Annnnd, we have a winner!
The Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Committee, which focuses on children’s and middle grade fiction, named an award-winning book for 2025! If you're in Boston, plan to attend the Children’s Book Award Luncheon on Saturday at 12:30 to hear the news or look for an announcement on this blog.
The 2024 winner, The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett (Clarion Books), is a middle grade novel. Kemi, an 11-year-old aspiring scientist who loves facts and stats, navigates grief and loss. Follow the link to see Honor and Recommended books to read or use in your classroom.
There are countless benefits to serve on a national book committee: camaraderie, shared passions, critical thinking, and (of course!) free books. As we dialogued and discussed our final 40 books (we read more than 1,000 over the course of the year), I was reminded of the qualities of a text and of the decisions teachers, librarians, and other education professionals make when choosing a text for their classroom library, whole class read, text sets, mentor texts, library collections, or personal collections.
Shout out to the professionals whose expertise and professionalism leads children to engaging, relevant, thought-provoking, exciting journeys through books!
Ketanji Brown Jackson
“I wanted to pay tribute to the people who poured everything into me.”
Those words are from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who published a memoir this year. Justice Jackson was the opening speaker on Thursday, who told the packed room that she learned to reason, write, stand up, speak out, and use her voice because “a teacher supported her.”
A child of educators, Ketanji means “lovely one,” which is the title of her memoir. She left audience members with some advice on writing. She said to work on speeches every day (even if the speech is only 2-3 minutes) because it …
- organizes thinking
- includes persuasion
- makes points clearly
“All I learned for writing, I learned through writing speeches,” she said.
Final Words
“People often ask me what gives me hope, and it’s the next generation, because that is the way in which we progress. And you all are the vanguards of the next generation.”
—Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Boston Bruins
One of the best parts of convention? The host city. Take time and go enjoy it! Thursday evening, I went to a Boston Bruins hockey game. They won, 1-0 (picture below is the scored goal -- puck is in the net). I learned about the people, their interests, and their sportsmanship.
What’s the connection to literacy? Much. How to read the ice, the scorecard, the roster. All are literacies. And, if you’re looking for books on sports, read this post from earlier this year.
What’s coming tomorrow?
- Opening keynote from Saturday Night Live star, Kate McKinnon
- Using Charlotte Huck books in the classroom
- Notes and highlights from Friday sessions
- An evening with the authors!
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