Honoring Disability Pride Month: How to Keep Your Library Accessible and Inclusive for Everyone
By: Rebecca Cybulski | July 26, 2023 |
July is known as Disability Pride Month because it marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This law is meant to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities and discourage discrimination, however, people are still marginalized for their abilities or limitations. To help combat ableism and injustice, librarians across the nation strive to make a safe space where all people and communities can see themselves embodied in literature.
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Picking a Pulitzer
By: JLG Marketing | June 22, 2023 |
Stay True by Hua Hsu was the first JLG selection to win a Pulitzer Prize, and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to learn more about how our editorial staff deemed it a JLG Gold Standard Selection. So, what exactly goes into picking a Pulitzer Prize? Dan, a member of our editorial staff, shares his journey…
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Q & A with Andrew Aydin
By: JLG Marketing | March 24, 2023 |
To honor the anniversary of Selma’s Bloody Sunday, a nonviolent march during the Civil Rights Movement, we sat down and spoke with JLG author, Andrew Aydin. We first met Aydin at ALA in 2022; he was gregarious, genuine, and found a way to connect with each attendee on a personal and professional level. He spoke openly and humbly, sharing his experiences with Congressman John Lewis, a champion for human rights and one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Celebrating Black History Month: The Power of Literacy and the Price for Freedom
By: JLG Marketing | February 22, 2023 |
Did you know that the abolition of slavery and importance of literacy education go hand in hand? Enslaved Africans and African Americans used their reading and writing skills to win and defend their freedom. Read on to learn more about the ways in which literacy helped to end slavery in the United States and how we can continue to empower diverse voices in our book collections.
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New voices, new talent: Debut authors coming from JLG this fall
By: Rhonda Mihalic | July 13, 2021 |
At JLG, our editors keep their ears to the ground and listen for the whispers gradually building about new authors. These debut selections coming this fall earned the JLG Gold Standard seal of approval.
Librarian of the Month: June 2020
By: Esther Goodell | June 30, 2020 |
JLG’s June Librarian of the Month honor goes to Anna Porter Public Library and librarian Kelsey Collins. We could tell from seeing her library’s social media posts that she and her library had a heart for their community. Read on to learn more about Kelsey...
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Librarian of the Month: May 2020
By: Esther Goodell | May 28, 2020 |
JLG’s May Librarian of the Month honor goes to Louise Durham Elementary and Tiffany Williams. We could tell from seeing her social media posts that she was always willing to go the extra mile to get students to engage with books, whether through sensory mats to form a check-out line or loading up her cart to deliver books to classrooms. Read on to learn more about Tiffany...
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Librarian of the Month: April 2020
By: Esther Goodell | April 29, 2020 |
JLG’s April Librarian of the Month honor goes to Billerica Memorial High School and Rachel Bouhanda. She has been a school librarian for over a decade and has been creating new resources for students all while transitioning to a new library space!
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Librarian of the Month: March 2020
By: Esther Goodell | March 12, 2020 |
JLG’s March Librarian of the Month honor goes to Hilliard Weaver Middle School and its dedicated staff of one, Christina Dorr. She has been a JLG member for many of her 30+ years as a school librarian. We had the chance to meet her at a local conference recently, and in our 5-minute interaction we knew we needed to share her story.
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BLOGtalk BOOKtalk - Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place
By: Jennifer Bennett | February 27, 2020 |
Jackson Bird’s book Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place is a welcome addition from a trans man to this literary history that is fresh, modern, thoroughly millennial, and relatable to younger readers.
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Librarian of the Month: February 2020
By: Esther Goodell | February 21, 2020 |
JLG’s Librarian of the Month honor goes to Rippon Middle School and its dedicated team of Tamara Ingalls, librarian, Debra Gish, librarian, and Denisha Price, library assistant. Read their story!
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JLG Selections Take Home 63 ALA Awards & Honors
By: Katie Lynch | January 27, 2020 |
We are thrilled to announce that 63 of the 112 winners/honorees were JLG selections. We are so proud of our amazing authors and illustrators, as well as our talented editorial team and their history of picking winners.
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Congrats to the 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Awards finalists!
By: Katie Lynch | December 23, 2019 |
JLG is proud to announce that 4 out of the 5 2020 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Awards finalists are JLG selections. The Nonfiction genre is revolutionizing thanks to the talent and commitment of these authors, and our editors know outstanding work when they see it!
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JLG selects Caldecott & Newbery winners for 20 years
By: Sarah Cooke | September 11, 2019 |
Our renowned Editorial team has long been on the forefront of selecting books that go on to earn starred reviews, industry awards, honors and prestigious acclaim. Case in point: They've selected the Newbery and Caldecott Medal winners nearly every year for the last 20 years (before they were even published!).
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JLG Back-to-School Book Bundle Giveaway!
