As you may or may not know, this past Saturday I conducted a Children’s Literary Salon at my library with panelists Travis Jonker, Mr. Schu, and Colby Sharp.  And, as ever, I recorded a live feed of the event.  That’s fairly snazzy, but before I post that video here I want to take a moment to thank the City of Evanston.  Every Literary Salon I have done has been meticulously recorded by their employees.  Then some saintly person somewhere actually edits them.  The recordings and sound are loads better than any of my crummy Google Hangout feeds.

As we find this season of the Lit Salons winding down before my summer vacation months, here is a complete roster of lovely videos documenting everything we’ve done.

From the earliest to the most recent we have:

Bringing Books to the Border

In 2014, when more than 70,000 children crossed the southern border into the United States—many of them unaccompanied—it sparked a humanitarian crisis. Infrastructure for food, housing, medical attention, and legal services had to be created, but no less important was the provision of good books and library services in Spanish and indigenous languages. This past spring, IBBY, the International Board on Books for Young People, based in Switzerland, joined REFORMA’s Children in Crisis Project to help bring children’s books to the refugee children still arriving in the Rio Grande Valley. In August, local bookstore owner Jeff Garrett (Bookends & Beginnings) helped organize a fact-finding and book-delivering visit to government, church, and other private agencies responding to the crisis. Speaking about his experiences, with photos documenting the journey, Jeff touches on many of the issues surrounding the border today and what we can learn from those who are working with refugee children every day.

Publishing Children’s Books in the 21st Century

Lots of people want to write and/or illustrate books for kids, but how do you actually go about doing so? What are some of the pitfalls and perks of the job? What should you avoid? What are the common myths? Meet Gemma Cooper (agent), Sara Shacter (Assistant Regional Advisor and author), Ruth Spiro (author), Eileen Meyer (Network Representative and author), and Terri Murphy (Illustrator Coordinator and illustrator) of the Illinois chapter of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) as they discuss the ins and outs of writing and illustrating for kids.

Ethics in Nonfiction for Kids

Do we hold our nonfiction for children to different standards than we do our informational texts for adults?  When you’re trying to make something fun for kids to read, where do you draw the line between fact and fancy? Join three of the most experienced nonfiction authors for children, Candace Fleming (THE FAMILY ROMANOV), Judith Fradin (THE PRICE OF FREEDOM), Barb Rosenstock (THE NOISY PAINTBOX), and Sally M. Walker (WINNIE) in a discussion of the increasingly complex and exciting world of nonfiction for children.

On Beyond Narnia – Death and Theology in Children’s Literature

Join children’s authors Jeanne Birdsall (THE PENDERWICKS IN SPRING, 2015) and N.D. Wilson (OUTLAWS OF TIME, 2016) for a discussion of writing children’s literature from both a Christian and a Non-Christian Humanism point of view.

The Art of Enthusiasm

Online gurus and children’s book evangelists Travis Jonker, Colby Sharp, and John Schumacher discuss promoting your favorite literature for kids, making the most of online resources, and spreading the culture of book love and enthusiasm amongst readers of every age.

Stay tuned for more in the future!