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The CLA Blog

2022 CLA Breakfast

10/31/2022

 

by Angela Wiseman & Ally Hauptman (2022 Co-Chairs)

We invite you to join us for our annual Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast at the 2022 NCTE Convention featuring the award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft! Our breakfast is on Sunday November 20th, starting at 7am (PST) and takes place in Ballroom D at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The CLA breakfast is not to be missed! As you have seen in other blog posts, we will present awards, have an art auction and book raffle, and then Jerry Craft will speak and sign books afterwards! You need a ticket to the CLA Breakfast to attend. If you have already registered for the NCTE conference, but would like to purchase a ticket to the breakfast, the easiest way to do this is to call NCTE directly at (877) 369-6283.
2022 CLA Breakfast at NCTE on 11/20/22 @ 7 am
We would like to present some background on the esteemed, award-winning author-illustrator, Jerry Craft. As Publishers Weekly described in a book review about New Kid, Jerry Craft masterfully creates realistic stories that feature real life characters, “deftly weaving discussions of race, socioeconomics, colorism, and solidarity into an accessible narrative.”

We were first introduced to his work when we read New Kid, which was published in 2019. New Kid is part of a trilogy; Class Act is the second book and the third will be released in the near future. This fantastic book about Jordan Banks describes his experiences dealing with life as an adolescent while attending a private school where he doesn’t always fit in. He’s one of the only students of Color at this school and experiences prejudice and racism as he realizes how both race and socioeconomic factors impact the way people treat each other. Jerry Craft is motivated to show realistic portrayals of children in his books, but he also really wants children, particularly children of Color,  to see themselves in his stories.
Before Jordan Banks, Jerry Craft wrote the comic strip Mama’s Boyz, which features the Porter family. It depicts the experience of Pauline Porter, a mother who is single-parent to two teenaged sons named Tyrell and Yusuf. While depicting real life experiences of a family, it was important that he had characters that he could imagine his own sons reading and relating to. If you visit his website, the first thing you see next to his profile and books is a quote that says “I make the books I wish I had when I was a kid.”
Mama's Boyz comic strip sample
(Image from https://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/craft-jerry.htm)
If you regularly attend the CLA Breakfasts at NCTE, you know what a wonderful experience they are! But if you haven’t, we welcome you to join us! It’s a great opportunity to meet other people who are passionate about children’s literature, hear an amazing author-illustrator, purchase raffle tickets for wonderful books, and possibly bid on art from children’s illustrators! We hope to see you there!

Angela Wiseman and Ally Hauptman

​Ally Hauptman is a CLA Board Member and co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.

Angela Wiseman is a CLA Board Member and is co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor of literacy education at North Carolina State University.

And the Children’s Literature Assembly Breakfast Speaker is…

5/24/2022

 

By Angela Wiseman and Ally Hauptman, Breakfast Committee co-chairs

We are so happy to announce the CLA Breakfast Speaker for 2022 - it’s Jerry Craft!

Mark your calendars now! This will be such a fantastic session, taking place November 20, 2022 in Anaheim, CA.

Jerry Craft is an author and illustrator of many books, but most recently has published the graphic novel trilogy New Kid, Class Act, and an additional book that continues Jordan Bank’s experiences that will be coming out shortly! Craft has won multiple awards, including a Newbery Award, a Kirkus Book Award, and a Coretta Scott King Award for his book New Kid. 

We have a breakfast speaker interview that is coming out in the Journal of Children’s Literature in the fall, but we wanted to share our top 10 reasons why you should attend the CLA Breakfast at the NCTE Conference!
10. You will get a Jerry Craft book to add to your collection!

9. After the breakfast, Jerry will be signing books - so you can get your book autographed!

8. He is going to share his creative process with you, including the way his life has shaped his stories.

7. This may be your only opportunity to hear from a graphic novelist who has earned a Newbery Award - he is the first and only person to do this!

6.The passion Jerry Craft has for illustrating and authoring books that represent children of Color and inspiring others to read wonderful books is powerful - you won’t want to miss it!

5. Jerry Craft wants to show Black boy joy and realities of his own lived experiences. You can find out how his stories do this!

4. Jerry Craft is known as the “hardest working author” ever. His story and journey are inspiring!

3. His books are translated into 13 languages! 

2. Jerry Craft has brilliant ideas about how to use his books in the classroom!

1. His books are full of “Easter eggs” - hidden jokes, cultural references, and fun facts. You will have to reread all his books after you hear about them!

Jerry Craft Photo
Jerry Craft

New Kid Cover
Class Act cover
Phote of Jarry Craft and Breaktfast co-chairs
​Ally Hauptman is a CLA Board Member and co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.

Angela Wiseman is a CLA Board Member and is co-chair of the 2022 CLA Breakfast Committee. She is an associate professor of literacy education at North Carolina State University.

Teaching and Learning Possibilities with Duncan Tonatiuh's "Soldier for Equality"

5/17/2022

 

 By Erika Thulin Dawes and Xenia Hadjioannou on behalf of the Biography Clearinghouse

Soldier for Equality Cover
We close out the school year immersed in social strife and conflict. Our students are grappling both with big questions about humanity and substantial uncertainties about everyday life. Recent research describes rising mental health concerns for young people (Acheson, 2020; Cowie & Myers, 2021; Samji et al. 2022)  and it’s not surprising that maintaining optimism is challenging in the context of war, a global pandemic, and climate change. As educators, we are seeking ways to provide our students with grounding and with hope. And we believe that biographies, life stories of inspiring people, can help to provide both an anchor and inspiration. Our latest Biography Clearinghouse entry features Duncan Tonatiuh’s picturebook biography Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War. Using his trademark illustrative style, digital collage inspired by Mixtec Pre-Columbian art, Tonatiuh describes the World War I experiences of ‘Luz’; a teacher, activist, Texan, and a person with Mexican heritage. 

Toniatiuh’s biography of José de la Luz Sáenz is a powerful narrative of the transformative power of literacy. Luz’s education and multilingualism were instrumental in his life trajectory; his knowledge allowed him to navigate the battlefield safely, keeping him out of the trenches and instead in a fortified command post for the intelligence service. He developed his skills in organizing while teaching English to Mexican American soldiers. And upon his return to teaching when the war was over, he turned his outrage over unequal schooling for Mexican American children into activism, establishing the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), an organization that helped to end the segregation of Latinx children from white schools.

In our Biography Clearinghouse entry, we provide an interview with Duncan Tonatiuh and a collection of teaching ideas to support student exploration of Soldier for Equality. These teaching ideas encourage students to consider the transformative power of literacy and the generative power of community organizing and activism. They include: an exploration of translanguaging and theme development in picturebooks; a history of and contemporary look at the experience of minoritized populations in the United States army; a call to allyship to counter bullying; a visual literacy exercise exploring traditional artistic motifs; and a tribute to teacher activists.

Below is an excerpt of the teaching ideas in the Biography Clearinghouse entry for Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War:

Social Justice Concerns in Personal Lives and Society

Throughout his life, Luz identified injustices levied against Mexican Americans, and engaged in purposeful actions to work against these injustices and promote equity. In Soldier for Equality, readers encounter several instances of prejudice and discrimination against Luz, because of his status as a Mexican American. Readers also get to see purposeful actions Luz is taking to fight against these injustices. 

