We sat down with award-winning author/artist LeUyen Pham to discuss art for picture books versus graphic novels, the power of artwork as a storyteller, and the many intricate layers of meaning in her latest work, As I Dream of You (with Jennifer Lee). Find As I Dream of You from First Second!
We sat down with award-winning author/artist LeUyen Pham to discuss art for picture books versus graphic novels, the power of artwork as a storyteller, and the many intricate layers of meaning in her latest work, As I Dream of You (with Jennifer Lee). Find As I Dream of You from First Second!
Rocky’s work centers suicide and suicidal ideation; if you or one of the teens you serve struggle with suicidal ideation please seek help. These resources from Children’s Mercy focus on helping families and caregivers navigate suicide risks and suicide ideation in children and teens.
We sat down with author Rocky Callen to discuss mental health in kidlit, bravely addressing difficult topics to honor teen readers, and providing a literary lifeline for teens in crisis. Trigger warning: this conversation, and the books we discuss, includes extended conversations about suicide and suicide ideation; if you or someone in your life is struggling with suicidal ideation please visit the links in our blog post and seek help to stay another day.
If you or one of the teens you serve struggle with suicidal ideation please seek help. Visit Children’s Mercy for free downloadable resources focused on helping families and caregivers navigate suicide risks and suicide ideation in children and teens.
We sat down with debut author Ellen Cochrane to discuss how vital nonfiction is for young readers, the process of becoming a first-time published author in retirement, and the incredible survival story that formed the basis of Ellen’s debut nonfiction book, Follow the Water.
Use these ready-to-print bookmarks to promote this interview to your library’s readers. We even left space for your library’s logo! Click here to use the design on Canva. Be sure to select, “Make a Copy”, in order to personalize. Click here for the pdf.
Ellen is deeply shaken by this development, as it underscores a larger environmental crisis, an alarming war on science, and why helping young people understand the real-world power of science has never mattered more. A portion of the proceeds from Ellen’s book will support the research station, and she hopes to help draw attention to what is happening and why it matters.
We sat down with author and screenwriter Abdi Nazemian to discuss the importance of earnest representation in YA lit, queerness in history and its future, the need to continue living honestly in difficult times, and his newest novel, Exquisite Things!
Promote this interview to your Library’s readers using our ready-to-print bookmarks! Click here to use our design on Canva. We even left a space for you to add your Library’s logo! Click here to download the PDF.
We sit down with your middle schoolers’ favorite author, Alan Gratz, to talk historical fiction, what history can reveal about the present day, how, and why, to captivate young readers, and why today felt right for his new novel, War Games, about the 1936 Olympic Games and the graphic novel adaptation of Refugee.
-Justin Hofstetter
Use our bookmarks to promote this interview to your library’s readers. We even left space for you to add your library’s logo! Click here to use the design on Canva. Be sure to select, “Make a Copy”, in order to personalize. Click here for the pdf.
Boyden Library’s Teen Librarian Jennifir Huston recently sat down with YA author Jeff Zentner to discuss his two books, Goodbye Days and In the Wild Light, that were targeted for banning in Escambia, Florida.
Jeff is from the rural Appalachians and currently resides in Nashville, TN. Before becoming an author he was a blues and country musician. He is an award winning author having earned ALA’s William C. Morris Award, Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award twice, and Muriel Becker Award. He has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal Award and a two time Southern Book Prize finalist.
In addition to YA, Jeff has one Adult novel, Colton Gentry’s Third Act.
Jeff is from the rural Appalachians and currently resides in Nashville, TN. Before becoming an author he was a blues and country musician. He is an award winning author having earned ALA’s William C. Morris Award, Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award twice, and Muriel Becker Award. He has been longlisted for the Carnegie Medal Award and a two time Southern Book Prize finalist.
In addition to YA, Jeff has one Adult novel, Colton Gentry’s Third Act.
“ It’s crazy that you would deprive a kid of an anti-drug message (In the Wild Light) to keep them from reading a positive depiction of gay people” Jeff Zentner.
“In In the Wild Light, there is a lesbian couple who is depicted as a positive force in the lives of their students. They are depicted as positive loving characters who are just as worthy of respect and dignity as any type of couple. I think the kind of people who want to ban books (want to ban joy), that’s a dangerous message (for them) that you can have joy as queer people, that you can impart joy as queer people. They don’t want kids to see that” Jeff Zentner.
“I think it’s the humanization of queer people and (other) conversations in the book they don’t want people having” Jeff Zentner.
Banned Together is an anthology of fiction, essays, comics, verse, brief interviews, and lists by 16 diverse authors who share their experiences and perspectives on censorship and its impact. The authors focus on how book bans have impacted them personally and how bans affect readers.
The pieces vary in style and genre, but are moving and personal. Readers feel connected to each contributor. Each piece opens with a portrait of the contributor, which is followed by a short bio. Purple pages contain helpful lists of books, ideas for taking action, and more. Readers can read the book straight through or pick and choose which piece to read first. The sentences are direct but never boring.
Because it is a multi-genre anthology, everyone can appreciate this book. There is something for everyone. Books with similar themes and appeal include Into the Streets: A Young Person’s Visual History of Protest in the United States by Marke Bieschke and Suggested Reading by Dave Connis.
-Gail Zachariah
It sort of makes you feel like every step you made up to this point was the right step.
– Lamar Giles on being invited to write Sanctuary
