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Category Archives: Events

The day after the Youth Media Awards

27 Jan

With a snowstorm hitting much of the eastern seaboard, it was to be expected that Monday would be a snow day. For colleagues like my friend Stacey Rattner who builds a fever pitch of excitement about the Youth Media Awards at her elementary school, it was disappointing to not have the day together in the gym, but she pivoted. For me, I was happy to have uninterrupted time to watch it (with a glass of champagne in celebration) at home. I could make my notes, I could tag favorite books and authors who won, and text colleagues on committees to cheer on their work.

And there was plenty of notes, tags, and texts!

While it runs a bit long when publishers and imprints are listed along with titles and creators and committees select a handful of honor titles that deepen the bench for celebration, my happiness was elevated throughout. Highlights included three celebrations of Candace Fleming- two for career achievement recognition and one for winning the Excellence in Nonfiction award for Death in the Jungle. A second was a sustained recognition of Cynthia Leitich Smith’s editing of Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In is worth noting. With its recognition in the Odyssey category, I might have to go back and listen to it because it was magical the first time in print, so I might want a second experience as an audiobook now.

An early favorite to see was Arriel Vinson’s new talent award for her debut Under the Neon Lights. I had the pleasure of moderating a panel for School Library Journal last year for which she was a shining part. And I have catching up to do in categories like Stonewall and Schneider Family because there were some titles that hadn’t come across my desk that I will be on the search for. Similarly, I pay special attention to the Batchelder awards because I’ve found them to be particularly moving or fun (in the case of John the Skeleton by Laan last year)

And last, all the love to the Coretta Scott King illustrator award to R. Gregory Christie for The Library in the Woods and written by Ramsey whose message and moving art is a must-read and happiness that Insectopolis: A Natural History by Kuper that I had on my year-end top ten list for adult nonfiction was recognized by the Alex Award as a book with special teen appeal. To validate that, we had it in our high school collection already and I enthusiastically shared it with a girl who was looking for a book about insects and bugs- I told her I had the perfect book for her.

I’ll ride the high of the celebration of all of the committees’ work to get to this point and recognize the talent of all of the creators of these amazing books by adding more to my endless TBR and looking out for new content by them as well.

And the first book on my list to read that I hadn’t heard about before that was a Stonewall honor will be He’s So Possessed With Me by Liu.

Was there a moment that you were jumping up and down about? Or a book that is now at the top of your list to read?

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2026 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Childrens, Events, Fiction, Illustrators, Nonfiction, Reflections, Young Adult

 

Focused on finalists

18 Jan

In a little more than a week, the Youth Media Awards will be announced in Chicago. It’s sad that there won’t be a Midwinter conference through the American Library Association to go along with it, but as the organization continues to shift, it was a necessary change that does damper (just a little) the swagger of the awards announcements that range from the Caldecott to Sibert, Odyssey to Excellence in Nonfiction.

This past Thursday, I was honored to moderate for the third year in a row, the School Library Journal webcast highlighting the five finalists for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award which includes Ann Bausum, Nicholas Day, Candace Fleming, Gail Jarrow, and Barb Rosenstock.

Anyone can view the recorded webcast by signing up here. I took notes while I was moderating because there were plenty of morsels from each of them regarding their curiosity, their research, and their process that could help any would-be writer or educators wanting to share the love of nonfiction. And after watching the webcast, make sure you’ve read all five of these gems talking about topics like presidential medical coverups, the Fox sisters (known as the creators of the modern seance), Southern reconstruction, Mount Tambora’s explosion, and Jim Jones’s The People’s Temple.

We’ll all be watching on Monday, January 26th!

 
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Posted by on January 18, 2026 in Authors, Events, Nonfiction, Research, Young Adult

 

Last & first

02 Jan

I don’t think I’m the only bookworm who plans their last read of a year and the first read of a new year. It’s always nice when they work out to be stellar reads.

Last

I finished the year with my champagne and white cranberry and Kamome Shirahama’s artwork from the world of Witch Hat Atelier. This was a gift from my son who knows my love of the Witch Hat Atelier series and its spinoff Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen. I’ve cosplayed Coco and have the entire series on my shelf. This book is a lovely addition to that shelf.

First

I started the year with a cup of tea and Emiko Jean’s newest young adult time travel romance Love Me Tomorrow due to hit shelves in February. Her previous romances includes Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming. Not only should those be read but this new one should be on the list as well. The character development and dialogue is delightful.

What was your last of 2025 or first of 2026?

