More Ways to Celebrate Poetry Month!

Share a Poem with the Kids in Your Life!

National Poetry Month is a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets in 1996 with the ultimate goal of widening the attention of individuals and the media—to the art of poetry, to living poets, to our complex poetic heritage, and to poetry books and journals of wide aesthetic range and concern. 

As New England AND the NCBLA take off some time this week to celebrate spring break, we present to you these suggestions from the Academy of American Poets for celebrating National Poetry Month. Here's ten from their extensive list:

1. Read a book of poetry.
2. Memorize a poem.
3. Revisit a classic poem. Maybe a Shakespearean sonnet?
4. Put poetry in an unexpected place...perhaps the bathroom mirror?
5. Bring a poem to your place of worship.
6. Attend a poetry reading at your bookstore, library, or coffee shop.
7. Support a literary organization.
8. Take a poem out to lunch.
9. Recite a poem to family or friends.
10. Add your favorite verse to your email signature.

Visit poets.org to discover the remaining 20 ways you can celebrate National Poetry Month! Which is your favorite? What other ideas can you come up with? How can you integrate poetry into your family's daily life?

MORE Poetry Resources!

Poetry lovers who also enjoy American history may delight in reading Gregory Maguire's poetic metaphor about the White House titled "Looking In, Looking Out" and Nikki Grimes' poem about a blind student's visit to the White House titled "Staking Claim." Both are available exclusively on OurWhiteHouse.org.

Also be sure to review the diverse poetry included in the printed anthology Our White: Looking In, Looking Out, which is available in libraries and bookstores. Included in the Our White House collection are Jane Yolen's imagined conversation between John and Abigail Adams titled "The White House First Residents," Jack Prelutsky's humorous poem about the Clinton's cat titled "I Live in the White House," Jon Scieszka's rhyme titled "The White House," Lee Bennett Hopkins' poem titled "Good Nights," Kate DiCamillo's touching piece about Lincoln's death titled "In Early April," and Paul B. Janeczko's haunting "Mary Todd Lincoln Speaks of Her Son's Death, 1862."

Learn more about Our White House at OurWhiteHouse.org.

Celebrate Poetry Month!

Look to Poetry Inspired by the White House

Check Out Offerings in
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and OurWhiteHouse.org

April is poetry month, and in celebration, why not find a poem or two to share with the young people in your life? A variety of poems inspired by history and written by some of America's most gifted poets await you within the NCBLA's interdisciplinary anthology, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.  The diverse collection of poems--some poignant, others just plain fun--includes:

"Mary Todd Lincoln Speaks of Her Sons' Death, 1862" by Paul B. Janeczko

"In Early April" by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Sheban

"Good Nights" by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by William Low

"The White House" by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Tony Fucile

"I Live in the White House" by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Jim LaMarche 

"Inaugural Morning" by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by A. G. Ford (paperback edition) 

"Staking Claim," also written by Nikki Grimes, is available on the NCBLA's education website OurWhiteHouse.org. Just click here.  

The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance created Our White House 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. Featuring the work of more than 100 authors and illustrators, this incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America's history through the prism of the White House.

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

Activist Alert!

Ask Your Congressional Representatives
to Support Funding
for Libraries and Childhood Literacy

Appropriations season is heating up in Washington DC. Please call your U.S. Representative by Wednesday, April 10 and ask them to sign two separate "Dear Colleague" letters that will greatly help libraries.

Support Funding for LSTA
in FY 2014
Ask your representative to support funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Here's why:

• LSTA is the primary source of funding for libraries in the federal budget
• LSTA helps many public libraries provide services to users that include, but are not limited to: job searches, résumé building help, digital literacy workshops, access to e-government services, etc.

Your representative can sign a letter indicating their support for LSTA in the FY13 budget. Ask your representative to contact Rep. Raul Grijalva's (D-AZ) office to sign the LSTA letter.


Support Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Competitive Grant
Ask your representative to support Childhood Literacy in FY 2014. Here is why:

• Congress included $28.6 million in the FY12 budget for this competitive grant administered through the U.S. Department of Education to support school libraries and national nonprofit literacy organization working toward childhood literacy
• A minimum of half of this money will go as a competitive grant to low-income school libraries to help update their books and materials.

Ask your representative to sign a letter supporting Childhood Literacy in FY 2014, here's how:

Republicans: If your representative is a Republican, ask them to contact Rep. Don Young's (R-AK) office to sign on to this letter.

Democrats: If your representative is a Democrat, ask them to contact Rep. Jim McGovern's (D-MA) office to sign on to this letter.


Please call today! It's EASY.  Go to the Action Alert page of the ALA website and enter your zip code into the "Call Now" box to find the number for your representative.