As a class, create parallel lists of (a) instances of prejudicial treatment Luz encountered and (b) purposeful actions he took to work against those injustices and bring about equality and fair treatment. 
  • At the micro/personal level: Invite students to locate instances of prejudicial treatment and unfairness in their daily lives. Are there certain people who are persistently teased, gossiped about, called names, bullied, or excluded? What would be some specific purposeful actions they could take to work against those patterns of mistreatment and exclusion?
  • At the macro/social level: Invite students to locate instances of prejudicial treatment and injustice in modern society.  What are some aspects of modern society where unjust treatment is still an issue? Who is taking purposeful action to combat these injustices? What actions are they taking? Depending on the age of the students and on the time available, this can lead to inquiry projects into the lives of modern day activists and/or the work of social action organizations such as LULAC and the NAACP.
Biography Clearinghouse Logo
RECENT ENTRIES
  • The Cat Man of Aleppo
  • Building Zaha
  • Queen of Physics

Teachers as Activists 

If you have two hours…

If you have two days…

If you have two weeks…

Read or reread Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War and ask students to make note of the meaning that education, language, and reading and writing had in his life. Record students' thoughts on a two column chart with one column labeled ‘claims’ and the second column labeled ‘evidence from the book.’ Next, pair students up, asking students to interview each other about the roles of language and literacy in their lives. Prior to conducting the interviews, brainstorm a list of questions to ask. Questions could include:
  • What languages do you speak? What language are spoken in your family? In your community? What does it mean to you to be bilingual? 
  • Why is education important to you? What do you hope to achieve through education?
  • What do you read and why do you read? What do you hope to learn and/or achieve by reading?
  • What do you write and why do you write? What do you hope to create and/or achieve through writing?
The text set outlined below features the life stories of teachers who also served as activists. Divide students into small groups, each group responsible for reading one of the picturebooks listed below. 
  • Brown, M. (2010). Side by side: the story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez = Lado a lado: la historia de Dolores Huerta y Cesar Chavez. Ill. by J. Cepeda. Rayo. 
  • Halfmann, J. (2018). Midnight teacher: Lilly Ann Granderson and her secret school. Ill. by L. Ladd. Lee & Low. 
  • Harvey, J.W. (2022). Ablaze with color: A story of painter Alma Thomas. Ill. by Loveis Wise. HarperCollins.
  • Rhuday-Perkovich, O. (2018). Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-ins. Ill. by J. Johnson. Seagrass Press. 
  • Wallace, S.N. & Wallace, R. (2020). The teachers march! How Selma’s teachers changed history. Ill. by C. Palmer. Calkins Creek. 

Provide each group with a graphic organizer on which to record notes about the subject of their biography. Students can record: the name, birth, and death dates of their subject;  where their subject lived and worked; key achievements of their subject; challenges faced by their subject; beliefs about education held by their subject. 

To share their learning about these teacher activists with their classmates, ask each group to create  and perform a monologue in the voice of their subject. The monologue should highlight the information captured in their graphic organizers. 

As an extension of the text set exploration of teacher activists, engage students in a discussion of all the people that serve as teachers in their lives. In which settings do they learn beyond school? Who are the people who mentor, guide, and teach them in all the realms of their lives? Invite students to consider what they could compose, create, or make to honor and celebrate their teachers. Possible projects could include:
  • Interviewing their teachers to create profiles honoring them
  • Developing a forum for community members to publicly thank teachers who have made a meaningful difference in their lives (bulletin board in the school or local public library, social media campaign)
  • Letter writing to thank significant teachers
  • Establishment of a teacher recognition award with student developed award criteria


Citations

Acheson, R. (2020). Research digest: The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on child, adolescent, young adult, and family mental health. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 46(3), 429-440. https://doi.org/10.1080/0075417X.2021.1912810

Cowie, H., & Myers, C. (2021). The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the mental health and well‐being of children and young people. Children & Society, 35(1), 62-74. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12430

Samji, H., Wu, J., Ladak, A., Vossen, C., Stewart, E., Dove, N., Long, D., & Snell, G. (2022). Review: Mental health impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on children and youth – a systematic review. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 27(2), 173-189. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12501

Erika Thulin Dawes is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University where she teaches courses in children’s literature and early childhood literacy and is the program director of the graduate Early Childhood Education program.  Erika is a former chair of NCTE’s Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children.

Xenia Hadjioannou is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Harrisburg campus of Penn State University where she teaches and works with pre- and in-service teachers through various courses in language and literacy methodology. She is the Vice President and Website Manager of the Children's Literature Assembly, and a co-editor of The CLA Blog. 

The Bonnie Campbell Hill National Literacy Leader Award
Call for Applications

Do you have a vision for a leadership initiative that stands to improve and enhance literacy teaching and learning ffor students and/or teachers? Consider applying for the 2022 Bonnie Campbell Hill National Literacy Leader Award.
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Meet Wu Chien Shiung, the “Queen of Physics” and “First Lady of Physics”

2/21/2022

 

By Jennifer M. Graff, Jenn Sanders, and Courtney Shimek on behalf of The Biography Clearinghouse

Queen of Physics cover
Picturebook biographies are some of the best ways to get to know global change-makers, understand the immense sacrifices made when pursuing one’s passion, and recognize injustices that typically accompany activist work. They enable us to connect with the people behind the discoveries. Thanks to Teresa Robeson and Rebecca Huang’s (2019) award winning picturebook, Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom we can meet Wu Chien Shiung (aka “Madame Wu”), a renowned female nuclear and particle physicist who transformed our understandings of physics and became an unwavering mentor to and advocate for women in science. While Wu Chien Shiung was overlooked for the Nobel Prize in Physics three times, a sampling of Wu Chien Shiung’s accomplishments in the table below, showcases why she is referred to as the “Queen of Physics” and “The First Lady of Physics.”

A Sampling of Wu Chien Shiung’s Accomplishments and Accolades
(Robeson, 2019)

The first woman to 
  • teach science (1942) at and receive an honorary doctorate (1958) from Princeton University
  • have an asteroid named after her (1965)
  • be elected president of The American Physical Society (1975)
  • receive Israel’s Wolf Prize in Physics (1978)

She also received
  • the President’s National Medal of Science (1997)
  • her own U.S. Commemorative Forever stamp (2021)
The Biography Clearinghouse’s latest entry includes interdisciplinary teaching ideas and resources that
  • help build historical knowledge about China
  • highlight historical and contemporary Asian American and Pacific Islander activists
  • offer award-winning children’s picturebooks connected to contemporary issues such as family separations and the importance of names, and
  • detail arts-based activities focused on character creations and personal identities. 
​
This entry also features interviews with Robeson and Huang about their inspirations for this picturebook biography, connections to Wu Chien Shiung, and details about their research and composing processes, among other interesting topics. Below are three instructional ideas from this entry. 
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Wu Chien Shiung. Columbia University, 1958. Smithsonian Institution Archives. Public Domain Image

Mentoring Via Peer Conferencing

Mentorship is one of the motifs present throughout Wu Chien Shiung’s life. It is also a significant factor in Robeson’s development of her poetic narrative in Queen of Physics [see her interview at 24:24]. Peer conferencing can serve as a similar opportunity for young writers to get feedback on their writing (Sanders & Damron, 2017). Once students are explicitly taught how to effectively peer conference and learn some strategies, peer conferencing can be a truly collaborative and mutually beneficial learning experience for the writer and peer mentor. In their book about writing peer tutoring, Sanders and Damron recommend apprenticing students in these five processes:
"Watch for ideas and organization first.”  
 Teach the mentor/tutor to pay attention to the writer’s ideas before worrying about spelling conventions. 

“Respect the writer and the writer’s paper.”
​Make the writer feel comfortable, be an active listener, and don’t write on the person’s paper. 

​“Involve the writer by asking questions.”
Teach mentors/tutors to ask open ended questions that get the writer talking about their ideas, their writing purpose, or their process.

“Teach the writer.”
​Mentors/tutors share writing strategies that can be applied to the current piece but also across other pieces, rather than just trying to fix or revise the one piece they are discussing. 

