Latest Stories

2010-08-04T20:24:26Z

Mosquito Mayhem

Mosquitoes can ruin a picnic, a camping trip, and even a walk in the park. Kids spend most of the summer scratching their bites, so why not let them have

Teens With ADHD More Likely To Drop Out Than Those With Other Behavioral Disorders

Teens with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-the most common childhood psychiatric condition in the United States-are less likely to finish high school on time than students with behavioral disorders considered more serious, according to a national study.

'Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth' Hits Stores November 9

Five million. That's the number of copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth (Amulet) that's set to roll out on the book's much awaited national laydown on Tuesday, November 9. Fans of More...

Facebook Unveils Safety Page for Educators, Parents, Teens

Facebook this week unveiled a new Safety Page that offers expert advice, videos, articles, and other educational materials to help keep its users safe. The new page-already with more than 12,200 fans-is modeled after, and More...

Canadian Authors Donate Books to Los Angeles School Libraries

Children's author Helaine Becker launched an international book drive - after recently seeing an empty library shelf at Chavez Elementary School in Long Beach, CA. Empty library shelves at Chavez Elementary prompted Becker to take More...

NJ Library, Citing Child Pornography, Removes GLBT Book

A New Jersey public library has ordered the removal of all copies of Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology (Alyson, 2000) from its shelves--despite the fact there was no formal book challenge--and its library director has referred to the title as "child pornography," according to emails obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey through a Freedom of Information Act.

Gail Sweet, library director of the Burlington County Library System (BCLS), asked Library Commissioners to approve the removal of the book after a member of the conservative group 9.12 Project contacted Sweet requesting that it be taken off shelves.

Get Kids to Enter the 'Write It, Film It' Video Contest

Calling all creative writers and potential filmmakers--if you've got kids with some spare time over the next few weeks, tell them to enter the "Write It, Film It" video contest-and possibly win a flip video camera, books, and more.

Ashley Bryan Wins 2011 Regina Medal

Award-winning author and illustrator Ashley Bryan, whose work is often culled from African and international folktales, is this year's winner of the Regina Medal for his contribution to children's literature. Bryan, 87, grew up one More...

Get Ready for YALSA's Teen Read Week

For those planning to celebrate this year's Teen Read Week but are a little short on funds, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has collaborated with publishers to provide mini-grants to needy libraries to More...

Booksellers Oppose MA Law That Extends Censorship On the Web

A coalition of booksellers and first amendment supporters is trying to block a new Massachusetts law that aims to protect kids from online predators, but also bans constitutionally protected speech, including topics like contraception and More...

MS School District Agrees to Change Policy, Pay Damages to Lesbian Teen

Mississippi's Itawamba County School District has agreed to pay $35,000 in damages to Constance McMillen, a gay high school senior who wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom this year. The district has also More...

Children's Illustrators Help Save Gulf Oil Spill Wildlife Victims

Feeling down and helpless about the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? You're not alone. Illustrator Kelly Light was working in her studio in early June and tuned into CNN when images of birds struggling and dying in oil-drenched beaches started coming in. "I just got hit hard," remembers Light. "There was one image of a pelican trying to take flight--his huge wings spread--heavy with oil and his huge suitcase-sized beak wide open. He looked so confused. I couldn't draw any more that day, I was so upset."

Aussie Parents Find Facebook a Distraction From Homework

Social networking sites like Facebook. MySpace, and Twitter keep students from their studies, say more than half of Australian parents who took part in a recent study commissioned by Telstra, the Melbourne-based telecommunications and media More...

The Future Is Hers to See

What terrific kids' titles are coming down the publishing pike? For a sneak peek of the best and brightest, we spoke to Susan Marston, editorial director of Junior Library Guild (JLG), who habitually devours advanced readers' copies many months ahead of most folks. Marston and her intrepid New York City crew are rushing to put the final touches on their fall 2010 list of 192 selections for children and teens--and we couldn't wait to see their choices.

Founded in 1929, JLG provides collection development services to more than 17,000 school and public libraries nationwide. This unique service reviews and selects children's and young adult hardcover trade books prior to their publication. JLG selections are placed into one of 32 reading levels ranging from Pre-K to YA and are then shipped to member libraries on a monthly basis. JLG is owned by SLJ's parent company, Media Source Inc.

Scholastic Rejects Harry Potter Plagiarism Suit

J. K. Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic, says the recent plagiarism lawsuit filed against it by the estate of late English author Adrian Jacobs is completely without merit.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, alleges that Rowling's bestselling Harry Potter series is "substantially similar" to Jacobs's The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: Livid Land (Bachman and Turner, 1987).

Please Pardon Our Appearance

Group editorial director Brian Kenney. As you probably know, School Library Journal has new offices. While we love our cool new digs in Soho, we've encountered some technical problems that are bound to arise when More...

Lou Weber: The Whole Child Approach in the Library

The Whole Child Approach to teaching and learning believes that each child deserves to be in a healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged environment. As a librarian at Malcolm Price Laboratory School in Cedar Falls, IA, for the past 11 years, Lou Weber knows exactly how to weave all of that into a child's schooling. No wonder her school recently won the Whole Child award from the educational leadership group ACSD. We asked Weber why the Whole Child concept is still so unique in schools, and how she supports the program through the library for the school's 355 students.

How did Malcolm Price launch the Whole Child concept?

We have a K-12 citizenship program, which we support with guidelines that talk about respect and responsibility. That's been around for quite a while in the school and that got us engaged with ASCD in the first place. And then as they shifted to Whole Child, we shifted to Whole Child.

Teens More Vigilant of Their Online Reputations

Young adults invest more time controlling how they appear online?and how others perceive them?than older Internet users. So says a new report from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, which interviewed 2,253 More...

Stead, Partridge Win Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

Rebecca Stead’s Newbery winner, When You Reach Me (Random), National Book Award finalist Elizabeth Partridge’s Marching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don’t You Grow Weary (Viking), and a first time author-illustrator team are winners More...

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