Classroom

This year's SLJ Best Books cover, was created by Guojing, author/illustrator of The Flamingo, a 2022 SLJ Best Book. Guojing is the 25th cover artist in an annual tradition of Best Books covers that began in 1998.

Portland-based illustrator Kalila J. Fuller did the honors for our November 2022 cover story on the representation of Native people, stories, and culture in children's publishing.

 For our September issue, journalist Martha Hinton reported on new approaches to teaching the topic of slavery in U.S. classrooms. 

For our October cover on horror comics, Stephen Giplin depicted a child reading Mark Fearing's graphic novel Welcome to Feral, while the classic monsters in the bedroom look on in terror.

Driven by conspiracy theories and memes, contemporary antisemitism is spurring new strategies to inform youth, empower allies, and hold social sites to account.

As climate learning shifts to climate action, libraries are uniquely positioned to participate in a big way.

Mispronouncing a student’s name can have a significant negative impact. Getting it right sends a better, affirming message. 

Experts offer their picks in resources to help expand both knowledge and perspective this school year. There's zine-making with the Smithsonian; research tools from Infodocket's Gary Price; GLSEN webinars on supporting LGBTIA+ students, and more.

Children can handle the hard truths about slavery, say educators.  Literature can help the conversation.