April Is National Poetry Month

Share a POEM
with the Young People in Your Life! 

Invite Kids to Write Their Own Poems!

In honor of National Poetry Month, we share with you below one of nineteenth century, American poet Emily Dickinson's poems, "'Hope' is the thing with feathers." Why not take a moment and share it with the young people in your life?  

 

Take turns reciting each stanza. Print copies of the poem and put them in your pocket. Ask young people to write their own poems inspired by hope, faith, nature, family, friends, or something else they cherish!

“Hope” is the thing with feathers
By Emily Dickinson 1830–1886

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

MORE Fun with Poetry!

To hear and watch actress Claire Danes reading Dickinson's poem, click here.

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

More Spring Teaching Ideas!

Check Out 10 Creative Ways

to Teach the Joy of Spring 

Even if it doesn’t yet feel like spring where you live, the seasons changed last week, and everyone is ready to celebrate. Parents, grandparents, teachers, and librarians---take a look at "10 Ways to Teach the Joys of Spring" by Katherine Schulten in the New York Times. Included are fun, engaging ideas for teaching 10 seasonal subjects, from poetry and baseball to Earth Day and April Fools’ Day, all via Times articles, essays and multimedia. Older kids will certainly get a kick out of learning the cultural history of spring break.

To check out all 10 ideas, click here. 

And be sure to check out the Poetic Spring, March Magic, and April Delights recommended reading booklists on ReadingRockets. org.

Dig In! Learning Opportunities Abound This Spring!

Plant a Garden with Your Kids and
Reap the Rewards

Copyright (c) 2008 by S. D. Schindler

Celebrate this first day of Spring by making plans to plant a garden with your kids. No matter how big--or small--the garden, you and your family can benefit not only from the garden's bounty but also from the experience itself. 

 

In the NCBLA article "Growing a Spring Garden: Cultivating Plants and Your Child's Literacy Skills," author and educator Mary Brigid Barrett explains the interdisciplinary opportunities inherent in gardening with your children.

Make Connections!

Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert, March 26, 2012

To get your kids excited about gardening, make connections with the gardening work of other kids, including the work of the First Family. You can learn more about the Obama's experiences in planting, harvesting, and eating healthy recipes made from the bounty of the White House kitchen garden by searching kitchen garden on WhiteHouse.gov. For information on taking students on a free tour of the White House kitchen garden, click here. To discover White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford's grilled garden pizza recipe, click here.  

 

Dig into the Past!

Help young people make connections to the past in the article "White House Colonial Kitchen Gardens" by Stephanie Loer in the NCBLA's literature and art anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. S. D. Schindler's coordinating illustration of Thomas Jefferson enjoying the bounty of his own White House kitchen garden is featured above.

And be sure to check out the online article "A Taste of the Past: White House Kitchens, Menus, and Recipes" by Mary Brigid Barrett. This article is included in the educational companion website to Our White House and features a glimpse into the days before modern appliances eased the burdens of the White House cook. Also included in "A Taste of the Past" is President Dwight Eisenhower's not-to-be-missed recipe for Green Turtle Soup!

The National Children's
Book and Literacy Alliance's award-winning book Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is filled with stunning art, poetry, stories, and personal accounts that celebrate our Presidents and First Ladies, and the history and culture of America! All proceeds go to help the NCBLA continue its work. Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.  

 

Learn more at OurWhiteHouse.org.

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

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS ANNOUNCES 2013 LITERATURE AWARD WINNERS

Natalie Babbitt Awarded the Academy's Inaugural E. B. White Award

The American Academy of Arts and Letters announced today the names of 19 writers who will receive its 2013 awards in literature. The awards will be presented in New York in May at the Academy's annual Ceremonial. The literature prizes, totaling $175,000, honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The Academy's 250 members nominate candidates, and a rotating committee of writers selects winners. This year's committee members were Louis Begley, Louise Glück, A. R. Gurney, Alison Lurie, Francine Prose, Mark Strand and Charles Wright. 

The inaugural E.B. White Award of $10,000 recognizes a writer for achievement in children's literature and was given to NCBLA board member Natalie Babbitt! Congratulations!

Eight Arts and Letters Awards in Literature honor exceptional accomplishment in any genre. This year, the awards of $7500 each will be presented to Katherine Boo, Joanna Klink, Neil Labute, Bill McKibben, Bruce Norris, Darryl Pinckney, D.A. Powell, and Brad Watson.

Read the complete list of awards here.

Check Out This New Book!

New Anthology WHO DONE IT? 
by Jon Scieszka Pulls Together
Talents of 80 Authors!