“Encourage the writer.”
Mentors/tutors provide encouragement by noting something specific that the writer did really well and offering one or two suggestions for revision (p.127). 
Students can also focus their conferences on any previously taught writer’s craft lesson. Engaging in regular peer conferences helps young writers understand the value of feedback throughout the writing process and counters the myth of the isolated, independent writer. 

Teachers can also invite students to consider the role of mentorship in their own lives. Students can identify individuals who have served as mentors to them and explore mentorship patterns and practices that are helpful and empowering to them as learners.  

Advocacy and Activism

Queen of Physics features Wu Chien Shiung’s acts of persistence and resistance throughout her life. As a child, Wu Chien Shiung defied gender norms and expectations and led student protests and strikes in China for free speech. At the age of 24, she relocated to the U.S. to pursue her professional dreams as an advanced student of science. While enduring the hardships of war, life-long familial separation, and multiple episodes of racism and sexism, Wu Chien Shiung persisted in her pursuit of scientific discoveries and mentorship of female scientists in the U.S. and China. Wu Chien Shiung’s experiences remind us of other significant female Asian and Asian American activists to know. We share four female activists below, with more included in the The Biography Clearinghouse entry for Queen of Physics.
​
  1. Yuri Kochiyama was a political activist from California who fought with Malcom X to work for racial justice, civil and human rights, and anti-war movements. She went on to work in the redress and reparations movements for Japanese Americans and continued to fight for political prisoners until she passed away in 2014.
  2. Pranjal Jain is an Indian-American activist who has been organizing since she was 12 years old. As a current undergraduate at Cornell University, she is the founder of Global Girlhood, a women-led organization that inspires intercultural and intergenerational dialogue in online and offline spaces.
  3. Stephanie Hu is a Chinese American who founded Dear Asian Youth while she was a high school student as a support website for marginalized young people as a result of the rise in anti-Asian racism and violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  4. Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American movie star to appear in U.S. box offices. Although she was often relegated to smaller roles that perpetuated Asian stereotypes, her career spanned silent films, talkies, theater, and television, and she helped blaze the trail for Asian American performers after her. See Paula Yoo and Lin Yang’s (2009) picturebook biography, Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story, published by Lee & Low Books.

Printmaking a Character for Fiction Writing 

Rebecca Huang uses a medium called printmaking to create the illustrations in Queen of Physics. Two basic relief printmaking techniques are woodblock and linocut in which printmakers carve a reverse or mirror image of their final picture onto linoleum or wood blocks. Then they use ink rollers called brayers to roll ink across the carved block and either hand rub or use a special press machine to press the inked block onto paper to create the final artwork. Often, a printmaker will carve multiple layers in the block, stopping to print each layer in a different color, to create a multicolored print.  Check out the following online resources to learn more about printmaking techniques:  Pace Prints and printmaking techniques. The back matter in Duncan Tonatiuh’s award-winning picturebook biography about the printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada, Funny Bones also includes information about printmaking techniques.

By using basic supplies such as styrofoam plates and markers for printmaking, students can create a character to print and use in their own creative story. Watch this short video of a teacher demonstrating the styrofoam printmaking process. 
​If you have 1-2 hours….
​If you have 1-2 days…
​If you have 1-2 weeks…
​Each student can design a main character for a story they write, and then draw and marker-print the character on paper. In this activity, students will experience a process of printmaking that helps them understand the steps and all the work that goes into making printed images. 
​After students create their printed character (see the If you have 1 to 2 hours . . .  column), students can draft the story in which their character experiences a problem, challenge, or adventure. Based on their story, they can add a background setting in their picture to place their character in the context of their story. Students will simply draw the background setting and objects around their character on their printed picture.
​Students can print their character four to six times, on separate pieces of paper, to create a storyboard with multiple scenes. Save one of these prints to make a title page for the story. 

For this activity, we recommend students leave the background of the styrofoam plate empty so they can draw in different backgrounds as the story progresses. Then, they can divide their corresponding written story into sections (three, four, or five, depending on the number of prints they made). 

For each story section, they can draw in a related background setting, additional characters, or objects to help complete the scene. 

In the end, they will have a multimedia print that has their character marker-printed and the background drawn in with pen, marker, or other tools. 
​Visit The Biography Clearinghouse website for additional teaching ideas connected to Queen of Physics as well as other biographies for young people.  

Reference

Sanders, J., & Damron, R.L. (2017). They’re all writers: Teaching peer tutoring in the elementary writing center. NWP & Teachers College Press. 
​Jennifer M. Graff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia where her scholarship focuses on diverse children’s literature and early childhood literacy practices. She is a former committee member of NCTE’s Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction K-8, and has served in multiple leadership roles throughout her 16+ year CLA membership. 

Jennifer Sanders is a Professor of Literacy Education at Oklahoma State University, specializing in representations of diversity in children’s and young adult literature and writing pedagogy. She is co-founder and co-chair of The Whippoorwill Book Award for Rural YA Literature and long-time member of CLA.

Courtney Shimek is an Assistant Professor in the department of Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies at West Virginia University. She has been a CLA member since 2015.

Reflections of Realities and Renewals: USBBY’s 2020-22 Outstanding International Books (OIB) Text Sets

2/8/2022

 

By Bettie Parsons Barger and Jennifer M. Graff

For so many of us, books can feel like best friends, close family members, long-lost relatives, or trusted mentors. We gravitate toward them through our desire to connect or understand, to be inspired, or to experience a new or fresh perspective. As educators and literature advocates we also strive to help youths develop relationships with books, often relying on their curiosity about themselves and the unknown to help forge those connections.The United States Board of Books for Young People’s Outstanding International Books (OIB) lists are excellent resources for such pursuits. Shared in previous CLA Blog posts, each OIB list highlights 40-42 international books that are available in the United States. In 2021, the OIB committee read over 530 books prior to selecting the 42 titles for the 2022 list. These titles represent outstanding literature from 24 different countries and 2 indigenous territories in Canada.
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OIB Selection Criteria*
*Not every book will meet every criterion equally.*​​
  • represent the best of children’s literature from other countries
  • introduce readers in the U.S. to outstanding artists and writers from other countries
  • help children in the U.S. see the world from other points of view
  • provide perspectives or address topics otherwise missing from children’s literature in the U.S.
  • exhibit distinct cultural flavor, help counteract stereotypes, bridge cultural gaps, build connections, and engage and prove accessible to young readers in the U.S.

​See the USBBY website for additional content and presentation considerations.

​As we look at the past three years of OIB lists, we recognize how our current realities are reflected in the committees’ selections. Julie Flett’s (2021) We All Play/ Kimêtawânaw illustrates humans’ innate connection to nature and the joyous experiences of playing outdoors, as the current pandemic has encouraged. The Elevator (Frankel, 2020) speaks to the power of humorous storytelling to unite strangers who unexpectedly find themselves in close quarters. The current Ukrainian-Russian tensions mirror the conflict in How War Changed Rondo (2021). Silvia Vecchini’s (2019) graphic novel, The Red Zone: An Earthquake Story, and Heather Smith’s (2019) picturebook, The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden, are stirring testimonies about ongoing global natural disasters, such as the recent volcano eruption and subsequent earthquake and tsunami that have devastated the Pacific nation of Tonga.

