 Whether it’s writing their own stories, illustrating a classmate’s comic or imagining a new character, children thrive on the creativity suggested by books. I have discovered that grown-ups AND kids love the opportunity to become artists, creating collage dolls – and camels! - in the style of illustrator Susan L. Roth, who illustrated our shared books Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books, Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words and our newest book Zamzam. There are activity guides and classroom resources for all three books on my website. I incorporate these crafts into school visits and professional development activities. Visits are welcome any time of year, but in Montgomery County, March is Middle Eastern American Heritage Month and April is Arab American Heritage Month, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to plan a virtual or in person author visit. Drop by the Rockville Memorial Library in March and April to enjoy some awesome window displays. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has just begun, as the new moon is first sighted. The month of fasting, charity and family gatherings will end with the Eid al Fitr celebration on March 19.  The availability of children’s books about Ramadan and Eid has increased significantly in recent years. Egyptian American author Aya Khalil has just published Ramadan for Everyone. Previously she brought out The Night Before Eid. Two more new titles for the season are Ramadan Rain by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Aliaa Betawi and The Ramadan Moon by Rayan Khatoun. Maryland author Hena Khan celebrated Ramadan with Curious George and Night of the Moon. Iranian American artist Rashin Kheiriyeh in Washington, D.C., illustrated Ramadan by Hannah Elliott.  As Black History Month draws to a close, remember the Children’s Africana Book Awards with award-winning selections about African countries, from picture books to middle grade and young adult. Hands Around the Library and Zamzam have both been honored with a CABA award for their focus on Egypt. The Middle Eastern American Advisory Group in Montgomery County, Maryland, will host a cultural event on March 22 in Rockville, MD – add it to your calendar if you live nearby. There will be music and tasty treats as well as a discussion of identity and allyship: what makes you proud of your identity and how can we all be allies?  I will join an authors panel at the State of Maryland Literacy Association Conference in Towson, Maryland, on March 24-25, and I’ll also be visiting the Maryland Library Association Conference in Cambridge, Maryland, on May 6-8. Come let’s have a chat! I invite all of you to join an international library adventure sponsored by Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore (EPFL). There will be a virtual conference in November but before that, book exchanges AND discussions about the role of libraries in education, cultural preservation and the use of public spaces. Read all about it here and consider joining the conversation by writing to Liz Sundermann-Zinger, Executive Director of External Affairs and the Central Library [email protected]. Many of the books we read come from our excellent system of public libraries in America but we also have thriving bookstores – especially independent bookstores. I’ll be talking about a few of the most famous bookstores in the world during an upcoming virtual class offered by Politics and Prose bookstore – A Bookstore Voyage Around the World, Monday afternoons 2-4 pm Eastern from March 2 – 23. Still time to register – and classes are recorded if you can’t make them all.   “Bookstores are both private and public spaces,
in which we escape the world and also participate in it more fully.” Nadia Wassef, Chronicles of a Bookseller Ramadan Kareem to all who celebrate! Please reply with "no thanks" in the subject line if you no longer wish to receive these emails. Comments are closed.
|