animations. Aesop's Fables—also called "the Aesopica"—are a collection of stories designed to teach moral lessons credited to Aesop, a Greek slave and story-teller thought to have lived between 620 and 560 BCE.

Aesop's fables are some of the most well known in the world and have been translated in multiple languages and become popular in dozens of cultures through the course of five centuries. They have been told and retold in a variety of media, from oral tradition to written storybooks to stage, film and animated cartoon versions—even in architecture.

The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today. Younger scholars will be able to trace the origin of aphorisms such as "sour grapes" and "a bird in the hand."

This interactive book is presented by the Library of Congress, adapted from the book The Aesop for Children: with Pictures by Milo Winter, published by Rand, McNally & Co in 1919. This work is considered to be in the public domain in the United States.

Milo Winter's pictures have been transformed for this interactive book, and now readers can interact with the charming illustrations to see and hear them move: a choosy heron eyes the fish swimming at his feet, a fox swishes his tail, a mouse chews a rope and frees a lion.

To read Aesop's Fables online, or to download the app, go to Read.Gov.

To check out the Library of Congress' complete collection of classic books formatted for online reading, click here. 

Attention Parents, Family Members, Teachers, Homeschoolers, Librarians, and Community Leaders!

NEW Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids NOW AVAILABLE Free at OurWhiteHouse.org

Use This All-in-One Resource
to Engage and Excite Kids
in This Year's Presidential Election!

Just in time for the upcoming conventions and election! The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance has created a free, online Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for all adults who live and work with young people to help engage and excite kids all across the country in this year's presidential election and to enrich kids' knowledge of all our presidents and our nation's history! 

The Race to the Ballot: Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids is available on OurWhiteHouse.org. An easy-to-print version is also available for free download on the document-sharing website Scribd.com. 

 

Included in the Kit are the following resources:

• Exclusive articles regarding such topics as presidential job requirements, the history of presidential campaigns, the development of voting rights, and the evolution of the ballot. Be sure to check out "Persuading the People: Campaigning for President,"  "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, and "The Donkey and the Elephant" by Helen Kampion.
• Activities to use with young people in the classroom or at home, including "Watch a Presidential Stump Speech...and Invite Kids to Write Their Own," "Separate Fact from Fiction: Analyze the Campaign Rhetoric," AND "Host Your Own Mock Election!"
• Discussion questions you can share during class, around the dinner table, and at a Scout or club meeting.
• So much more!

Some of the ideas and activities provided in the Kit coordinate with the content and illustrations in the NCBLA's award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (Candlewick Press), but most of the activities can be used independently of the book. We invite you to print and adapt content from the Kit as needed or to browse the pages using your smart phone, tablet computer, or laptop while on the go.

Click here to check out the complete Race to the Ballot: Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

About Our White House and 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 is an incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, offering a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House.  Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

The Our White House anthology is supported by a companion educational website, OurWhiteHouse.org, which expands the book content with additional stories, primary sources, articles, activities, and discussion questions related to book topics. The Race to the Ballot: 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."

 

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

About The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance

The NCBLA is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization founded by award-winning young people’s authors and illustrators. Acting as an independent creative agent or in partnership with interested parties, the NCBLA develops original projects, programs, and educational outreach that advocate for and educate about literacy, literature, libraries, and the arts.

We believe that literacy is essential to the development of responsible citizens in a democracy. And we believe that citizens, both young and old, must have equal access to stimulating books and information sources that invite them to dream and give them the tools to achieve their dreams. As writers and illustrators, teachers and mentors, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles—as citizens and neighbors—our ultimate question is always how can we best serve all of our nation’s children?

For more information about the NCBLA, please visit our website at www.thencbla.org.

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