Partnering the beliefs that books including hostile and traumatic events “can provoke reflection and inspire dialogue that sensitizes readers . . .” (Raabe, 2016, p.58) and that “stories are important bridging stones; they can bring people closer together, connect them, and help overcome alienation” (Raabe & von Merveldt, 2018, p.64), we created a sampling of five text sets that can be readily used in K-12 classrooms.
A Sampling of Outstanding International Books Text Sets (2020-2022)
(Book covers are organized by younger-to-older audience gradation.)
Wars and Revolutions
(civil, border, global, & cultural)

2022 OIB Books
Book cover: The Story of Bodri
Book cover: How War Changed Rondo
Book cover: Soul Lanterns
Book cover: When the World was Ours
Book cover: War
Book cover: Freedom Swimmer
Countries represented: Sweden, Ukraine, England/Germany, Japan, Austria/Poland/England, Portugal, China
​2021 OIB Books
Book cover: Maurice and His Dictionary
Book cover: Mexique: A Refugee Story
Book cover: War is Over
Book cover: Catherine's War
Book cover: Crossing the Farak River
Countries represented: Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Myanmar
​2020 OIB Books
Book cover: A Sky Without Lines
Book cover: The Taste of Rain
Book cover: Our Castle by the Sea
Book cover: Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust
Book cover: Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black
Book cover: Bone Talk
Countries represented: US/Mexico Border, China, United Kingdom, Sweden, United Kingdom, Philippines
Human Resilience
(civil, border, global, & cultural)

2022 OIB Books
Book cover: Peter Lee's Notes from the Field
Book cover: Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost
Book Cover: We Dream Medicine Dreams
Book cover: Wounded Falcons
Book cover: The Big Bad Wolf in my House
Book cover: The Sour Cherry Tree
Book cover: The Caiman
Book cover: The Star Outside My Window
Book cover: Carry On: Poetry by Young Immigrants
Countries represented: Canada, Denmark, Canada: Northwest Territories, Mexico, Canada, Canada, Venezuela, UK: England, Canada
​2021 OIB Books
Book cover: All the Dear Little Animals
Book cover: Weekend Dad
Book cover: Some Days
Book cover: The Barren Grounds
Book cover: Migrants
Book cover: Blood Moon
Countries represented: Sweden, Canada, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom
​2020 OIB Books
Book cover: The Moose of Ewenki
Book cover: Angryman
Book cover: The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden
Book cover: Girl of the Southern Sea
Book cover: The Red Zone: An Earthquake Story
Book cover: Vanishing Colors
Book cover: Lubna and Pebble
Book cover: Paws and Edward
Book cover: Caravan to the North
Countries represented: China, Norway, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, United Kingdom, Norway, El Salvador/US
Telling Stories and Sharing Memories
(personal, biographical, cultural, geographical, historical, traditional, philosophical, intergenerational, visual, epistolary)

2022 OIB Books
Book cover: Comings and Goings
Book cover: My Words Flew Away like Birds
Book cover: Sona Sharma, Very Best Big Sister
Book cover: Sakamoto's Swim Club
Book cover: Thao
Book cover: Too Small Tola
Book cover: Africa, Amazing Africa: Country by Country
Book cover: The Caiman
Book cover: Living with Viola
Book cover: All the Colors of Life
Book cover: Carry On: Poetry by Young Immigrants
Book cover: Freedom Swimmer
Countries represented: Greece, Canada, India, Canada, Vietnam/Canada, Nigeria, Entire Continent of Africa, Venezuela, Canada, Norway, Canada, China
​2021 OIB Books
Book cover: Letters from Bear
Book cover: The Magic Doll
Book cover: The Lady with the Books
Book cover: Under the Great Plum Tree
Book cover: A Story About Afiya
Book cover: The Elevator
Book cover: The Time of Green Magic
Book cover: Music for Tigers
Book cover: The Barren Grounds
Book cover: Catherine's War
Book cover: Gamayun Tales I
Book cover: The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River
Countries represented: Belgium, Central African Republic, Canada, United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Argentina, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Russia, China
​2020 OIB Books
Book cover: The Happiest Tree
Book cover: Thukpa for All
Book cover: The Girl and the Wolf
Book cover: Hicotea: A Nightlights Story
Book cover: Riding a Donkey Backwards
Book cover: The Parrot and the Merchant
Book cover: The Apartment: A Century of Russian History
Book cover: The Girl Who Rode a Shark
Book cover: Perception: A Photo Series
Book cover: This Place 150 Years Retold
Countries represented: South Korea, India, Canada, United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Iran, Russia, Canada, Canada, Canada
Connecting with Nature
(accentuating humans’ relationships with the natural world)

2022 OIB Books
Book cover: We All Play
Book cover: This is How I Know
Book cover: Little Bird's Day
Book cover: Ducks Overboard!
Book cover: 189 Canaries
Book cover: Wounded Falcons
Book cover: The Sour Cherry Tree
Book cover: Seasons: A Year in Nature
Book cover: Almost Nothing, yet Everything
Book cover: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!
Countries represented: Canada, Canada: Anishinaabewaking, Australia, England, Germany, Mexico, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, United Kingdom
​2021 OIB Books
Book cover: The Barren Grounds
Countries represented: Finland, West Africa, Portugal, Canada
​2020 OIB Books
Book cover: The Farmer
Book cover: Birdsong
Book cover: Along the Tapajos
Book cover: Hicotea: A Nightlights Story
Book cover: The Moose of Ewenki
Book cover: The Grizzly Mother
Countries represented: Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, China, Canada
Creative Outlets
(Playful approaches to familiar topics, how play and curiosity can foster connections and community, and the role of imagination in creating new possibilities and realities, benefits of unexpected journeys)

2022 OIB Books
Book cover: Moon Pops
Book cover: We All Play
Book cover: Agnes's Place
Book cover: Inside the Suitcase
Book cover: On the Other Side of the Forest
Book cover: Anita and the Dragons
Book cover: Time is a Flower
Book cover: Molly and the Mathematical Mysteries
Book cover: Walking in Two Worlds
Countries represented: South Korea, Canada, Norway, France, Canada, Dominican Republic, Canada, United Kingdom, Canada
​2021 OIB Books
Book cover: All Along the River
Book cover: Cannonball
Book cover: Everybody Counts
Book cover: Little Fox
Book cover: There Must Be More than That
Book cover: Sound
Book cover: The Wanderer
Book cover: The Land of Roar
Countries represented: Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, Ukraine, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom
​2020 OIB Books
Book cover: One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller
Book cover: Count on Me
Book cover: The Boring Book
Book cover: Daniel and Ismail
Countries represented: United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Chile
​2022 OIB Bookmark & Annotations
2021 OIB Bookmark & Annotations
2020 OIB Bookmark & Annotations
Featuring over 100 OIB books from the 2020-2022 lists, including all of the 2022 books, these text sets are intentionally broad in scope and varied in format to enable numerous groupings or pairings. Here are a couple of possible groupings.
Creative Outlets
Making Friends and Building Community through Play ​
Engaging Math Explorations ​
​
  • Agnes’s Place (OIB 2022)
  • All Along the River (OIB 2021) 
  • Cannonball (OIB 2021)
  • Daniel and Ismail (OIB 2020)
  • Moon Pops (OIB 2022)
  • Count on Me (OIB 2020)
  • Everybody Counts (OIB 2021)
  • Molly’s Mathematical Mysteries: Ten Interactive Adventures in Mathematical Wonderland (OIB 2022)
  • One Fox: A Counting Thriller (OIB 2020)
Wars and Revolutions
WWII and Holocaust Survivor Stories ​​
Family Separations ​
​
  • Catherine’s War (OIB 2021) 
  • Maurice and His Dictionary: A True Story (OIB 2021)
  • Questions I’m Asked about the Holocaust (OIB 2020)
  • The Story of Bodri (OIB 2022) 
  • Soul Lanterns (OIB 2022)
  • When the World Was Ours (OIB 2022)
  • A Taste of Rain (OIB 2020)
  • Crossing the Farak River (OIB 2021)
  • Freedom Swimmer (OIB 2022)
  • Mexique. A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War (OIB 2021)
  • Our Castle by the Sea (OIB 2020)
  • When the World Was Ours (OIB 2022)
  • Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black (OIB 2020)
We hope these possible text sets and sub-groupings serve as a springboard for additional text sets that center international stories in our academic and personal lives and help us not only better understand the past but also negotiate the present to help build a more informed, inclusive, and joyous future. 

