The work on One Beetle Too Many (Candlewick, 2009) began more than 24 years ago, according to author Kathryn Lasky. "It's amazing that I haven't evolved into another creature," the author states, referring to the process of bringing her picture-book biography of Charles Darwin to fruition. In this title Lasky takes a complex theory—the theory of natural selection—and a complicated man, and makes both accessible to young readers. In many ways, the book's seeds were planted while she was working on her very first title, Traces of Life: The Origins of Humankind (Morrow, 1989), illustrated by Whitney Powell. But the release of Beetle in 2009 was perfectly timed, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On The Origin of Species. Here Lasky discusses her career-long fascination with the naturalist.

Can you talk a bit about how this project evolved, if you'll forgive a pun?

It's an eventful time of the year in the publishing world: the winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré, and other children's and young adult book awards have just been announced and the excitement is high. This year was a particularly rewarding one for me as a member of the 2009 Newbery committee. From that seat at the table, I gained a remarkable appreciation for the selection process and overwhelming respect for my colleagues who volunteered as many as 1000 hours each to read, evaluate, discuss, and choose the best books of the year.

Valentine's Day brings warm thoughts during the coldest time of year. Several recent titles celebrate love, friendship, and other cozy sentiments, and are just right for group sharing with elementary school students. Cuddly pets, school romances, unlikely partnerships, overbearing relatives, and runaway kisses add to the seasonal fun.

Teachers in Love and Pets in Tutus

Our students live in the here and now; anything before the invention of the iPod is ancient history to them. Recently I read a New York Times article reporting on a study about dreams. It found that people over the age of 55 dream in black in white about a quarter of the time, while people 25 and younger almost never do. That's because the young'uns have never really watched black-and-white TV or old movies! Vietnam is the Stone Age to them. How then do we bring history alive in their color-saturated lives? Try these new children's books, brilliant read-aloud selections all, to immerse listeners in the drama and dangers of history, especially the Revolutionary War tableau of 1776.

Alternately engrossing, thrilling, and heartrending, Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains (S & S, 2008; Gr. 5 Up) was one of the five nominees for the prestigious National Book Award in 2008 in the Young People's Literature category. As 13-year-old orphan, Isabel Gardener, tells it, she and her 5-year-old sister Ruth were to have been freed after their owner, Miss Mary Finch, died in May, 1776. It was in her will. But Miss Mary's only living relative refuses to acknowledge Isabel's claim, and sells the two girls to Mr. Lockton, a Loyalist from New York City, and his quick-tempered wife. Isabel's astute and compelling narrative immerses readers in the day-to-day chores and personal indignities she endures as a lowly house servant, intertwined with the politics of New York City under siege, occupied first by the Continental army, and then by the British. more » » » 

The Lincoln Bicentennial has sparked a prodigious creative outpouring from publishers of all stripes, producing an impressive array of books and media for readers from preschool through high school. It has been exciting to see the range and quality of materials that have been generated about someone who already was the most written about figure in American history. New fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and original scholarship about the man, the myth, his family and friends, and the times in which he lived have been added to the canon. Lincoln's own words have figured prominently in these works and the challenges and achievements of his years in office have struck a chord with today's readers as the 2008 presidential campaign played out and the nation looks to the wisdom and inspiration of the 16th president as our country faces monumental challenges.

February has arrived and teachers and librarians across the country have readied displays, pulling together books and other materials that highlight the considerable contributions of African Americans and the fundamental role they have played in shaping our nation's history. While it can't be denied that many experiences are deeply rooted in race, African-American history shouldn't be limited to a group of people and events studied in isolation.

In the preface to Black History in the Pages of Children's Literature (Scarecrow, 2008), Rose Casement writes, "In spite of ...February being designated as Black History Month, few students, Black or White, leave school with an understanding of the depth and breadth of historical Black experiences in America." To increase student understanding, Casement encourages language arts and social studies teachers to integrate books that include the experiences of African Americans into their curriculums. more » » »