Of course, we also have books coming out in the spring which would also make great additions to the list, including our middle grade fiction, Hannah's Winter and Moonrunner.
Do you love giving Kane/Miller books to parents of new babies? New siblings? Tell Oprah. Since she doesn't have kiddos of her own, she's relying on her viewers and parents to suggest the most unique gifts. Let her know why you think international children's literature should be included.
Yesterday was the first day of the IRA conference. I met a young woman who claimed to be "obsessed" with Kane/Miller. In fact, she said she checks her SPAM folder on a regular basis to make sure our newsletter or correspondence didn't end up there, by mistake. She purchased a handful of titles and raved about the ones that she already owns. It was great to meet someone as devoted to Kane/Miller as I am.
I missed the afternoon workshop yesterday entitled Stories Ring the World: Engaging Learners with Great International Books. I heard about it from several people who visited our booth looking for the books that were mentioned during the workshop: Ziba Came on a Boat, New Clothes for New Year's Day and My Cat Copies Me.
Because I missed this important session, I made sure to hit two very relevant workshops today: In the morning, I went to the session on The Notable Children's Books in the Language Arts, presented by Deanna Day, Ed Sullivan and Evelyn Freedman (of the Children's Literature Assembly - CLA). This afternoon - after the exhibit hall closed - I joined the session on Bringing Outstanding International Children's and Young Adult Literature to the Classroom. I was fortunate enough to finally meet Carolyn Angus and say hello to Elizabeth Poe (both on the USBBYcommittee). USBBY has a recently updated website with resources such as booklists,projects & awards, conferences and publications.
I learned that these professionals, as well as several others that I know, will be presenting at the upcoming World Congress, held in San Jose, Costa Rica. I'm hoping to join them there this summer since many of their sessions (see page 25 of the tentative schedule) cover diversity, multi-cultural and international literature).
