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Book Reviewers as Mediators of Children’s Literature: An Interview with Mary Margaret Mercado

By Judi Moreillon, Literacies and Libraries Consultant

Part 1: Goals and Process for Children’s Book Reviews

Children’s book reviewers serve as mediators between newly published children’s literature and those who promote, purchase or use these books. Newspapers and other media that promote children’s books use what book reviewers publish. Bookstores that sell children’s books refer to these reviews. School and public librarians, classroom teachers and families that purchase and share children’s books often rely on published reviews. Book reviewers, therefore, have the responsibility to be competent. Their reviews should accurately address all aspects of global children’s literature, including cultural authenticity and accuracy.
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Suspending Disbelief

by Deborah Dimmett, University of Arizona

MermaidWhile in Haiti this summer, I found myself entrenched in a debate with a Haitian friend about the existence of mermaids. He wasn’t sure about zombis or lougarous, the previous evening’s discussion after being stranded at an active cemetery, but he was totally convinced about mermaids. Continue reading

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The Soviet Connection: Cultural Influences in Our Text and Images

by Judi Moreillon, Texas Woman’s University, Denton

Soviet UnionAt the 2015 Tucson Festival of Books, I attended a thought-provoking interview with illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline and author-illustrator Eugene Yelchin. The moderator asked them questions about how their experiences as Russian-born artists had influenced their work. Continue reading

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The Decision to Resist: Enough is Enough

by Janelle Mathis, University of North Texas, Denton, TX

EnoughisEnoughWith a powerful title framing their session, four authors spoke to the theme of resistance and to the notion of “enough is enough” as they connected a recent work to contemporary social issues. The panel included Larry Brimmer (Strike, 2014), Margy Burns Knight (Talking Walls: Discover the World, 2014), S. D. Nelson (Digging a Hole to Heaven, 2014), and Eugene Yelchin (Arcady’s Goal, 2014) Continue reading

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Celebrating the Story of Stories

By Kathy Short, The University of Arizona

PatersonThe blogs for this month highlight our reflections on authors’ discussions of global and multicultural issues in children’s and young adult literature. These authors appeared on panels at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 14-15, 2015. We each selected a particular panel to share the dialogue that emerged between authors around an issue, such as resistance, cultural influences, and scientific writing. This first column is a brief description of the festival and the opening keynote by Katherine Paterson. Continue reading

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The Choice to Make a Difference: Concluding Thoughts

by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

Finally, my focus turns to the questions that were asked at the presentation entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference” by Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, and Vaunda M. Nelson at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 9th, 2013. Continue reading

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The Choice to Make a Difference: No Crystal Stair

by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

Today’s post is a continuation of the presentation with Jerry Pinkney, Jacqueline Woodson, and Vaunda M. Nelson that I attended on March 10, 2013 at the Tucson Festival of Books. The presentation was entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference”. This week, Vaunda M. Nelson describes the writing of her book No Crystal Stair. Continue reading

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The Choice to Make a Difference: A Ripple Effect

by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

This is the second blog in a series sharing a presentation by Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, and Vaunda M. Nelson entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference” at the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books. Here, Jacqueline Woodson shares her process for writing her book Each Kindness. The book tells the story of a young girl, Chloe, who ignores the new girl in school, even though Maya tries to make friends. After Maya leaves, Chloe realizes she missed an opportunity to show kindness to another person. Continue reading

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The Choice to Make a Difference: Music Trumps Racism

by Ann Parker, Pima Community College, Tucson, Arizona

This month’s blog will share the discussion of three wonderful children’s book creators (Jacqueline Woodson, Jerry Pinkney, and Vaunda M. Nelson) at the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books in March, 2013. The presentation was entitled “The Choice to Make a Difference.” In it, the authors each discussed the creation of one of their books and answered questions from the audience about writing and illustrating books. In this first blog, Jerry Pinkney shares his work on a book he illustrated entitled Sweethearts of Rhythm. Continue reading

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Inside Out and Back Again: About Thanhha Lai

By Carmen M. Martínez-Roldán, Teachers College, Columbia University


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“If someone is different from you, go stand next to her and observe. That person just brought another world to your door without you having to travel.”

-Thanhha Lai

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This Sunday, November 18, a group of teachers, librarians, and teacher educators had the pleasure to hear award-winning author Thanhha Lai talking about her novel Inside Out and Back Again.

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