Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Jon Scieszka and more at Newark Public Library 10/22/08

Attention Teachers, Librarians, Parents!

Jon Scieszka, Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, will be the keynote speaker at
Showcasing Information Literacies: New Dimension 2008,
which will be held on Wednesday, October 22,2008,
from 9:30am to 3:30pm,
at the Newark Public Library

Fee: $55 (Parking, a continental breakfast and a hot and cold luncheon buffet will be provided as part of the registration fee.)

Door prizes include a laptop and a Kindle!

The NJ Center for the Book has planned a day of celebration with a focus on literacy, book arts, and poetry in partnership with the Newark Public Library.

The program includes sessons on teaching literacies, the art of storytelling for youth at risk, showcasing how to present Shakespeare in the classroom, instruction in genealogical searching for young people, and, finally, partnering with New Jersey's Public Broadcasting Station in teacher resource training.

For the full program click and registration see http://www.njcenterforthebook.org/news_events/Oct22Program.pdf
Online registration is available at http://www.njcenterforthebook.org/registration/register.php

Monday, July 21, 2008

Animated West African Folktale screens in Newark


Kirikou and the Sorceress screens at the 2008 Newark Black Film Festival.

Kirikou and the Sorceress is a wonderful animated West African folk tale recounts the story of Kirikou, who seeks to free his village of a terrible curse and to find out why Sorceress Karaba is so mean. (Note : This film is available in the Guarini Library Media Collection - V3061.)

July 28| 10:30 am NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY
July 30| 1 pm NEWARK SCREENS ON SPRINGFIELD AVE.
July 31| 1 pm NJ STATE MUSEUM
August 1| 2 pm ASBURY PARK HIGH SCHOOL
70 minutes

For more information visit http://newarkmuseum.org/museum_pages.aspx?id=240

Newark Public School students particpate in an opera

Saturday, August 2, 2008 at 8 pm,a free production of Emmett Till: The Opera will take place at Science Theatre, (Science Park High School), 260 Norfolk Street in Newark, NJ.

Trilogy: An Opera Company has commissioned celebrated composer Charles Lloyd, Jr. to create an opera about young Emmett Till whose brutal murder in 1955 in the Mississippi Delta came to symbolize the start of the Civil Rights movement in America.Trilogy: AOC will re-enact this tragic American story with the hope of stimulating new and helpful discussions about a still-divided America.


Students from Newark Public Schools will participate in the production as the Greek Chorus. These youngsters have been chosen to particpate as part of a youth mentoring program and have been exposed to various aspects of the creative process. Also performing is the Longar Ensemble Orchestra and the Songs of Solomon Choir.

The performance features tenor Robert Mack as Emmett; soprano Diana Solomon-Glover as Mamie; soprano Lori Maribol as Willie Mae; mezzo soprano Alteouise Devaughn as Alma; soprano Sheila Jackson as Mary; baritone Raemond Martin as Mose Wright; tenor Derrick Alton as Uncle Crosby; baritone Richard Hobson as the reporter; Anthony Chisholm as Mr. Mobley and Kevin Maynor as A. A. Raynor.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Harlem Book Fair 2008

The 10th HARLEM BOOK FAIR Anniversary Celebration & Gala
Harlem, New York
in association with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Events from July 18 - 20, 2008
West 135th Street from Malcolm X Blvd.
to Frederick Douglass Blvd.

The programs of the 10th Anniversary Gala and Celebration of the Harlem Book Fair will begin on Friday, July 18th and conclude on Sunday, July 20th at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The outdoor festival will be held on Saturday, July 19, from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on West 135th Street between Lenox Avenue and Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

Authors from around the world, literature discussions and more!
http://www.harlembookfair.com/page12740.asp
http://www.qbr.com/page12742.asp
http://www.qbr.com/page12741.asp

Including:
YOUNG READERS PAVILION
TMA (THURGOOD MARSHALL ACADEMY)
SATURDAY, JULY 19

12:30 – 1:30pm ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN’S BOOK: ONE ON ONE WITH THE EXPERTS (PANEL DISCUSSION)
Moderator: Irene Smalls
Panelists: Linda Trice (Kenya's Word); Troy Johnson (Founder of aalbc.com); Bernette Ford, Publisher ColorBridge Books; Eric Velasquez (Illustrator); Janet Hubert (J.G. and the B.C. Kids)

3:15 – 4:15pm COMIC BOOKS: WHAT’S THE STORY WITHIN THE STORY
Room TBA (WORKSHOP)
Facilitator: Jerry Craft (Mamasboyz)
Learn how to draw comics. What’s the story behind Iron Man? What’s the story behind The Hulk? Comic books and graphic novels are often the first access to reading for our youth. This workshop creates access to creative self-expression and enhances self-esteem

3:00 – 4:00pm WRITING FOR THE YA MARKET: ONE ON ONE WITH THE EXPERTS
Room 303 (PANEL DISCUSSION)
Moderator: Clara Villarosa (Founder, Hue-Man Bookstore)

Panelists: Rita Garcia-Williams (No Laughter Here); Jaira Placide (Fresh Girl); Jennifer Burton (Topeka Heights)
http://www.harlembookfair.com/page12760.asp


See the events at
http://www.harlembookfair.com/page10688.asp

Monday, July 07, 2008

An Important Library program for Teens-7/9/08- Maplewood

Free and open to the public.
Wednesday,July 9,6:00 pm in Memorial Hall

Meet actor Michael B.Jordan from the HBO Series,The Wire

Michael B. Jordan, former cast member of the HBO Series The Wire will discuss the impact of the show on teenagers and adults in regard to drug trafficking, drug addiction, and drug prevention. Jordan will also discuss the difference between reality and the fictional depiction of selling drugs.

