Sara Lundberg

WOW Dozen: Difficult and Challenging Topics in Children’s Literature

By Seemi Aziz, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

While teaching a graduate course on the art of picturebooks this past semester, I realized that there has been an influx of children’s books on challenging topics. This piqued my curiosity, and I began digging into the stacks at the Worlds of Words and online. While I found many recent titles about anxiety, depression, death, and grandparents who are growing older, I also thought of books that would pair nicely and help ease the acceptance of these hard topics. Needless to say, picturebooks have never been simple and mono-dimensional and it is there power to speak to the youngest of our audiences, giving them strength. Continue reading →

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Picturebooks Created by Authors and Illustrators Outside the USA

Janelle Mathis, University of North Texas, Denton, TX

Recently, I was asked if I saw any particular trends in children’s books in the USA over the past few years. It didn’t take long for me to respond given that during the past two years, I had the privilege of working with other educators and librarians on ALA’s Notable Children’s Books committee. As stated on its web page, “As applied to children’s books, notable should be thought to include books of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry and pictures for all age levels (birth through age 14) that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.” Continue reading →