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Project LIT Community is a grassroots literacy movement that started as a classroom project in East Nashville, Tennessee. It has grown into a national initiative that aims to increase book access in communities and eliminate book deserts. The movement began with a book drive and the creation of Project LIT libraries, but later shifted to the Project LIT Book Club, which celebrates high-quality, culturally relevant books. It has expanded to include 2,000 chapters across all 50 states, with positive outcomes for student literacy, attendance, and behavior. The founders hope to see Project LIT become more formally organized and integrated into existing literacy organizations. B Is for Books is a free children's bookstore located in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The store offers a wide range of new and gently used books for children and young adults, and visitors can select up to three books to take home and keep. The bookstore also hosts events and provides resources for early childhood educators and community organizations. B Is for Books is part of the Reading Ready Pittsburgh organization, which aims to promote early literacy and provide access to books for children in under-resourced communities. [Extracted from the article]

Operation Literacy and Writers and Artists Across the Country are two literacy organizations that are dedicated to making books accessible to young readers. Operation Literacy, formerly known as Writers Cubed, was founded by a group of writers in Utah who wanted to support aspiring teen writers. They started the Teen Author Boot Camp, which has grown in size each year and now draws around 1,000 teen writers. Operation Literacy also offers TABC Classroom, a database of curated videos and lesson plans for educators. They have recently launched Book Drop, which brings major authors to underprivileged schools to provide free books and author visits. Writers and Artists Across the Country is a consortium of children's book industry professionals that facilitates author and artist visits in underserved schools. They prioritize schools with the greatest barriers to entry and provide a book for each child who attends a visit. The organization has reached students in 40 cities across 17 states and aims to reach 10,000 students in 2024. Both organizations rely on donations and partnerships to fund their programs. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses the influence of Taylor Swift and the numerous books and projects that have been inspired by her. It highlights the success of Taylor Swift-themed books, such as "Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography," and the upcoming releases of new titles, including a YA anthology and a picture book. The article also mentions the popularity of Taylor Swift biographies for children and the efforts made by publishers to differentiate their books from competitors. Overall, the article emphasizes Taylor Swift's impact on popular culture and the enthusiasm of her fans. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the recent three-year study "SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation—Decline or Evolution?" funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Topics discussed include the impact of changing administrators and priorities on adding or cutting school librarian positions, the evolving role of school librarians beyond traditional stereotypes, and the challenges faced by administrators in recognizing the value of school librarianship.

The article focuses on the challenges facing the middle-grade book market, including shifts in readership demographics and discoverability issues. Topics include the continued success of authors like Aaron Blabey, Jeff Kinney, and Dav Pilkey, as well as the rising popularity of three genres within middle-grade literature: heists, horror, and illustrated humor.

The article discusses Julie VanLier's shift from a 22-year-long balanced literacy approach in her kindergarten classroom to a more structured reading instruction after facing challenges in a high-poverty school. Topics include her teaching evolution, the impact of socioeconomic factors on literacy and her transformative professional development journey leading to improved practices.

The article discusses the ongoing debate on teaching children to read, focusing on the science of reading. Topics include declining reading scores; persistence of traditional methods and rise of the science of reading movement; and its urgency in addressing learning loss and disparities. It explored the history of reading instruction methods, contrasting the whole language approach with explicit phonics teaching and highlights the movement's progress and future directions.

The article provides information on the increase in book challenges and bans targeting children's and YA materials in school and public libraries. It highlights the highest-ever number of demands to censor library materials recorded by the American Library Association and the growing number of book bans affecting various titles across multiple states.

The article evaluates the Beanstack, an ed tech platform from an online tracking tool provider, startup Zoobean, which features a more digital approach to modernizing summer reading programs for public libraries.

The article focuses on the Rick Riordan Presents, an imprint headed by author Rick Riordan's editor Stephanie Owens Lurie devoted to publishing middle grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythology and folklore of their own heritage. It mentions views of Sophia Jimenez, associate editor at Atheneum on how Riordan's role in expanding the space for fantasies rooted in mythology.

The article discusses about several authors of children's and youth adult literature which includes Zoulfa Katouh; author-illustrator Liza Ferneyhough; and the author, Skyler Schrempp. It mentions that Katouh as the debut author of the acclaimed novel, "As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow." It discusses that Ferneyhough as the debut author of the middle grade novel, "Three Strike Summer."

In this article, children's editors highlight successes and trends in the STEM/STEAM education. It mentions that Mallory Loehr, publisher for Random House Books for Young Readers observes that nonfiction picture and board books that work as both fun read alouds and as teaching tools are solid performers. It also mentions views of National Geographic Kids' senior editor Katharine Moore, on paleontology, mapmaking, and geology that gives kids a view of where their favorite dinosaurs roamed.