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2026 in Authors, Childrens, Cover Love, Events, Manga, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

One week ago: A conference reflection

26 Oct

One week ago, I was returning from the American Association of School Librarians conference in St. Louis, Missouri. And now I’m ready to share my takeaways.

School librarians are a warm group of people. I was stopped by people who knew me through other school librarians and I stopped people who I knew through their presence in the organization or online. However the conversation starts (standing in line, sitting in a conference session, at the counter of a restaurant) it always feels comfortable and welcoming.

See The Librarians documentary as soon as you can.

Books are the greatest and best bridge between people. Don’t ever forget it.

To be an author is to be a public figure and that takes a toll on anyone. Jason Reynolds was so eloquent in sharing the importance of his self-care routine especially as he gets older. It was also echoed in other sessions as well.

There are some neat tools out there and companies are eager to share them with school librarians. I was enthralled by the Sooth.fyi demonstration and excited to use it in my building with students.

Present! It’s a way to give back to your profession and meet others too. I was able to talk about teens and manga (a favorite discussion topic). And I was enriched by EVERY session I went to, too. Ideas that I will put into practice both sooner and later.

For as active as the conference is, it’s nice to sink into a soft bed in a hotel every night after a delicious meal and a hot cup of tea.

It’s always a bonus to travel to a city or state you’ve never been to.

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2025 in Authors, Events, Manga, Reflections

 

Will travel for turtles

23 Sep

A friend forwarded an email a few weeks back to make sure I knew that Sy Montgomery would be somewhat close by. There is a bookstore outside of my general area that has a second location the next state over that’s a scenic drive, but not too far. She knew I would travel for turtles.

For readers for youth, most will know the name Sy Montgomery. She’s written over 80 books about animals and those adventures have taken her all over the world. She’s written picture books, middle grade, and adult books about animals from octopuses to hummingbirds, turtles to tarantulas. I’m a big fan. The collaboration for her latest included illustrator Matt Patterson who would also be at the event as they promoted The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle featuring the real life adventure and misadventure of Fire Chief. But I also wanted the change to hear from Montgomery herself, plus get a bunch of books signed for my outdoorsy niece and nephews and one for myself.

If you haven’t read one of Montgomery’s books, you must. She provides depth, insight, and humor in and around the amazingness of animals. My favorites include: How to Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals and What the Chicken Knows.

And the animal adjacent biography of Temple Grandin.

The drive to Vermont from my city on the eastern edge of New York was magical as the leaves have already begun to change, and I even had a little extra time to stop at a few cemeteries (I am a taphophile after all). What a lovely afternoon to spend among author and illustrators and books learning about animals and from each other.

 
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Posted by on September 23, 2025 in Adult, Authors, Book Birthday, Childrens, Events, Illustrators, Nonfiction

 

It takes all kinds of labor

01 Sep

It’s not just the unofficial end to summer, but a day that is set aside to recognize the jobs that make the world go round so I thought I’d share a few favorites from over the years.

  • Terkel’s comprehensive interviews of what people do and how they think about their jobs in Working.
  • Montgomery highlights the life and work of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman (before the term existed) who revolutionized slaughterhouses in Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loves Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World.
  • Ottaviani and Wicks paired up to focus on three women scientists working with Primates: Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas in Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas.
  • The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives is Theresa Brown’s memoir as a nurse that I had the pleasure of Zooming with during the pandemic along with an Introduction to Medical Sciences class I collaborated with the teacher on to read the book and talk about nursing to high school students.
  • Melissa Sweet pays homage to writer E.B. White in Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White.
  • A riveting story of a woman who built a business as a cleaner called in by police, fire, and families after traumatic occurrences in The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster written by Krasnostein.
  • Recipes and business acumen are on display in the teen adaptation of Onwuachi’s Notes From a Young Black Chef.
  • Want a nice overview of labor? Look no further than Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States by Mann.
  • And my love of cemeteries also means I love Catilin Doughty, the mortician talking about her work in the crematory and beyond in Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory.
 
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Posted by on September 1, 2025 in Adult, Authors, Events, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

What are you doing?

09 Aug

It’s National Book Lovers Day. What are you doing today?

So far I’ve visited my indie bookstore to buy a favorite picture book (Big Enough by Regina Linke), stopped at my local public library to pick up books for my son and me (he had a hold list of about twenty-five manga titles that he’s taking camping next week), and read (Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World by Stephen S. Hall).

I’ll also squeeze in time to stare at my bookshelves.