For more information about OIB books and USBBY, please join us in Nashville, Tennessee, March 4-6, 2022 for USBBY’s Regional Conference. 


​References
Rabbe, C. (2016). “Hello, dear enemy! Picture books for peace and humanity.” Bookbird: A Journal of Children’s LIterature, 54(4), 57-61.

Rabbe, C. & von Merveldt, N. (2018). “Welcome to the new home country Germany: Intercultural projects of the International Youth Library with refugee children and young adults.” Bookbird: A Journal of Children’s LIterature, 56(3), 61-65.
Bettie Parsons Barger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Core at Winthrop University and has been a CLA Member for 10+ years.

Jennifer M. Graff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia, is a former CLA President and Member for 15+ years.

Exploring the Impact of an Award

2/1/2022

 

By Liz Thackeray Nelson & Lauren Aimonette Liang

Right around this time last year, the blog featured two posts from CLA officer Dr. Wendy Stephens who deftly described the exciting annual YMA awards for children and adolescents. Wendy’s posts offer a rich introduction to understanding the focus of each of these prestigious awards, as well as a few other children’s book awards from other organizations, and some of the general selection criteria. 

In our undergraduate children’s literature course we introduce these important awards to begin discussions around evaluation of children’s books. We consider how the criteria might point to ways of evaluating excellence in children’s and young adult literature, and consider the connection of this evaluation to selection of books for use in classrooms, libraries, and other settings. 

We also use these award discussions as a way to heighten awareness of the business and marketing side to children’s literature, particularly considering how awards can influence sales, authors’ and illustrators’ careers, publishing trends, and ultimately access to books. Below we briefly describe a reading-reflection sequence and activity that we have found helpful in building undergraduate students’ understanding of the impact of an award.

Reading-Reflection Sequence 1: Read about older children’s book award debates. 
We have found that our undergraduate students, in general, have had very little exposure to children’s book awards prior to this class. Many recognize either the Newbery or Caldecott as being a book award for children, but few are aware there are other awards beyond this. 

Thus our first step is to introduce students to the idea that there exists many more awards beyond those two. To begin priming students’ thinking about the full range of awards, and their impact,  we start by having them read Marc Aronson’s (2001) article, “Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes,” published in The Horn Book Magazine. In addition to reading Aronson’s article, students read the letters to the editor published in the next Horn Book issue that respond to Aronson’s piece as well as Andrea Davis Pinkney’s response article, “Awards that Stand on Solid Ground.” 

After students read, we pose Aronson’s position to students: There are too many awards. Students then compose a brief response as to whether or not they agree with the statement and their reasoning. At this point in the discussion, students are often about 50/50 in where they fall on the issue.

Reading-Reflection Sequence 2: Read about the lack of diversity in awards. 
To extend Andrea Davis Pinkney’s response article, we then ask students to read two additional articles that begin to address the lack of diversity in books that win the Newbery and Caldecott Medals: Roger Sutton’s (2016) “Last Stop, First Steps” and Megan Dowd Lambert’s (2015) “#WeGotDiverseAwardBooks: Reflections on Awards and Allies.”  

We deliberately use these short editorial pieces, both written near the beginning of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks (2014) movement, as they continue students’ understanding of not only these awards, but also focus on the historical lack of diversity in United States’ children’s literature and more recent focus on this problem. Dowd Lambert’s piece mentions the hashtag specifically, which encourages students to visit the WNDB page, where they can learn more. Sutton’s editorial reinforces this with reference to a 1996 discussion, and presentation of numbers of nonwhite authors. It also brings up issues related to book genre and format

After reading these two short pieces, students are again asked to consider the statement: There are too many awards, and then compose a brief response as to whether or not they agree with the statement at this point, and their new reasoning for why they continue in their same opinion, or have now changed their answer.  At this point in the activity, with students now having learned a little about the lack of diversity in award winners, we often find that those students who initially thought there were too many awards begin to shift their opinions. And those who disagreed with Aronson from the beginning often feel more justified in their stance that there are not too many awards. 

Reading-Reflection Sequence 3: Read about the impact of awards on authors. 
Next, we continue to further students’ understanding by having them learn about the author’s experiences in receiving an award. We seek out the newest reactions; for example, this year, we shared short articles from Publisher’s Weekly about Donna Barba Higuar, Jason Chin, and Andrea Bouley’s experiences when they found out they had won their respective awards. In connection with these readings, we typically ask students to read the short piece “Recognizing Rising Stars” (Aimonette Liang, Reading Today, 2015) that discusses the history and impact of the ILA Children’s and Young Adult Book awards that are designed to honor new authors with extraordinary promise. Quotes from multiple winners highlight the way an award can change the trajectory of an author’s career. 

After students consider these additional perspectives, we again ask them to consider the statement: There are too many awards. Once again, they present their opinion and reasoning. We then ask students to explain how their ideas around awards have changed over the course of the set of readings.  

Final Activity: Tracking Amazon rankings of award books. 
For our final activity to develop students’ understanding of the impact of children’s and young adult book awards, we have students track Amazon book rankings of winning books in the days after the YMA awards have been announced (see our class-compiled results for 2022 below). Students are assigned to an award and asked to find the winning book and honor books on Amazon as soon after the award announcements as possible. They record the sales rank. Students then check 24 hours later on the books’ sales ranks on Amazon. Students are typically shocked at how within hours of the award announcements books are sold out and have substantially higher rankings than they did before; for example, “When I looked earlier today [it] was #2277 and when I looked just now [it] is now #1 in children’s graphic novels. I can’t believe it was that low on the list earlier today and is now sitting at #1!” 

This experience helps students understand the impact of awards on the sales of books, and they begin to recognize further how this can affect the sales of future books by the author, and even the publisher in general. (We often add an additional quick check on changes in the sales of the author’s and illustrator’s previous books, or on the sales of that particular genre or format, etc.) Combined with the earlier reflections on readings, the students often begin to bring up concerns about how the award book might affect future children’s book sales, and thus access to both that particular book and others like it. 

In their final reflections on awards written after this last activity, nearly all, if not 100%, of the students in the class believe that there is value in having a wide array of awards that can honor diverse authors, illustrators, and books. Some students even go as far to state that there aren’t enough awards!  
AWARD
​RANKING/ DATE/ TIME
​RANKING/ DATE/ TIME
​RANKING/ DATE/ TIME

Book cover: The Last Cuentista
Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Children's Author Award
#19,263
January 24, 2022
2:19 PM
​(SOLD OUT)
#18,572
January 24, 2022
​8:31 PM
#157
January 25, 2022
​11:50 PM

Book cover: Watercress
Caldecott Medal and Asian/Pacific American Picturebook Award
#9,751
January 24, 2022
​9:09 AM
#8,964
January 24, 2022
7:21 PM 
​(SOLD OUT)
#197
January 25, 2022
​11:51 PM

Book cover: Fire Keeper's Daughter
Printz Award and Morris Award
#9,549
January 24, 2022
​9:32 AM

#1,025
January 24, 2022
​2:24 PM
#684
January 25, 2022
​7:38 PM

Book cover: Unspeakable
Coretta Scott King Award Author & Illustrator
#9,006
January 24, 2022
11:07 AM
#7,455
January 24, 2022
2:26 PM
#769
January 25, 2022
​11:53 PM

Book cover: Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge
Pura Belpré Youth Illustrator Award
#100,292
January 24, 2022
​2:26 PM
#18,572
January 24, 2022
​9:00 PM
#9,600
January 25, 2022
​11:54 PM

Book cover: The People's Painter
Siebert Award
#91,566
January 24, 2022
​2:25 PM
#77,421
January 24, 2022
​7:17 PM
#3,752
January 25, 2022
​11:55 PM

Book cover: Fox at Night
Geisel Award
#39,825
January 24, 2022
​9:27 AM
#31,185
January 24, 2022
​10:00 PM
#4,324
January 25, 2022
11:57 PM

Book cover: Temple Alley Summer
Batchelder Award
#280,833
January 24, 2022
​2:30 PM
#12,634
January 25, 2022
​9:26 PM
#11,457
January 25, 2022
​11:57 PM

Book cover: Healer of the Water Monster
American Indian Youth Literature Award
#202,975
January 24, 2022
8:30 AM
#150,293
January 24, 2022
3:40 PM
​(SOLD OUT)
#9,245
January 25, 2022
​11:58 PM

​References: 

Aronson, M. (2001). Slippery slopes and proliferating prizes. The Horn Book Magazine, 77(3), 271-278. 

