Celebrate National Children's Book Week!

Everyone be sure to check out the website for National Children's Book Week, which is being celebrated this week, May 10-16. You can see if there are any events being celebrated in your area, and there are a number of activities for kids and parents alike. For kids, there is a great contest going on in which they can create their own children's book, and tomorrow they will announce the winners of the 2010 Children's Choice Book Awards! Here is a little about this week from their website:

Since 1919, Children's Book Week has been celebrated nationally in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes -- any place where there are children and books. Educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated children's books and the love of reading with storytelling, parties, author and illustrator appearances, and other book-related events.

It all began with the idea that children's books can change lives. In 1913, Franklin K. Matthiews, the librarian of the Boy Scouts of America, began touring the country to promote higher standards in children's books. He proposed creating a Children's Book Week, which would be supported by all interested groups: publishers, booksellers, and librarians.

Mathiews enlisted two important allies: Frederic G. Melcher, the visionary editor of Publishers Weekly, and Anne Carroll Moore, the Superintendent of Children's Works at the New York Public Library and a major figure in the library world. With the help of Melcher and Moore, in 1916 the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association cooperated with the Boy Scouts in sponsoring a Good Book Week.

In 1944, the newly-established Children's Book Council assumed responsibility for administering Children's Book Week. In 2008, Children’s Book Week moved from November to May. At that time, responsibility for Children’s Book Week, including planning official events and creating original materials, was transferred to Every Child a Reader, the philanthropic arm of the children’s publishing industry.

Also in 2008, the Children's Book Council created the Children's Choice Book Awards, the only national child-chosen book awards program, giving young readers a powerful voice in their own reading choices.

The need for Children’s Book Week today is as essential as it was in 1919, and the task remains the realization of Frederic Melcher’s fundamental declaration: “A great nation is a reading nation.”

Guest Blog on Travelin' Local

I just did a guest blog over on Lisa Newton's Travelin' Local all about Reach Out and Read...check it out here! Travelin' Local is a great blog all about Southern California...perfect if you're looking for something new to do in the LA area!

Happy Earth Day!

"Yes, I am the Lorax who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please. But I'm also in charge of the brown Bar-ba-loots, who played in the shade in their Bar-ba-loot suits and happily lived eating truffula fruits. Now, thanks to your hacking my trees to the ground, there's not enough truffula fruit to go 'round!"

Today is the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day! (Check out www.earthday.org for tips on going green, and of course visit www.shoporganicallygrown.com for environmentally friendly fashion!)

I was inspired by my roommate to write about one of my favorite picture books, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. I know I have already written a blog post about this book, but I think its message is one that bears repeating. Without being didactic in getting his message across, Dr. Seuss spreads the message of conservation.

Another book that spreads a similar message is Aani and the Tree Huggers, written by my mom Jeannine Atkins. When this book first came out, I was in about first grade, and this book made it "cool" to want to save trees.

Any other books that spread the message of saving the environment?

Have a great & green Earth Day, everyone!

Barnes and Noble Book Fair This Weekend!

This weekend, from April 22-25, support the Los Angeles branch of Reach Out and Read with any purchase you make from Barnes & Noble!

When you use our coupon code, a 10% rebate will be given to support the efforts of Reach Out and Read to promote literacy in children.

There are three easy ways to support Reach Out and Read Los Angeles this weekend:

1.) Visit bn.com/bookfairs to support us online from 4/22 to 4/25 by entering Bookfair ID # 10182228 at checkout.

2.) Shop at: Barnes & Noble, Woodland Hills

The Promenade, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd

Thursday, April 22nd – Sunday, April 25th

The voucher is attached that needs to be presented at the store for ROR to receive credit for a purchase.

3.) Visit any Barnes & Noble and show the voucher

Please e-mail me at emily@rorla.org if you need a copy of the voucher!

ROR Los Angeles Website Launch!

VERY exciting news! Our brand new website for the Los Angeles branch of Reach Out and Read is now LIVE! Please visit and tell us what you think!

Also, be sure to become a fan on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!

A Celebration of Jewish Picture Books

My roommate Colleen and I just got back from an amazing lecture and exhibit opening at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, celebrating the art of the Jewish picture book. The exhibit, entitled "Monsters and Miracles: A Journey through Jewish Picture Books," was curated in conjuction with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art of Amherst, Massachusetts, and showcases the history of classics and modern favorites from Jewish picture book authors from all over the world.

Hosted by Amherst College professor Ilan Stevens, the lecture we attended, "A Celebration of Jewish Picture Books," featured French artist Serge Block, Caldecott winner Mordicai Gerstein, and Laurel Snyder, author of Max: The Pig who Wanted to be Kosher. The lecture examined some very interest points about children's books, specifically relating to those featuring Jewish themes.

Although all three authors were clearly chosen for their Jewish heritage, they all had very different stories as well as unique perspectives on children's literature.

Gerstein first began drawing when he was inspired by the pictures his mother cut out and scrapbooked from LIFE magazine, and although he spent time working on animated films, he always knew he wanted to tell the stories of the Old Testament. When Stevens asked him what drove him to tell stories with a biblical narrative, he responded with one of his favorite sayings: "Nothing is new but you," meaning that there are no new stories, it's all in the way you tell them.

In fourth grade, Snyder decided that when she grew up, she wanted to become rich and famous by writing books and plays for children. When she was growing up, she gravitated towards the midcentury canon of children's books featuring kids in nuclear families, having magical adventures. She realized she wanted to focus on the Jewish experience when she saw a divide between the Jewish picture books she saw in stores and the ones she wanted to read.

Block began his career as an illustrator for children's books "par hazard," that is to say, by accident. He furthered his career when, by chance, an American agent offered to represent him, and his horizons expanded when he moved to New York, where he admired the work of illustrators such as William Steig.

I was thrilled to see that one of the common themes of the lecture was the importance of reading picture books as a way to connect parents with their children, which is, of course, one of the most important messages of Reach Out and Read. Stevens stressed the importance of the aural tradition, as a method in which parents can introduce their children to the act of reading.

"I just finished the most wonderful story..."

While my mom was in town last week, the two of us went to see an amazing documentary called Waking Sleeping Beauty, which tells the story of the renaissance of Disney animation between 1984-94, including their masterpieces The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Using old footage, interviews, and caricatures drawn by the animators, the movie was moving, funny, and memorable. We would both definitely recommend it to any Disney fan.

As we drove home that night, we of course put on my playlist of Disney tunes to sing along to the songs we've heard a million times.

Listening to some of the songs from Beauty & the Beast reminded me of what a great role model Belle is. She is a princess who truly loves and values books. The people in her town think she is bizarre for having "her nose stuck in a book," but Belle literally sings the praises of the book she is reading: "Oh! Isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part because you'll see. Here's where she meets prince charming. But she won't discover that it's him till chapter three." Even when she is living at the Beast's enchanted castle, her favorite room is not the ballroom or dining room...It's the library.

I might be biased as a diehard Disney fan, but I think Belle is a great role model for young girls, as she shows how reading can truly be magical.