Celebrating Industry Greats We Lost in 2025

The turn from one year to another brings many celebrations and reflections. Reflecting over the year gone
by allows us to pause for those we have said goodbye to along the way. Betsy Bird, over on Fuse #8 Productions blog put together a list honoring youth literature greats we lost in 2025, including links to longer remembrances.

Stop here to see her post. [In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2025. Bird, Betsy.  Fuse #8 Productions blog. SLJ. January 2, 2026.]

Remembering Youth Book Creators Lost in 2024

Each year, Betsy Bird at School Library Journal's Fuse #8 Productions blog memorializes children and teen book creators who died in the previous year. It is always surprising to see the many people who had such a profound effect on the world of children's literature who are no longer with us.

Click here to read her post. [In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2024. Bird, Betsy. Fuse #8 Productions. School Library Journal. January 2, 2025.]

Remembering the Authors and Illustrators We Lost in 2023

Byron Barton

Betsy Bird recently shared lovely tributes to the many children and teen  book creators who died over the past year. in her Fuse8 blog. 

We are lucky to have their books to continue to share with young people.

[In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2023. Bird, Betsy. Fuse9blog, School Library Journal. Jan 2, 2024.]

Author Visit Grant Program - Apply!

The ALSC Programs and Services Recognition Committee is now accepting applications for the 2023 Maureen Hayes Author/Illustrator Award! This award was established with funding from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, in honor of Maureen Hayes, to bring together children and nationally recognized authors/illustrators by funding up to $4000 for an author/illustrator visit to a library. Applications and supporting materials, including an itemized budget and the required signature form, are due by April 28, 2023. Please visit: 

https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/profawards/hayesaward

Sarah French (she/her) 

Programming & Makerspace Librarian 

Irvin L. Young Memorial (Whitewater) Library 

Remembering the Authors and Illustrators We Lost in 2022

Betsy Bird recently posted a beautiful tribute to the many illustrious children's and teen book creators who died in 2022 in her Fuse8 blog.

I'm so glad they live on in the books that they created for young people.

[In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2022. Bird, Betsy. Fuse8 blog.  School Library Journal. January 2, 2023.]

Tomie dePaola Stamp!

 

The USPS announced that one of it's new series in 2023 will be Tomie dePaola!! That is really something special to celebrate this author and children's literature.

They write: "This stamp honors prolific children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola (1934-2020), whose extraordinarily varied body of work encompasses folktales and legends, informational books, religious and holiday stories, and touching autobiographical tales. The stamp art features a detail from the cover of “Strega Nona” (1975), the Caldecott Honor winning first book in the series. Set in southern Italy, the gently humorous story focuses on Strega Nona, “Grandma Witch,” who uses magic to help with matters of the heart and to cure her neighbors’ ills. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp with Tomie dePaola’s original art."

You can read the full press release with all the 2023 series subjects (including John Lewis) here.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art debuts its first online exhibition!

"The Carle is proud to present ART in PLACE: Social Distancing in the Studio, our first online exhibition, organized while the Museum is temporarily closed . Illustrator and author Mo Willems co-organized the exhibition with Ellen Keiter, The Carle's chief curator, inviting 21 picture book artists, isolated in studios around the world, to share their most recent work.

In addition to the artworks they've created, the artists share photographs of their studios and reflect on the importance of creativity. The curators hope the exhibition will provide solace to everyone counting on picture books during this challenging time. "Science is going to get us out of this," says Willems, "but Art is going to get us through this."

ART in PLACE has been made possible by the generous members and donors who support The Carle."

Raúl Colón,  Love in a Time of Fear,  2020. Courtesy of the artist. ©  Raúl Colón.

Ear Ticklin' Listening/Viewing for Kids at Home

Librarian Bookends on Facebook (and at their blog) has been doing amazing work pulling together the children's lit community in schools and libraries. For the last week, they have been posting a Author/Illustrator/Celebrity Read-Alouds virtual "fridge magnet" listing daily online events.

Image courtesy of Librarian Bookends

Audible launched free stories for kids and teens while school is out.

Tumblebooks is making their online ebook, math and other library content free until August 2020. Contact them directly at info@tumbebooks.com

PBS WI in collaboration with WI DPI is adding free 5am - 5pm educational programming channels  starting Monday March 30

Teaching Books 
"Free for your students, families, and colleagues to use to enrich PreK-12 literacy connections, TeachingBooks is happy to give you unlimited access to our brand new Book & Reading Engagement Kit: Home Edition.

Open through September 15, you can freely invite your students and families to delve into the world of children’s and young adult books. Encourage them to experience read-along performances of favorite titles that are translatable into 100+ languages. Invite them to virtual storytime with 1,000+ complete book readings. And with our new reader’s advisory, insightful interviews with thousands of authors, and discussion questions for most books, virtual book clubs are well equipped, too.

TeachingBooks is currently licensed by more than 50,000 schools and libraries, offering readers of all ages this vast, professionally curated collection of resources about children’s and young adult books. Please enjoy and share throughout your community the open-access link:  TeachingBooks.net/HomeEdition.

If you wish a more customized approach to seamless access during this unprecedented time, please see the "Open Access and Use" section of the Home Edition kit where you can request buttons and links to post on your websites, social media, or anywhere your students look. Or for school communities, set up access for your institution through Clever or ClassLink by asking your technology director to reach out to us, and we’ll get back to you asap."

