National Day of Racial Healing is on January 19, 2021. Check out this link to a WebJunction article that includes 9 ways your library and community can recognize the event. The ALA has put out a Library Action Kit for ideas and activities. Here is a booklist from the Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature of their best books of 2020. This blog post by Youth Services Shout Out has a wonderful list about race, justice, kids and libraries. Here is the link to the Heal Our Communities website.
Join us on ALA's social media channels on January 19 for a conversation around the National Day of Racial Healing and add to the conversation using #LibrariesRespond and #NDORH. As a community, we'd like to talk about:
If you're looking for ways to get started, consider exploring the Race Matters: Organizational Self-Assessment.
American Indians in Children's Literature: Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016. Here is a link to the blog with 2020 best books by native authors/illustrators.
Bank Street College of Education: The Children’s Book Committee was founded more than 100 years ago to help parents, teachers, and librarians choose the books that children will find captivating and transforming. Every year it produces comprehensive annotated book lists for children aged infant through 16. Their list of 2020 best books is organized by age. One of the few lists that recommends books for children 5 and under in its own category.
Booklist: The December 15 Starred Review issue is free and open to all. It can serve as an invaluable overview and checklist of books not to be missed for 2020. Youth starred reviews start on page 56. Here it is as a PDF.
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature: A curated list of best multicultural books of 2020 from Dr. Claudette Shackelford McLinn, Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada, Lettycia Terrones, Dr. Sujin Huggins, and Dr. Naomi Caldwell. Here is is as a PDF.
Chicago Public Library: A team of librarians select the best books each year. The lists are in bibliocommons. Two added bonuses, the board book list and Spanish language book list round out the selections.
The Cybil Awards: The Cybil Awards combine literary merit with popular appeal.
Deschutes Public Library: Deschutes Public Library suggests their favorite 2020 reads, perfect for gifting to children. They also have gift guides for teens and adults.
Goodreads: The Goodreads Choice Awards represent the votes of readers. There are two children's categories: Middle Grade and Children's and Picture Books.
Happy Valley Library: The staff at the Happy Valley Library in Happy Valley, Oregon compiled their favorite books of 2020.
The Horn Book: The editors and reviewers of the Horn Book select their picks for the best books of 2020. There are thirty books that "offer comfort, hope, inspiration, laughter, escapism, realism, community, sustenance, challenge, warmth, and more. "
Jane Addams Children's Book Award: From the website, "the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually recognizes children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. A national committee of members with passion for and expertise in children’s literature and social justice is responsible for making the choices each year."
Kirkus: Best picture books of 2020. Best middle grade books of 2020.
Multnomah County Library: MCL has a fantastic list of books for 2020. You will need to select kids to narrow your search to children's materials. The list has the same feel as the NPR list. It shows the book covers and when you hover over the cover, it gives a brief description of the work.
Nerdy Book Club: This blog shares their love of children's and young adult books. Their tenth annual best of the year recommendations include literature for early readers, nonfiction picture books, fiction picture books, and graphic novels.
The New York Public Library: Their expert librarians selected the year's best books for kids, teens, and adults.
New York Times: The 25 best children's books of 2020 from the editors of the NY Times.
NPR: Each fall, they reach out to their staffers and trusted critics and ask them to nominate their favorite books of the year. They respond with hundreds of titles. Then, the editors and producers at NPR Books sit down with a huge spreadsheet of responses; they select favorites, resolve duplications, note omissions and consider the overall mix and balance of books recommended. This link is to their kids' book recommendations for 2020.
Publisher's Weekly: Curated from from Publishers Weekly’s reviews of children’s and young adult books published in 2020, their selections for the top 50 books of the year include picture books and graphic novels, fiction and nonfiction, debuts and bestsellers for readers of all ages. Their list is arranged by picture books, middle readers and young adults.
School Library Journal: Lots of hours going over those starred reviews. They also have a PDF version.
Washington Post: Authors and reviewers share their favorite middle grade, nonfiction and picture books.
100 Scope Notes: Travis Jonker, a school librarian, posts his favorite books of the year on the School Library Journal blog about children's literature.
Korie Buerkle's acceptance speech.
For more information about Korie's award, please go to the CSD's Lampman Award page.
Hi folks, it’s the time of year when we try our best to think of others. Children's services staff have been working above and beyond in this difficult year. Nominate one of them for the 2021 Lampman Award. Or do you have a favorite Oregon children's author who deserves the award?
The award is given in memory of Evelyn Sibley Lampman (1907-1980), noted Oregon teacher, journalist, and author of children’s books.
The Evelyn Sibley Lampman Award was established in 1982 to honor a living Oregon author, librarian, or educator who has made a significant contribution to Oregon in the fields of children’s literature and library services. It is awarded annually by the Children’s Services Division of the Oregon Library Association.
Submit your nominations here: email@example.com
CSD Lampman chair
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American Library Association
Korie Buerkle is the 2020 recipient of the Evelyn Sibley Lampman award for her significant contribution to Oregon in the fields of children’s literature and library services. Assistant Director and co-manager of Children’s Services at the Newberg Public Library, she has served in various positions on the CSD Board and was 2017-18 OLA Secretary. She currently serves as the Finance Chair on the executive board of OBOB. Korie has been active in the Oregon library community for many years. She regularly presents at OLA conferences.
Recently, Korie worked tirelessly to champion the book George by Alex Gino. The story of a transgender 4th grader, George was on the 2018-19 OBOB list. Its inclusion on the list garnered national controversy. At the same time, Korie was recovering from a concussion received at work. For this work, the committee received the 2019 Intellectual Freedom Champion as part of the OBOB committee.
Korie continues to advocate for getting diverse books into the hands of kids. She recognizes the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion, and is always learning what she, personally, can do to ensure positive change in the field of children’s literature and library services. She sees the great value in literature that includes characters from marginalized populations, particularly #ownvoices books. One of her more recent projects is a list of Christmas books that provide windows and mirrors to their readers. She shared her list with the Oregon children’s librarian community and invited other librarians to share their ideas in order to have the most comprehensive, updated list possible. Korie often shares what she is learning with other children’s librarians by sharing both successes and challenges through kids-lib.
American Indian Youth Literature Awards: Awarded biennially, the American Indian Library Association (AIYLA) identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America, You can find more information about AIYLA on Twitter and Facebook @ailanet.
40 Children's Books Celebrating Native American and Indigenous Mighty Girls: a selection of books starring Native American and Indigenous characters to share with children (from 2017).
American Indians in Children's Literature: Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016.
Native American Heritage Month: The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join together to pay tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans.