SLJTeen Live!

I hope that you had a chance to attend today’s School Library Journal’s Teen Live. The all-day virtual summit is one of my favorite annual events and this year’s workshop – with the theme of knocking down doors - was no exception. The opening keynote from Samira Ahmed, author of INTERNMENT, was fabulous. She spoke about librarians as curators of culture and lifters of democracy – encouraging her audience by saying, “don’t be a by-stander, be an upstander.” The closing keynote from author and poet Nikki Grimes was very moving – look for her memoir in verse, ORDINARY HAZARDS, coming in October. In between there were sessions on the family, the power of love, writing non-fiction, choosing graphic novels for teens, and on partnering and collaboration. 

I found myself bouncing back and forth between concurrent sessions on Mental Health and Woke Collections – both echoed the importance of knowing your community. I loved the idea of librarians using our voices for kindness and the practical examples of programs and sources for data were very helpful. I know that with our emphasis on diversity and empathy this year that we will definitely be exploring resources like Diversity Talks and Racial Equity Institute which were recommended by Cassy Lee, Chinese American International School and Angel Tucker, Johnson County Library in Kansas in their presentation on activating empathy.  There were plenty of other opportunities to visit vendor booths and chat with authors, too. More information on SLJTeen Live!, including a list of presenters and book titles, is available at the link above or click on the logo image.

Fresh Ink and SLJTeen Live!

FRESH INK is a collection of short stories edited by Lamar Giles, a founding member of We Need Diverse Books.  The text is dedicated in memory of Walter Dean Myers and includes a one act play by him as well as stories by Jason Reynolds, Gene Luen Yang (in graphic form), Melissa de la Cruz and several other YA authors.  The stories feature plenty of name calling and bullying as well as some genuine heroes who find their voices.  Overall, a truly diverse set of characters are represented and provide much needed perspective as they deal with more universal events (a best friend moving away, finding oneself at college, and fitting in). A favorite submission was “Super Human” by Nicola Yoon.  FRESH INK received starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. ADDED: Educator's Guide from the publisher.

This anthology was one of several new publications featured by Random House Children’s Books at SLJTeen Live! earlier today. Other exhibitors included these vendors: Annick, Candlewick, Diamond, We Believe in Comics, Junior Library Guild, KCP Loft, Little Brown, Penguin, Scholastic, Skyhorse and Tutor.com; plus, sponsorship was provided by other major publishers. This was the seventh annual conference and I think I have attended most of them – there are always great presentations and keynotes, too. The theme this year was Speaking Truth to Power and the sessions dealt with topics such as Mental Health; Creativity and the Arts, Detoxifying Masculinity, and more. I am excited about following up on book titles (future reviews coming) and many blogger suggestions to help with Readers’ Advisory. The Teen Activism and the Passive Programming panels had great ideas, too: “Social Justice Begins with Me Book Club,” Read Woke Challenge, Peace Crane Project, breakout boxes and chalkboard response walls are just a few.

Uncensored by Zachary R. Wood

UNCENSORED by Zachary R. Wood, recent Williams College graduate and Wall Street Journal Fellow, is a very thought provoking memoir. Wood describes his childhood with an abusive mother and his eventual move to live with his Dad in Washington, D.C. There, he commuted several hours a day and attended a private school, ultimately enrolling at Williams and becoming the President of a group called Uncomfortable Learning. While I was surprised at many of the comments he heard while trying to bridge his home and school environment, the abuse that he faced for attempting to bring diverse opinions to his college actually shocked me.

This young writer explains, “I wanted to use the education I received at Williams to create positive change in the world one day.  How would I do that if I shut out the voices I disagreed with instead of engaging with them?” In fact, his 2018 TED Talk, titled “Why it’s worth listening to people you disagree with,” has been viewed over 1 million times since its release two months ago on the TED website.  We are especially fortunate to have the opportunity to hear him in person because Family Action Network is hosting Wood for a presentation next week; here are the details and a link to a pdf flyer:

“Uncensored: Engaging with Free Speech on Campus” on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, 7:00 PM

Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60201

Wood is still young, but very inspirational, writing, “It is my hope that after reading this book [UNCENSORED], you will come away with the desire to learn more about the experiences and opinions of others – and the determination to use that knowledge to make a positive difference.”