2012 DSA winner Linda A. Perkins with two adorable friends (Photo credit: Victoria Marugg)
Congratulations to Linda A. Perkins, ALSC’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award recipient! Linda was present at the Monday board meeting at the 2012 Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas where ALSC President Mary Fellows read the announcement (video forthcoming).
The Distinguished Service Award is given to “an individual member of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) who has made significant contributions to and an impact on, library service to children and/or ALSC.”
At the Monday board meeting Perkins noted that she had “stood on the shoulders” of ALSC leaders who came before her. Perkins time with ALSC has included serving on the ALSC Board of Directors three times, including once as the ALSC President (1991-92). A strong advocate for multiculturalism, during her tenure as president she helped build a relationship with REFORMA that eventually led to the creation of the Pura Belpré Award. She has also been integral in the development of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) as a national celebration.
You can read more about Linda’s fantastic career in the official news release of Linda A. Perkins as the 2012 Distinguished Service Award recipient.
Congrats Linda!
I’m sure that you all saw this, but the ALA has created a YouTube site for winners and honorees of the 2012 Youth Media Awards. You can find many of your favorite authors as they react to the announcements. A great example is Caldecott Honoree John Rocco’s video below.
By the way, if you’re looking for a full list of the 2012 Youth Media Award awards and honors, you can find it on the ALSC homepage. If you watched the announcements in Dallas or online, we hope you enjoyed the show! 2011 was undoubtedly a great year for youth media!
Happy New Year: The Year of the Dragon began last evening as many of us returned home. Dallas was a hospitable location for my first out-of-state ALA conference! Thanks to all who helped organize. My highlights include the 5K Fun Run/Walk, meeting with my committee, and attending the suspenseful ALSC/YALSA awards announcements. And what a thrill to be among so many book lovers!
I encourage all to attend ALA Annual this summer in Anaheim. Whether you are new to the profession or a veteran, you will come away re-energized with lots of great ideas. It is an honor to host ALA conferences in our home state, so I especially encourage colleagues in California to attend. I guarantee that out-of-state attendees will also receive a warm welcome. See you there!
Look at the loads and loads of good stuff I brought back from Dallas! I packed an empty carry-on just for this purpose and it was worth carting it through airports. Here are some things that you might want to know about:
From the photo you can see that I picked up a lot of ARCs too. Here are a few (some of these are teen & adult titles):
- Seriously, Just Go to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Ricardo Cortes, a kid friendly, G-rated version of the hilarious adult picture book Go the F**k to Sleep. (April 2012)
- I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic (March 2012)
- The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller (Donalyn Miller says she hasn’t met a child that she can’t turn into a reader – I need to know her secrets.) (Available now)
- Invisible Inkling: Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily “The Genius” Jenkins , illustrated by Harry Bliss (I threw in “The Genius” part, but can you blame me?) (August 2012)
- To the Mountaintop: My Journey Through the Civil Rights Movement by Charlayne Hunter-Gault (January 2012)
- The Legend of Diamond Lil: A J.J. Tully Mystery by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Kevin Cornell (March 2012)
- All the Right Stuff by Walter Dean Myers (May 2012)
- One Boy and His Dog by Eva Ibbotson (March 2012)
- Big Bad Sheep by Bettina Wegenast, illustrated by Katharina Busshoff (April 2012)
- Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love by Patricia C. McKissack & Fredrick L. McKissack, Jr., illustrated by Randy DuBurke (graphic novel/historical fiction by a talented team)
- Kasher in the Rye: The True T
At this point I’m bleary-eyed, alarmingly over-caffeinated, and nursing a small blister (despite my sensible footwear selections.) I couldn’t be happier. It’s the best kind of exhaustion. I’ve spent the last few days talking about books, art, technology, and public service with- hands down- the smartest, most intriguing, hard-partying librarians, publishers, vendors, and assorted library-lovers.
Yesterday I met my fellow 2013 Caldecott committee members and our fantastic committee chair. We discussed the upcoming year, traded ideas on how we will organize our books and thoughts, and started the process of getting to know each other before the deluge of books begin pouring in. The overall takeaway for me was to keep an open mind, stay organized, and simply enjoy the experience.
