Smidgen of Vermont Children’s Lit
Thinking of my hometown this morning as it prepares for the Brattleboro Literary Festival. Curious City spoke with Chris Lenois on WKVT’s Live & Local about A Smidgen of Vermont Children’s Literature. Listen here! There are SO many great children’s book creators in the Green Mountains, but we have SO little time on the show. What did I miss? What Vermont Kids Lit do you love? ___________________________________________________________________________________ Llama Llama Time to Share By Anna Dewdney Published by Penguin Group USA Ages 1-4 Locate a copy at Local...
Read MoreSeparation in Children’s Lit
Separated by miles and miles, but connected through the power of radio, Curious City spoke with Chris Lenois on WKVT’s Live & Local about Separation in Children’s Literature. Listen here! With the school buses again rolling across our cities and towns and first-day-of-school pictures flooding Facebook, it seemed a good time to talk about how children grow with and grow apart from their parents through reading. Below are some of the books we mentioned and some swell resources! What are your favorite back-to-school books? Books on separation? Books where the parents are...
Read MoreAfrican American Children’s Lit on Live & Local
Once again joined the indomitable Chris Lenois on WKVT’s Live & Local to talk children’s literature. Listen here! This month, the conversation focused on President Obama’s call for America to do some “soul searching” about racial bias. One way to help children grow up with less bias is to feed them a steady diet of multicultural books. In honor of Trayvon Martin, we discussed contemporary African American (and cross-group friendship) books from toddler to teen. These books are a “mirror” for African American children showing them themselves in...
Read MoreI write in blood because…
So many other blogs and individuals carry the important news and releases in the mighty children’s lit universe, so I tend not to. BUT, occasionally there is a something that reaffirms what I so passionately believe–that children’s lit and its creators are the Deliverers of Our Country (thank you E. Nesbit for that title). The brilliant piece from the equally so Sherman Alexie reminds Curious City why we exist and why we continue to muddle on… “…I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen...
Read MoreAffectionate Readers Wanted
“Affection for a book is its best award, and books that earn that award arrive from the hearts and minds of writers, not juries.” –E.L. Konigsburg* Delighted by the ALA Youth Media Awards? Disappointed? The halls of the ALA Midwinter Conference buzzed with each librarian and reader’s applause (and whoops) for winning titles and sighs of disappointment (and rumbles of more than disappointment) for favorite titles not selected. Instead of cataloging my complaints and huzzahs, I have resolved to instead be a more affectionate reader. Taking a page from the...
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