A NEW CARLE-INSPIRED IMPRINT

Celebrating next year’s 50th anniversary of Eric Carle’sThe Very Hungry Caterpillar, Penguin Young Readers will launch World of Eric Carle, a new imprint dedicated to the works of the acclaimed and beloved author and illustrator, as well as books that are “based in core values of discovery, creativity, learning and growing all hallmarks of Eric Carle books,” according to the publisher’s press release. The imprint will release three new titles in winter 2019: Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle’s Book of Many Things, and Happy Birthday from the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

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Mr. Schu Gets a Book Deal

John Schumacher, known as Mr. Schu to the library world and classrooms around the country, will have his own book to share with students. This Is a Story, the debut picture book of the Scholastic’s Ambassador of School Libraries and a 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, will be illustrated by Caldecott honoree Lauren Castillo and published by Candlewick Press in 2022.

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Winners of the 2019 CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Awards

BEST READERS OF THE SUMMER

The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge has added up all the numbers. The program had 509,867 student participants from the 50 states, two U.S. territories, and Washington, D.C. That group of more than half a million logged 135,865,170 million minutes of reading.

“Best in State” was awarded to the school, public library, and partner that logged the most minutes in each state. H.D. Hilley Elementary School in El Paso, TX, was the best of the best, logging 4,193,903 minutes, more than any other on the list of “Best in State” schools.

The non-school Best in State:

Public libraries: Pickford (MI) Community Library (338,057 minutes [correct?]); Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, Edinburg, TX (73,443); Okeechobee (FL) County Library (56,989); Gadsden County Public Library System, Quincy, FL (2,478); Shawnee (OK) Public Library(1,631).

LIBRARIES ON THE BALLOT

On Election Day, voters in multiple states will have a chance to pass legislation to support school libraries.

In Utah, voters will get to decide if school libraries should be better funded across the state. Question #1 would instruct the state legislature to pass a new 10-cent gas tax that would allocate 70 percent to education and 30 percent to roads. School librarians are specifically named in the proposal, and school library programs would directly benefit from this new funding.

Voters in Colorado have Amendment 73, a statewide fix to school library funding in the state. According to EveryLibrary, which supports the amendment and is helping get out the vote for it, the amendment will establish new equity between schools and districts; create for better student outcomes at all ages and abilities, and position school librarians and school library programs for better funding in the future.

RIF HOLDS NATIONAL READING COALITION

The first annual National Reading Coalition was held on Thursday. Reading is Fundamental (RIF) brought together leaders from different industries in the private and public sector with the goal of coming up with tangible, implementable ideas that attendees could use within their own organizations. Each presenter shared a case study and led panel discussions with participants who “have shown leadership around the issue of childhood literacy and related educational issues, and created successful partnerships and programs to address it,” according to RIF.

MIDWINTER REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Planning to attend ALA Midwinter in Seattle Jan. 25 to 29? Registration is now available. Beyond the announcement of the Youth Media Awards, the conference will include the Symposium on the Future of Librarians. Melinda Gates will give the opening session address. Other speakers include Bill Nye and Rick Steves.