The article offers information on move to cut back on buying middle grade fiction books by the Barnes & Noble. Topics include views of Fiona Kenshole, senior agent at Transatlantic Literary Agency; views of Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, agent and cofounder of Full Circle Literary; and views of Alyssa Eisner Henkin, founder of Birch Path Literary.

The article discusses that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists gun violence and firearm-related injuries as the leading cause of death for children ages one to 19. It mentions that teachers unified to end gun violence in the schools of U.S. It discusses the stories of gun violence in schools and communities in order to influence policies and Americans at large to make us safer.

The article discusses difficulties faced by librarians and educators during 2021–2022 school year. Topics discussed include opening of schools and fluctuating Covid spikes causing difficult staffing challenges, new workload that involves librarians taking additional sanitization measures and enforcing their district's masking policies, and educators made to provide remote learning for their students when schools were closed and its affect on their everyday work.

Like a number of her middle grade author compatriots, Medina has adopted strategies to navigate a range of ever- shifting writing roadblocks. Author Sharon Draper (Out of My Heart) calls middle graders "the sweet spot." - Meg Medina Kyle Lukoff Saadia Faruqi For Johnson, the biggest challenge was letting go of the idea of writing a middle grade story that applies to every reader in the age range. Marjorie Liu Varian Johnson Lukoff echoes many of his fellow authors in noting that exploring the inner lives of middle grade readers holds much of the appeal for writing in the category. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on Homeless Children's Education Fund's innovative project, Winnie's Wagon. Topics discussed include the organization's history of supporting homeless children, the challenges they faced during the pandemic, and the successful fundraising efforts that led to the creation of Winnie's Wagon, a mobile classroom providing educational resources and support for homeless youth.

The article presents an interview with children's book author Sheryl Haft who discusses her book "Mazie's Amazing Machines" which focuses on creative problem-solving skills. She shares her views on Mazie's mission, her passion for encouraging kids to explore how things work, and Let's Engineer Program. She discusses how the book can be useful in the classroom or at home.

The article focuses on challenges and solutions related to COVID-19 pandemic discussed by school and library marketing directors. Topics discussed include the lack of in-person interaction on all levels, and censorship, disruptions in the supply chain due to the pandemic, and digital fatigue as being top of mind.

The article focuses on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (Al)-enabled audiobook narration on the industry. It mentions proponents of AI audiobook narration tout its much lower production costs as a way to improve profitability of audiobooks as well as allowing publishers to publish more audiobooks that have limited audiences. It also mentions views of Nicole Morano, publicity director at Pushkin Industries, on the significance of archival audio.

The article focuses on authors' reactions to winning the Newbery, Caldecott and Printz awards. Topics include that Dave Eggers expressing his surreal experience of winning the Newbery for "The Eyes and the Impossible;" Vashti Harrison making history as the first Black woman to win the Caldecott for "Big;" A.S. King's surprise at winning the Printz for "The Collectors: Stories;" and emphasizing the historical significance of win & the hope to bring short stories into more educational settings.

The article informs that according to the study "SLIDE: The School Librarian Investigation-Decline or Evolution?" by Debra Kachel of Antioch University Seattle, the number of school librarians in the U.S. continues to decline. It mentions that SLIDE revealed that three out of 10 districts had no librarians in any of their schools, students in high poverty district had no librarians, and students in majority-nonwhite districts were without school librarians.

The article discusses trends within book with STEM and STEAM concepts. It mentions the books "Engines! With 25 Science Projects for Kids" by Donna McKinney, "The Great Stink" by Colleen Paeff, and "Brain Book: How It Works and All Its Quirks" and "Psychology for Kids: The Science of Mind and Behavior" by Leanne Boucher Gill.

The article describes the trends in middle grade category of children's books according to the literary agents who serve as intermediaries between authors and publishers. Topics discussed include the shift in the quantity of new voices in her query queue noticed by Regina Brooks, president of the Serendipity Literacy Agency and the emergence of a lot of fantasy and magical realism on non-Western mythologies according to Laura Rennert, executive agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

The article offers suggestions from social media bookseller Kathy Ellen Davis to promote bookstores and engage with readers through social media including Instagram and TikTok. Topics include follow other active bookstore accounts, and tag publishers, authors, and illustrators while posting and share stories.

The article focuses on publishers, educational technology firm and libraries are addressing learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and offering educational programs to engage students during the pandemic. Topics Scholastic is offering Home Base summer reading program offered to provide book access, and Mackin book firm is providing low-income families with books to read over the summer.

The article relates the kinds of middle grade projects that editors are seeing and shares their insights on any shifts they perceive in the category. Topics discussed include the more underrepresented characters and stories in middle grade especially with LGBTQIA+ characters, more nuanced and thoughtful representation, and more LGBTQ characters in novels.