Very recently, a nephew came to live with me. He’s quiet, stays in his room, and basically comes downstairs to eat and hang out in the backyard. Most of the time, his earbuds are in, and therefore I believed he didn’t want to have a face-to-face conversation. One day, he was sitting at the counter [ Read the full article… ]
Author: Varian Johnson
Maryland author gives reasons why YA is the new hotness
Be sure to check out Paula Chase-Hyman’s interview in The Examiner about why YA is the new hotness. From the article: Reason #5. YA novels enable their young readers to process problems and situations from a safe distance. They show how someone the reader’s age would deal with problems that are typical for that reader’s [ Read the full article… ]
3rd Annual KidLitosphere Conference
Do you blog about children’s and young adult books? Are you interested in blogging about children’s and YA books? Maybe you should attend the 3rd Annual KidLitosphere Conference. From the website: The Kidlitosphere Conference is an annual gathering of the Society of Bloggers in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The 2009 conference will take place [ Read the full article… ]
28 Days Later – 2009
A little over a year ago, I, along with four of my colleagues in the kid-lit industry, joined together to form The Brown Bookshelf – an online community charged with highlighting both established and up-and-coming African-American children’s and YA authors and illustrators. Our 2008 – 28 Days Later Campaign was a huge success, and I’m [ Read the full article… ]
YALSA’s Best Books for Young Adults
Every year, the American Library Association compiles a list of the Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA). Each month, the BBYA committee, made up of members of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) updates the consideration list. As of April 3, 2008, two novels by African-American authors have made the consideration list: Conception (St. [ Read the full article… ]
The beauty of words
You hear it all the time now, every time you turn on the radio. Syncopated rhythms, heavy beats, words laced together at an alarming speed. But where many people hear blasting music and demeaning lyrics , I hear alliteration, assonance, and allegory. Simply put, I hear poetry. Of course, I’m not saying that there aren’t a [ Read the full article… ]
Can you hear us now? We sure can!
To everyone out there that send an email or nominated an author or just posted a comment — THANK YOU! Quite frankly, we’ve gotten more suggestions than I ever imagined we’d get. And what a great mix is it — pbs and middle grade, YA and chapter books, historical fiction and sci-fi, serious books and [ Read the full article… ]
Required Reading
I was going to make a post today about the importance of ethnicity-based literary awards, such as the Coretta Scott King Awards. Instead, I’ve decided to post links to two articles about that very subject. In his article, “Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes” (Horn Book Magazine, May/June 2001) Marc Aronson (then editor and publisher of Cricket Books) discusses [ Read the full article… ]