I encourage you to check out the whole presentation, as Manfredi’s enthusiasm is infectious and had me placing all sorts of holds and orders. Covering it all would be a very long blog post, so here are some highlights.  See her entire presentation and her slide deck at the end of this blog post.

Here is a bibliocommons list of board books and picture books that Manfredi recommended in her presentation.

​Manfredi shared tons of great comics suggestions, including highlighting the recent trend in early reader comics. For those looking for the next Gerald & Piggie, try the Fox & Rabbit series by Beth Ferry, illus. Gergely Dudás (Amulet Books) or the Bunbun and Bonbon series by Jess Keating (Graphix). Raina Telgemeier fans should dive right on into Twins by Varian Johnson, illus. Shannon Wright (Graphix), Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley (RH Graphic), and the Shirley and Jamila series by Gillian Goerz (Dial). 

​Another publishing trend Manfredi shared was the boom in 80-112 page, highly-illustrated chapter books. She specifically called out three publishing imprints: Aladdin QUIX (Simon & Schuster), Acorn (Scholastic), and Harper Chapters (HarperCollins). Smaller publishers like Capstone are getting in the game as well, with series like Astrid and Apollo by V.T. Bidania, illus. Dara Lashia Lee (Picture Window) and Sadiq by Siman Nuurali, illus. Anjan Sarkar (Picture Window).

​Take Manfredi’s word for it: vampires are back in YA publishing and anthologies are coming in hot. For both, Manfredi recommends Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite edited by Zoraida Córdova & Natalie C Parker (Imprint). But the two books from 2020 Manfredi says she was thinking about all year were Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles (HarperTeen) and Parachutes by Kelly Yang (Katherine Tegen Books), both realistic fiction. Manfredi’s highest praise, though, went to The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen (RH Graphic), a graphic novel she calls “one of the best YA books ever.” (I 100% agree with her on that assessment!)

Click here to see Manfredi's slide deck.  You will need to log into Google in order to view it.

To wrap it all up, Manfredi shared some tips & tricks for keeping up with publishing:

• Read Children’s Book Council Hot Off the Presses (free)
• Read PW Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter & on sale calendar (free)
• Let publishers market to you (if you want, how you want) by reaching out to them

If you liked Manfredi’s presentation and want more, her series of similar talks for the State Library of Iowa can be found here: Check It Out! (2021) and Check It Out! (2019). You can also find her on Twitter @misskubelik, her blog Fat Girl Reading, or connect with her via email.

We wanted to make sure to send along some tips and takeaways from our debrief sessions:
April 30: Programming
-Watch & Reads
-Debrief notes
 
May 7th: EDI
-Watch & Reads
-Debrief notes
 
Want to find these resources at a later date?  Head over to our spring workshop page.

The Spring Workshop Fundraiser: Virtual Auction
Thank you to everyone who participated in the CSD fundraiser this spring. Whether you bid, bought, or donated, your support is greatly appreciated.  The fundraiser brought in over $700.

What's next for CSD?
If you were a member back in 2019, you might recall our first Summer Reading Summit in the fall! We are planning on having a similar learning opportunity called the Youth Services Summit. We are unsure if this will be in person or virtual, but will very likely have a virtual component. Stay tuned for more info, and thank you for your support of CSD!
 
Bryce Kozla
CSD Co-chair

There was lots of information in my emails and online regarding Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. So, to make it easily accessible, I compiled the information in one place.  

Here is the press release by Dr. Seuss enterprises on March 2, 2021 from their website:

A peer-reviewed article called The Cat is Out of the Bag that discusses the racism in Dr. Seuss’ work:  Ishizuka, Katie and Stephens*, Ramón (2019) "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 4.  Available at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4
 
Book “Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books” by Philip Nel.  Information from the publisher: “Gives those who teach, create, edit, or agent children's books potential tools to uproot systemic racism.  Explores how children's literature obscures its racialized origins.  Examines the common marketing practice of "whitewashing" and the growing resistance to it”  Google talk with the author Philip Nel.  Slate interview with Philip Nel about the press release from Dr. Seuss Enterprises on 3/3/2021.

Opinion piece in SLJ, Choosing Not to Highlight Dr. Seuss Books is Not Censorship by Oregon school librarian Miranda Doyle.

Article in School Library Journal about racism and monkey imagery:  The Problem With Picture Book Monkeys: Racist imagery associating simians with Black people has a long history by Edith Campbell. School Library Journal, December 4, 2019. 

​A great infographic by Katie Salo (Twitter: @storytimekatie):

Read across America’s recommendations of diverse books.

Blog post by Jillian Heise that includes a list of diverse and inclusive read alouds.

Do you have an important resource to add to this collection?  Let us know.  Email csdwebeditor@olaweb.org.
​
A big thank you to Angie Manfredi, Youth Services Consultant at the State Library of Iowa for her contributions to the discussion, Katie Salo for her amazing infographic, Greta Bergquist for keeping us in the loop and Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Wisconsin's Youth and Inclusive Services Public Library Consultant.

Author Kelly Yang opens up about her own experiences with racism in the wake of COVID19​ and explains how we can teach kids to rise above hate during this critical time -- and always.  YouTube Video.

An incredibly in-depth look at resources on racism, children and Dr. Seuss by Philip Nel, Professor of English at Kansas State University.

No time to watch or read? That's okay! You can come anyway!
​
Can't attend the debrief session? You can still watch or read about the topic when it's best for you.

​Save the Date, 11AM-1PM
March 19: Summer Reading

Click here to get started on March's Watch and Read on Summer Reading.
 
For more information about the entire series go to our Spring Workshop page.

Questions or need the Zoom link? Contact CSD Co-Chair Bryce Kozla.