By: Rhonda Mihalic | August 14, 2019 |
Check out the five back-to-school author-autographed book bundles that were part of our giveaway. It's too late to enter—but find out how you can catch the next one!
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Teen spirit: How to get teens back to the library
By: Sarah Cooke | August 14, 2019 |
What can libraries do to make sure their young-adult readers stop by for a visit—and then keep coming back? Get tips from School Library Journal’s Karen Jensen.
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Ohio author launches book drive for town hit by tornadoes
By: Rhonda Mihalic | July 09, 2019 |
In Celina, Ohio, more than 50 homes were destroyed by tornado and everything was lost: furniture, clothing, photographs, mementos and, central to this story, books. So a local children's author started a book drive.
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ALA 2019: The week I became a library
By: Rhonda Mihalic | July 01, 2019 |
I asked myself, “If you had to sum up your ALA experience in three words, what would they be?” Easy, I thought: Inspiration, innovation and interaction.
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JLG Titles Dominate Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards
By: Sarah Cooke | June 17, 2019 |
The 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature (EGL) Award winners were recently announced at the Denver Pop Culture Con, and the competition was stiff.JLG's Graphic Novel categories are among our most popular—and we are thrilled to see so many JLG selections honored in this year's EGL Awards!
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JLG selections shine in 2019 Boston Globe-Horn Book awards
By: Rhonda Mihalic | June 05, 2019 |
The 52nd-annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards (BGHB) were announced at the end of May, showcasing nine outstanding books—seven of which are JLG Gold Standard Selections!
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Countdown to summer reading
By: Julia Bannon | May 03, 2019 |
It’s time to get ready for your summer reading program! With this year’s theme celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the moon landing, we’ve got lots of ideas for you to make this the best summer yet. Launch into a summer of space with great books, STEM activities and display ideas.
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Unboxing #2: The Art of Science
By: Rhonda Mihalic | March 29, 2019 |
The giggly, giddy stars of last month's Boxes of Books Unboxing video are at it again, this time unpacking their JLG subscription box of March selections.
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Webcast Recap:
Books We Love June 2017
By: Deborah B. Ford | June 13, 2017 | Shelf Life
On our webcast today, Kiera and I talked about some of our favorite upcoming books you might want to check out this summer. Kiera Parrott is the Reviews Director for School Library Journal and Library Journal and a former children's librarian. Whether your to-be-read pile grew or it became prioritized, we are sure your readers will get also enjoy getting to know these new stories and their wonderful characters. Read More
Tooting The Horn Book's Horn (and JLG's too)
By: Deborah B. Ford | June 01, 2017 | Shelf Life
Yesterday marked the beginning of the award season for 2017 titles. The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners were announced at School Library Journal's Day of Dialog in NYC. This award was first presented in 1967. A winner and two honor books were selected for each of the three categories: Nonfiction, Picture Book, and Fiction and Poetry. And the winners are... Read More
Egg-Cellent Books for Young Readers
By: Deborah B. Ford | April 26, 2017 | Shelf Life
Spring. Flowers and bunnies. Baseball and hotdogs. National Library Week. National Poetry Month. Earth Day. Tax Day. And book--spring releases are here! From stories about eggs that don't hatch to those that do, you won't want to miss what's coming for young readers. Read More
Webcast Recap: Stars So Far, K-12
By: Deborah B. Ford | April 25, 2017 | Shelf Life
In our webcast today, my guest Shelley Diaz, Reviews Manager and YA Editor at School Library Journal, and I talked about some of our favorite starred books from the spring of 2017. From favorite authors Nikki Grimes and Kevin Henkes to a heart-warming story about foster kids, the stars are shining this season. Read More
Webcast Recap: Get to Know Spring's Hottest Debut Authors and Illustrators Spring 2017, K-12
By: Deborah B. Ford | March 21, 2017 | Shelf Life
In our webcast today, my guest Carl A. Harvey II and I talked about some of our favorite upcoming books written by debut authors and illustrators. From a National Geographic explorer to A. S. King's debut as a middle grade writer, these authors are sure to find their way into the hearts and minds of the young and older reader. Read More
Webcast Recap: Women Who Rock: Celebrating the Past and Present
By: Deborah B. Ford | March 09, 2017 | Shelf Life
Astronomer. Pinkerton detective. Automobile driver. Computer programmer. Women continue to rock our world through their talents, leadership, and wisdom. In our webcast today, I talked about some of our favorite upcoming books by and about women. From hot new biographies to strong female characters, writers, and illustrators, these quick booktalks will lengthen your shopping cart list. Read More
You've Got the Winners, Now What?