Sitting in the audience at this morning’s Youth Media Awards I caught myself tearing up. Not from any particular winner or award, but from the sheer force of excitement and passion in the theater. That energy existed outside the convention center walls, too, as tweets, blog posts, and updates from people across the globe reacted to the announcements. As sentimental as it may sound, you cannot help getting caught up in the emotion and feeling immediately connected to the larger community of librarians, teachers, children, teens, and readers everywhere. In so many ways, it felt like home.
Until Anaheim….
Once more, ALA’s Youth Media Awards — the crème de la crème of the children’s and YA book communities — met expectations. Early this morning, hundreds of young people’s literature enthusiasts filled the Dallas Convention Center Theater to hear the Awards announced. There were some surprises, but the committees had to feel good as they heard the shrieks of excitement as each award winner was made known.
Want to see which titles won? Click here for the official press release.
Congratulations to all the winners. And THANK YOU to all the committee members for your hard work! You are appreciated!
Are you new to Midwinter or the ALA conference scene? Wondering what the exhibits are really like? Check out Heather Botelho’s quick video from the exhibits floor here in Dallas.
By: Beth,
on 1/22/2012
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All year, the ALSC Notable Children’s Books Committee and the Carnegie Medal/Notable Children’s Videos Committee have worked diligently – reading and viewing – in an effort to identify the best of the best in children’s books and videos/DVDs. These committees are now issuing a final call to the ALSC membership for submissions of items to be considered for inclusion on the 2012 Notables lists.
Notable Children’s Books
The 2012 Notable Children’s Books Committee invites ALSC members to suggest titles for consideration for the annual list of notable children’s books. “Notable” is defined as: Worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, outstanding. As applied to children’s books, the term “notable” includes books for all age levels (through age 14) of especially commendable quality, books that exhibit venturesome creativity, and books of fiction, information, poetry, folklore, and picture books that reflect and encourage children’s interests in exemplary ways.
The evaluation criteria to be used are:
1. Literary quality
2. Originality of text and illustration
3. Clarity and style of language
4. Excellence of illustration
5. Excellence of design and format
6. Clarity of organization and accuracy of information
7. Subject matter of interest and value to children
8. The likelihood of acceptance by children.
The list will be voted on during the ALA Midwinter Conference to be held in Dallas, TX, in January, 2012. Only books first published in the US in the 2011 publishing year will be considered. Send suggestions to [email protected]. The deadline for submission of suggested titles is December 15th. Be sure to include the appropriate bibliographic information and your reasons.
For more information about this list visit the ALSC website. Click on “Awards and Grants” in the left-hand navigation bar, then click on “Children’s Notable Lists,” and finally “Notable Children’s Books.”
Notable Children’s Videos
The 2012 Carnegie Medal/Notable Children’s Videos Committee invites ALSC members to suggest titles for consideration for the annual list of notable children’s videos. Notable is defined as worthy of note or notice, important, distinguished, and outstanding. In identifying notability in videos/DVDs for children, notable should be thought to include videos/DVDs for all age levels (through age 14) of especially commendable quality that demonstrate respect for the child’s intelligence and imagination; the video/DVD should, in exemplary ways, reflect and encourage the interests of children
Official criteria used in evaluation of videos and DVDs includes:
- Utilization of media
- Technicality
- Organization and appropriate treatment of material
- Authenticity
- Subject matter of interest and value to children
ALSC members may send nomination suggestions of DVDs/videos released this year to be considered for inclusion on the Notable Children’s Videos list to [email protected]. The deadline for submission of suggested videos is December 15th.
The committees are waiting to hear your suggestions!
The ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, TX is right around the corner, on January 20-24, 2012.
This year, there’s more reason than ever to attend. Midwinter will host two exciting authors, Susan Cain and John Green, as well as public policy guru and President’s Program featured speaker, Rich Harwood.