This program is co-sponsored by Maplewood Memorial Library and the Maplewood Municipal Alliance; Sponsor of Anti Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Programs for the Township of Maplewood.

Maplewood Memorial Library
51 Baker St. Maplewood
973-762-1622
http://www.maplewoodlibrary.org/

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Top Ten Youth Biographies-2008

Top 10 Biographies for Youth: 2008.
First published June 1, 2008 (Booklist
http://www.booklistonline.com/
Cooper, Ilene (author).

Note: Some of these books are in the Guarini Library Collection or are available for review at the Weiss Center!)

This year’s top 10 biographies for youth spotlights saints and strong men, patriots and pianists, showing how diverse the world of children’s biography has become. These books were chosen from titles reviewed in Booklist during the past 12 months.

As Good as Anybody: Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March toward Freedom. By Richard Michelson. Illus. by Raul Colón. Knopf, $16.99 (9780375633359). Gr. 1–4.

This powerful, well-crafted picture book about the partnership between two great civil rights leaders follows King and Polish rabbi Heschel from boyhoods fraught with prejudice to the 1965 march in Selma, Alabama.

Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote. By Tanya Lee Stone. Illus. by Rebecca Gibbon. Holt, $16.95 (9780805079036). Gr. 1–3.

This short, incisive picture-book biography introduces Stanton and what she accomplished, beginning with her shocking realization that the law treated women unfairly. The child-pleasing artwork makes this highly accessible.

Frida: Viva la vida! Long Live Life! By Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. Illus. by Frida Kahlo. Marshall Cavendish, $18.99 (9780761253369). Gr. 7–12.

Using lyrical free-verse poems, Bernier-Grand brings readers into the life of artist Kahlo. Each well-produced painting by Kahlo is paired with an original poem that expertly extends the imagery so evident in the art.

George Washington Carver. By Tonya Bolden. illus. Abrams, $18.95 (9780810993662). Gr. 3–6.

Bolden’s strong writing finds a worthy subject in the slave-born scientist Carver, but she never shies away from directly and indirectly addressing criticisms of Carver for his lack of political activism. Photos and reproductions of Carver’s paintings help make this a standout.

The Many Rides of Paul Revere. By James Cross Giblin. illus. Scholastic, $17.99 (9780439572903). Gr. 4–7.

Giblin’s attractive, large-format book looks at Revere’s life and his role in the American Revolution, in many cases setting the record straight. Salient facts and intriguing details combine effectively with period portraits, narrative paintings, engravings, and maps.

Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum. By Robert Andrew Parker. Illus. by the author. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $16.99 (9780375839658). Gr. 2–4.

Parker contributes both words and pictures in this heartfelt portrait of jazz great Art Tatum. The vibrant scenes contrast crowds of dancers and musicians in a swirl of animated motion with scenes of the nearly blind Tatum, set against moody, abstract, shifting colors.


The Real Benedict Arnold. By Jim Murphy. illus. Clarion, $20 (9780395776094). Gr. 7–10.

Murphy has a difficult task—getting past rumors and folktales to present Arnold in a fair and honest way—and he does it meticulously. While never going beyond his sources, he still manages to offer a fascinating look at a man whose name has become synonymous with traitor.

The Secret World of Hildegard. By Jonah Winter. Illus. by Jeanette Winter. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, $16.99 (9780439507394). Gr. 1–4.

A medieval visionary might not seem the topic for an early-level biography, but with elegant simplicity, this mother-son team introduce Hildegard, squeezing out the essence of her life, and making her story accessible to young children. A small jewel.

Strong Man: The Story of Charles Atlas
In this winning picture book, McCarthy separates fact from fiction as he tells the story of Atlas, the original 98-pound weakling who transformed himself into a world-famous strong man.

The Wall: Growing Up behind the Iron Curtain . By Peter Sís. Illus. by the author. Farrar/Frances Foster, $18 (9780374347017). Gr. 7–10.

This autobiographical picture book is an artistic account of Sís’ coming-of-age in Prague during the cold war. The remarkable art expresses the interplay between Communist restrictions and Western influences (Booklist’s 2007 Top of the List winner for youth nonfiction).

A site for digitally connected teachers

PBS Teachers Connect
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/
PBS Teachers Connect is an online community of teachers exchanging ideas, resources and instructional strategies on the integration of digital media and technology. Educators can search more than 3,000 standards-based classroom activities, lesson plans, interactive resources and other materials on the PBS Teachers Web site, http://www.pbs.org/teachers/ then easily bookmark, annotate, share and manage their tagged content within the PBS Teachers Connect community. Many of the resources feature PBS'award-winning programming and content, including on-demand streaming video from select PBS programs.

PBS Teachers Connect started on July 1, 2008 and is an offshoot of the PBS Teachers
web portal to the wide-ranging multimedia instructional resources and professional development services PBS offers preK-12 educators.