A star-studded anthology with a devilish hook, whose proceeds benefit 826nyc: the fabulous literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers.

Can you imagine the most cantankerous book editor alive? Mr. Burns meets Stalin, but worse (appearance and odor-wise) than a gluttonous farm pig? A man who makes no secret of his love of cheese or his disdain of unworthy authors? That man is Herman Mildew.

The anthology opens with an invitation to a party, care of this insufferable monster, where over eighty of the most talented, bestselling, and recognizable names in children's and YA fiction learn that they are suspects in his murder. All must provide alibis in brief first-person entries. The problem is that all of them are liars; all of them are fabulists; and all have something to hide.

NCBLA Executive Director Mary Brigid Barrett says, "Go buy this book for your kids. Every kid on the planet needs this book. And the extra bonus is that proceeds from WHO DONE IT? benefit 826nyc, the literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers!"

Save the Dates!

Library of Congress National Book Festival
Scheduled for September 21-23
on the National Mall in Washington, DC

Book lovers of all ages are invited to attend the 13th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival 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.

The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance presented a
Readers Theater Production of THE EXQUISITE CORPSE ADVENTURE
at the 2011 National Book Festival.

This year's festival will feature authors, poets and illustrators in several pavilions. 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.

Festival fans and other lovers of the printed word are invited to take a "Books That Shaped the World" survey on the Library of Congress National Book Festival website, loc.gov/bookfest. The Library, which invited public comment on "Books That Shaped America" in 2012, will continue its multi-year Celebration of the Book with a look at Books That Shaped the World in 2013.

"Last year’s festival drew more authors and more readers than ever before" said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "The excitement is building once again as we invite a public conversation about the power of books to change the world."

Learn more at loc.gov/bookfest.

To watch videos of authors and illustrators presenting at previous book festivals, click here.

Get Kids Reading This Spring!

Check Out Great Reading Resources for Spring!

If you are looking for ways to engage even the most reluctant reader to enjoy a few great books this spring, be sure to check out RIF's free and easy-to-print activity guide, filled with fun ideas like "Books for Breakfast" and the "1,2 Buckle My Shoe" rhyming game. To print RIF's Spring Ahead with Reading Fun Guide, click here. 

Another excellent resource for getting kids excited about reading is "Growing a Spring Garden: Cultivating Plants and Your Child's Literacy Skills" by Mary Brigid Barrett, on the NCBLA's website thencbla.org. This extensive article provides some great ideas for getting kids reading AND active, such as looking at seed and garden catalogs with your child, planning a spring garden, and creating a garden sketchbook and journal.

And don't forget your local library! Your library's children's and YA librarians can help you sort the stacks for the best books for your kids!

NCBLA Announces Winners in the OUR WHITE HOUSE BOOK GIVEAWAY

Three Winners to Receive
a Classroom Full of Books
in the NCBLA's
Our White House Book Giveaway!

Thank You to Candlewick Press for Donating All Copies of Our White House for the Winners!

Last month the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance invited adults who live and work with young people to submit their creative ideas for engaging kids during Presidents Month. Three winners were chosen at random from all entries received to be awarded 40 copies of the award-winning, interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out, enough for all the students in a class or group! The NCBLA thanks everyone who took the time to write and send their entries. 

The winners are:

• Alamance Christian School in Graham, North Carolina
• Resurrection Saint Paul School in Ellicott City, Maryland
• West Prairie South Elementary in Colchester, Illinois

The NCBLA will be publishing a list of some of the most creative activity ideas we received on OurWhiteHouse.org in the coming weeks! 

This giveaway was made possible by the very generous donation of all prize books by Candlewick Press. THANK YOU!

A perfect companion for Common Core classroom activities, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is the interdisciplinary anthology created by over 100 of America’s most gifted storytellers and artists as a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, nonfiction, 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. 

To learn more about Our White House, visit the companion educational website OurWhiteHouse.org, which overflows with additional exclusive articles, classroom activities, resources, and MORE!

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

Women's Suffrage: Connect Kids to the Past with Contemporary Events

Washington Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage Parade

Inez Milholland in the 1913 Parade.
Photograph (c) Library of Congress.

Yesterday participants marched in Washington, DC to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the women's suffrage parade in the tradition of suffragettes like Inez Milholland, who at age 27, paraded on horseback in flowing white robes to support the right of women to vote--an image that has become iconic of the 1913 march. Yesterday's march retraced the original 5,000-person march down Pennsylvania Avenue and focused on women’s equality.

