Award-winning author Carmen Agra Deedy has spent the last two decades writing and telling stories. Now she has another opportunity to spread her love of reading: as national spokesperson for this year’s School Library Media Month, celebrated in April. Deedy talks to SLJ about her plans for this new role—and where her fascination with libraries comes from.
What are your plans as spokesperson for School Library Media Month?
The plans have mostly been arranged for me, thank goodness! I'll be taping public service announcements, engaging in media interviews, and making appearances at libraries. But wherever I go, I will continue touting my firmly held belief that school libraries are critical to the development of a literate and intellectually vigorous school environment. If I might paraphrase an old political adage, "As goes the library, so goes the school!" read more...
Who reads graphic novels? Just about everyone these days, say panelists who spoke at the opening session of the SPLAT! Graphic Novel Symposium in Manhattan on March 15.
As a result, it’s a lot easier to introduce graphic novels to the library market, and circulation stats are the easiest way to convince library directors to add graphic novels to a collection, says John Shabelski, sales manager for Diamond Book Distributors. read more...
A recent ruling by a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Minnesota that it is unconstitutional to restrict the sale or rental of violent and mature video games to minors is likely to impact similar legislation being proposed in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts bill, sponsored by Representative Linda Forry (D-Boston), has the support of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, whose human services director Larry Mayes told the Boston Herald that "Children aged 17 and under should not be sold this stuff" and that violent videos should not "be getting into the hands of 9- and 10-year-olds.” read more...
Kate Thompson’s book took almost two years to cross the pond, but young readers will agree that it was totally worth the wait. An enthralling blend of music, magic, and Irish mythology, the story revolves around 15-year-old J.J. Liddy, a contemporary teen who discovers a leak in time, which threatens a mystical faerie world. The following titles all have strong central characters with musical gifts, which they use to save their family, themselves, or their world.
PATERSON Katherine. Come Sing, Jimmy Jo. Puffin. 1995. pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-0-14-037397-4 Gr 5-9 The magic in this title lies in 12-year-old James Johnson, aka “Jimmy Jo,” a rising country/western star. read more...
The Eiffel Tower, built by engineer Gustave Eiffel in commemoration of the French Revolution, was the tallest building in the world when it was dedicated at the International Exhibition of Paris on March 31, 1889. At 986 feet, it remained the tallest building until 1930 and is considered to be one of the manmade wonders of the world. The Eiffel Tower is just one of many amazing engineering feats—to find out about more, check out the searchable “Wonders of the World Databank” on this site. It contains fascinating information on other supertall buildings (find out here which skyscraper replaced the Eiffel Tower in 1930 as tallest building in the world) as well as lots of cool facts about bridges, dams, tunnels, and domes. Kids can try their hands at building big in the “Challenges” section or learn about the engineering principles in the “Labs” section. You’ll also want to tell teachers about the “Educator’s Guide,” full of cool in-class activities. — Gail Junion-Metz
We are currently seeking a proactive, creative and service-oriented, upper level librarian. The librarian will primarily manage the collection development of adult materials. Other duties include reader's advisory programming, public service desk, and community outreach. read more...
To see all positions available through the SLJ Career Center, click here...
Award-winning author Carmen Agra Deedy has spent the last two decades writing and telling stories. Now she has another opportunity to spread her love of reading: as national spokesperson for this year’s 
