Over the next few months, the Early and Family Literacy Committee will write about one of the ECRR early literacy practices and discuss the science of reading research that supports the development of that practice and the skills it engenders. Today’s practice is play!  As mentioned in last month’s committee blog post, the Science of Reading is becoming more popular as a framework for teaching kids to read.  Rather than being a specific step-by-step plan, it brings together key elements that, when used as a whole, successfully prepares kids to read.  We want to relate the 5 ..read more

I’m lucky enough to co-present storytime at my location on Fridays. We’ve been examining our storytime routine and doing some deep thinking on how we are integrating the five early literacy practices of sing, talk, read, write, and play. We determined we needed to find a way to better incorporate PLAY into our storytime. But how would we do this and where to put it?  We like to incorporate a variety of inclusive movement activities. Therefore, we decided on a rotation of three activities – parade, follow the leader, and dance. We’ve placed this play time strategically between both books a ..read more

The ALSC Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee is updating the ALSC “Everyday Advocacy” webpage. The page includes resources on how ALSC members can advocate for themselves and for children on the importance of library services for our youngest patrons. A new addition will be information on working with legislators, an especially important group as we face a record number of book and program challenges, and states creating legislation that either supports or opposes intellectual freedom. As we communicate with our local, state, and federal legislators, we need to keep in mind that clarity of ..read more

Last year, my library (Cuyahoga County Public Library-CCPL) had the opportunity to participate in an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant that had been awarded to the Family Place Libraries in partnership with the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology (OET) and Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy (GI) at Penn State University. Our charge? To give constructive feedback on the Smithsonian’s Talk with Me Toolkits so that they could be updated and made more useful to families.  Four libraries participated in the grant: CCPL, Middle Country Public Library, Hills ..read more

Art and Earth Day? I mean, they’re not even in the same Dewey Decimal Classification categories! One is in the 700s (art) and the other is generally in the 300s (Social Sciences, anyone?) But stay with me. I recently found a picture book called How to Spot an Artist. It is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E, and yet philosophical and deep–adults and children will love this encouraging book that lets you know that art and artists exist any and everywhere. You never know, you might be an artist, dear library friend. Read more: What Does Earth Day Have to do with Art? I also found a book about collage and another b ..read more

Bring on the Summer Fun! ALSC’s 2024 Summer Reading Lists have arrived! Compiled by ALSC’s Quicklists Consulting Committee, the lists highlight engaging and award-winning books to keep children reading all summer long. In addition to top-notch reading picks, the committee also recommends a range of apps, podcasts, and websites to help kids discover new and extend current interests. Here’s just a sampling of the digital resources featured: The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza Live Cartoons, providing story-writing inspiration for kids; Chrome Music Lab with hands-on experiments and activities; The ..read more

Not long ago, I asked a group of grade six English learners to do a “source language scavenger hunt,” finding middle grade and YA novels in the school library and recording the language in which each was written. I also had them note the author’s name and, if applicable, the translator’s. This “hunt” had several goals: I hoped it would get the students comfortable ferreting out works of fiction in their library. I also wanted them to consider language among the many markers of authorial identity, since they were performing a diversity audit of their independent reading. I wanted them to see t ..read more

While many are familiar with the Newbery and Caldecott committees, did you know that the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has over 60 additional opportunities to participate in committee work, task forces, and discussion groups? From creating best of the best book lists to helping coordinate ALSC’s annual budget, there is an ALSC Committee for everyone. Join us on Friday, April 19th, at 2:00 PM EST for ALSC 101 and an exploration of ALSC Committee work.  (ALSC Stock photo) Many topics have been covered in past opportunities to learn about the organizations. This ..read more

As someone who teaches contemporary children’s literature, I have been following the surge of picture books about climate & environment topics for several years. While there has been some great scholarly research about such books (cited below), I have devised a simple framework for grouping these kinds of books. This 4-tiered categorization may help you decided what to read, suggest, or display in various scenarios and for different audiences.  Category 1: Appreciating Nature We need to raise children who appreciate the natural environment. These books are meant to foster a love of l ..read more

The 2025 Children’s Literature Legacy Award Committee is asking the ALSC membership to submit authors and illustrators for consideration.  The Children’s Literature Legacy Award is awarded every year to an author or illustrator whose work, published in the United States, has over a period of years made a substantial contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity, and respect for all children’s lives and experiences. Here is a link to the ALSC’s Children’s Literature Legacy Award Terms and Criteria page: Children’s Literature Legacy Award terms and cr ..read more