By: Deborah B. Ford | February 02, 2017 | Shelf Life
The Youth Media Awards for 2017 have been announced. Your favorites won. Your favorites lost. There were surprises. Is there anything out there to help sell the books to the winners? And if I already have the books, how can I get those shiny stickers to add to their marketing charisma? What about programming should that be part of what I do with these winners?
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Webcast Recap: A New Year's Celebration of New Books
By: Deborah B. Ford | January 26, 2017 | Shelf Life
In our webcast today, Susan Marston, JLG's Editorial Director, joined me in a chat about 2017 titles for elementary readers. From animals you never heard of to a cow in a tutu, the books also varied from prekindergarten to grade 6, fiction and nonfiction. Feel free to pass on the archive when it is posted later this week. Read More
Best STEM Books 2016 @NSTA
By: Deborah B. Ford | December 21, 2016 | Shelf Life
'Tis the season for announcing all manner of booklists. The National Science Teachers Association released its Notable Trade Booklist and this year they present, Best STEM books. According to readers and publishers, interest in such a list has been "off the charts." Read More
What Makes a Good Picture Book?
By: Deborah B. Ford | December 07, 2016 | Shelf Life
Do you remember when The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 2007) won the medal? I recall being both delighted and shocked that a 500-plus-page novel could win a picture book award. After a little investigation, I learned that the Caldecott (like the Newbery) considers books for readers through age fourteen. Length of book is not a factor. Instead, a "picture book for children" is defined by the committee as something distinct from other books that have illustrations—it's one that "essentially provides the child with a visual experience." Read More
Webcast Recap: Fall Debut Class of 2016
By: Deborah B. Ford | November 10, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Leslie Bermel and I talked about some of the fall debut titles for readers of all ages. From a house that needs help, an at-risk boy on a polo pony and a compelling memoir of the childhood of a North Korean boy, your readers will hope that these debut stories are just the beginning of the work we will see in the future from the fall debut class of 2016. Read More
Webcast Recap: New Books by Favorite Authors From the JLG Webinar Series
By: Deborah B. Ford | November 01, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast I chatted with Sara Pennypacker, Barbara O'Connor, and Candace Fleming. From a giant squid, to a girl who makes the same silent wish every day, and new characters for independent readers, these new books from authors you know and love will fly off the shelves. Read More
Webcast Recap: Falling for New Teen Books 2016
By: Deborah B. Ford | October 17, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Leslie Bermel and I talked about the some of the fall forthcoming books for teen readers. From three magical children and their holy dog to a laugh out loud retelling of the story of Jane Grey, you'll find the new releases to be worth the wait. Read More
New Highly Starred Books for 2016
By: Deborah B. Ford | October 03, 2016 | Shelf Life
Now that we approaching the end of the 2016 season, you may be like me and starting to make your Best Lists. I know the journals are putting in the hours and whittling down their lists. Our own Jeanette is constantly adding new stars, lists, and awards of our own titles. You can keep track of JLG title selections at Awards & Lists/Lists & Reviews. If you've been keeping tabs, the following are the most highly starred titles of 2016--so far. Read More
Webcast Recap: A Hat, a Pig and Panda Pants August 2016: From the JLG Webinar Series
By: Deborah B. Ford | August 18, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Leslie Bermel and I talked about the some of the fall forthcoming books for elementary readers. From two turtles that discover a hat in the desert to a much-anticipated biography of E.B. White, you’ll find the new releases to be worth the wait. With the addition of new categories, Character Building Elementary, Fantasy/Science Fiction Elementary and Multicultural Elementary, you'll have even more wonderful books for your young readers. And remember to add some Plus categories to get even more books in the fall—just when you need them most! Read More
PPP- Lies, Spies, and All that Jazz Webcast
By: Deborah B. Ford | July 12, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Roger Sutton and I talked about the Boston Globe Horn Book award winners. Celebrating its fiftieth year, winners of the award will be celebrated at a ceremony at Simmons College in Boston on September 30. The following day, a colloquium will be held. This event allows you to be "up close and personal" with the amazing authors and illustrators of these multi-award winning books. Here are the titles from today's webcast. Read More
There IS No Good Stopping Place: What Makes a Good Page Turner?
