Yesterday the American Library Association announced the winners of the Youth Media Awards, an event one colleague compared to opening a pile of holiday gifts. The “gift” that made me the happiest this year was the Pura Belpré Award for…
Category: Out of the Mainstream: Gender, Ethnicity, and Disability
The Birthday Party Pledge
For the past two years, I’ve spent the middle of January at the residency for Vermont College of Fine Arts’ MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults, but before I enrolled in this fine program, I staffed a…
Guest Post by Kelly Starling Lyons of “Ellen’s Broom”
No Ordinary Day: New and Noteworthy
NO ORDINARY DAY by Deborah Ellis, the acclaimed Canadian children’s author, is an adventure story of the heart that a reader of any age will never forget. Out of coal dust and leprosy, Deborah Ellis has created Valli, a…
How to Be Outspoken
One of the great pleasures of being a book review blogger is getting to know other bloggers, hearing what they’re reading, and sharing notes. I met Maggie Desmond-O’Brien two years ago when she reviewed Gringolandia, and we’ve stayed in touch…
Marriage Equality for Kids: A Review of Operation Marriage
After years of struggle and frustration—including a close call in 2009—same sex couples gained the right to marry in New York State this past summer. The victory followed countless demonstrations, endless negotiating, the declared support of newly elected Governor Andrew…
Teen Book Bloggers Forge a New Reviewing Model: An Interview with Maggie Desmond-O’Brien
This weekend I have been in Chicago for the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) conference, followed by the ALAN workshop. (Many have wondered about this: ALAN stands for Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE.) As part of…
What History Can Teach the Occupiers: A Review of Round & Round Together
Six weeks ago, I took my first trip to the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park. Since then, the numbers have grown in New York City, and the Occupy movement has spread to hundreds of other cities in the…
Healing, Miracles, and Young Adult Literature: An Interview with Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Interview by J.L. Powers Poet and novelist Benjamin Alire Sáenz—recently named by Poets and Writers as one of the world’s most inspiring writers—just brought out his sixth collection of poetry, The Book of What Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2010).…
MPSA Political Science Conference–call for papers
Call for Papers for the 70th Annual MPSA Political Science Conference, April 12 – 15, 2012, in Downtown Chicago Paper Proposal Deadline: 10/14; Poster Proposal Deadline 12/2. Submit a Proposal Research: A conference with about 1000 panels in all subfields, including Politics, Literature…