Holiday Shopping Made Easy...Try Your Local Bookstore!

Tips for Finding the PERFECT Gift Books!


Finding the perfect book or two for the young people in your life can be a daunting experience. Bookstore shelves are overflowing with tall books and tiny books, books that tell tales of faraway princesses and books about animals both cute and exotic, even books that sing, talk, and sparkle! How does one choose?

In the article “A Holiday Gift Book Buying Guide for Your Family” on the NCBLA website, librarian Natacha Luzzi offers these tips:

• Find out what the child or teen has read already. Ask them what authors they like to read.
• Discover the subjects and topics that interest them.
• Find out if they prefer fiction or nonfiction, fantasy or reality.
• Don't be afraid to ask your neighborhood children's librarian or children's books seller for suggestions and advice.
• Read your local newspaper's book section. Many newspapers and magazines feature book suggestions this time of year.
• Be consumer savvy. The books with biggest marketing budgets are not necessarily the best books for your child or teen. And conversely, a book you've never heard of may contain the story that changes your child’s or teen's life. Natacha says, "Just because a book jacket may look promising does not mean the story is going to live up to it. We all fall victim at one time or another to 'judging a book by its cover.'"
• Take into consideration the content and age recommendation. Great care needs to be taken, especially if a young reader is at a higher reading level. Even though the child can read the material the content is not always appropriate.
• No one is ever too old for a picture book!!
• Consider all possibilities: great literature and fun, entertaining books. Says Natacha, "Think of books in terms of chocolate mousse and a Hershey kiss. There are moments for both!"
  
Click here to read the complete article on the NCBLA website here.

Reading Rockets Buying Guide Makes Recommendations for Kids 4 Through 9

If you prefer to walk into the bookstore with a list in hand, be sure to check out Reading Rockets’ fabulous annual Books as Gifts Buying Guide! This year’s buying guide includes a carefully selected collection of books so engaging the TV is happily turned off and the iPod and other electronic games are put away.

Reading Lists for Older Kids

If you are looking for a book to treat an older child, be sure to check out the Young Adult Library Services Association's list of the 2012 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, which includes dozens of fiction and nonfiction titles. You may also want to peruse AdLit.org's expert list of Great Books for Teens, which includes themed lists with categories such as Baseball Books, Fantasy, Multicultural Stories, Poetry, and Romance & Relationships.

One Additional Recommendation

Consider Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, an award-winning anthology that includes original poetry, historical fiction, nonfiction, and primary source materials about American history using the White House as a unifying theme. It's a perfect book for kids of all ages, families, teachers, classrooms---anyone who loves art and history and literature!

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough introduces this creative tour de force, in which 108 renowned authors and illustrators have donated their poetry, prose, and art to help advance the cause of young people’s literacy and historical literacy. The illustrations, essays, short stories, presidential letters, personal reflections, and historical accounts in Our White House inform and entertain, offering a window on more than 200 years of American history.

Our White House is available in a paperback edition and includes a poem by Nikki Grimes and coordinating illustration by A. G. Ford about President Obama's 2009 inauguration. Look for the hardcover and paperback editions at a bookstore new you!

EVEN MORE BOOKS ADDED to Our BOOK GIVEAWAY!

"Like" the NCBLA on Facebook,
and You Could Win a Collection of More Than 40 Books for Young People!

Many Books Have Been Signed by the Authors

 

JUST IN TIME
FOR HOLIDAY GIVING! 
We invite you to enter to win an inspiring collection of books for young people of all ages valued at over six hundred dollars—many of which have been signed by the authors! All you have to do is "like" our Facebook page!

To like us on Facebook now, click here!

Included in our giveaway collection are two hardcover copies of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out AND two hardcover copies of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure. Both copies of The Exquisite Corpse include a bookplate signed by seven of the contributors. And just added: two more autographed books by National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Emeritus KATHERINE PATERSON and two copies of award-winning author NATALIE BABBITT'S Jack Plank Tells Tales.  

 
ALSO JUST ADDED: seven books by award-winning author Patricia MacLachlan, including her Newbery Medal winner Sarah, Plain and Tall!

Our complete giveaway collection includes more than 40 books, some of the finest fiction and nonfiction (picture books, easy readers, novels, and audio books!), by award-winning authors and illustrators:

William Alexander, Natalie Babbitt, Mary Brigid Barrett, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, Jack Gantos, Nikki Grimes, Steven Kellogg, Patricia MacLachlan, Patricia McKissack, Marilyn Nelson, John Paterson, Katherine Paterson, Lesa Cline-Ransome, James Ransome, Chris Raschka, Tanya Lee Stone, Chris Van Dusen, and MORE!
 

