Item 1
Feeling furious about book bans? ➡️ Check out For the People’s 2025 public library challenge. I’m determined to tackle #4!
I love this slideshow from Sophie Lucido Johnson, partly because I recently lived the exact “vampire books” scenario she illustrates.
Item 2
This morning the ALA announced this year’s Youth Media Awards winners — think Caldecott Awards and the other medals and accolades that signify that a book for kids is worth the read.*
Have money to spend? ➡️ Buy one of the books for a classroom, Little Free Library, or young person near you!
Maybe Chooch Helped for a little one expecting a new sibling? Or Brownstone or Shut Up, This is Serious for a tween?
If you order one of the latest Coretta Scott King honorees from Bookshop today, you’ll have it to share during Black History Month.
If you’re one of the zillion people who’ve recommended James to me this past year, maybe grab a copy of Big Jim and the White Boy and have a book club with a young person in your life.
Have a few minutes instead of a few dollars? ➡️ Go to your library system’s website and submit a request for them to add some to their shelves. Real librarians say it matters! Here’s what it looks like on Chicago’s website, if you scroll down to the footer:
And because I know I have subscribers in these places, here are suggestion forms for DC, Princeton, Los Angeles, and New York.
* We remember what Solange told us about gatekeepers. That said, I randomly decided to listen to the award ceremony announcements this morning and was very moved by the choked-back tears and the shrieks of joy, as well as by the diversity of the committee members, author/illustrators, and award categories themselves. I’ve only read one book named in the whole video — Chanel Miller’s unsurprisingly wonderful Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All — but I’m adding a bunch of the others to my StoryGraph TBR list.
Until tomorrow,
Julia