Anniversaries of critical historical events are an ideal time to connect young people to the past. Why not share the story of Inez Miholland and other suffragettes who worked so hard to gain the vote for women with the young people in your life this week? You can read about Inez in the Washington Post here, as well as in the Library of Congress American Memory website article "Marching for the Vote: Remembering the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913." 

Another excellent resource for digging into the past is the NCBLA's award-winning, interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out (Candlewick Press). Included among the poetry, prose, and art selections is an imaginative piece titled “Eyewitness to History,” in which author Stephanie S. Tolan imagines a dialogue between a journalist and suffragists who are picketing outside the White House in 1917 demanding the right to vote. The journalist is working for a program that “travels through time to let you witness the major events of the past.” Emily Arnold McCully's coordinating illustration is featured here.

And on the companion website OurWhiteHouse.org, you can share the history of voting rights in America using the information in "Who Gets to Vote?" 

Family Outing!

Work of Beloved Author and Illustrator Maurice Sendak to Tour the Country

The first touring exhibition of Maurice Sendak's illustrations since his death at 83 last May is making its debut at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. It's called "Maurice Sendak: 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons," but a more apt title might have been "Where the Wild Cards Are."

The official title alludes to the fact that this is the 50th anniversary of Sendak's landmark children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Read the entire article at:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-maurice-sendak-bowers-20130227,0,7719278.story

Don't Miss Out on the OUR WHITE HOUSE Book Giveaway! A Perfect Book for Implementing Common Core Standards in Your Classroom!

TODAY Is the LAST DAY to Send Your Entry
to Win up to 40 Copies of the
Award-Winning, Interdisciplinary Anthology
Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

Send Your Entry Before 11:00 PM EST TONIGHT!

To enter to win copies of the award-winning, interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out  for all the students in your class or group, simply send a short description of an activity idea for engaging kids during Presidents Month by email or Facebook message to the NCBLA TODAY before 11:00 PM EST.

A perfect companion for Common Core classroom activities, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is the interdisciplinary anthology created by over 100 of America’s most gifted storytellers and artists as a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, nonfiction, 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.  The retail value of Our White House is $29.99 per copy.

THREE WINNERS will be chosen at random from all entries received. Each winner will receive up to 40 copies of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

Winners will be announced Wednesday, March 6.

Send your one- to three-paragraph summary or lesson plan that describes your idea to the NCBLA by email (info@thencbla.org) or by Facebook message (facebook.com/TheNCBLA) before 11:00 PM EST tonight, March 1, 2013. Be sure to include complete contact information (name, title, address, email address, phone number, and school,  library, or organization name as applicable).

For more contest information and rules, go to: http://thencbla.org/OWH_Book_Giveaway.html

Ask for Our White House at your local library or bookstore!

This giveaway is made possible by the generous donation of all books by Candlewick Press. THANK YOU!

Let's Read Across America!

Tomorrow is READ ACROSS AMERICA Day! 

On March 1, the National Education Association calls for every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult.

Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat!
It's that time of year again, time to gear up for NEA's Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, community centers, and families participate by celebrating the joys of reading with young people of all ages!  

 

What will you be reading with the young people in your life?!  

Check out the NEA's extensive resources on the NEA.org website for raising life-long readers, which include tips, booklists, and MORE!

And don't miss out on even more great resources from Reading Rockets at ReadingRockets.org!

Don't Miss Out! Enter the OUR WHITE HOUSE BOOK GIVEAWAY This Week!

The Our White House Book Giveaway

Ends This Friday, March 1 at 11:00 PM EST

Enter NOW to Win Copies of Our White House
for All the Students in Your Class or Group!

YOU could easily win copies of the award-winning, interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out  for all the students in your class or group in the NCBLA's Our White House Book Giveaway! All you have to do is write a short description of an activity idea for engaging kids during Presidents Month and send it by email or Facebook message to the NCBLA.

THREE WINNERS will be chosen at random from all entries received. Each winner will receive up to 40 copies of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

The deadline for sending your entry is this Friday, March 1 at 11:00 PM EST. Winners will be announced Wednesday, March 6.

Simply send a one- to three-paragraph summary or a lesson plan that describes your idea to the NCBLA by email (info@thencbla.org) or by Facebook message (facebook.com/TheNCBLA) before 11:00 PM EST Friday, March 1, 2013. Be sure to include complete contact information (name, title, address, email address, phone number, and school,  library, or organization name as applicable).

For more contest information and rules, go to: http://thencbla.org/OWH_Book_Giveaway.html

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is the interdisciplinary anthology created by over 100 of America’s most gifted storytellers and artists as a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

Our White House and its companion website OurWhiteHouse.org are perfect resources to inspire kids about American History and the presidents! Ask for Our White House at your local library or bookstore!

