ALAN Online

The ALAN Executive Committee is pleased and proud to announce Christopher Crowe as the 2010 recipient of the Ted Hipple Service Award.

The award is given each year to an individual who has offered significant contributions to the ALAN organization. It is named in honor of Ted Hipple, the first and long-time ALAN Executive Secretary, who passed away on November 25, 2004. Ted shaped ALAN through decades of unwavering service and support. He was a Professor of Education at the University of Tennessee, where he was a former chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Previously, he was a Professor of Education at the University of Florida. He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois and was a high school English teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.  Famous for his flamboyant sweaters, neckties, and suspenders, Ted was a brilliant teacher, scholar, and servant to the profession. His work influenced—and continues to influence—generations of teachers and their students. [Read more →]

ALAN’s Picks is a monthly book review column that is compiled and edited by Dr. Pam Cole of Kennesaw State University.  Be sure to check the site often to see a preview of the latest titles in YA Lit.

Reviewed this Month:

Back Home by Julia Keller
A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
Diary of a Witness by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The Doom Machine by Mark Teague
Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey
In the Paths of Falling Objects by Andrew Smith
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein by Libby Schmais
Rage: A Love Story by Julie Anne Peters
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

[Read more →]

ALAN’s Picks is a monthly book review column that is compiled and edited by Dr. Pam Cole of Kennesaw State University.  Be sure to check the site often to see a preview of the latest titles in YA Lit.

Reviewed this month:

Deadly Little Lies: A Touch Novel by Laurie Faria Stolarz
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean
Dragonfly by Julia Golding
The Goodbye Season by Marian Hale
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
Icecore by Matt Whyman
My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
Possessed by Kate Cann
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri
That Doggone Calf by Bill and Carol Wallace
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

[Read more →]

Dear Friends of USBBY and IBBY:

This week’s earthquake in Haiti has left us all shaken and shocked; our friends are there. Yet another tragic disaster has hit the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Thousands have been killed and the destruction has been devastating. Those that were spared are in critical need. We have already seen the nations of the world pledging help with basic medical and food aid. But Haiti needs more than that.

For the past year our colleagues at IBBY Haiti have been running a Children in Crisis project to train teachers, librarians and care-givers how to use the healing power of storytelling and books after natural environmental disasters, such as the series of enormous storms that hit Haiti in recent years and the
collapse of a school that killed many children in 2008. The earthquake on January 12th has wreaked so much more havoc and brought death to thousands, and a very uncertain future to millions more.

As you may be aware, the USBBY has a very special twinning partnership with IBBY Haiti through its President Jocelyne Trouillot. Some of you may have met her when she recently spoke at the 8th IBBY Regional Conference in St. Charles about the projects in Haiti schools and libraries funded by the Children in Crisis Fund and USBBY support.

After trying to reach Ms. Trouillot for several days, we are happy to report that we received a message from her early this morning. She reports that: “The University Caraibe and most universities in Port au Prince are completely destroyed. Most schools too. Thousands of school children and university students are under those buildings.Thousands of houses have collapsed. Rich and poor and middle class have lost families and houses. I cannot describe the horrors. I have seen so many corpses today, many of my own students dead or injured. I don’t want to describe it. My house is partially destroyed but we hope to make it. I hope to coordinate some help next week. For now, we have to bury the dead. The children of Haiti will need psychological help and bibliotherapy will certainly bring some healing. Schools will not reopen until September or October. The buildings and the teachers are not there. We will have to find other places. Many churches have been destroyed too. We stay positive but for most of us, we will need some strong will. Thank you for your support.” Jocelyne

During the tsunami disaster in Asia, USBBY members contributed many thousands of dollars in just a few short weeks to the relief efforts coordinated by IBBY. We are appealing to you today for similar support for the Haiti earthquake disaster. It is believed that the best way to do this is through donations to the Children in Crisis Fund. Therefore, USBBY will accept donations in trust for IBBY Haiti to help the surviving children and their families through the healing power of books and storytelling, bibliotherapy, and the reconstruction of libraries.

Won’t you help today? Donations to the Children in Crisis Fund for Haiti Relief
are desperately needed! The process is simple!

Your choices are:

Go to the USBBY web site at www.usbby.org; click on Opportunities to Help
Use your credit card

-or-

Download and print the PDF membership application, then mail it and your check
to:

USBBY Donations c/o V. Ellis Vance
5503 N. El Adobe Drive
Fresno, CA 93711-2363

(If you are already an USBBY member and it is not yet time for you to renew your membership, just fill out the Donation Section of the membership form and check Children in Crisis Fund. All donations coming into the Children in Crisis Fund will be used for Haiti relief during the coming months.)

Sincerely,

Ellis Vance, Membership Chair

ALAN’s Picks is a monthly book review column edited and compiled by Dr. Pam Cole of Kennesaw State University.  Be sure to check the site regularly for the a preview of the latest titles in YA Lit.

Reviewed this month:

Candor by Pam Bachortz
David Inside Out by Lee Bantle
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
Juggling Fire by Joanne Bell
L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
The Last Newspaper Boy in America by Sue Corbett
Malice by Chris Wooding
Num8ers by Rachel Ward
Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

[Read more →]