Check out the other books included in our giveaway, pictured throughout this blog post! (Scroll down to see more.) 

How to Enter to Win Books!
All you need to do is visit our Facebook page and "like" us before 11:00 PM EST on Monday, December 10, 2012, and you will be automatically entered in the giveaway. To like our page, simply click the Like button at the top of the page. The winner will be randomly chosen from all our Facebook "likes." We will announce the winner on Wednesday, December 12, 2012.

To like our page now, click the following link then click the Like button at the top of our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TheNCBLA

Being a Facebook friend of the NCBLA ensures you are among the first to receive our activist alerts, news of our latest projects and events, and critical information regarding literacy and literature for young people.

To stay even more connected with the NCBLA, we invite you to sign up for our Friends of the NCBLA email list. To be added to our email list, email us at info@thencbla.org and type "Friends of the NCBLA" in the subject field. Please include your name, mailing address, phone number, preferred email address, and other information you would like us to know (such as your profession and professional or personal interest in young people, literacy, libraries, and literature) in the email.

To read the official contest rules , click here.

Please SHARE our book giveaway information with all the parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, librarians, and other adults who live and work with young people you know! Thank you!

Celebrating the Holidays at the White House

The White House Celebrates The Holiday Season with "Joy to All" Theme

 

“This year’s theme is ‘Joy to All.’ It celebrates the many joys of the holiday seasons: the joy of giving and service to others; the joy of sharing our blessings with one another; and, of course, the joy of welcoming our friends and families as guests into our homes over these next several weeks.”

-First Lady Michelle Obama, November 28, 2012

 

First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia accept the
Christmas tree outside the White House. Photo (c) WhiteHouse.gov.

The official Christmas tree was delivered to the North Portico of the White House in a horse-drawn carriage and presented to First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by daughters Malia and Sasha and their dog Bo, on November 23. The tree, which now stands tall in the center of the Blue Room, honors the courageous service of the troops, veterans, and military families who serve our country with pride. The 18-foot-6- inch Fraser Fir from Jefferson, North Carolina is trimmed with ornaments decorated by military children living on U.S. Military Bases all over the world, and these one-of-a-kind ornaments honor their parents’ commitment to service.

Learn More About American
Holiday Traditions and White House History

The December holidays provide a fabulous opportunity to help young people learn about their own history and heritage, as well as the history, heritage, and traditions of others. Following are some resources you can share with young people to engage their natural curiosity and introduce them to holiday traditions at the White House:

 

Watch a video of the delivery of this year's Christmas tree, download the White House holiday tour book, print an official White House holiday book mark, and fill out Honor Cards for our nation's service men and women on the WhiteHouse.Gov holiday page.

Discover how the Christmas tree became a White House tradition and how farmers across America compete to grow the “Grand Champion” selected to adorn the White House each year in "Grand Champions of the White House" by guest writer Renee Critcher Lyons on OurWhiteHouse.org. Read on for an excerpt:

A tree has not always graced the White House at Christmastime. In fact, Franklin Pierce (1856), our 14th president, became the first to embrace the 500-year old tradition of bringing a tree into the home to celebrate the hope of Christmas morn. And, the practice did not become a yearly event until the 1880’s. Only one president since has frowned upon the use of an official White House Christmas tree, Teddy Roosevelt. Our 26th president (1901-1909), at a time before Christmas tree farms were prevalent, believed the harvesting of Christmas trees might deplete our national forests, and thus banned the practice from the White House.

 

Read about the history of the National Christmas Tree, which graces the Ellipse between the White House and the Washington Monument, in "Our National Christmas Tree" by Cheli Mennella on OurWhiteHouse.org. Here is an excerpt:

The magnificent blue spruce towers above the Ellipse, the ground between the White House and the Washington Monument. Throughout the year it is a silent reminder of yuletide pleasures and joy. Then in December the tree takes on new significance. Dressed in strands of colorful lights and trimmed with ornaments, the tree, our National Christmas Tree, becomes a beacon of beauty and brilliance.

Read Newbery-medal winning author Susan Cooper's contrasting memories of the White House--one at a time of sorrow and another at a time of Christmas splendor--in "Memory of the White House" on OurWhiteHouse.org.

 

Discover More About the White House and American History in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
For even more information and stories about White House holiday traditions, the presidents and first ladies, and American history, check out a copy of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out from your local library and share the extensive fiction and nonfiction pieces and plethora of original art illustrations with the young people in your life. To learn more about White House holidays, you might choose to read how the American hostage crisis in 1979 affected the lighting of the national Christmas tree during President Carter’s term in office in “From Christmas in Plains: Memories” by Jimmy Carter.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is sold in hardcover and paperback at bookstores everywhere. LEARN MORE about this anthology at OurWhiteHouse.org.

