Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 17, 2025

 It's a fact--snails have both male and female reproductive parts. 400 Virginia elementary students were denied an author visit when one parent saw a video of this author where she referred to her book Snail and mentioned this fact. The parent insisted the visit be cancelled, which it was, with no explanation. But, the author had a contract and insisted she be paid. The principal told the school librarian she'd have to pay the author out of her own pocket! The author refused to take the librarian's money and instead went to court. The school board ended up paying author Erica S. Perl, who feels that authors and their contracts (and binary snails) need to be respected, and children need author visits.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 10, 2025

 A NYC couple, one a psychiatrist and the other a playwrite, read a newspaper story about a penguin couple at the Central Park Zoo. When the chinstrap penguins paired up to start families, Roy and Silo, both males, built a nest and took tuns sitting on an egg-shaped rock. When another penguin laid an egg she couldn't care for, zookeepers gave it to Roy and Silo who took turns keeping the egg warm until it hatched and then they all lived together happily. The two authors published their (often banned) book about the little family in 2005. The are Peter Parnall and Justin Richardson, and their book is And Tango Makes Three.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for June 3, 2025

 Although this English writer, born in 1881, won several awards for her children's books and poetry, she is best remembered for the hymn lyrics she wrote to a traditional Scottish tune, published in 1931. She was a shy, sickly, nearsighted child who spent most of her days in the attic, surrounded by books. Her father encouraged her to write from the time she was five. Who knew the hymn she wrote would become a hit on the pop charts in 1971 when performed by an English singer? The hymn is Morning Has Broken, sung by Cat Stevens, also known now as Yusuf Islam.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 27, 2025

 This New York City cartoonist worked as the art director for magazines and made his debut into the world of children's books when he illustrated "The Carrot Seed," written by his wife Ruth Krauss in 1945. He wrote and illustrated his most famous book in 1955, about a toddler with a magic writing implement, and it has never gone out of print.  He was bald and said he drew characters without hair "because it's so much easier."There were other book in the series, but none did as well as the original. The book is Harold and the Purple Crayon and the author/illustrator is known as Crockett Johnson, but his real name was David Johnson Leisk. 

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 20, 2025

 This former elementary teacher from Los Angeles now lives in Plainfield, MA. A mom of three, she has written over 70 children's books. Her best known are part of a series, begun in 2008, about a small, colorful vehicle. Over 20 million of these books have sold, and they include some in Spanish, such as El Camionsito Azul. The author is Alice Schertle, and her series began with The Little Blue Truck.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 13, 2025

 The librarian at The U.S. Library of Congress was recently fired. The reason?  "There were quite concerning things that she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children." However, the Library of Congress is NOT A LENDING LIBRARY. It is a RESEARCH LIBRARY and only members of Congress may check out books. The librarian, Carla Hayden, posed no threat to children.

Tuesday Kidlit Trivia for May 6, 2025

 One of the books I've read to children most often through the years has only 34 words and was a Caldecott honor book for illustration. The author/illustrator, born in Pennsylvania in 1959, graduated with a BA in biology from St. Olaf College and planned to become a doctor, but realized his passion was for art and children's books. He moved to New York City where he still lives with his wife and son. He plays the viola and the concertina and enjoys yoga and knitting. This is Chris Raschka, author of Yo! Yes?