Forty years ago, two librarians and a publisher at the American Library Association conference lamented that no African-American author or illustrator had yet been honored with a Newbery or Caldecott medal. In response to that conversation, they decided to establish an award that would acknowledge the achievements of African-American writers and artists in the field of children’s literature.Teaching with the CSK Book Award Curriculum Resource Center
Forty years ago, two librarians and a publisher at the American Library Association conference lamented that no African-American author or illustrator had yet been honored with a Newbery or Caldecott medal. In response to that conversation, they decided to establish an award that would acknowledge the achievements of African-American writers and artists in the field of children’s literature.
Walter Wick set up a complex device to snap a picture of a single drop of it. Barbara Kerley’s crystal-clear color photographs reveal how people worldwide are dependent on it, and connected by it. Langston Hughes, Karen Hesse, Jon Muth, and Herbert Shoveller celebrate its arrival in different forms. Water: ubiquitous, yet often scarce, and endlessly fascinating.
We're starting school. First day. My sister and me: we are eight and five; second grade and kindergarten.

Welcome to this new monthly post that reveals approaches to professional writing and research in the words of extraordinary authors and illustrators of books for children and teens.