Garza de Cortes, O., Bern, A., Watson, J.S., Bishop, R.S., Edwards, C., Blubaugh, P., Caldwell, N., Holton, L., Hamilton, V., Taylor, D., Smith, H., Danielson-Francios, S., Rudd, D., Pinsent, P., Bush, M., & Hurwitz, J., (2001). Letters to the editor. The Horn Book Magazine, 77(5), 500-508. 

Lambert, M.D. (2015). #WeGotDiverseeAwardBooks: Reflections on awards and allies. The Horn Book Magazine, 91(4), 101-104. 

Liang, L.A. (2015). Recognizing rising stars. Reading Today, 32(6), 34-35. 

Lodge, S. (2022, Jan. 25). Donna Barba Higuera’s Newbery win: A dual celebration. Publishers Weekly. 

Maughan, S. (2022, Jan. 25). Angeline Boulley’s Printz win: Tears, champagne, and…lawyers? Publishers Weekly.

op de Beck, N. (2022, Jan. 25). Jason Chin’s Caldecott win: ‘Kind of a surreal experience.’ Publishers Weekly. 

Pinkney, A.D. (2001). Awards that stand on solid ground. The Horn Book Magazine, 77(5), 535-539. 

Sutton, R. (2016). Last stop, first steps. The Horn Book Magazine, 92(4), 11-12. ​
Liz Thackeray Nelson is a doctoral candidate in Reading and Literacy at the University of Utah. She is chair of the CLA Membership Committee and co-editor of the CLA Blog. 

Lauren Aimonette Liang is Associate Professor at the Department of Educational Psychology of the University of Utah. She is Past President of CLA and co-editor of the CLA Blog. 

Amplifying Voices, Perspectives, and Experiences with USBBY’s 2021 Outstanding International Books List

3/9/2021

 

BY JENNIFER M. GRAFF AND BETTIE PARSONS BARGER

“The stories you read can transform you. They can help you imagine beyond yourself. When you read a great story you leave home. We leave home to find home.” 
(Rochman & McCampbell, 1997, p. vii)
The COVID-19 Pandemic has significantly shifted global travel to “zooming” from digital screen to digital screen and surfing online streaming services. For those fatigued by such excursions, international children’s books can offer exciting and thought-provoking adventures of the heart, mind, spirit, and global consciousness. Readers can enter fantastic worlds, hear previously unheard voices and perspectives, learn more about scientific worlds and cultural communities, and become immersed in emotional episodes that speak to senses of humanity and belonging in books published on multiple continents. The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)’s annual Outstanding International Books (OIB) list is a great go-to guide for such literary experiences.

As mentioned in Wendy Stephens’ overview of youth literature awards and described by USBBY President, Evie Freeman, the OIB list provides readers of all ages--especially educators and readers in grades PreK-12--a collection of 40-42 books originally published outside of the United States (U.S.) that are now available in the U.S. These books, selected by a committee of teachers, librarians, children’s literature and literacy education teacher educators and scholars, connect us to noteworthy international authors and illustrators who seek to entertain, inform, challenge, delight, stimulate, and unite people through story.
​
OIB List
OIB Selection Criteria*
*Not every book will meet every criterion equally.*​​
Books that
  • represent the best of children’s literature from other countries
  • introduce readers in the U.S. to outstanding artists and writers from other countries
  • help children in the U.S. see the world from other points of view
  • provide perspectives or address topics otherwise missing from children’s literature in the U.S.
  • exhibit distinct cultural flavor, help counteract stereotypes, bridge cultural gaps, build connections, and engage and prove accessible to young readers in the U.S.

​See the USBBY website for additional content and presentation considerations.

​Engaging with the 2021 OIB List: A Geographical Map and Themed Text Sets
OIB Map
Even with the grade-level band organization of the OIB list, selecting which books to read might feel daunting. Two ways to help facilitate book selections are the Interactive Google Map and thematic text sets. 

Each OIB list has its own interactive Google Map, illustrating the international communities represented by the selected books. Using the color-coded pins on the world map or the left sidebar, select a book to zoom in on its location. Additional uses of the maps include critical analyses and discussions about dominant/absent voices, cultural representations, and equity on a global scale.  

The 2021 OIB books also fit within text sets conducive to interdisciplinary and socioemotional learning as well as differentiated instruction. The table below includes the 35 OIB titles identified for PreK-8 grades organized into five themes. While each book is mentioned once, many could fit into multiple themes. The variety of genres, formats, and cultural origins reminds us that storytelling and humanity have no borders and amplifies the connections and intersections of self and society. Visit the USBBY OIB website or the February issue of the School Library Journal for all of the book annotations.

Themes

2021 Outstanding International Books (PreK-8)

(Book covers are organized by younger-to-older audience gradation.) ​

Hearing Additional Voices from Conflicts and War

​As access to information increases, so does access to stories that present  multiple voices. These titles include stories of conflict, longing, loss, love, and perseverance. Sharing the experiences of a war-torn country, conflict, or persecution, these texts inform readers on living in refugee internment camps, changing identities to avoid capture, peacefully resisting becoming a soldier, and leaving families behind - never to see them again. Each book enables readers to develop a greater sense of empathy and understanding of the impact war and conflict have on people.
Book Cover: Story Boat
Book Cover: The Lady with the Books
Book Cover: Mexique
Book Cover: War is Over
Book Cover: Catherine's War
Countries represented: Canada, France, Mexico, Myanmar, United Kingdom, Vietnam


Embarking on Explorations with Unexpected Twists ​

​In each of these treasures, readers will be encouraged to explore the story world,  whether drifting along a river, wandering along a vast ocean, traveling through a time of magic, or becoming spellbound by music. In these journeys, readers will delight in the unexpected - a plot twist or character development that makes them pause, evaluate, or wonder. 


​
Book Cover: Little Fox
Book Cover: The Land of Roar
Book CoveR: Gamayun Tales I
Book Cover: The Time of Green Magic
Book Cover: The Wanderer
Book Cover: Music for Tigers
Countries represented: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, Russia, United Kingdom


Highlighting Our Everyday Lives 

This collection of fun-filled, whimsical books reminds us of how quickly everyday moments can become joyful adventures no matter where you live! Catching chickens in West Africa, taking an elevator ride in Argentina, peering out from your window in Brazil, learning to make the perfect cannonball splash in New Zealand, contemplating the future in Japan, enjoying a great traditional tale about courage and forgiveness in India--among other stories about life’s ups and downs--remind us of the beauty of living in the moment, especially when you are with people you love. 
Book Cover: A Story About Afiya
Book Cover: Under the Great Plum Tree
Book Cover: There Must Be More Than That!
Book Cover: Cannonball
Book Cover: The Elevator
Book Cover: From My Window
Book Cover: Planet Omar
Countries represented: Argentina, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, West Africa


Developing Empathy, Connection, and Resilience through Loss and Hope

While originating from different circumstances (e.g., divorce, death, birth, long- and short-term separations, dementia, etc.), the partnership of loss and hope in this collection contributes to our ability to empathize, connect, and persevere. These five picturebooks and one novel offer sensitive, realistic, and accessible portraits of love, loss, grief, and everlasting hope, all undergirded by faith.