Start Your Holiday Shopping Now with Book Suggestions

The 2012 Gift Book Guide from Reading Rockets Makes Holiday Shopping Easy

Reading Rockets' 2012 Books as Gifts Guide makes it easy to find great books that will make kids want to turn off the TV! Created by children's literature expert Maria Salvadore, the list is a delightful collection of  nonfiction and fiction titles for kids ages 0-9 and includes recommendations for kids to read on their own and books for kids to read with a caring adult. This guide is easy to print, so you can take it with you  to the bookstore.  

Click here to check it out!

Don't Miss the Chance to Enter Our Book Giveaway!

"Like" the NCBLA on Facebook,
and You Could Win
an Outstanding Collection of Books
for Young People!

Many Books Have Been Signed by the Authors

 

We invite you to enter to win an outstanding collection of books for young people of all ages valued at over five hundred dollars—many of which have been signed by the authors! All you have to do is "like" our Facebook page!

 To like us on Facebook now, click here!

Including some of the finest fiction and nonfiction, picture books and novels, our giveaway collection features a diverse assortment of hardcover, paperback, and audio books by award-winning authors and illustrators:

William Alexander, Natalie Babbitt, Mary Brigid Barrett, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, Jack Gantos, Nikki Grimes, Steven Kellogg, Patricia MacLachlan, Patricia McKissack, Marilyn Nelson, John Paterson, Katherine Paterson, Lesa Cline-Ransome, James Ransome, Chris Raschka, Tanya Lee Stone, Chris Van Dusen, and MORE!

Many of our giveaway titles are pictured throughout this blog post! (Scroll down to see more.) More to be announced soon!

How to Enter to Win Books!

All you need to do is visit our Facebook page and "like" us before 11:00 PM EST on Monday, December 10, 2012, and you will be automatically entered in the giveaway. To like our page, simply click the Like button at the top of the page. The winner will be randomly chosen from all our Facebook "likes." We will announce the winner on Wednesday, December 12, 2012.

To like our page now, click the following link then click the Like button at the top of our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/TheNCBLA

Being a Facebook friend of the NCBLA ensures you are among the first to receive our activist alerts, news of our latest projects and events, and critical information regarding literacy and literature for young people.

To stay even more connected with the NCBLA, we invite you to sign up for our Friends of the NCBLA email list. To be added to our email list, email us at info@thencbla.org and type "Friends of the NCBLA" in the subject field. Please include your name, mailing address, phone number, preferred email address, and other information you would like us to know (such as your profession and professional or personal interest in young people, literacy, libraries, and literature) in the email.

To read the official contest rules, click here.

Please SHARE our book giveaway information with all the parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, librarians, and other adults who live and work with young people you know! Thank you!

AND EVEN MORE BOOKS to be announced soon!  Keep checking our Facebook page and this blog for book giveaway updates!

In Case You Missed It!

New York Times Opinion Piece
Explores the Common Core Standards' Requirement to Increase
the Reading of Nonfiction

The Common Core State Standards are educational goals and expectations for students in grades K-12 that define specific knowledge and skills in English language arts and math necessary for students to be successful in college and careers. The standards are designed to ensure all students—no matter where they live—receive a high quality education. The standards for English Language Arts and Literacy provide an integrated model of literacy designed to prepare students to be college and career ready in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. 

Illustration by Miki Maciaszek (c) The New York Times

The Common Core English Language standards require a higher concentration of nonfiction reading than has previously been taught; the goal is for 70 percent of the high school senior's curriculum to be nonfiction works. Many educational professionals find the decreased emphasis on fiction to be controversial.

In the New York Times opinion piece titled "What Should Children Read?," Sara Mosle presents an  argument in favor of more nonfiction reading across the curriculum. Here is an excerpt:


In my experience, students need more exposure to nonfiction, less to help with reading skills, but as a model for their own essays and expository writing...

I love fiction and poetry as much as the next former English major and often despair over the quality of what passes for “informational texts,” few of which amount to narrative much less literary narrative.

What schools really need isn’t more nonfiction but better nonfiction, especially that which provides good models for student writing. Most students could use greater familiarity with what newspaper, magazine and book editors call “narrative nonfiction”: writing that tells a factual story, sometimes even a personal one, but also makes an argument and conveys information in vivid, effective ways.

To read the entire article, click here.

Just in Time for Holiday Gift Giving! Enter Our Book Giveaway!

