Kara Yorio

With the documentary airing on PBS on Monday, February 9, director and producer Kim Snyder spoke with SLJ about the documentary, the audience response, and her hope it makes a bigger impact on the anti-censorship movement.

Across the country, school and public librarians are creating their own summer reading programs that not only combat the academic slide and keep kids reading but promote book choice and personal connection.

At the 2026 Youth Media Awards, author Candace Fleming became the first person to receive the Children’s Literature Legacy Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award in the same year. In addition, her book Death in the Jungle won the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

Author Ashley Hope Pérez teaches the 1960s movement to help her Ohio State University students understand the impact of the current book bans and learn how to take action against censorship now.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson wins the Newbery; Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chien, earns the Caldecott; and Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, an anthology edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, was named the Printz Award winner at the 2026 Youth Media Awards.

As she dealt with grief herself, Watson wrote All the Blues in the Sky to give readers permission to feel all of the emotions related with loss and help them cope with it.

Halfway through the process, the heart of Matthew Burgess's book revealed itself to Cátia Chien, who then created a visual tribute to the freedom of childhood.

The anthology, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, includes established and new Indigenous authors in a title Smith says would not have been possible less than 10 years ago.

As ICE raids continue in the Twin Cities, school librarians are stepping up for students, staff, and their communities.