By: Deborah B. Ford | July 06, 2016 | Shelf Life
"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it." (The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck; Dial, 2004) What kid isn't going to keep reading with an opener like that? You can read Richard Peck's Horn Book Magazine article "In the Beginning: What Makes a Good Beginning?" from the 2006 summer issue. And who wouldn’t keep reading if a chapter ended like this: “It wasn’t about saving us. And it wasn’t about enslaving us or herding us into reservations. It was about killing us. All of us.” (The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey; Putnam, 2013) Read More
PPP- Books We Love National Webcast
By: Deborah B. Ford | June 14, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Leslie Bermel and I talked about 20 of the JLG selections that are we just love. These were books we haven't talked about in past webcasts, with many of the titles shipping out this summer. From a YA author-turned picture book author to what some are calling his best book yet, your readers will love these hot-off-the-press titles! Read More
If You Give a Girl a Book...She'll Buy Doughnuts
By: Deborah B. Ford | June 06, 2016 | Shelf Life
I've always known that I'm completely drawn into the world of books. I get lost among the pages and worry over the outcomes. I have conversations with complete strangers about stories I've read, as if they are true examples of how that person might benefit from a fictional experience. (You've read how dangerous it is for me to sit near a device where I was tempted to buy a chatelaine.) And yes, I've called in sick so I could stay home to finish a book--which is ridiculous, since that's my real job! Suffice it to say today I could not resist temptation today. Read More
And the Winners Are...Boston Globe Horn Book 2016
By: Deborah B. Ford | June 01, 2016 | Shelf Life
And you thought you'd have to wait for 7 months to pass before you heard a book win A Big Prize! Remember: The 2016 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards will be announced on Thursday-- via video for the first time! --by Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton and Linda Pizzuti Henry, managing director of the Boston Globe. Check back at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 2. Read More
Tech Thursday: 101+ (Mostly Free) Online Resources
By: Deborah B. Ford | May 05, 2016 | Shelf Life
As I was polishing my presentations for NHSLMA (New Hampshire School Library Media Association) annual conference in Concord, NH this week, I found a theme: they are all technology. I'm doing the ever-popular Using Social Media to Market Your Library, Using Technology in Your Library, and Online Resources. I made a few changes to the social media session and then began to work on the other two. Enter heart-stopping moment. You know the website I wrote you've been using forever? 101 Best Web Resources? The company that hosted it pulled the plug in March. I knew it was coming. I had a year to regroup. Now the time had come to make a new plan. What to do? Read More
Roses are Red and Poems Don't Have to Rhyme: Celebrating Poetry All Year
By: Deborah B. Ford | April 25, 2016 | Shelf Life
As a college English major, I took plenty of literature courses. Short stories were read. Novels were pored over. Poetry was analyzed. In one class we dissected a poem, learning "exactly" what the writer from hundreds of years ago was saying. In a later course, I was delighted to revisit the same poem with a different instructor. Perfect, I thought, I already know just what the poem means. I quickly volunteered my vast knowledge and was told that I was absolutely wrong. "It means no such thing," the instructor adamantly declared. Read More
PPP-Webcast Debut Authors and Illustrators of 2016
By: Deborah B. Ford | March 17, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Roger Sutton, Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book, and I talked about some of the rising stars for the Class of 2016 for the spring season. With almost forty books to choose from, we had a tough time selecting our featured authors and illustrators. (Thanks again for joining us, Roger) If you haven't purchased your Horn Book subscription already, remember that JLG members get a discount on the journal. (It's a celebration of wonderful-must-be-purchased books!) Read More
PPP Irving ISD: Ensuring Diversity in Your School Library Program
By: Deborah B. Ford | March 17, 2016 | Shelf Life
What is diversity? Is it race, gender, ethnicity, ability, or culture? Is it all of the above and more? If we work with diverse students and patrons, shouldn't our teaching strategies, programs, and literature collection be a reflection of our community and beyond? Librarians are faced with the challenge of linking these students and arming them with tools for life beyond academia. Read More
PPP: Leap into Spring with New Books for Teens
By: Deborah B. Ford | February 29, 2016 | Shelf Life
On today's webcast Leslie and I talked about some of our favorite upcoming middle and high school titles for the spring season. From fascinating nonfiction to hard-to-put-down novels, there are plenty of amazing titles to add to your collection. Remember that in addition to providing you with great selections, we are building resources to help you use these titles. Check out the NEW JLG Spring 2016 Booktalks to Go LiveBinder for resources for these and other great JLG titles. JLG BTG titles are added to our Pinterest board and tweeted out by following Deborah B. Ford. Look for book trailers and archived webcasts on our JLG YouTube Playlist. This webcast will be archived and posted on the JLG website at a later date. Your certificate of attendance can be reprinted by watching the archived video for at least ten minutes. Keep reading to find links to the titles. Read More
Get to Know Spring's Hottest Debut Authors and Illustrators!
By: Deborah B. Ford | February 23, 2016 | Shelf Life
From a picture book about reading and surfing (What?!) to a middle grade novel about Manzanar, readers will love the new stories from the Debut Class of 2016. Can you guess which new writer or illustrator used to be in publishing? Which one had an award-winning novel? Which author has a collection of deerstalker caps? Which illustrator is an assistant professor of illustration in Detroit? Which author/illustrator works for The New Yorker? Which illustrator was born in India and now teaches second grade? Who is director of biodiversity and wildlife solutions at RESOLVE? Which author is fourteen-years-old? How can you find the answer to these and other burning questions? Read More