Riordan spoke with American Libraries about his newest works and the longevity of Percy Jackson. The Sun and the Star follows Nico, who has faced significant trauma and must learn to find “lightness” in the dark. How can this book help young readers experiencing trauma or grief? It’s often easier to process our own trauma … Continue reading Newsmaker: Rick Riordan
“I wouldn’t have done it any other way,” Menzel—a world-renowned singer and performer best known for her stage and screen roles in Frozen, Rent, and Wicked—said about working with her sister Cara Mentzel, an author and former elementary school teacher. “I knew that she would bring it to life and guide me in my storytelling.” … Continue reading Newsmakers: Idina Menzel and Cara Mentzel
Together, working together, beginning, over and over, over and over, Until you’re no longer beginning, you’re winning. Gorman began the Closing Session of the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 27 by reading this passage to the audience. “I’m sure I’m not the only adult feeling a little weepy,” … Continue reading Beauty from the Refuse
“I had heard that for years, and years, and years,” he said. When he got the chance to turn the series into audiobooks, he dived deep into such ideas and experimented with all the ways he could bring a graphic novel to life for listeners as an audio producer for the Lunch Lady series. At … Continue reading Making Audiobooks Special
Patterson’s upcoming book, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading (Little, Brown, 2024), shares stories from dozens of librarians and booksellers. But he attended American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago largely in support of Amina Luqman-Dawson, whose Freewater won both the Newbery Medal and … Continue reading James Patterson on Libraries, Librarians, and Book Bans
Children’s book author and poet Nikki Grimes strode to the podium and read passages from her forthcoming title, A Walk in the Woods (Neal Porter Books, September). The audience at the American Library Association’s 2023 Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 24 was rapt. The room was still, except for some rustling and verse, a … Continue reading Completing the Walk
Having access to stories about young, queer girls of color, she said, could have avoided years of shame. “It could’ve made me feel like even if my parents don’t know about this, there are people out there who are just like me, and I’m going to be okay one day,” Ortega said. “It would’ve not … Continue reading ‘The Kids Get It’
So Oshiro picked up the first book in Rick Riordan’s Greek mythology-inspired series for middle-grade readers. The books follow a modern-day demigod and his friends as they fight fantastical forces, and Riordan later built a franchise from that world with two more series and standalone books. Instead of reading it over the weeks-long tour as … Continue reading Partnering Perspectives
Menzel, a Tony Award-winning singer and actor known for roles in Frozen, Wicked, and Rent, remembers the first time she saw her younger sister Cara Mentzel at the helm of a classroom—and knew it was what she was meant to do. “I had never really heard her speak with such confidence and assertiveness,” recalled Menzel. … Continue reading Finding Your Own Voice
We envisioned a club where students, teachers, and caregivers could share a common experience around literature. But it was also important that book selections modeled positive behaviors that align with our school values and fostered conversations around social-emotional learning and equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice (EDISJ). To bring our community together, we turned to … Continue reading Books Model Behaviors
Thomas continues to champion Black narratives through new and numerous projects, including a TV show currently in production with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground media company. The show will be based on Blackout (Quill Tree Books, 2021), an anthology she cowrote with Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. … Continue reading Newsmaker: Angie Thomas
DiFranco, who released a bestselling memoir in 2019, published her debut children’s book, The Knowing (Penguin Random House), in March. She describes the book as a chance for readers to look inward and not get lost in external identities and the “cultural signifiers” around them. American Libraries spoke with DiFranco during the 2023 LibLearnX conference … Continue reading Newsmaker: Ani DiFranco