Kids Resources YSS blog COVID-19 series:

Booksto Help Kids Cope with COVID Changes    11/22/20

Back to School Picture Books for Teaching Coronavirus Procedures 8/11/20

ALSC’s #Looktolibraries Resources 8/4/20

Curated List of Free COVID-19 EBooks for Kids 4/27/20

Infographic to Help Parents with Tech Time During COVID-19 4/2/20

Tips on Safe and Inclusive Gaming/Livestreaming for Families 4/6/20

Talking to Kids About COVID-19  3/28/20

Ear Ticklin’ Listening/Viewing for Kids at Home 3/30/20

Hanging in There? More Library Programming Resources for Familes and You

HarperCollins has an excellent set of "At-Home Resources" - links to authors and author events online

Simon and Shuster's SimonKids has a Pinterest page full of activity pins of their published authors' and illustrators' books

Stimola Live is "a website of live stream events for kids, tweens, and teens by professional authors and illustrators represented by Stimola Literary Studio."




Great activities at NASA's Earth Observatory site

Follow ALA's Booklist Reader blog for great makerspace activities for kids at home (excellent list of children's book artists doing online drawing experiences for youth)

Publisher Little Brown shares their permission guidelines if you want to share their books in digital storytime

Kate Messner's List of Publisher Permissions & Fair Use during COVID-19 is super helpful

Links to YSS COVID-19 series:

Online Storytimes

Getting Started with Virtual Storytimes  5/27/20

Virtual Storytime – Tips on Fair Use & Kids’ Privacy 5/4/20

“How to Do a Virtual Storytime” Webinars 4/13/20

Tips on Doing Online Storytimes During COVID-19 Closures 3/16/20; updated 3/20/20

Storytime Goes Digital 3/20/20

Digital Storytimes- You Do You! 3/31/20

Digital Storytime, Screen Time and Intentionality – Oh My 4/6/20

Facebook Live Online Storytime Tips 3/24/20

Fixing "My Book is Backwards in Online Storytime!" on iPhone 3/22/20

SLP & Programming Resources

Summer Scavenger Hunt Fun 5/30/20

Digital Escape Rooms – the Holy Grail  5/26/20

SLP Virtual and Offline Program Ideas for Teens/Tweens  5/22/20

Virtual and Offline Programs for Summer and Beyond  5/6/20

“Grab-&-Go” Activity Kit Ideas  5/5/20

DIY Family Activities for SLP from CSLP 5/1/20

Offline and Feeling Fine: Ideas for Programming Unvirtually  4/29/20

Virtual Programming & SLP Ideas for YOU! 4/25/20

Beyond E-Storytimes: Virtual Services and Programs for Youth 4/22/20

Using Premier for Virtual Programming on Facebook 3/24/20

Re-Opening and Safety Issues

We’re Re-opening – Coping with Reluctant Patrons and Programming 6/1/20

We’re Re-Opening – Cleaning and Disinfecting Youth Areas  5/13/20

COVID-19 and Libraries: Your Questions Answered with Dr. Dipesh Navsaria 5/19/20

Permissions (Books, Authors and Music)

Want Permission? Current Info on Publishers and Authors 3/22/20; updated 4/23/20

      Music Permissions? Look No Further  3/27/20; updated 3/31/20

Professional Development

Webinar - Summer Learning Through Our Public Libraries in a Time of COVID-19  5/18/20

Confronting Xenophobia and Supporting Asian and Asian/Pacific Communities Webinar 4/21/20

Working From Home During COVID-19 4/19/20

Need to Keep Up? Free Online Professional Development  3/21/20

Webinar -Remote and Online Services & Resources for Youth Librarians  3/25/20

Free Children’s/Teen Professional Journal Access 3/28/20

Creating Accessibility in Your Online Programming 4/15/20; updated 4/23/20

Kids Resources

Curated List of Free COVID-19 EBooks for Kids 4/27/20

Infographic to Help Parents with Tech Time During COVID-19 4/2/20

Tips on Safe and Inclusive Gaming/Livestreaming for Families 4/6/20

Talking to Kids About COVID-19  3/28/20

Ear Ticklin’ Listening/Viewing for Kids at Home 3/30/20

WI Online Program Data

Data Collection for Virtual Programs 3/17/20

More Info on Data Collection for Virtual Programs 3/19/20

Friday FAQs with Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

4/10/20 recording       4/17/20 recording          4/24/20 recording        5/1/20 recording               5/8/20 recording

5/15/20 recording       5/22/20 recording; 5/29/20 recording

Taking Care of You 

Human Connections in a Time of Pandemic  3/27/20

Feeling Stress? Keeping Calm in a Difficult Time 3/21/20

Wisconsin Women Write for Children Event

        Wisconsin Women Write for Children

Come for desserts and coffee in a beautiful historic mansion.
The Woman’s Club of Wisconsin is the setting for this presentation.

Writers include:  Carole Barrowman, Ann Bausum, Lois Ehlert, Janet Halfmann,
Barbara Joosse, JoAnn Early Macken, Lisa Moser

Where:
The Woman’s Club of Wisconsin

813 East Kilbourn Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53202
(Free valet parking available)

When:
Tuesday May 14th
Doors open at 6:00 pm
Program is from 6:30-8:30 pm

Registration:
Registration fee is $15, with $5 for students.
Registration deadline is April 28th

Make checks payable to The Center for Children’s Literature

Mail to: Carthage College, 2001 Alford Park Drive, Kenosha, WI 53140
Jstewig@carthage.edu           or   262-552-5480

Carthage College Center for Children's Literature