Bill Cosby: Librarians Are Key By Lauren Barack - 10/07/2009
Leave it to the Father of Fat Albert to champion libraries. Bill Cosby, the legendary comedian, actor, author, and supporter of public schools, recently flew to Detroit to tape two public services announcements (PSAs) meant to remind students in failing school districts about the treasures they can unlock inside libraries. We caught up with Cosby, who also has a PhD in education, to ask why we need libraries now more than ever—and how parents can benefit, too.
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The Lady in Black By Rick Margolis - 10/01/2009
Your new novel takes place on a fictitious volcanic island, where a group of extraordinary people, called the Lost, are mysteriously murdered. What exactly is a Lost? A Lost is somebody who is capable of sending their senses—effectively fragments of their consciousness—away from their body in a loosely tethered fashion.
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A Short 700-Mile Walk in The Gambian Bush By Debra Lau Whelan - 09/30/2009
Getting arrested by the Taliban, hanging out with Somali pirates, and riding through the streets of Phnom Penh are all in a day's for photojournalist Jason Florio. Now he and his partner, Helen Jones, are walking 700 miles around the perimeter of The Gambia to raise money for the U.K.-based Eden Project charity.
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Frog and Toad Again By Debra Lau Whelan - 09/23/2009
The late award-winning author and illustrator Arnold Lobel never expected that the private sketches he gave as gifts to friends would ever be published. But after an estate sale last year uncovered several unpublished works, his daughter Adrianne Lobel placed a few calls—and a new book was quickly under way. More
Mahy's Muse By Lauren Barack - 09/16/2009
From her home in New Zealand, author Margaret Mahy, 73, has penned more than 100 books—the first of which was published while working as a children’s librarian in 1969. Her latest picture book, Bubble Trouble (Clarion, 2009), a giggling romp about a baby bobbing through the air, earned her a prestigious Boston Globe Horn Book Award. We asked her how she stays aloft as a writer and from where her inspiration flows.
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To Dye For: An Innovative Teen Summer Reading Program By Debra Lau Whelan - 09/09/2009
Forget ash blonde or sable brunette. Kat Werner, the head of teen services at Benton Public Library in Benton Harbor, MI, prefers the more adventurous shades of the rainbow on the top of her head. That’s why she decided to auction her hair color to a lucky winner in her summer reading program. On September 9, Werner changed her hair color yet again—this time to yellow and orange.
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The Odd Couple: An Interview with Author-Illustrator Jerry Pinkney By Rick Margolis - 09/01/2009
You’ve won five Caldecott Honors and five Coretta Scott King Awards. But a lot of folks are saying this is your best book yet. You often hear authors and artists say, “I respond to and I’m inspired by the child within me.” And a lot of my career was about that. I was reaching down to find that part of me that spoke not only about my childhood but what I thought about chi...
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Excuse Me. Do You Speak Digital?: Harvard's John Palfrey Explores What It's Like to Be a Digital Native By Christopher Harris - 09/01/2009
John Palfrey is one busy guy, with an impressive gig. In 2008, he was named the Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. And when he’s not teaching courses on intellectual property and Internet law, there’s a good chance he’s overseeing the L school’s research library.
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Marcia Mardis Explores Digital Resources in the Library By Debra Lau Whelan - 08/31/2009
Former media specialist Marcia Mardis wants school libraries to continue being the center of learning. That’s why the assistant professor at Florida State University’s (FSU) School of Library and Information Studies is using a $400,000 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to explore how K-12 media centers can integrate digital resources into their collections and services as quickly and easily as they collect traditional resources.
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Terry Pratchett: State of the Nation By Lauren Barack - 08/24/2009
Most followers of the fantasy genre know Terry Pratchett’s beloved "Discworld" series. But Nation, (HarperCollins, 2008), Pratchett’s recent coming-of-age tale, steers readers into the adventure realm. We caught up with the award-winning British author to ask why he often features children as his main characters and how his work has changed since his diagnosis with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
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Anthony Browne: U.K.'s Newest Children's Laureate By Lauren Barack - 08/17/2009
Anthony Browne, the beloved author of Gorilla (Candlewick, 2002), has just stepped into his new role as Britain’s newest Children’s Laureate. We caught up with Browne to hear how he plans to promote school libraries in the U.K., why he believes adults should read children’s books too, and where he finds his muse for his work. By the way, his latest book, Little Beauty (Candlewick, 2008), is—surprise, surprise—about gorillas.
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Michele Cohen on Public Art in Public Schools By Rocco Staino - 08/10/2009
It’s not often that public schools are built by famous architects or house artwork by known artists, but author and art historian Michele Cohen has found more than 1,500 works of art in New York City schools and documents them in Public Art for Public Schools (Random, 2009).More
David Doubilet: Face to Face With Sharks By Donna Liquori - 08/03/2009
Photographer David Doubilet travels the world snapping pictures of life under the sea. In his new book, Face to Face with Sharks (National Geographic, 2009), created with his wife, Jennifer Hayes, he’s hoping that children will become enthralled with these creatures and help save their dwindling population.
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Wrench in the Works: An Interview with Kate Thompson By Rick Margolis - 08/01/2009
Your latest novel is about a 14-year-old punk who steals cars, does drugs, and gets into fights. When Bobby’s family moves from Dublin to the country to start over, they soon discover that their lives may be in peril. What inspired you to write such a gritty story? I had this idea kicking around in my mind for about five or more years.
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Candace Fleming on "The Lincolns" 07/26/2009
Candace Fleming’s The Lincolns (Random House, 2008), a scrapbook biography of Abraham and Mary, has scooped up a number of awards—and it was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Literary Book Prize. Her latest book, The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum (Random), comes out in September.
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Education: The Shape of Things to Come By Lauren Barack - 07/13/2009
Terry M. Moe and John E. Chubb, authors of Politics, Markets & America’s Schools (Brookings Institution Press, 1990) are still talking about education 20 years later with their latest book, Liberating Learning (Jossey-Bass, 2009). More
Six-Figure Teachers By Lauren Barack - 07/06/2009
Zeke Vanderhoek believes you get what you pay for—even in education. That’s why this former middle school teacher is launching The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School, a middle school in upper Manhattan where teachers will make six-figure incomes this fall. We caught up with him to ask why he thinks his vision will succeed.
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Upper West Side Story: An Interview with Rebecca Stead By Rick Margolis - 07/01/2009
Twelve-year-old Miranda is receiving mysterious notes, one of which says, “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.” To make matters worse, the sender seems to know exactly what’s going to happen before it occurs. How did you come up with the idea for When You Reach Me? The idea came from an article in the New York Times about a guy who was walking around in D...
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Jean Craighead George Turns 90 By Rocco Staino - 06/29/2009
Long before Chappaqua, NY, was home to a former president, a secretary of state, and myriad investment bankers, stockbrokers, and media moguls, its most notable resident was Jean Craighead George.
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Ghosts of War By Donna Liquori - 06/23/2009
Army Reservist Ryan Smithson was only 19 when he went to Iraq as an engineer, and the experience haunted him for years. Smithson ended up writing a college essay about one of his first missions there, which not only impressed his professor—but also led to Smithson’s first book, Ghosts of War: My Tour of Duty. (HarperTeen, 2008).
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