ALA is also bringing back the Fun Run! On Saturday, January 21, you can participate in the 5k Fun Run & Walk through the streets of downtown Dallas. This is part of ALA’s commitment to well-being with the Think Fit @ ALA designation. Look for events and programs with the Think Fit logo!
On Monday, January 23 at 7:45 CT, ALSC will join other divisions and units in hosting the 2012 Youth Media Awards. It is here that ALSC will give out the coveted Newbery and Caldecott as well as several others including the Sibert, Batcheleder, Carnegie, Geisel, Belpré, and Odyssey awards. The event is being broadcast live from ALA’s Youth Media Award page. You can discuss the event via Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtags #alayma and #alamw12.
To manage your time at Midwinter, ALA recently released a downloadable Excel schedule. You can check it out at www.alamidwinter.org. Via ALA Connect, participants will also be able to use the Conference Scheduler. This feature will be available in December.
Can’t be in Texas in January? You can join us here on the ALSC Blog. We’ll be live-blogging the event from Dallas, just like at Annual Conference last summer. We’ll be posting pictures and video from from our time at Midwinter, so check back frequently!
By: Mary Voors,
on 10/8/2011
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Each year at the midwinter ALA conference, a variety of children’s books and media awards are announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards. This press conference is attended by 1500 or so interested children’s librarians, book publicists, editors, and other children’s literature enthusiasts. It is the culmination of a year’s worth of reading by dedicated committees committed to selecting the best of the best.
Called by some the “Oscars of children’s literature,” these awards create much speculation by book lovers around the country. Much of the fun of these awards is all the reading and talking in the months leading up to the announcements about the excellent new books being published. The speculation about what might win these major awards – especially the Caldecott and the Newbery – has spawned a wide range of blogs and conjecture focusing on these topics. At my library, we use a Mock Caldecott blog and a Mock Newbery blog to help our customers begin to think about titles which may be contenders. The speculation about what might win has spawned a wide range of blogs around the country which focus on these topics. Here is a sampling:
And, of course, there are the well-known and equally well-loved bloggers who post their own predictions like Elizabeth Bird over at Fuse # 8 Productions or Laura, a 6th grader who blogs about books at Laura’s Life.
It’s time for the discussions and speculation to begin in earnest. Are there blogs you follow to stay on top of great new books to read? What books have you read that you think are really strong this year?
ALSC is now seeking applications for its third biennial “Bill Morris Seminar: Book Evaluation Training,” to be held on Friday, January 20, 2012, prior to the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas. This invitational seminar supports and honors William C. Morris’ dedication to connecting librarians and children with excellent children’s books by bringing ALSC members with limited evaluation experience together with those who have served on ALSC’s media evaluation committees. Attendees are trained and mentored in the group process and in children’s media evaluation techniques, resulting in new and emerging leaders for future ALSC evaluation committees.
The Morris Endowment supports those selected to attend the training seminar by offering the seminar at no charge to the attendee. This includes all materials, breakfast, lunch, and afternoon break on Friday. To help defray additional costs for hotel and other expenses, a $200 stipend for each attendee will be provided by the endowment.
“This is a unique and valuable opportunity for ALSC members to finely hone their evaluation skills from colleagues who have defined the last decade of award winning books and media,” said ALSC President Mary Fellows. “It is a career highlight for those who participate.”
Morris was a long-time ALSC member and friend, the recipient of the first ALSC Distinguished Service Award as well as an advocate for children’s librarians and literature. Morris was former vice-president and director of library promotion at HarperCollins Children’s Books. The ALSC William C. Morris Endowment was established in 2000 and activated in 2003 upon his death. Morris envisioned his endowment funding programs, publications, events, and/or awards that would promote excellence in children’s literature.
Information and the application form are available on the ALSC Web site at http://www.ala.org/alscevents. Applications must be received by September 16, 2011. Attendees selected to attend the seminar will be notified during the first week of November.
I’m really glad you mentioned Laura Rodgers, the Indiana 6th grader who blogs at Laura’s Life. Not only is it excellent for us to hear how an honest-to-goodness kid looks at books, it is also just a really great blog – Laura knows her stuff and reviews a lot of timely books. She kind of does her own little Mock Newbery!