This post anticipates the coming annual MULTICULTURAL CHILDREN'S BOOK DAY, January 31, 2020, in order to provide readers here with easy access to resources. A quick click will lead you to tabs offering lists of recommended books, press kits, and other resources.
I was tempted to insert multiple links in this post to various titles I've featured over the life of this blog. One reason for that is based on my experience as a classroom teacher. I know that a classroom library and/or a school library is unlikely to have on hand the very latest releases, regardless of how outstanding they may be.
Speaking for myself, I'll admit that before buying copies of books I would usually wait several months to see if the latest, acclaimed titles might be picked up in less expensive formats- book club order forms, paper back editions, etc. The less I had to spend on each book, the more books I could provide to my students. So I want to be sure that those who lead young readers will seek out diverse titles to spotlight from among those immediately on hand.
Having said that, I can't help but celebrate some of the latest and greatest books from the past year. Monday morning marked the annual American Library Association Youth Media Awards announcements, and the full list of the winners and honor titles, and their creators, are listed fully in a link, here. I'm thrilled to note that many of the acclaimed titles reflect multi-sutural categories, creators, stories, and content.
One way to celebrate on Friday, Multicultural Day, could be to have a short discussion about the past practices of the publishing world, practices that were managed by and featured, almost exclusively, a very narrow menu of works, a body of materials. The vast majority of published works excluded a large number of cultures and experiences from the world of literature, especially for youth.
Follow that brief publishing history lesson with a live viewing of the actual award announcements from January 27, 2020. The hour-plus videotape of those announcements will allow students to realize that BOOKS deserve rock-star, sports-star attention and cheers. Encourage kids to have a notebook out to jot down titles and creators' names for the next trip to the library, to watch for in book club over forms, and to put on wish-lists for birthdays and holidays.Model hat process by developing a list of works to add to the classroom library.
Here's the link to the ALA MEDIA AWARDS.
Meanwhile, let's not forget that picture books are for EVERY age, and this is particularly true for those designated in this year's accolades. The same is true for the graphic novel, NEW KID, by Jerry Craft. This year marked a history-making decision by ALA for a graphic novel to be named the NEWBERY WINNER, and I applaud the decision of that committee with a standing ovation. See my notes about it on Goodreads here.
Whatever choices you might make to honor this particular day (and all the days that follow), please make sure that the literary choices available in your lives and the lives of your learners will throw wide the doors and windows to the world!
,
No comments:
Post a Comment