​
Book Cover: Weekend Dad
Book Cover: All the Dear Little Animals
Book Cover: Letters From Bear
Book Cover: The Magic Doll
Book Cover: Some Days
Book Cover: Small Mercies
Countries represented: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Central African Republic, France, Sweden, South Africa


Piquing Curiosities with STEAM

These books are fantastic for exploring the interconnectedness of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Readers will learn about animals, the relationships numbers have with the everyday world, the science of sound, or the invasion of plastic in the world’s oceans. All of these books evoke curiosity and leave readers thinking about their everyday interactions with the topics.
Book Cover: 1,001 Creatures
Book Cover: Everybody Counts
Book Cover: Sound
Book Cover: Plasticus Maritimus
Countries represented: Finland, Norway, Portugal, Ukraine
References
Rochman, H., & McCampbell, D. Z. (1997). Leaving home
. HarperCollins
​
​
Children’s Literature References
The OIB 2021
Bookmark has bibliographic information for the aforementioned books.

Jennifer M. Graff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia, is a former CLA President and has been a CLA Member for 15+ years.

Bettie Parsons Barger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at Winthrop University and has been a CLA Member for 10+ years.

Breaking Boundaries with Tanya Lee Stone's "Almost Astronauts"

2/23/2021

 

BY ERIKA THULIN DAWES & XENIA HADJIOANNOU, ON BEHALF OF THE BIOGRAPHY CLEARINGHOUSE

Book Cover: Almost Astronauts
On January 20, 2021, we witnessed the swearing in of the first woman vice president of the United States of America. The oath of office was administered by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the court.  This celebratory moment stood both as a joyous milestone marking just ‘how far’ women have come and was at the same time a stark reminder of persistent gender inequities in our society. The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted continued disparities as women have dropped out of the workforce at far higher numbers than their male counterparts, likely due to disproportionate responsibilities of child care and housework (Bateman & Ross, 2020). 

As we continue to work toward greater equality for women, here in the United States and globally, it is critical  to share with young people the stories of women across history who have worked toward breaking boundaries for themselves and for other women. Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts, 13 Women Who Dared to Dream is an important narrative in that history. Stone relates the story of women’s eventual entry to NASA’s space program by focusing on the stories of 13 women who dreamed of being astronauts and proved themselves through a private testing program in the early 1960s to be just as capable as their male counterparts. 

Almost Astronauts is a history text that is highly biographical. It features life stories, but it is not a traditionally organized biography of a single individual or a collection of biographies. To shape the historical narrative, Stone employs several biographer techniques such as well researched and documented character sketches, biographical blurbs, and narrative episodes. The latter are of particular note, as Stone’s vivid descriptions place the reader in the moment with these women as they pursue their dreams. The book is replete with photographs, as well as reproductions and descriptions of primary source documents and artifacts that support and enhance the narrated events but also help establish their historical context.


With a compelling narrative, engaging life stories, and immersive description, Almost Astronauts is a versatile teaching tool for middle and high school classrooms. It fits well in units on space exploration, women’s history, boundary breaking, gender stereotyping, and narrative writing. In our entry on The Biography Clearinghouse, we use the Investigate, Explore, and Create Model to present ideas for using this book in the classroom as a read aloud, a text to use in literature circles, a mentor text, and a resource text.

Read Aloud:
We provide resources to carry out a multimedia-enhanced read aloud, during which you would share and discuss primary and secondary visual, audio, and video resources that enhance students’ understanding of context, character and theme.

Literature Circles Title: 
We suggest Almost Astronauts as one title in a text set of long-form picturebooks and chapter books focusing on the theme: “Women Breaking Boundaries for Self and Others.” Groups of students reading these titles  would create response projects so that the class can compare the childhoods, accomplishments, and challenges of the women featured in the books.
Mentor Text: 
Stone’s engaging writing style makes
Almost Astronauts an ideal mentor text for nonfiction narrative techniques, such as “explode the moment” for emphasizing key moments and turning points, (Harper, 1997) and ‘In Medias Res’ as a technique to immerse the reader in action.

Resource Text:
Taking a critical literacy stance,
Almost Astronauts becomes a valuable resource in a study of persistent gender stereotypes and discriminatory practices. By providing details about popular culture and examples from media at the time, Stone offers young readers the opportunity to unpack and compare messaging about women and their expected behaviors and possibilities for achievement. These lenses can then be applied to contemporary popular culture texts and media so that students can discuss what has changed and what has not and consider action toward equity.

Investigate Logo
Explore Logo
Create Logo

CHECK OUT THE BOOK ENTRY

Almost Astronauts, 13 Women Who Dared to Dream
Below we feature one of two time-gradated teaching recommendations included in the Create section of our Almost Astronauts Book Entry.

Composing Multimodal Multigenre Biographies

When researching the Mercury 13, Tanya Lee Stone used an array of multimodal primary and secondary sources, which are listed at the back of the book. The book itself includes many photographs, descriptions of images and events, and transcripts of interactions that reproduce or explicitly reference those sources. In our entry on Almost Astronauts at The Biography Clearinghouse you will find a curated list of multimodal resources to open up the world of the book for classroom communities and support an immersive, multimodal engagement with it.  

In this recommendation, students have the opportunity to engage in their own biography research and experiment with biography composition through a multimodal, multigenre approach.    ​
If you have 1-2 hours...
If you have 1-2 days...
If you have 1-2 weeks...
Working in pairs or a small group, students select a contemporary or historical figure whose life fascinates them. Using a set of school-approved sources, have students compile a collection of links and other resources that represent the life story of their subject. Invite students to create a virtual biography exhibit through a gallery board platform (e.g. Padlet) for the figure they chose. The exhibit should be purposefully curated and annotated or captioned to tell the life story of their subject and emphasize the characteristics that intrigue them.
Building on the collection of resources they have developed for the virtual biography exhibit, have students in their pairs or small groups create a Pecha Kucha style presentation. A Pecha Kucha presentation is a presentation featuring 20 images/slides appearing on the screen for 20 seconds each. Check out this video for a short tutorial. 
Have students use their virtual biography exhibit as the basis for producing a biographical documentary of their chosen subject that incorporates primary source documents, artifacts, photos, video, etc. and multiple pieces in different genres and modalities (written language, visual, audio, video). Depending on the technology affordances of your setting and your students’ experience with video editing, the biographical documentary can be created using such tools as iMovie, a PowerPoint presentation narrated and exported as a video file, or a recorded Zoom session using screen share. There also are several free video editing apps students can utilize. Teaching students how to cite their resources would be a vital component of this project. ​

References

Bateman, N., & Ross, M. (2020, October 14). Why has COVID-19 been especially harmful for working women? Brookings Institute Essays. https://www.brookings.edu/essay/why-has-covid-19-been-especially-harmful-for-working-women/

Harper, L. (1997). The writer’s toolbox: Five tools for active revision instruction. Language Arts, 74(3), 193–200.
​
Erika Thulin Dawes is a Professor of Language and Literacy at Lesley University where she teaches courses in children’s literature and early childhood literacy. She blogs about teaching with children’s literature at The Classroom Bookshelf, a School Library Journal blog, and is a former chair of NCTE’s Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children.