"Like" the NCBLA on Facebook, and You Could Win an Outstanding Collection of Books for Young People Valued at Over $500!

What could be better than opening a brand new book, its pristine pages never opened or perused by anyone else? How about a big box filled with an assortment of new books to share with young people, all written and illustrated by some of America's most gifted storytellers and artists and delivered to you free?!

Because the NCBLA believes in the magic and power of books, we want to spread the joy of reading this holiday season. We invite you to enter to win an outstanding collection of books for young people of all ages valued at over five hundred dollars—many of which have been signed by the authors! All you have to do is "like" us on Facebook! 

To like us on Facebook now, click here!

Including some of the finest fiction and nonfiction, picture books and novels, our giveaway collection features a diverse assortment of hardcover, paperback, and audio books by award-winning authors and illustrators:

2012 Newbery Medal Winner

William Alexander, Natalie Babbitt, Mary Brigid Barrett, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, Jack Gantos, Nikki Grimes, Steven Kellogg, Patricia MacLachlan, Patricia McKissack, Marilyn Nelson, Katherine Paterson, Lesa Cline-Ransome, James Ransome, Chris Raschka, Tanya Lee Stone, 
Chris Van Dusen, and MORE!  

Images of just a few of our giveaway book titles are included here. Check this blog and our Facebook page often to discover the other titles included in our giveaway.

2012 Caldecott Award Winner

  Our book giveaway is the perfect 
  solution to your holiday shopping
  woes! With the spirit of holiday
  giving in mind, the winner will
  receive enough books for personal
  gift giving AND philanthropic gift
  giving, enabling you to donate freely
  to the local classrooms, libraries,
  hospitals, or worthy youth
  organizations of your choice. 



How to Enter to Win Books!

Hardcover and signed by the author!

The book giveaway starts today, Monday, November 19, 2012. All you need to do is visit our Facebook page and "like" us before 11:00 PM EST on Monday, December 10, 2012, and you will be automatically entered in the giveaway.
(Our page is titled The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.) To like our page, simply click the Like button at the top of our Facebook page. The winner will be randomly chosen from all our Facebook "likes." We will announce the winner on Wednesday, December 12, 2012. 

Hardcover and signed by the author!
Companion audiobook also included!

Please share our book giveaway information with all the parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, librarians, and other adults who live and work with young people you know!

Being a Facebook friend of the NCBLA ensures you are among the first to receive our activist alerts, news of our latest projects and events, and critical information regarding literacy and literature for young people.

To stay even more connected with the NCBLA, we invite you to sign up for our Friends of the NCBLA email list. 

TWO hardcover copies included in giveaway!

To be added to our email list, email us at info@thencbla.org and type "Friends of the NCBLA" in the subject field. Please include your name, mailing address, phone number, preferred email address, and other information you would like us to know (such as your profession and professional or personal interest in young people, literacy, libraries, and literature) in the email.

For the latest updates on the Book Giveaway, be sure to check our Facebook page and this blog often.

To read the official contest rules, click here.

Books for Post-Election Learning and Discussion

The Election Is Over!

Check Out Our Book Recommendations to Keep Kids Engaged in Presidential History

The election may be over, but presidential and congressional politics will continue to remain a hot topic on the national agenda. There are hundreds of fabulous books--both fiction and nonfiction!--to help you engage kids in stories of White House residents past and present.

An excellent, authoritative list to find the right book for your kids or class is "Presidents, the President's House, and More: A Select List of Books (and a Few Web Sources) for Children and Young Adults" compiled by librarian Maria Salvadore and available on OurWhiteHouse.org. 

This extensive list includes annotations and publication information for each book, as well as recommended age levels to help guide your choices. Books are grouped into several categories.

Categories include:

• The White House and Its Residents
• The Early Years of the White House and the Presidency
• Civil War and Post Civil War Presidents and Eras
• Books About Voting Rights
• Books that Are Just for Fun!

You are certain to find a great book for even the most reluctant reader in these lists!    

And, we also suggest you check out our award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, which features poems, essays, stories, illustrations, and photographs by over 100 of America's most gifted writers and artists.  Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback. 

To complete the Presidential Timeline created by artist Bob Kolar in Our White House, click here.

"from SCREEN to BOOK" Event Held at Cambridge Public Library

Illustrators Offer Thoughts and Perspectives on Storytelling in Traditional and New Media

Illustration Copyright (c) 2012 Helen Oxenbury

In celebration of their twentieth anniversary, Candlewick Press hosted an engaging and informative picture book panel discussion for the public yesterday at the Cambridge Public Library titled "from SCREEN to BOOK."  Participating in the panel discussion were illustrators and book makers Tony Fucile, Scott Nash, Peter H. Reynolds, Holly McGhee, and Ann Stott. Shelf Awareness Children's Editor Jenny Brown moderated the discussion.

