The big news in children’s literature this week was the American Library Association Youth Media Awards (ALAYMA, or #alayma). Featured on the red carpet this year: a superhero squirrel, a locomotive, the Gaither sisters, and many more great books. We’re particularly proud of CLiF presenter Tanya Lee Stone, who netted a YALSA honor for Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickels, America’s First Black Paratroopers.
- Link number one sends you straight to the source: the ALA’s award announcement press release.
- And it’s fun to revisit Jane Knight’s favorite mock-Newbury and mock-Caldecott blogs.
Some other interesting links this week:
- According to the Daily Mail, British parents are reading aloud to their kids more than they did a generation ago. That’s encouraging.
- Less encouraging are the results of this Annie E. Casey Foundation study: here in the States, 80% of low-income 4th graders are not reading proficiently.
- And the Chlldren’s Defense Fund released its State of America’s Children study to coincide with the President’s State of the Union address. We’ve linked to the Education section.
Let’s end on a high note. Every January 27, our neighbors to the north celebrate Family Literacy Day, an initiative started 15 years ago by ABC Life Literacy Canada. We love this idea. ABC has a list of 15-minute literacy activities families can do together: some terrific ideas here.
Happy Friday!