Xenia Hadjioannou is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the Harrisburg campus of Penn State University where she teaches and works with pre- and in-service teachers through various courses in language and literacy methodology. She is the co-director of the Capital Area Writing Project, the Vice President and Website Manager of the Children's Literature Assembly, and a co-editor of The CLA Blog. 

Midwinter Book Awards Beyond Newbery and Caldecott - Part II: Young Adult Books and More

2/16/2021

 

BY WENDY STEPHENS

In addition to the ALSC awards described in the previous post, the Young Adult Library Association (YALSA) also designates award-winning and honor books for adolescent literature. 

Among the best-known awards for adolescent literature is the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, administered by YALSA. However, there are many other opportunities to learn about exceptional literature for teens. The life and legacy of Margaret A. Edwards are honored through two award designations:
  • The Alex Awards choose ten adult books with special appeal to teen readers.
  • The Edwards Award, honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens, parallels the ALSC Legacy award, except that it is based on a selection of named titles rather than the author's work as a whole.

A shortlist of finalists for two of YALSA's flagship awards -- the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, honoring the best nonfiction books for teens and the William C. Morris Award, which honors a debut book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author, are announced in December, with the winner of each being part of the press conference. 
Michael L. Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award recognizes excellence in young adult literature and designates both an award winner as well as honor books.
Book Cover: Everything Sad is Untrue
2021 Printz Award Winner

Alex Awards
The Alex Awards select the top ten best books that will appeal to teen audiences. The Alex Awards are named after Margaret A. Edwards, who pioneered young adult library services. Edwards was called "Alex" by her friends. 
Book Cover: Kent State
One of the 2021 Alex Award Winners

Margaret A. Edwards Award
The Margaret A. Edwards Award honors an author as well as a specific selection of their body of work. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
Book Cover: How it Went Down
2021 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner: Kekla Magoon and one of her recognized books.

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award
The YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award designates an award-winner and honors books for the best nonfiction books published for young adults. 
Book Cover: The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindberg
2021 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Winner

William C. Morris Award
The William C. Morris Award honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens to celebrate and honor exemplary new voices in young adult literature.
Book Cover: If These Wings Could Fly
2021 William C. Morris Award Winner
In addition to designating award books, YALSA also compiles book list resources that can aid librarians and teachers in selecting books that appeal to young adults. A decade ago, YALSA moved four of its lists onto The Hub, its literature blog platform, so that youth services librarians involved in collection development could benefit from more real-time input. All four categories post throughout the year, leading to year-end lists reflecting that year's best titles. 

Those include:
  • Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA), which is a list that takes teen feedback into account. 
  • Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (AAYA), which showcases spoken-word releases that would appeal to all subsects of the teen audience.
  • Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (QP), which identifies titles aimed at encouraging reading among teens who dislike to read.
  • Great Graphic Novels for Teens (GGN) recommended for those aged 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens.

Outside the Monday morning announcements, there are myriad other titles to explore. Among those, the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) uses Midwinter to announce its Outstanding International Books (OIB) list showcasing international children's titles -- books published or distributed in the United States that originated or were first published in a country other than the U.S. -- that are deemed the most outstanding of those published during that year. RISE: A Feminist Book Project for ages 0-18, previously the Amelia Bloomer Project, is a committee of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT), that produces an annual annotated book list of well-written and well-illustrated books with significant feminist content for young readers.

There are even genre fiction honors. For the past four years, the Core Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Lists designates notable children’s and young adult science fiction, organized into three age-appropriate categories, also announced at Midwinter.

Next year, we will have another treat to look forward to when the Graphic Novel and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) inaugurates its Reading List.

That's a lot of books! What are the can't-miss titles? I train my students to look for overlaps, like Candace Fleming winning this year for information text across age ranges. What does it indicate when the Sibert and YALSA's Nonfiction Award overlap? When a book is honored by both the Printz and YALSA Nonfiction?

Though the in-person announcement is exhilarating, especially the view from the seats at the front of the auditorium reserved for committee members, the webcast approximates its energy and allows you to share with students in real-time. To make sure you catch all of the lists, follow the press releases from ALA News and on twitter. Until next January!

Wendy Stephens is an Assistant Professor and the Library Media Program Chair at Jacksonville State University. ​

Join CLA at the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention

11/17/2020

 

BY LAUREN AIMONETTE LIANG

Last year, right around this time, the Fall 2019 issue of JCL arrived in the mail. In the President’s Message I had written a bit about my excitement for the upcoming NCTE conference:
It starts for me with the airplane travel. Coming from my area, it is rare to board a flight heading to a major conference and not encounter fellow teachers, librarians, and researchers embarking on the same adventure. We wave, ask about colleagues and friends, and buzz a bit with excitement. (I often think the other travelers must later wonder about these groups of individuals who are all grading papers and reading thick books, while simultaneously winning all the in-flight trivia and scrabble games.)  

Once we arrive at the NCTE city, conference-goers from all over are grabbing bags, looking for shuttles and taxis, and heading off to the area hotels. Immediately there is a shared sense of purpose and anticipation. Conversations break out in the hotel elevators about whether registration is open, and the time of the opening session. Hordes of badge-wearing, tote-bag laden attendees appear in long lines at the coffee stands and take over the sidewalks in their sensible walking shoes as they head off for the day.

And then the conference! Hour after hour of thought-provoking sessions, with speakers addressing the important issues in our field, provoking new ideas, and sharing possible solutions. The vibrant displays of new books in the exhibit hall waiting to be shared by knowledgeable and enthusiastic publishers who offer sneak peeks that might be perfect for your classroom. And, best of all, that amazing shared sense of being present with each other—knowing that the people gathered here care just as deeply as you do about supporting children’s and teen’s literacy experiences and growth.

The Children’s Literature Assembly events at NCTE are a highlight for many attendees. A history of consistent excellence makes our CLA Notables Session, CLA Master Class, and CLA Breakfast the starred events on many personal conference schedules...

This year’s conference will be a little different. No elevator chats with fellow badge-wearing attendees—but more #NCTE2020 tweets taking their place. Less wearing of sensible walking shoes—but likely a lot more feet clad in comfy slippers. However, I am certain that the most important part of the NCTE experience will remain the same: that gathering to passionately share and learn together how to support the literacy experiences and growth of our youth. Perhaps the virtual experience may allow for more to attend this year without the burden or barriers of travel. How we gather is, in the end, much less important than the fact that we simply do—that we find a way to make assembly and community.

For those attending the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention, we hope our two live events will provide that powerful gathering space.

Interested in registering for the 2020 NCTE Virtual Convention?
Registration

Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts AwardS

Join the members of the Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts award committee in a live event on Sunday afternoon from 1:45- 3:00 pm ET. Throughout the fall this blog has featured posts from members of this committee. Join them live for more outstanding 2020 titles and suggestions for classroom use.

NOTABLES live event on Sunday afternoon from 1:45- 3:00 pm ET at NCTE2020

Annual CLA Breakfast

Bring your breakfast to listen to amazing author Jason Reynolds, this year’s CLA Breakfast keynote speaker! In a live session Sunday morning from 9:00 – 10:15 am ET, the 2020-21 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature will talk about his writing and more.
Picture
Add to your experience by submitting a question from you, or from your students, to be answered live during the session! 
Submit Questions
Prepare by exploring our annual “table trivia” game, this year to be played virtually
Trivia Game
CLA MEMBERS

Explore the interview with Jason Reynolds featured in the Fall 2020 issue of JCL
FALL JCL ISSUE [46(2)]
Lauren Aimonette Liang is an associate professor at the University of Utah and the current president of CLA.
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