Regarding the topic of how newer media have influenced the illustrators in the art of storytelling, Scott Nash emphasized the importance of the narrative itself, noting that he prefers to ask the question, "What is the best and proper medium to tell the story?" Peter Reynolds noted his belief that the most powerful technology is the picture book itself, stressing, "There is nothing more interactive than a picture book."

Candlewick Art Director Ann Stott explained that from an editorial point of view, the usage of computer-generated art for picture book illustrations has made it easier to request changes and for the illustrator to make those changes. Stott also noted that digital technologies have improved so much that it is almost impossible to tell now if the art was created using a traditional or digital method. 

Ending the discussion, Peter Reynolds addressed aspiring  writers and illustrators by encouraging them to investigate the new avenues to publishing now available, noting that some stories just need to be told! For guidance, he recommended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI.org).  And Holly McGhee emphasized that November is National Novel Writing Writing Month (NANOWRIMO.org).

To learn more about how and why Candlewick Press is celebrating picture books, check out their website ReadingStartsHere.com, a year-long video celebration!

Literary Field Trip

Beyond the Book:
Take Kids to Beatrix Potter Exhibit
at the Morgan Library in New York

From The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

"Beatrix Potter: The Picture Letters," a new exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, explores twenty of Beatrix Potter's letters to children, including the earliest surviving picture letter, the famous Peter Rabbit letter, and others containing the original ideas for the adventures of Squirrel Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, and Pig Robinson.

Also on display are early commercial designs, nature studies, and fanciful animal drawings showing the development of Potter's artistic skills and the first stirrings of her story-telling sensibilities. Other objects in the exhibition speak to Potter’s fiercely independent business methods and her resolute attempts to sustain high standards in her published work. She had her first books privately printed at her expense, she stoutly defended her rights to her artistic creations, and she personally oversaw the design of toys and games based on her bestselling books, a model for merchandising ventures even now.

Young visitors and their caregivers are invited to enjoy books by Beatrix Potter in a reading area on the Morgan’s lower level. This exhibition continues through January 27. For more information, click here. 
 
More Literary Field Trip Ideas!

For a list of museums and galleries that offer exhibits of children’s book art, refer to the NCBLA article "A Literacy Field Trip." And for more tips about connecting books to places, read the Reading Rockets article "Day Trips for Book Lovers."

Picture Book Symposium THIS SATURDAY

Candlewick Press to Hold

"from SCREEN to BOOK"

November 10, from 1:00 to 3:00 PM
at Cambridge Public Library

Candlewick Press invites picture book lovers to celebrate its 20th anniversary at its first picture book symposium, featuring an incredible panel of illustrators and bookmakers exploring art and story in both print and multimedia. 

 

 

Special guests include:

TONY FUCILE

author-illustrator of Let’s Do Nothing!

SCOTT NASH

author-illustrator of Tuff Fluff and

The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate

PETER H. REYNOLDS

author-illustrator of The Dot, Ish and Sky Color

and

HOLLY MCGHEE

founder of Pippin Properties and author of Mitchell’s License

Shelf Awareness Children's Editor, Jenny Brown,
will moderate the discussion.

This very special event will take place Saturday, November 20 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM in the main lecture hall at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Books will be available for purchase and autographing from Porter Square Books.

For more information, please visit cambridgema.gov.

Campaign 2012: Last Minute Lesson Plans

Take Some Time to Discuss the Presidential Campaigns with the Young People in Your Life

In these final days of the presidential campaigns, take some time to READ and DISCUSS such topics as the president's responsibilities, the process of voting and voting rights, and how to make sense of the nonstop campaign rhetoric.

Get all the information, discussion questions, and activities for use at home or at school you'll need  in our Race to the Ballot: The Our White House Presidential Campaign and Election Kit for Kids!

• Read all about presidential job requirements, responsibilities, and the makings of an excellent president in "Help Wanted: President of the United States."
• Discover how the Republicans' and Democrats' mascots came to be in "The Donkey and the Elephant."
• Learn all about how the process of voting has changed throughout American history in "From Peas to Paper to IPads: The Evolution of the Ballot in America."

And have fun with our activity ideas, such as inviting kids to write their own stump speeches,  make their own campaign tokens, analyze the rhetoric of a particular campaign ad, and play a presidential trivia game! Click here for these activities and MORE!

And be sure to check out our American history anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, a perfect partner in engaging our kids in this historic election cycle with essays, poetry, paintings, photographs, and more! Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

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