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2025 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Childrens, Cover Love, Events, Nonfiction

 

Kickoff done right

23 Jun

Our public library has faced adversity over the last few years. It will continue for the next few years while a new space is being rehabilitated for our permanent home. In the meantime, the director and staff have rolled up their sleeves and put in the hard work, with a smile on their faces, to make the temporary location as welcoming as it can be. This was evident during the summer reading kickoff that took place yesterday afternoon.

Amid the blistering humid heat (though luckily the sun wasn’t really out) in a park in another park of town there was a reptile show, a local ice cream shop dishing out scoops of the treat, a bounce house, crafts, bubbles, balloons and face painting, and giveaways to enhance the atmosphere of registering for summer reading. The statewide theme is Color Our World which is a beautiful nod to libraries and leads to copious ideas for programming and events.

What I liked most was the less is more approach– it was a two-hour event, it focused and did well to enhance the activity stations and events. My teenage boys had just as much fun as a five year old and I faced a fear by draping a rather large albino snake around me after the reptile show ended.

If you haven’t already checked out what activities are happening at your local public library, stop in or visit their social media. I guarantee there’s a kickoff looming if it hasn’t already happened and welcoming opportunities to connect and learn throughout the summer.

 
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Posted by on June 23, 2025 in Events, Miscellaneous

 

For the love of learning

10 May

Who doesn’t love a good quote?

I happened upon Kitt’s quote on social media a while back and immediately saved it both because I’m an avid cemetery walker, so the tombstone reference made me pause but also because as a human being (and likely ones of the reasons I love being a librarian) is that I get to learn every day. We should all strive to learn every day. It’s why librarians curate digital and print collections for others in order to share the joys of learning every day.

I trotted it out again yesterday after signing off on the first of four two-hour webinars I will attend this month. Within five minutes I was furiously taking notes and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling that lasted the entire two hours that this was money well-spent. The expert delivering the content was super knowledgeable and I was with like-minded individuals. The subject has been a hobby of mine for about a decade and I realize that the more I do it, the more I don’t know. So I sought out people who do know more to tell me what they know. And what’s more, she even provided additional materials on top of the wealth of resources she shared. I couldn’t have asked for a better use of my time and energy.

So, here is your permission if you need it to go out and learn something whether it’s free or costs money. Now more than ever, we need to find hobbies and interests that make us feel alive and challenged and connected to a community.

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2025 in Adult, Events, Miscellaneous, Reflections

 

Free Comic Book Day shenanigans are back at the library

07 May

Years back, our high school library celebrated the national Free Comic Book Day on the Monday following the nationally-celebrated first Saturday in May event.

It began when a comic nerd named Jay was interning with a social worker at our school and asked about helping kick one off and it slowly grew from there. Even after he was gone, he would return to help whether bringing tabletop games, and ideas to introducing me to people in the field who could also contribute. He’s about bringing people together over comics and he writes about it in magazines and on websites like this 2022 article called Why Buying Your Kids More Comic Books Can Benefit Their Mental Health for Inside Hook.

Then the pandemic hit and like many events, it fell by the wayside until this year. We were going to be hosting Steve Sheinkin as our author visit about a month before Free Comic Book Day and I wanted to make the connection between his award-winning Bomb being turned into a graphic novel and his Rabbi Harvey comics to comics in general whether our high schoolers were already fans or not. It’s as much about exposure for a new group of comics lovers as it is a place to connect for tried-and-true comics lovers.

Jay again stepped up when I reached out because I had mentioned wanting to do a panel or have experts on hands during our lunch shifts. Then we’d have passive activities (and a few active ones) surrounding the learning.

I worked with my Japanese Culture Club to design the activities and then invited classes from departments like art to take part. They heeded the call and brought down classes to learn from our panelists who ranged from a comics shop owner to an illustrator of several graphic novels who I was surprised to learn was local. The others were collectors since childhood, an independent publisher of comics, and contributors to the comics field in other capacities. But more than that, the students sat down and decoupaged a coaster from old comics, worked on a Marvel puzzle, and helped add pages to our pop-up zine.

We’re happy that these moments were captured by professionals in our district’s Communications department and shared with the school community. The smiling faces holding comics. The serious focus while creating their art. The intense language of a gaming tournament after school. Even though it was a long day setting up and breaking down, soaking up their enthusiasm is what keeps all of us in education young.

Now on to planning next year’s event…

 
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Posted by on May 7, 2025 in Articles, Authors, Comics, Events, Graphic novels, Illustrators

 

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