This giveaway is made possible by the generous donation of all book prizes by Candlewick Press. THANK YOU!

Attention Teachers, Librarians, Homeschoolers, Parents!!

The Our White House Book Giveaway

Ends One Week from Today

Enter NOW to Win Copies of Our White House
for All the Students in Your Class or Group!

Would you like to win copies of the award-winning, interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out  for all the students in your class or group? All you have to do is write a short description of an activity idea for engaging kids during Presidents Month and send it by email or Facebook message to the NCBLA. How easy is that?

THREE WINNERS will be chosen at random from all entries received. Each winner will receive up to 40 copies of Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out.

The deadline for sending your entry is Friday, March 1 at 11:00 PM EST. Winners will be announced Wednesday, March 6.

Simply send a one- to three-paragraph summary or a lesson plan that describes your idea to the NCBLA by email (info@thencbla.org) or by Facebook message (facebook.com/TheNCBLA) before 11:00 PM EST Friday, March 1, 2013. Be sure to include complete contact information (name, title, address, email address, phone number, and school,  library, or organization name as applicable).

For more contest information and rules, go to: http://thencbla.org/OWH_Book_Giveaway.html

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is the interdisciplinary anthology created by over 100 of America’s most gifted storytellers and artists as a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press.

Our White House and its companion website OurWhiteHouse.org are perfect resources to inspire kids about American History and the presidents! Ask for Our White House at your local library or bookstore!

This giveaway is made possible by the generous donation of all books by Candlewick Press. Thank you!

In Case You Missed It!

What's Happening in Gym Class?

Photo by Angel Valentin for The New York Times

Check out this article in The New York Times reporting on other subjects being incorporated into gym class, "Gym Class Isn’t Just Fun and Games Anymore" by Motoko Rich. Here is an excerpt:

Spurred by an intensifying focus on student test scores in math and English as well as a desire to incorporate more health and fitness information, more school districts are pushing physical education teachers to move beyond soccer, kickball and tennis to include reading, writing and arithmetic as well. New standards for English and math that have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia recommend that teachers in a wide variety of subjects incorporate literacy instruction and bring more “informational text” into the curriculum. Many states have interpreted these standards to include physical education and have developed recommendations and curriculum for districts and teachers to incorporate literacy skills and informational text into gym classes. 

To read the entire article, click here.

Advocacy Alert!

American Library Association Announces National Library Legislative Day

The NCBLA gathered library supporters for the
2010 National Library Legislative Day.

Registration is now open for the 39th annual National Library Legislative Day, the two-day advocacy event where hundreds of library supporters, leaders and patrons meet with their members of Congress to champion national library funding.

To register now, click here.

The event, which is hosted by the American Library Association, will be held May 7-8, 2013, in Washington, D.C. As part of the event, participants will receive training and briefings to prepare them for meetings with their members of Congress.

For more information, visit www.ala.org/nlld. Questions or concerns about National Library Legislative Day should be directed to Ted Wegner (Email: twegner@alawash.org), ALA grassroots coordinator.

Happy Birthday George!

Happy Presidents Day!

Teachers, Homeschoolers,
Librarians, and Parents!

Tell Us How You Are Celebrating
the Presidents Today and This Month
with the Young People in Your Life
to WIN BOOKS
for ALL Students in Your Class or Group in
the NCBLA's
Our White House Book Givewaway!

Illustration (c) Bagram Ibatoulline
"From the Foundation Up" in Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out

The Our White House Book Giveaway is an ideal and EASY opportunity for all adults who live and work with young people to win copies of the interdisciplinary anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out for every student in the winner’s class or group--up to 40 copies!

THREE WINNERS will be chosen at random from all entries received.

To be entered to win, share your most creative activity idea for engaging young people during Presidents Month. Your idea could be a field trip, a presidential rap, writing exercise, skit--any activity that gets kids excited about American History! 

 

Simply send a one- to three-paragraph summary or a lesson plan that describes your idea to the NCBLA by email (info@thencbla.org) or by Facebook message (facebook.com/TheNCBLA) before 11:00 PM EST Friday, March 1, 2013. Be sure to include complete contact information. 

 

For more contest information and rules, go to: thencbla.org/OWH_Book_Giveaway.html.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is the interdisciplinary anthology created by over 100 of America’s most gifted storytellers and artists as a project of the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. An incomparable collection of essays, personal accounts, historical fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and a stunning array of original art, Our White House offers a multifaceted look at America’s history through the prism of the White House. Our White House is available in both hardcover and paperback from Candlewick Press. Learn more on the companion website OurWhiteHouse.org.

This giveaway is made possible by the generous donation of all books by Candlewick Press. Thank you!